#7: Travel to 5 states I haven't been to before - Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana

It was three days after graduation, and I was getting restless. The U-Haul had finally been attached to our green Toyota Highlander, and the cab of the car was filled to the front seats with pillows, suitcases, snack boxes, and a cooler filled with Diet Pepsi, of all things. We dragged our first cheap mattress through the back door and laid it up on the dirty fence, grabbed sheets and pillows, and closed the door. This change didn't upset me as much as I thought it would, or should. I ran away to Virginia to figure out life and college, and now I was leaving it half a decade later: very content, very accomplished, and very much married. I'd gotten what Virginia had to offer me, taken what I needed from it, and looked towards the next place to explore.

Now, I don't know if anyone else has done this, but the drive from the East Coast to the Gulf is quite a trip. I was happy to cross three more states off of my list, which added more excitement to road trip ennui. (Spoken like a true Oscar Wilde scholar.) I had already visited Tennessee, so I could not cross it off my list; however, this drive through revealed the damage caused by the recent storms and tornadoes across the South. We drove past splintered buildings and hunching metal poles. I said a little prayer for the South, both the people and the land - something I never thought I'd do in my life.

ALABAMA

In my mind, I never pictured Alabama as green. Boy, was I wrong. Vibrant trees all around for miles. The damage done to Tennessee by the recent tornadoes wasn't as clearly visible on the Alabama highways, but listening to NPR (a Trammel tradition) revealed more than what we could see. Alabama is basically the nation's chicken capitol, and if the chickens weren't swept up by the tornado, their feed and houses were. In this time of recession, this tragedy struck hard. We slept through the warm, rainy night in a hotel in Birmingham and woke up to southern hospitality and a motel continental breakfast.

MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi was a long, narrow strip of highway. This was the view for miles - a single truck comes, switches lanes, and drives off. Then another takes its place. The storm damage wasn't quite visible here, either. By this point in our trip, Tommy and I had to encourage each other not to go crazy. We decided to stop at a Pizza Hut for lunch so that I could officially cross Mississippi off my list. As we exited the highway, we were met by a thousand different food chains. Normally, back home, I'd make fat American jokes. This time, I was humbled. We were entering back into the land of "available fast food" and "open late" - something Buena Vista lacked terribly - and I was more than happy to pack on some consolation pounds.

LOUISIANA

Louisiana, at last! We stopped at a gas station to cross this state off the list before crossing over a longer and even more narrow highway than before. The highway soon turned into a bridge that crossed over the bayou - which, I confess, I was really looking forward to (that may or may not have be influenced by Swamp People). It looked so peaceful, especially as the sun was setting behind it. It would pass in clumps, so it took a couple tries to snap a picture. I made a promise to one day venture back and see Louisiana beyond the highway - New Orleans is on my 999 list! I will be back soon, bayou.

What a great experience. America is truly a wonderful, diverse place. I've gained much perspective from seeing the "different strokes,"  one could say, of our country over the past 4 years. I feel even more grateful for every one who gets up and works hard to contribute to our livelihood, our society, and our safety. We've got to band together in these tough times. God bless us!