5000 miles

In the last three weeks I've driven almost 5000 miles (that's 8000 kilometres for those favouring the metric system). I'm back in Alabama now, where I quickly seem to have fallen into a malaise. The trouble with traveling so much is that one is constantly seeing new things and while coming home to six dead cockroaches in my apartment constitutes something new it's not quite the same thing as traveling to a Native American ruin in New Mexico or almost falling into the Grand Canyon. The other problem with traveling so much is that it's tiring and when you finally stop you feel pooped. As Alissa said in Las Vegas, you need a vacation from your vacation.

Anyway, the trip was really gratifying and even though there was a lot of flat driving through the High Plains of Texas, etc, that might bore a truck driver, I actually really liked being on the open road and being able to see nothing but land and the horizon.

If anyone is planning on visiting the U.S. and is interested in seeing more than L.A., Las Vegas, or New York, I recommend getting a rental car in those places and making small trips into the country. For example, get a rental car in Las Vegas, drive to the Hoover Dam, Mojave Desert, Death Valley, the Grand Canyon, which are all places within 5 or so hours and, I think, you'll enjoy seeing more of the country than you would staying in a city (of course) or via a tour bus. And you aren't going to drive enough to kill one another (if you're traveling as a couple or a small family).

By the way, on Thursday night I stayed with Bard in Memphis and, yes, you can see a pyramid in the photo (to your left). It's the old arena, which has since been mothballed after the FedEx Forum was built (where the Grizzles play) next to Beale Street.