Leaving our Texas friends was bittersweet, but it was time to get back on the road and start driving away from the infernal heat of the central US. As we departed, we had been thinking of a refresh to our blog’s titular image and we contracted Mr. ChatGPT to draw us a new logo. As you can see in the featured image for this post, it got quite creative… but I can’t say I don’t like it!

The first night was a stop in Monroe, Louisiana to visit our friends Erin & Jackson at their new house – the experience however was soured by a speeding ticket in a rural town (Woodworth for those who want to avoid it like the plague as well) littered with speeding traps for unsuspecting tourists. This now chalks up 2 times in my life I’ve been ticketed, and both times were to aid in balancing the budget of the destitute police departments of rural Louisiana; you’re welcome.

After escaping the entrapment capital of the world, we left for Alabama where we planned a significant amount of time in Birmingham staying with our friends Lew & Matt – their lakehouse was the convergence point for a reunion of our Dungeons & Dragons group where we could nerd out together for a weekend and really enjoy a significant amount of time outside of our van.

We ended up having a blast in Birmingham and enjoyed the local bar and food scene quite a lot! Southern comfort food is much better when cooked in the butter vats of the actual south. One unique experience was going to the Civil Rights Institute and getting a firsthand look at the history of Birmingham as an emerging city, and the unfortunate resistance to progress post-Civil War from both the city & the South at large. It is a somber reminder that history was not made all that long ago, and that we are still writing a painful, but hopefully progressive story today.

At the end of all of this, it was tough to say bye to so many friends who came down to Birmingham at the same time, so I’ll capture our general feeling with Matt’s forlorn look towards our departing van:

Next on the agenda was a brief pit-stop in Kentucky (where we’ll also be later for Thanksgiving) – we were very fortunate to see a gaggle of friends from even further back in time: high school! First, we met Suzanna & Kurt in Bowling Green, KY – the location of Rachel’s last few formative years in high school. We also got to meet the latest addition to the Woods’ family, complementing a full house with 3 amazing little girls! We also briefly stopped in Louiville to see my high school friend Shelby & her recent fiance (congrats!) Colin. Unfortunately we we’re too engrossed in the food to remember to take a picture here… The final brief, but incredibly rewarding stop in Kentucky was Lexington where we were able to see Rachel’s grandmother Betty and yet another high school friend, Ellen – this whirlwind of re-connection just served to remind us why we are so thankful that we have the opportunity to do this, as we’ve missed some of these people more than we even knew ourselves.

The final stop on the whirlwind friend’s tour was Cincinnati, Ohio where we would see our friends Monisha & Josh for the first time since we left Dallas almost 5 years ago. Some may question the amount of time we spent in Cincinnati playing the new Zelda game, but we regret nothing… We did eventually emerge from their cozy game cave and explored some of the great places around town – namely:

• Ghost Baby – An interesting speakeasy with excellent live music (especially if you like having microphones shoved in your face) & cocktails
• Jungle Jim’s – The grocery store to end all grocery stores, aka Rachel’s dream
• Multiple restaurants & other small outings to continue our conspicuous consumption

This was a great low-key week to prepare us for the driving that is to come… it won’t be as much tire time as the western National Park leg, but it’s going to be close. On to the northeast!