#8-14 missouri, arkansas, louisiana, texas, mississippi, tennessee, kentucky [pt. iv]

we left tennessee and continued north. the weather was growing more chilly, more blustery and we knew we had to be getting closer to home. the miles passed on and soon enough we were back on more familiar territory:

January 4th, 2009
Just before 5pm: Home sweet Illinois.
(We are exploring what we can of Metropolis.)

then it was time for dinner--shakes and cheese fries at steak 'n shake--and a quick fill up before beginning the final leg home. we were greeted with january in northern illinois, just as we'd left it. all in all, it was a successful road trip, and everything we'd been hoping for in a vacation. sure, the volvo brake work and extra night's stay in tennessee were unexpected but not unwelcomed, necessarily.

luckily for us (very luckily, in fact) it wouldn't be too much longer before our next out-of-state adventures. after all, we were already counting down the days 'til my 21st birthday weekend out west.

#8-14 missouri, arkansas, louisiana, texas, mississippi, tennessee, kentucky [pt. v]

January 3rd, 2009
I feel like this trip has been really good for me. I really like the feel of the miles flying by, 60 degrees in January and the pure bliss of wandering, completely unrestrained. It's perfect. Today we are in Tennessee. Visiting Memphis. It's nice to be in a new state.

we traveled on. we weren't too far north of memphis when it became rather apparent that there was something wrong with the car. of course, when you're on a road trip hundreds of miles away from home, it's a little bit imperative that the car actually work. the photographer knew it wasn't going to be anything he could probably fix on his own, so we ventured into the closest town we could find. since it was a saturday, we knew we might have a little bit of trouble finding an open shop; somehow, though, we got lucky--thanks to a mechanic named jimmy.


We are pausing momentarily in Covington, Tennessee due to brake problems with the Volvo. Oops. Hoping that this is something that can be fixed relatively easily and quickly, cause well, we're a long way from home.

while jimmy took a look at the car, his wife drove us to the local wal-mart so we could grab some lunch from subway. he promised to call us whenever he'd figured the problem out, and less than two hours later the phone was ringing: we needed new brakes and calipers. seeing that the photographer was driving an 1987 volvo wagon, this would not be a quick fix. in fact, he wouldn't be able to start working on the car until the next morning--first he needed to find the parts.

it was an unexpected detour, but all we could do was accept it and take care of it. we grabbed our things out of the car and got a ride to a nearby hotel from jimmy's wife. it actually ended up being a rather fun evening; we made the most of it. the next day, the mechanic fixed the car and, after many thanks, we headed on our way.

January 4th, 2009
We stayed the night in Covington and left this afternoon for home. People there sure are nice--Jimmy fixed the Volvo on a Sunday, when he's usually closed, and his wife Karen drove us to and from the hotel. Awesome. It was a really good place to be stuck in if we had to be. We got pizza, drank some beers, and watched a Destroyed in Seconds marathon. A quality evening, if I do say so myself.

#8-14 missouri, arkansas, louisiana, texas, mississippi, tennessee, kentucky [pt. iv]

January 2nd, 2009
Louisiana was quite lovely! But now we are in Mississippi. Geting Sonic for lunch...hooray!

we hadn't been in mississippi very long before we headed north, exiting from i-20 to highway 61. the day grew later as we traveled, listening to this and that on the radio, excited for uncharted territory. it was a rather gray and drizzly afternoon but we enjoyed it nonetheless. we decided we'd stop near memphis for the night; it would be nice to sit still for longer than a few minutes, to shower and relax. it was dark out by the time we passed the glittering neon of the casinos in tunica, glittering there like an oasis in the night. it wouldn't be long now. we kept an eye out and, less than an hour later, checked into a room at the days inn. it was a pretty nice hotel, especially for the price, and got settled.

after a shower, it was time for dinner--and the photographer and i figured that since we were down south, we should take advantage of a cultural institution of sorts: chick-fil-a! it was my first visit, and man, was it delicious. in typical fashion, i got the chick-n-strips with waffle fries. we brought it back to the hotel room and ate while we watched bad television. bed wasn't too far off, and he and i fell asleep relatively early.

the next morning, we packed up, loaded the car, and checked out of the hotel. our next destination? memphis! it was another relatively dreary day, but we definitely still had fun exploring:





we only spent a few hours in memphis, which was, quite frankly, not even close to enough time to see everything. still, we were there, and that's what counts. (i'd like to go back in the future... see a little more of beale street, visit sun studios, take a tour of graceland. someday!) in the meantime, highway 51 was calling our name so we got in the car and continued our northbound travels.

#8-14 missouri, arkansas, louisiana, texas, mississippi, tennessee, kentucky [pt. iii]

we woke up a little before sunrise. we got out of the car to stretch and were pleased to find that the temperature was quite pleasant--warm, even--which was, after all, what we were looking for. the photographer managed to find an npr station and we drove on, following early morning sun through arkansas and finally to shreveport, louisiana.

we got there somewhere between 6 and 6:30 am. already, it was around 70 degrees out...so, so nice. our first stop? waffle house, of course! we were starving and breakfast seemed like a logical first step to our louisiana adventure. (man oh man, do i love waffle house! that is definitely a story for another day, though.) after we ate, we decided it was time to head downtown.

shreveport was quite lovely. it kind of reminded me of the metro area near my hometown. we walked around and explored, taking it all in. the weather was foggy and a bit muggy but we had no complaints: it was snowy and freezing in northern illinois, so we'd definitely take it.


we wandered around for a little while longer until it was time to move on. we hopped in the car again and consulted a map; we had a number of options and ultimately that since we were so close, we'd go to texas. we weren't there for very long: after crossing the border, we stopped at a gas station to fill up the tank and buy some beverages, then we got lost in a wooded area just off the interstate. (i'm thinking i'll have to go back to the lone star state at some point... we barely scratched the surface of its 268,820 square miles.) once our foray into texas was complete, the photographer drove us back into louisiana and onward, east on interstate 20.

January 2nd, 2009
We were in Texas for about 20 minutes. It was kind of like the Twilight Zone, actually, but we were there. Now we're wandering around in Northwest Louisiana, listening to Beck's Modern Guilt. This is exactly how I wanted this road trip to go.

In Louisiana, counties are called parishes (I think I knew that, but I digress). We've also driven through a few bayous. It feels like we've been moving almost constantly for the last 24 hours. We've been in five states since we left yesterday, soon to be six and seven. Ridiculous, but I absolutely love it.

#8-14 missouri, arkansas, louisiana, texas, mississippi, tennessee, kentucky [pt. ii]

January 1st, 2009
Somewhere north of Bloomington-Normal: "What, you think girls can't read a map?"

This is all in fun, of course. We are playing our travels by ear--we have no idea where exactly we are going to end up. Our goal for right now is St. Louis; a trip originally planned to Memphis is now extending to Shreveport, Louisiana? Either way, I'm glad we decided to take this trip and excited for whatever might happen.

and so we drove, instilled with energy and enthusiastic uncertainty. what a great way to kick off the new year--traveling toward an unknown destination (and, consequently, getting out of the winter wonderland that is northern illinois in january). the possibilities were endless.


January 2nd, 2009
Saw the prettiest sunset just outside of St. Louis. The sky was technicolor, awash with orange and red, a rainbow across the pre-nighttime horizon.

Driving through St. Louis itself was fairly intense. I drove for three and a half hours between McLean and Perryville, almost 230 miles. We took turns driving and I got us here: the rest stop on I-30, not far from Arkadelphia. It's late--almost 2 am--and we left home around 12:30 yesterday so we've made quite the trip already... and we're not done yet. When we wake up, the morning will see us into Shreveport and even Texas probably. It will be light during our travels, so hopefully I'll have more opportunities to put pen to paper.

As for right now, I've written through as much of the caffeine buzz as I possibly can. It's time for sleep.

#8-14 missouri, arkansas, louisiana, texas, mississippi, tennessee, kentucky [pt. i]

before we knew it, another winter had descended upon northern illinois. that's right: blowing snow, freezing temps, icy sidewalks, the works. combine the weather with the stress of finishing up another semester and the fact that it had been months since our last interstate adventure, the photographer and i decided that perhaps it was time. after all, what else is one to do when given a whole month off? why, take advantage of it!

so we did. we decided to depart on new year's day. as far as our destination was concerned, we wanted to go somewhere warm, but we didn't necessarily want to go too far away to get there--eventually, we settled on memphis, tennessee. we figured we could spend a few days there, maybe check out graceland, or go to beale street. the prospect of getting out of the tundra was exciting and we packed eagerly, anxious for the trip that awaited us.

then... it was new year's eve. we drank and celebrated and drank some more, looking forward to the new year, the vacation on our horizon. the trip was a popular topic of conversation, of course, and somewhere along the line, a vacation from northern illinois to tennessee spiraled into an epic journey with the potential to take us all over the south. memphis? yeah, we'd get there. eventually.

we were brazen and bold. at that moment, we came to the conclusion that we should just play the trip by ear... just see what happens. the next morning, only slightly hungover, we packed the trunk, got in the volvo, and left.


our getaway to a warmer locale turned into an adventure all over the southern US. we passed through seven states in just a few days, documenting the trip with words (via a paper-bound notebook of mine), photographs, and memories.

without further adieu, let the mid-south winter road trip begin!

#6-7 indiana, michigan

summer 2008. the photographer and i were in the midst of it--he had a job downtown, while i was working in the garden department at one of the local home improvement stores. we were planning on going camping at devil's lake (one of our favorite places, as mentioned here). we prepped and got ready for our trip.

and then it rained. poured, actually, for days and days. storms and bad weather and flooding. the end result? devil's lake was under water, closed, scheduled to be reopened on the day we were due to head back home from our trip. needless to say, we were a little bit disappointed. we still had a week off of work, too, and couldn't let that go to waste.

so... we spent a few days in the city, enjoying the weather (it was gorgeous down in chicago) and drinking corona with lime and going to the beach. a few days later, we were off on our alternate vacation: the michigan dunes.

we left in the morning and headed east in the cavalier--my first time over the skyway--listening to sufjan stevens and enjoying the view. it was the perfect day for driving. a few hours later, we had made our way through indiana and arrived at the warren dunes in sawyer, michigan. we hiked around in the sand, taking in the sight of it all, looking for our skyline way out there on the horizon.


this was our trip. hiking, exploring, picnicking--writing, conversing, photographing. it was exactly the little getaway we needed. we got a room at a red roof in that had no swimming pool, no internet access, and about six channels on the television; somehow, it had everything. it was a chance to unwind, to just be (which was perfect and much appreciated in the midst of a rather stressful summer).


one night, we headed out to the dunes and hiked to the top for a view of the sunset over lake michigan. we sat together as the sun and the sky and the water changed colors, metamorphosing as the minutes ticked by. that glowing orb fell closer and closer to the water and slowly sank beneath it, leaving a dusky purplish orange in its wake. save for the sound of the waves washing up on the beach, the air was quiet, still. we slept soundly that night, waking refreshed and renewed.

on our way back to the city, we stopped just inside the indiana border for fireworks (of course!). it was mid-june, and it just so happens that we live in a state where it is illegal to purchase fireworks. we packed our purchase safely in the trunk and headed towards the land of lincoln with smiles on our faces, ready to wander back into the real world (or as ready as we ever would be.)