Road Trip--Days 8-12; Atlanta Homebase

Friday
When we woke up on Friday, after a pretty heady and many houred Thursday, we were exhausted and used the day to catch up as it were and then later to hang out with Cindy, checking out the sets she's working on and then meeting her Atlanta crew. That night we caught up with pal/co-worker/lead extraordinaire Shane Reed at dinner.

Saturday
We all slept in, bravo!!!

Really chilled it out and then finally went out to see "Fame", the movie we both worked on recently.

I was less than moved, Cindy thought it was better than she thought she would, (low expectations, help out there) and Skye, the tweener and therefore target audience, loved it. I am not sure how much of it was the movie and how much of it was that both of her parents worked on it. ??????????????????????

Sunday

Again sleeping in sort of...


When finally ventured out to see the amazing Atlanta Botanical Gardens it was long overdueish.



It started out a bit slow, with a tired family and then we came upon some our favorites; orchids and carnivorous plants, as well as other fascinations.





Gorgeous varieties of pitcher plants







The infamous venous flytrap, in abundance.

And orchids......







And more beautiful orchids......






But there were other beauties...







Rain forest amazements, aerial root systems, oh my.




"Just" beautiful leaves.

At some point Skye announced that she wanted to be a botanist when she grew up and suggested we invest more time in studies relevant to that pursuit.



This lab gave her an insight to her future.
She gazed at it with mixed anticipation.



LOOK!!! A photo of the three of us, what a rarity.

In the background you might catch a glimpse of a Henri Moore piece. An exhibition of his was there and I have paid it little attention, but it was glorious none the less.



Look more Moore's and amazing Lotus plants in the foreground.


Oh befuddles, I don't recall the artist and am not so sure I want to, but it was something, yes, no?


After the gardens, we ventured downtown to the Martin Luther King memorials.

For me it was such a stark contrast to nature's beauty, I could hardly comprehend it. As well as we know its history, it seemed to shake us all to the core.

No photo ops on this one, despite opportunities and deservedness.



Monday

Maximus chillingnus, a bunch of school stuff in the room a trip to the hotel gym and thenthe movie, Little Women in the evening.

Tuesday

Today we decided to do the tourist thing and so glad we did.

First we headed out to the Cyclorama, one of only three in the US. Didn't get pics, cause they weren't allowed and seemed to trite to pirate it.
Amazing, still, a must to-do in my book if you happen by Atlanta.

Off to Stone Mountain.

Sort of like Magic Mountain and yet historical and then like Yosemite east as well. Funny bag of tricks.....



That's Atlanta in the background, in case you were wondering.



Getting out to nature to excercise is not a trend confined to the two coasts, the typical harbingers or trends.

No, across the US I have noticed people getting back to nature to get in shape.



Skye hiding out in one of the mountains many nooks and crannies.



And then a disheartening reminder of politics.

Road Trip--Day Seven

We took our time getting up this morning. Walked back to Cafe du Monde for more beignets and hot chocolate, picked up some pralines for Cindy and some other little snacks for the road. Ambled back to our friends apartment, loaded up and headed out, knowing that we would be ending up in Atlanta, but not sure which route we were going to take.

Which way to go and what to do
My idea of working lots of history lessons into the trip kind of went by the wayside, when the actual equation of miles and hours on the road became clear. To make this really work in that manner this trip would have to be months long not weeks. What became clear was how rich and diverse and deep our countries history, culture, landscape etc is. So history is certainly still in the mix, (we just started listening to Red Badge of Courage) but as far as it being the focus and a neat unfolding curriculum, that's been tossed in favor of addressing what is at the moment most applicable. Which in large part has been map reading and a lot of calculations in regards to time and distances. And co-ordinating this with campsites and dining options.

With that in mind we held our course to the coast, thinking we might get some fresh seafood somewhere between Biloxi and Mobile.

Nature Calls

Well after blowing through Biloxi early on and realizing that we were going to be hitting Mobile a little too early to pull over and eat, I decided to slow things down and take some time to appreciate the trip. So we pulled off the highway to check out the Mississipi Sandhill Crane Reserve.




Another lesson in biodiversity. Over the course of the mere 3/4 mile nature trail, we walked through a bog, the edge of a savanna, a pine forest, and checked out some swamp and wetlands.



We didn't see any cranes, or much wildlife at all save for a lizard or two. But what they had in abundance were carnivorous plants.

Carnivourous plants a go go

Now these very interesting creatures have been in my peripheral vision, so to speak, for a while now. I had been doing research on them while in LA and had found a wonderful garden and supplier near San Diego. But they have very specific requirements in regards to humidity,(LA is pretty dry, we are in the desert for all practical purposes) and upkeep. So with everything else going on building and maintaining a mini-green house seemed impractical and untimely, not that that has stopped me in the past but on this I took the wise course and put the fantasies of a plant zoo on the shelf.



They had several different types of flesh eating plants, but the pitcher plants were the real scene stealers.



When we came upon our first sighting of pitcher plants in the wild, Skye went a little crazy spotting one then another and another. We soon realized there were hundreds of them scattered throughout the bog.



A beautiful specimen.



Skye overlooking the swamp, an eerie cypress tree with Spanish moss beautifully cascading down. We learned the difference between the two types of Cypress(the most easy to quickly identify was that one has needles facing up and the other has them facing down) as well the bit of history of how many of the giant cypress had been cut down many years ago to use in any number of building applications. These magnificent trees can reach heights approaching those of Sequoias.



This little toadstool was almost perfectly round. It was gorgeous. Mushrooms are another quirky interest of mine. Skye and I grew some shitakes and oyster mushrooms from a kit. The tastes of these were otherworldly. Eating food you grew or gathered yourself is so much more rewarding, feeding both your soul and your body. Foraging for wild mushrooms is on the to-do list. Although in this rare instance I won't rely simply on books, magazines or the internet. No I will find an expert or group and go out with them the first few or several times. The margin for error and its consequence pretty much demand this.



Saw this "Fish Camp" from the highway as we were heading out from Mobile. Figured it was going to be a bit rustic or touristy, but when the hostess asked if we had a reservation, I realized how deceiving outward appearances can be.

We had amazing seafood and Skye got her one and only alligator sighting of the trip. We saw him from pretty far off, as he swam out into the brackish, more salty than fresh waters of the Mississippi Sound that blended into the Gulf of Mexico.



The cloud formations and sharp contrasts against the clear blue sky were remarkable. Pictures, simply don't do it justice.

Decisions, decisions

We had thought it would be fun to make it to Atlanta by 8 pm so that we could all watch the new Survivor episode together. The show had become a family tradition way back when. But we also looked on the map and realized if we kept on the I-10 for a little bit longer instead of heading north on the I-65 we could slice through the eastern most part of Florida and add that to the number of states we bagged on this madcap road race.

We decided to go for it.

Upon closer inspection of the map, we noticed that the "Highest Point in Florida" was just a little further off and just a little out of the way. The thought of bagging the lowest of the highest points was too much to resist.

Today's "High" Point



We kept following signs down smaller and smaller back roads.



Skye got a real kick out of the fact that Florida's highest point is a mere 345 feet above sea level. Regardless it afforded a beautiful view of the surrounding forests and pastures.

Last year we spent a week camping at high elevations so I could acclimate for a 10k/obstacle course held at the Marine Corps high altitude training facility in the Sierra mountain range. One night we camped at the base of Whitney. We also dropped in at the visitors center at the gateway to Death Valley, the lowest point in the US. It gives you an idea of the altitudeinal (made up word) diversity of California.



My arm wasn't quite long enough to get both of us and the plaque all in the picture.



We eventually grabbed wastebaskets from the Men and Women restrooms, stacked them on each other(they were the short little plastic ones) and used the timer mode on the camera to document our first "Highpoint".

Near the monument was a stack of brochures for the "Highpointers-Summits of the States".

Goody, a new club/interest/diversion for to complicate and invigorate the remainder of our roadtrip.

Racing Towards Atlanta

After fully appreciating Florida's highest summit. We headed northbound, trying to make it to Atlanta before 8pm and Survivor. It was all a bit confusing. The clock on the dash of the Prius is still set to Los Angeles time. I try to keep my watch set on the time we start our day and then my Iphone(when working) is set to the real time. The change from Central to Eastern is somewhere just west of Atlanta.

Our detour took a bit longer than expected, we did add to it after all. And we landed a good further south on the I-65 than I had planned, so in spite of reaching and maintaining speeds in the 70 mph to 85 mph range we didn't arrive till after 10pm.

But we were finally back together as a family. Viva la familia!

Road Trip--Day Six

We left the campground again under the attack of mosquitoes and headed full tilt towards New Orleans. After blasting Lake Charles, a place where I had considered stopping at for a swamp tour, I decided instead to concentrate my efforts making it to New Orleans.

On the way there I was able to contact a friend of ours who had an apartment near the French Quarter. Turns out, it would be empty and available for us to spend the night. Thank goodness for that, because I was not looking forward to camping another night in swamp territory.

We blew through Baton Rouge, forgoing lunch and any history lessons that might have been had, and were making record time when we were detoured of the direct highway to New Orleans to one that ran north of it and dropped down. Our last couple of road trips have been plagued by detours for some reason.

And then the rain started.




There is something a little disconcerting about driving into New Orleans with the rain coming down like this. I guess I've seen too much Katrina footage.

But by the time we reached our destination the rain had passed and it was quite nice.

We headed into the French Quarter, bracing for its raw tourism and tacky gift stores, keeping an eye out for some good eats, which would of course be bountiful.

We checked out K-Paul's and Arnaud's but we weren't quite up for that kind of experience. The touristy quick joints were looking so hit or miss, so we ended up somewhat in between at the Gumbo Shop.




It's a good thing we forgo breakfast and lunch because we gorged ourselves there with two kinds of gumbo, jumbalaya, red beans and rice, garlic mashed potatoes, creamed corn, finishing up with praline ice cream and bread pudding with a whisky sauce. MMM Yumm.

And then off to enjoy the ridiculousness and wonder that is the French Quarter.



I took Skye to see the Mississippi and then tried to get her to pose like the statue in the background. She was less than enthused.




After all the Absinthe I've tried and all I've read and researched on the topic, I get to it's US mecca, and can only pose outside for a quick photo, a downside to traveling with an eleven year old.



Tried to get Skye to jump up so I could get her and the sign above that reads "Road Trip" in the photo. I think that may have bought us an inch or two.

We continued to amble about the French Quarter,checking out Marie Laveau's House, Faulkner's House and a bunch of curio shops. Along the way I did secure a Hurricane for take-away as well as picking up a souvenier plastic funny shaped glass that held a horribly premixed concoction called a hand grenade. It made the Hurricane taste good and healthy by comparison. As it was night time Bourbon Street was starting to gear up, so being with my eleven year daughter, I avoided it as best we could.




We ended our evening tour at Cafe Du Monde for Hot Chocolate and beignets.

Road Trip--Day Five

When I awoke it was still raining a bit. But since we were in the stomping grounds of Lance Armstrong, it would be hard for me to let a little rain keep me from a long due morning run.

I am so glad that I did. It felt great to get moving, however the effort was a mean reminder of the marathons that lay before me and how, at this point, ill-prepared I am. It was refreshing and thought provoking, especially when the rain started coming down hard, though that only lasted for a couple minutes.



A quick snapshot of the beautiful forest in the Hill Country outside of Austin.



A surfboard in the middle of Texas, a bit incongruous but then again so were hot air balloons in White Sands.



This was a wonderful State Park. The showers were warm and clean, the park attendants more than polite. I was so impressed I bought an annual park pass for Texas state parks. If I use it half as much as I have used my National Parks pass, it will be one of my better investments to date, and for a good cause, nonetheless.



Our camp upon my return after the run. Still standing, not to drenched.


The creek was flowing fast due to the night's rainfall.



A morning dip was tempting, but no.




After we broke camp and loaded up which took all of no time. We are getting good with the speed camping thing. We headed into Austin for a little breakfast, actually our only objective was to seek out Lance Armstrong's bike shop, Mellow Johnny's .



Mission Accomplished. It was truly awe inspiring to see the jerseys and bikes Lance rode in the tour and again to ponder on the obstacles he overcame. Crazy amazing. Puts things in perspective. Suddenly my 50 mile Ultra marathon trail run on Catalina looks like a walk in the park. I know this will not be the case by any stretch of the imagination but set next to the cancer battle and 7 tour wins and this last 3rd place finish at 38 and years away from racing and it really equates to a walk in the park.

Anybody want to join me for a stroll?

The pilgrimage to the House of Lance did come with costs though. While eating the very basic Turkey Sandwich they had at their Cafe, I received texts via Facebook friends telling me of where to get good breakfasts while in Austin. If only I had checked my e-mails in between instructions via the GPS on my now working Iphone. I had fallen short on my multi-tasking. Oh well.

We hit the road, still not having decided whether to go through Shreveport where several friends were working on movies or take the most southern route that could take us into New Orleans if we pushed it.

Once New Orleans is on the table is there really any question?

So we headed the fuel efficient, trusty Prius towards Houston and beyond.



The guide book mentioned "fabled" BBQ. And we ended up at a chain. It wasn't bad but it certainly didn't even come close to what Texas BBQ is. But Skye did come away loving BBQ sauce and ribs. And was able to have a critical discussion on what makes for a good cole slaw and corn bread. So all was not lost.

We headed towards the Louisiana-Texas border with a campground in mind. It was raining and the sun was dropping, but we wanted to hold to the no-hotel rule.

We pulled up just shy of Louisiana and headed up a bit north to the Big Thicket National Preserve.

When we pulled up with not much sunlight left and the rain starting to come down the park ranger replied when I asked for a camping permit,
"You want to camp out in a tent tonight?"

"Yes"

We initially went to the tent only area.




Looks like a nice adventure.



A little more rustic than we'd grown accustomed to but we were game.



We were used to just dropping our tent out of the car boot, but a little walk would do us good.




That sign is just a warning, right?




What finally sent us back to pitch our tent amoung the RVs was the Port-o-pot situation, particularly one important aspect of it.

Warning: Graphic Photos Follows








Yes he is exactly where you think he is. YUCK!!!!






That creepy crawly was just a little too much for Skye, which was fine by me the mosquitos were out of control and now days latter I am still suffering from just our little scout of the area. I can only imagine what we'd look and feel like if we had toughed it out.

But we did end up pitching a tent and camping and again the facilities boasted hot showers and clean bathrooms. Already our membership with the Texas state park system is paying off.



It was a beautiful lucious piece of nature. Like every other place we went, minus the Ostrich farm, to I wish we had more time to thorough enjoy it.