The Drive Part 1

Today was the day. We woke up early to say goodbye to Monty, before he left for work. Zach went back to sleep for a couple of hours, since he still wasn't feeling well. I stayed up and packed us some snacks, sandwiches, cooked breakfast, and hung out with Michelle and the kids. Eventually, I had to ninja kick Zach out of bed so we could get started on our adventure. We ran about an hour late, due to having to squish our last minute items in the car, and having to get Zach out of bed. Here's a few fun pictures of our car.

Please don't judge us for the case of Yuengling in our car. After living in Providence, RI for a year and half with no access to that delicious brew, I was wise enough to see if it is available in Texas, and sadly it is not. Thus, we thought it was critical to bring a case, that we will cherish and drink slowly.

Eventually we hit the road. We got to drive by Sweetwater, and attempted to surprise Monty at work. Apparently driving by with a large container on top of a vehicle that looks like it is going to burst from the inside looked a little suspicious, and we were spotted. Fail. It was nice to get to see Zach's dad before we took off. 

Our drive, I should say Zach's drive was going to be pretty intense. We had 9 hours ahead of us before our stop for the night in New Orleans, only 599 miles (964 km for my Canadian/Brazilian friends). 

We were able to get out Tennessee rather smoothly, but hit some traffic and strong winds once we crossed into Georgia. We were pretty worried about the carrier top holding up, since it was locked around Zach's roof, and not a rack. Luckily, we were only in Georgia for a short period before crossing into Alabama, where we had our first stop to fill up on car fuel, and human fuel (caffeine). A gentleman from Alabama spoke to me while I at the gas station, and I swear I didn't understand a word that came out of his mouth. I realized the southern accent just becomes more incomprehensible the more south you go. We also hit a little traffic in Alabama as well, as Zach liked to joke: "We were able to able to hit lunch traffic twice", since we had gone back an hour in Alabama.

On the bright side, we were making pretty good time, and made it to Mississippi by 4 p.m. Look, I am not here to offend anyone, but Zach and I both agree that Mississippi has got to be one of the most hoody/ghetto/rundown states we have ever seen. We had to stop again for gas, and Zach chose a Shell gas station, as he thought it was more reputable than Jim Bob's Local Gas Station. Boy were we so wrong. The screens didn't work as they had been busted in, the handles were duck tapped, and I was followed around the store as I decided what we wanted to snack on. Apparently... I am very suspicious looking.

Fortunately, we got out of Mississippi as soon as we could, and made it to Louisiana. Our drive into New Orleans was something special. If you ever get to drive through, I highly recommend it. We had to drive over a bridge that never seemed to end, and felt like we were driving into the clouds. I have to add that Zach may have been a little nervous, and that it was fun to watch.

New Orleans outskirts are rough. I don't know if if its poor maintenance, low-income population, or Katrina damage but we were definitely a little worried. After a bit of a drive, we arrived at our first Airbnb stop. We were staying in a small apartment, with 5 other people. Zach and I were a bit confused, as we hadn't read the description of the location accurately, and we were greeted to a room divided by a curtain.

We kid you not. On the brightside, the host was wonderful and the neighbourhood was nice. I introduced Zach to his first Tunisian food experience, and he enjoyed it. Now we our off to bed, where we will probably pass out and hopefully not wake up until our alarm rings in the morning. Wish us luck at putting the roof car top back together!