Driving from Austin to Marfa, TX

Route IV

We took our 4th day off (Friday Aug 28th) and enjoyed New Orleans. In
our 5th day, we drove 520 miles from NOLA to Austin. We hanged out in
Austin on Sunday. It is Monday morning and we are ready to hit the
road. We'll drive 7 hours to Marfa, TX. We have driven almost 2,000
miles (3,200 Kms) since we left Princeton.

Sunset and Bats

A population of bats live under the South Congress bridge. The crowd
gathers on the bridge to watch the bats as they fly at dusk to hunt
for food. An Austin tradition.

Texas BBQ

Waiting to be seated at a BBQ joint

A view of Austin from the top

Leandro and Richard with Lake Austin in the background. Richard went to Princeton with us and is now a Professor at UT.

To those of you who think Brazilian bikinis are small

Barton Springs, Austin, TX.

Barton Springs

The Barton Springs is a natural spring water pool in Austin, TX. A
happening.

Live Music, Live Music, Live Music!

Ruby Dee and the Snakeholders at the Continental Club, Austin, TX.

Driving by State House

Austin, TX

Driving by Houston

Driving through Texas II

Driving through Texas

Can't we just forget this California thing and stay in NOLA?

If Brad and Angelina can, why can't we? Except that we would never get
any work done... That could be a problem. Ok, off to Austin we go.

Made in BraSil

Most Brazilians are really proud of their culture. Sometimes the pride
is unjustified, but that is certainly not the case for Brazilian
music. Last night, towards the end of a Jazz concert, the singer sang
"So danco samba" --a tune by Tom Jobim -- beautifully (in Portuguese).
That reminded us how special Brazilian music is.

Mardi Gras Museum

Why doesn't Rio have a Carnival museum?

A Manifesto

We risk offending a couple of people with this post so we apologize in
advance. We just don't understand how the living statues became a
staple in any touristic site. We do appreciate that they work hard to
make a living. Moreover, we learned in Econ kindergarten that some
people need to be willing to pay for the living statues to make a
living. But why are people willing to pay?

By the way, in case you are interested, you can hire a living statue
for your wedding or party:

www.livingstatues.org

Overhead in St Louis Cathedral in NOLA

A 4-year old asks her grandma:
-- "Can we light a candle?"
To which the grandma replies with a question:
-- "Sure, do you have a special devotion?"

Breakfast

Great beignets at Cafe Du Monde.

Route III

If you are a serial killer, please stop reading this post now. (this
is what one gets for watching Steven Spielberg's "Duel")

Some people asked us to post our planned route so they can give us some suggestions (we'd love that).

> Austin, TX
> Marfa, TX
> Santa Fe, NM
> Sedona / Flagstaff / Grand Canyon, AZ

First Night in New Orleans

After 12 hours driving, we needed to have some fun. We headed to ACME
for a shrimp/catfish po'boy, followed by a hurricane at Pat O'Brien's
(gosh, this is sugary!). We ended the evening listening to a great
brass band -- Sunflower City -- at Donna's (picture above).

Welcome to New Orleans!

Buckle up

The banana plant wearing a seat belt to prevent it from falling.

Driving through Mississippi II

As a matter of fact, we just entered Louisiana and are 50 miles from
New Orleans.

What are you reading (listening)?

We had never listened to audio books before. We thought this would be
the perfect opportunity. We picked two: On the Road by Jack Kerouac
and Great Expectations by Dickens. We started with the first and are
liking the experience.

Silvia is bored

We have been driving for 10.30 hrs. Exhausted the possibilities:
reading map and guide books, posting on the blog, checking emails,
listening to music and audio book. Ahhhh!

Driving through Mississippi

Nice Ad

A billboard by the road selling graves: "If you died today, where
would you spend eternity?"

Sent from my iPhone

Overheard in a convenience store in KY

A man in his early 60s is waiting in line . When it is his turn, he
hands the cashier a box of chewing tobacco. She asks what is his date
of birth. He smiles broadly, showing his yellow teeth, and concludes
"That is what we get for electing President Osama." (you read it
right; there is no misspelling)

Sent from my iPhone

Driving through Alabama

The homestate of the McDuffs

Lunch

We had lunch at a truck drivers' restaurant in TN. According to
Silvia, one of the best meals we have had in this trip.

Driving from KY to LA

Route II

In our 2nd day, we drove 370 miles from Philippi, WV to Louisville, KY.

In our third day, we plan to drive 700 miles (1,120 Kms) from KY to
New Orleans, LA. As I write, we have already driven 550 miles through
Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. We expect to arrive before 8pm.

Sunset from the ferris wheel

Good bye Louisville

Christmas tree competition

The white one in the middle was the best in show.

KY State Fair III

Creepy carnival. These stuffed bears looked like they had hanged
themselves.

KY State Fair II

The highlight was a competition called hog drive. The drivers --
mostly women -- had to show that they had control of their animails
(they had whips and whipped the hogs close to the hogs' ears). At the
end, the result was somewhat disappointing. The competition was rigged
and the prize was given to the most beautiful driver.

Small Talk

KY State Fair I

In our way through KY we stopped at Louisville to check out the state
fair.

Welcome to Kentucky!!!

As some of you know, one of the US states with the lowest fraction of
immigrants :-)

Driving from West Virginia to Kentucky

Goodbye to the Joneses

Getting Ready

The bonsai and the jade stretching their legs before hitting the road.

Bad Hair Day

Camper

Silvia liked the camper so much that she did not want to get out of bed.

First Night in Big Style

Leandro did not make a reservation for the first night presuming it
would not be necessary. It turned out the only hotel in town had no
vacancies. Luckily the Joneses had their camper parked on their
driveway. We were excited about sleeping in a motorhome for the first
time.

The Joneses

Debbie, Leandro (w/ closed eyes, of course) and Lemuel

Our First Stop

Our first stop: Philippi, WV. Leandro lived in Philippi for 5 months
in the Fall of 1997. He was hosted by the Joneses. We drove through
Philippi to visit them. Leandro had not seen them for 12 years.

Driving through West Virginia

Route

We plan to take 14 days to drive from NJ to CA. We will drive at least
3,000 miles (or 4,800 kms). We left the house on Tuesday August 25th
around noon. We headed west driving through New Jersey, Pennsylvannia,
Maryland and West Virginia. Silvia drove the first 200 miles. We drove
370 miles in our first day.

Shipping our car

We shipped our Civic to CA and rented a newer car to drive cross
country.

Goodbye Princeton

Princeton campus Spring 2009

Goodbye to the house II

Tchau, Princeton. We were very happy for these past 5 years.