Westward Ho!

Day #3 Miles: 629

Day #3 States: 4 (Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma)

Mileage Total: 1125

A lot of Northerners have an inherent distrust of the South.They live far away, the climate is different, the culture is different, and they have wildly different political beliefs. But if you’re just passing through and you mostly just want to eat stuff (and let’s be real… it’s the land of  carbs and slow-cooked meats) and not judge anyone, then I think you’re good.The only awkward experience from down South happened this morning during a coffee stop. I ordered my drink, paid, and then was walking away when the cashier said, “Play nice, pretty Yankee”. Not a bad experience, but it struck me as a pretty terrible pick-up line.

Finishing the route through Mississippi involved seeing some cows. 

And then I crossed the Mississippi River, and the state line into Louisiana.

Louisiana appears to have the most hitchhikers out of all of the states I’ve passed through so far. Not sure if this is a good or a bad thing, but I decided not to pick any of them up, as I kind of like my stuff,being alive, and not getting raped. But otherwise driving through was kind of neat! You see all the signs for the different parishes… because Louisiana has parishes. Certain portions were really reminiscent of East Cleveland, where you walk down one block and you’ve passed five churches.

I did what anyone would do… stopped for soul food!

Lunch was a fried chicken breast covered in a spicy brown gravy, BBQ baked beans, turnip greens, the most amazing squash I’ve ever had,and homemade cornbread. I’m falling madly in love with turnip greens, but the squash was really a winner. It’s standard summer yellow squash, sliced thin and braised or stewed or SOMETHING with (I think) apple cider vinegar, butter,salt, a hint of something else sweet, and a finish of red pepper. I’m definitely trying that one as soon as I get a kitchen set up. 

I passed into Texas, and it challenged some of my preconceived notions of what Texas is and should be. It wasn’t all desert-y and gross, but rather, quite lush and green on the Eastern edge.

And then it became more stereotypically ‘Texas-like’ transitioning into the center of the state. And yes, the sky is freaking huge-looking out there.

My first Texas stop was in Dallas.

There was some kind of interesting memorial with a lot of metal steer on some side of sidewalk-crossing. I don’t quite know what this was celebrating, but it was neat to look at. And there were a lot of metal cows!

I wanted to know the one place in Dallas that I should stop for tourist-y trap kind of stuff, and I was advised that Wild Bill’s Western Store was apparently the way to go.

It was the standard kind of stuff you’d expect – coffee mugs,tee-shirts, western shirts, boots, jeans with sparkly butts, studded belts, and cowboy boots of every color and style. I spent a solid minute just staring at the men’s boot collection thinking about my friend and former coworker, Mitch,and how I originally criticized his boot collection. No. My tune’s changed.That shit’s awesome. Some of that footwear is pure artwork. Out of kitschy respect, I bought a bolo tie.

Then I took a few minutes to walkabout Dallas.

Not a bad city. I’d spend a few days exploring. On my way out of town, I took a coffee/fuel stop in Wichita Falls, Texas. While waiting for my cup of brew, a man approached me. My hand instinctively went into my purse and started gripping the pepper spray, after my creepy “Pretty Yankee”morning pick-me-up, I wasn’t taking any chances. He said that he had watched me come in and saw my car and was wondering about my ‘University of Rochester’ Alumni window decal. I said yes, I was class of 2011. He said he was also a UR Alumni, and that his job is currently in Houston (traveling for business) with some kind of engineering firm. We agreed that more of the world needed to know about garbage plates, shook hands, and went on with our collective days. I know it doesn’t sound like a big deal, but when you went to a small school, you really don’t expect to run into someone from your  alma matter a thousand miles away at a random Starbucks on the side of the highway. Very cool.

Then, I headed north to overnight in Oklahoma City. I am constantly stuck by the duality of what lays beside the major roadways. Endless adult novelty stores, XXX video shops, and casinos right next to a million churches everywhere you look. It’s as though everyone spending their nights in a fit of gambling and debauchery and they wake up the next morning to beg for forgiveness and continue on with their journeys.  It seems really common. Maybe I should try it!

Anyway, the hotel’s fine, and the lady at the front desk said that if I felt like eating fancy, that Chili’s was open late. No thanks.