Scenes from a Road Trip

John and I are here in Demopolis, Alabama, tonight. I'm on my way to Miami with my cat and boyfriend so I can start a six month stint with Florida Grand Opera. It's been interesting thus far, with one tire nearly blowing out in New Mexico, unbelievable heat in West Texas, and close encounters with people dealing with Katrina. Behold the following photos (in no particular order):


Ummmm....Yeah. So we saw a sign for Chunky, MS, and there was no way we were going to pass that one by.

We stopped off at Vicksburg National Battlefield in Mississippi. We are both Civil War buffs and it was great to take the time to drive through. I was amazed that the Union trenches were still visible!



Here's John driving through Western Alabama. Outside are fields and fields of ravaged forests. Trees were split in two and whole forests were decimated. This was unbelievable to see, especially so far North. Even more unbelievable was our evening i Dallas at the Motel 6. There were families there who had been living there a month. John met one guy at the ice machine who said they were in Shreveport, tried to go home but were turned back by the National Guard, and then ended up in Dallas because it was the only place with a hotel room. I've never felt so lucky. I watched these people, desperate, unhappy, lost, wandering around the parking lot in a daze. A couple of them had jobs already but most were just feeling hopeless - and it showed. My ills seem so small in comparison.

The heat was incredible in an unairconditioned car as we made our way across the sunbaked deserts in Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas. This photo from Willcox, NM, is particularly indicative.

West Texas, besides being bloody hot, was also full of oil pumps and refineries. It smelled like gas and cow dung. This was my least favorite part of the trip thus far. Today was the best! It can only get better as we head down through Alabama and into Florida.

More later after I get to Miami