moving westward

WE TAKE A CROSS COUNTRY ROAD TRIP. STARTING IN RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA AND ENDING IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.

[movingwestward]

I just want to let everyone know that Jean-Luc sang “Sweet Home Alabama” from when we first entered Alabama, through every state, to right now while sitting in the apartment in San Diego. Ridiculous.

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We’re finally now in San Diego! I even got to drive for the first time on the crazy highway by myself! I was definitely gripping the wheel with both hands, but did pretty good! I just let everyone else move around me while I stayed in the right-hand lane.

We got some carne asada fries for lunch, and then moved everything from my car up to the apartment. Everything’s still in boxes right now. I think the next 2 days will be unpacking and rearranging. That’ll probably happen more too while Jean-Luc is at work and I’m bored!

We’re cooking up some celebratory steaks for dinner tonight and watching Hot Fuzz!

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We definitely didn’t want to do another 12 hour driving day, so we stopped in Tucson, Arizona as the midway point. It was HOT and flat, just like a desert should be. There were some mountains in the distance which were very pretty, too.

We got an AirBnB here too, and it was nice! It was like a separate “pool house” not attached to the house. They had snacks and tons of water in the fridge, which we definitely stole a few! 

When we left to go get food, they warned us that there was a potential thunderstorm coming with heavy rain and that everything floods. We were a little nervous... I think we were both thinking that it was going to be a tornado, but we braved it and went out anyway. We went to a place called Sentinel Peak which is a brewery. It was pretty cool, if a bit small. We started out with some smoked wings and a beer each. I got one called “Salida del Sol” which was an amber ale and very delicious. Jean-Luc got an “Icebreak” which was ehhh, but it was an IPA so that’s why I didn’t like it as much. He also got a margherita pizza which was pretty good. I got a loaded mac and cheese, with pulled pork and bbq sauce. It was amazing and HUGE.

We got back to the AirBnB just in time for the rain to start. It ended up not being too bad at all, and it cooled things off... for all of 2 seconds.

We left very early in the morning and picked up breakfast at Whattaburger (a honey butter chicken biscuit and a spicy strawberry jam chicken biscuit, both delicious), and were on our way once again! Just a 7 hour drive to San Diego.

I did get to see some saguaro cacti out in the wild which is all that I wanted! They were so neat, though some of them looked like they were eaten up at the bottoms.

We passed some awesome rock formations and drove up 4000+ feet above sea level. Our ears were definitely feeling the effects!

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We were going to stop in Dallas, TX after Shreveport, but we wanted to drive a little bit further so we did... straight into Las Cruces, New Mexico. It was the longest driving we did on the trip, and honestly, I’m glad we only did it once! We were both so tired afterwards. We did manage to see about half of Texas before it got dark, though. 

Admittedly, the part we did see was pretty flat. We drove through the last half while it was dark. I could tell we were surrounded by mountains, and I wish we could’ve seen them in the daytime! We also went through El Paso (where we thought we were actually staying, but AirBnB tricked us), where Texas is on one side of you and Mexico is on the other. It was neat to see the lights from Mexico!

We made it to our place at around 2:45am, and we were pretty exhausted. It was so cool! It was made out of a shipping container. It was very Ikea and very cool. I never wanted to get out of the bed! It was like sleeping on air.

The doors on the end closed, but we opened them in the morning so the light could come in while we drank tea in front of the windows. It was really lovely! We both wanted to just stay and live there. It wasn’t too far away from the highway or restaurants, but it was tucked away enough that it was really quiet. We stayed here pretty late because we were so tired.

The hosts of the place had a flyer for a place called La Nueva Casita, so we went there for brunch! It was just down the street, too, which was really nice. We both got breakfast: Jean-Luc opted for chorizo and eggs while I went for something called “machaka” which was eggs, shredded chicken with their house seasoning, and onions and peppers. We also got a horchata which is my new favorite drink and I need it every day. It’s like a cinnamon milk and soooo yummy!

All of it was so good and filled us up for the next leg of our trip!

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Our next stop was Monroe, Louisiana! We basically just drove straight through Alabama (where Jean-Luc just kept singing “Sweet Home Alabama” constantly) and Mississippi, only stopping for gas. We got to cross over the Mississippi River, which was pretty awesome! 

We stayed in a hotel that night where we were left some... gifts. On top of the open mini-fridge, there was a half eaten box of ice cream sandwiches and a Jimmy Dean breakfast bowl. Not a huge deal, we just threw them away. We went to Waffle House for dinner (their sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich hit the spot). Jean-Luc asked to buy one of their coffee mugs, which I’m not sure if they just don’t sell them or they just never get asked because they were confused on how to ring it up on the registers. He ended up getting it for $5+tax! 

(Jean-Luc wants me to add that I went back onto the highway in the opposite direction instead of turning into the hotel entrance. I’d just like to say, in my defense, that while he asked me if I could get there once we took the exit and I said yes, he also said earlier he wasn’t going to trust me with anything. So, I blame him for trusting me and it’s actually his fault not mine.)

We woke up and got a hot breakfast at the hotel. I made my own chicken and waffle (yum) while Jean-Luc had biscuits and gravy (yuck). Before we headed out back on the road, we noticed a pile of dog food in the corner. So... maybe not the cleanest experience, but still alright.

We drove on to Shreveport, LA to what Jean-Luc was most looking forward to... A crawfish boil! We went to a restaurant called Crawdaddy’s which, like The Varsity, was highly recommended.

A crawfish boil wasn’t on the menu (even though a picture of one was on the cover), so we asked the waitress about it. She said it was “out of season” which we’re still unclear about how, but she brought us some samples of their crawfish etoufee, chicken and sausage gumbo, and shrimp and oyster gumbo. All of it was amazing! It was hard to choose what to get.

We started off getting an appetizer of snow crab claws (amazing!). For food, Jean-Luc ended up getting the etoufee, and I got a fried crawfish po’boy. We also got a side of hushpuppies (REAL ones, none of that Cookout crap), coleslaw (real good), and pickled green tomatoes (I didn’t think I would like these, but they were very tasty!). 

Along with some sweet tea, we were so stuffed afterwards. I’d definitely like to go back for an actual boil!

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After the aquarium, we were pretty hungry, so we headed out to The Varsity. It was a lot bigger and busier than what I was expecting! They had a drive up area like at Sonic, as well as a huge seating area. There was a ton of registers and each of them had lines. We got their classic chili dogs with onion rings. We also got their frozen orange drink (it tastes like creamsicles!) and a peach pie. It was all so delicious! And it was a TON of food, so we definitely waddled out of there.

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After getting completely full of carbonated beverages, it was time to go to the aquarium! I’ve never been to this one, but I heard it was awesome. And it definitely lived up to the hype! Especially because of the whale sharks. I’m pretty sure I was walking around with giant heart eyes the whole time.

I could’ve sat in front of that tank for ages. It was so awesome to see some of my favorite animals. There’s some Black Tip Reef Sharks and (I think)Wobbegongs in there too. It definitely was a great experience, though I recommend going earlier to avoid the crowds.

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In the last post we were in Atlanta, GA about to go to the World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium. They were both AWESOME!

We started at World of Coca-Cola where they greeted us with an ice cold Coke… at 9AM. And hey, we’re on vacation so it’s not THAT bad. You start off in a cool room filled with authentic vintage Coke advertisements and artifacts from all around the world. The “host” told us about some of them, like a Coca-Cola syrup urn from 1896 and that Coca-Cola not only invented the 6-pack, but also was the first to create a deal to buy in bulk for less money.

You watch a short film (basically just all their most tear-jerking commercials… Jean-Luc and I both wiped away some tears after it), and then you get free reign over the rest of the place! We took some photos with the Coca-Cola bear, who was the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen…

And we went into some of the exhibits to learn about this history of Coke, and also search for the secret formula. Which obviously was locked behind a massive vault with security cameras and alarms. It’s the only one in existence, so I guess there’s a reason for keeping it safe.

We went to the tasting room, obviously, where they have 100+ beverages from around the world you can taste. There were some pretty good ones, but the most memorable one was THE WORST. It’s called “Beverly” and it’s from Italy. It tasted like stale sewage water.

All I have to say is:

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We made it to Atlanta! It was a pretty easy drive; not too much traffic until we reached the downtown area. A little nerve wracking with a 8-lane highway, but we managed.

Our first actual tourist stop was at the Peachoid in Gaffney, SC! It’s like a big orange butt in the sky... and right next to a Fatz. It’s not anything to write home about, but it was a good photo op!

We just drove straight to our Airbnb from there. It’s this cute house a little bit outside of downtown! They have a dog named Ro, and I’m definitely stealing her to take with us to California. We relaxed for a bit, and then got a Lyft to a burger joint called The Vortex. It was pretty highly recommended on a few websites, and I can definitely see why!

It was a pretty cool place! I got a local beer and a burger called “Holy Guacamole”, which had a scoop of their homemade guac, and some tater tots. It was huge, and I finished the entire thing! Apparently they’re famous for what they call “Coronary Burgers”, so Jean-Luc got their classic one: a beef patty, fried egg, 3 slices of cheese, and 4 strips of bacon. He got through about half before stopping... Lame! I’m sure it was still delicious though.

We’re now back at the Airbnb, and ready to start early tomorrow to go to The World of Coca-Cola and the aquarium! I think our next stop will be either Monroe or Shreveport, Louisiana... depends on how tired we are!

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Our trip starts officially tomorrow, and we’re both very excited! Not necessarily for all the driving, but definitely the EATING. Jean-Luc’s currently fixated on getting a crawfish boil in Louisiana... I’m sure the corn and potatoes will be good! ;)

We plan to take it pretty easy tomorrow since we know our first stop will be in Atlanta, Georgia! We’re going to stay overnight in an airbnb, and then on Tuesday we’re going to gorge ourselves on all the Coke products at World of Coca-Cola and then to the magical underwater world of the Georgia Aquarium! I’m sure I’ll want to stop the trip there and move in (I mean, I’ll already have all my stuff), but I’ll try to spare Jean-Luc the fangirling over whale sharks... At least a little bit.

[chrishallbeck]

Road Trips. patreon.com/chrishallbeck

[movingwestward]

Our trip starts July 10, 2017!