Out of NOLA Two

There is a curious effect that happens when traveling without an itinerary, plans change constantly. My original thought when reaching Pascagoula Mississippi was the next morning I would be heading north into Mississippi and then curl back West so I could renew my car registration in Missouri before heading North again. I happened to turn on the Weather Channel while I was getting dressed and heard the central parts of Mississippi would be reaching temperatures in the triple digits during the day. That's hot. It's even hotter when you are in a little pickup truck that doesn't have air conditioning.

What? Driving through the South with no air conditioning? Am I crazy? Well, no, not crazy, just habit. I had a car with air conditioning once... the AC died after two weeks, so I was back to my normal driving situation. It isn't something that I feel is essential. Heck, 60 years ago there wasn't any air-conditioning! I'm just taking after our ancestors.

There are benefits to traveling without air conditioning. The best one being you get to smell the country you're traveling through and how those smells change through the drive. The feel of the air changes too and you get to experience that as well. Of course this is less romantic when passing a pig farm, but is still a lovely way to travel. The only precaution is to buy some ear plugs and use them. Having the air blowing in your left ear for hours subjects your ear to high sound-pressure levels-- (lots of loud noise.) The high sound pressure will damage your hearing. It is a fact that most Americans have hearing loss in their left ear while most British people have hearing loss in their right ear. This is attributed to driving with the window open. With ear plugs in you can still hear sirens, the radio and even conversation, you are just lowering the over-all sound levels your ear is subjected to. Remember kids, hearing loss is irreversible and permanent. Bionic ears are still a long ways off. Protect those head-wings!

With mid-state temps reaching triple-digits and high-humidity I thought it might be better to stick to the gulf coast where it was cooler and continue East. I moseyed through Mobile, Alabama and found an old Miniature Golf Course. I formulated a plan of action. I would continue to doodle along the coast until I came across a fishing village with one of those seafood places right next to the docks. You know the type. They have incredibly fresh fish and different species as well, fish that never makes it into the commercial markets. Mmmmmm, now that is something worth doodling!

So I dawdled along until I reached Pensacola, Florida. Wow, I was in Florida, this was unexpected. I realized if I continued heading East I would end up at the Atlantic Ocean. Clever, eh? This would give me the status of touching two of the edges of the USA. When I began this adventure I thought I would travel no further south than mid-Arkansas and no further east than the Mississippi. However, as the Poet said: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' man gang aft agley." Any plans I may have had at the outset of this trip were long since "gang agley" and my best option at this stage was to say yes to these options that seem to appear out of nowhere. It is a good thing to say yes to life, yes to the serendipitous circumstances that present themselves. Read the signs of the Triumvirate-- Circumstance, Serendipity and Synchronicity-- and discovering where it will take you.

Besides there were advantages of going all of the way East before heading West again. One is I drive in the morning and find driving into the light less advantageous--all of the good pictures are behind me--it kind-of spoils the fun of the wiggly roads when you can't see the good pictures. Once I am as far East as I can go, I can drive away from the sunrise and all of the good shots will be before me.

So that's what I did. I drove all the way East. From the East coast would be starting West again. I thought it would be fitting to go to St Augustine, Florida. St Augustine was the First City founded on the continental United States. It would be as if I was starting at the beginning. Where better to begin heading West again. I had ulterior motives too. A friend lives there so I could sleep on their couch and save on hotels.