Off The Rails: Driving The South

If you’ve read Samuel’s rant at the beginning of this blog about the impossibility of the Amtrak booking system, you know that we couldn’t make a complete circuit of the U.S. by train because Amtrak no longer operates the Southern Line east of New Orleans (though it appears on all their schedule maps.)

So we rented a car and lit out, trying to drive from New Orleans to Jacksonville FL in one day–about  550 miles–planning to find a random hotel, and then driving another 150 miles to Savannah the next morning.

Vroom!  We barreled through four states–LA, MS, AR, and most of FL in about twelve hours, but took a detour down to the Florida portion of the Gulf Shore near Pensacola Beach (paying the kingly sum of $1 to take the toll bridge there) stopping to touch the water in the Gulf of Mexico and take some photos of the beautiful white sand beaches.  It’s mid-April and spring breaks are over so the resort and beach preserve were fairly empty–very beautiful and almost desolate now, but I’ll wager a crowded nightmare in summer.  We were glad we took the time to meander down to see it though, and you might want to do the same some day.

Welcome To Mississippi!

Welcome To Alabama!

Welcome To Florida!

Welcome To The Gulf Of Mexico!

White sand beach, Florida's Gulf Island National Seashore

By the time we got done with our Gulf Shore visit it was late afternoon and I wanted to hammer through to Jacksonville before it got dark, but we decided to cut back to Interstate 10 through Niceville–which BTW, wasn’t–and once we were back on I-10 and night had fallen Samuel exclaimed, “There’s a place here on the Florida map called the Lech Worth Love Mounds” and I said, “THERE IS NOT!!” and he bet me there was, right near “Lake MicoSucky.”

He was having me on, of course.  When challenged, he waffled by claiming it was tiny print/hard to read/not too sure but we were in a trapped-in-the-car-too-long punchy mood so in the middle of the night we drove about 40 miles off highway to check it out.  We couldn’t go into the site, but here’s the sign.

Harumph.

He didn’t mention it was hyphenated, “Letch” with a t, and it’s Lake Miccosukee, but it only goes to show that some people will stretch anything for a punchline.

It was quite late after this diversion so we holed up in a nearby Holiday Inn Express in Madison County, Florida (which worked out nicely due to the Waffle House across the parking lot and a coin-op laundry in the hotel) and then drove through Jacksonville to the Atlantic the following morning.

The "spot" where Interstate 10 ends, Eastern end, Jacksonville FL

Touching the Atlantic (Second Base)

We touched the Atlantic–we figured we might as well touch all four water bases of the U.S. as we go along, just to say we did–then drove up to Savannah.  We slept pretty well–something that wouldn’t happen again for a while–then spent the day on a tourist tram looking at Savannah’s main attractions.  If you like art, architecture, and design, there’s lots to see–the Savannah College of Design, or “SCAD,” has bought and renovated many historical buildings and it’s spiffy to see.  We also went to the famed Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room for lunch, lining up with the other tourists an hour beforehand to obtain a seat at their family-style table.

Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room: Table and Tourists

I know everyone raves about it and the food was tasty (and cheap for what you get at $16) but I’m not sure it’s the apotheosis of Southern cooking everyone says it is.  It was educational, a comprehensive layout of all those dishes you’ve read about, and it was an easy and fairly painless way to try them all in one sitting.  Might just be some anticipointment, or maybe just another little discovery tainted by success.  I would also have appreciated knowing up front that they are a Christian organization, and they force a grace in Jesus’ name on you before the meal–that soured things for me a bit, but with the high saturation level of evangelical Christian culture we observed throughout the South it shouldn’t have surprised me. I was tempted to say the Shehechiyanu in response but couldn’t remember all the words, so I just ate my collard greens in Jesus name like everyone else (though Samuel says he silently invoked the FSM as his spiritual antidote.)

You're Going To Hell, Y'all

Speaking of swearing to God, we also visited the Juliette Gordon Low birthplace; “Daisy” Low was the founder of the Girl Scouts, who vow at every meeting “to serve God and [their] country” as well as to be helpful, kind, and sell cookies for the cause.  The birthplace is regarded as Mecca for Scouts to this day–registered Girl Sprouts can buy a special Birthplace Badge if  they actually go there, and a Friendship Badge if they couldn’t make it.  Still has many of the original furnishings from the mid- to late 1800s, well-preserved.  Fun to see if you like that period in history, and her story confirms once again that It’s Good To Be Rich.

Southern Comfort--Daisy Low House Verandah

There are dozens of other old homes that are open for tours, and if you’re into antiques and antebellum design Savannah will be a treasure trove.  You can also visit the Mercer House, location of the murder depicted in “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”  Read the book first before you go–we hadn’t, and they won’t talk about it on the tour.

Returned the rental car and caught the train to Philly.  Strange to be in a warm clime and then one train ride later be in the cold/dark/wet.  More on “Sleepless in Philadelphia” soon…..