Nawlins and Back 3: The Final Stretch
Tuesday, day four of our journey, was a teary farewell to Gatlinburg. After a stop at Flapjack's Pancake Cabin, We backtracked to I-40 and jogged to I-59 where we flew down to Chattanooga. We stopped there at the International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum and saw some sweet tow trucks. They had pictures of a set of tow trucks in South Africa towing a giant piece of equipment and the eighteen wheeler that had tipped over carrying it, a combined weight of 177 tons. They also had the worlds fastest tow truck in front of a wrecker used in WWII. I was in heaven.

We drove around a bit, deciding not to see Ruby Falls because of their overpriced admission. Then we hopped back on the interstate and crossed into Georgia on the way to Birmingham. The interstate split in Georgia, one way leading to Alabama, the other leading... back to Tennessee. Does driving through a state count as being in it?

Anyway, we pushed on through miles and miles of not much, until Birmingham arose like an oasis of coal out of the trees. Finding a parking spot downtown was easy, but the rate was absurd. Twenty-five cents per hour? That's insane! We walked to the Civil Rights Museum, which had a fabulous set of exhibits. Tons of primary sources, a good play-by-play of the events of the Movement, and a strong sense of the impact of each event made for a well-spent afternoon. We ate our first Quizno's of the trip downtown, then went up the hill to the Vulcan Statue, the largest cast-iron statue in the world. Walking around we found the paths in a rather sad state, but hey, Alabama is the state with the second-lowest tax burden in the US, so you get what you pay for. We looped around to the backside (literally) of the statue, found a $3 entrance fee to see a statue we'd seen the front of already, and left instead of paying.

Kibitzing, we realized there was no reason we had to stay in Birmingham that night, and that it would probably actually be cheaper someplace farther out. Consulting our trusty AAA guidebook, we found Meridian, MS, an oasis of food, petroleum, and cheap hotels approximately halfway to New Orleans. Off we went at a batshit pace and pulled into a Motel 6 two hours later. We were impressed by the snazzy new decor and neat inverted shower, but not so much by the highway noise. You know, hotels could be built just as cheaply half a mile away, and they could save on sound insulation. When I'm in charge...

I wake up to Andrew showering, having not slept too well the night before. I had picked up a runny nose and a stronger-than-usual aversion to light during the restless night; the cold nagged me all day. After a shockingly filling and tasty breakfast at WAFFLE HOUSE, we drove the long stretch to the Big Easy (I napped for most of it). We encountered our first traffic of the whole trip at the bridge into town, where workers were replacing one of the steel plates on the I-10 temporary causeway across Lake Pontchartrain and they had traffic down to one lane. As we passed through the suburbs of the city, we saw fences still torn up, walls still knocked down, houses still gutted, and buildings still graffiti'd. But amidst the wreckage was construction and lots of sparkling new roofs. It was all sobering but encouraging.

We dove into the French Quarter, also known as the Vieux Carré, and parked. We walked first along the beach, soaking in the southern sun and views of the mile-wide Mississippi. Winding back and forth through the streets, we saw tons of trinket shops, cajun food, and really interesting looking people. In front of the cathedral where Pope John Paul II had worshipped on his second trip to the US was a puppeteer whose puppets played the sax and guitar quite convincingly. We took a break in Jackson Square, where Andrew Jackson's statue stands celebrating his victory in the Battle of New Orleans of 1815. On we wound, at one point being stopped by a camera crew filming 12 Rounds, a detective flick coming out in 2009. We walked past the casino to the waterfront mall, where we browsed those stores that had re-opened since Katrina. Some had not, though.

Stepping out on the street at the far end of the mall, we saw a promising restaurant, Mulate's, and made a point of coming back after swinging by the car. It was phenomenal. We had fried gator for an appetizer, which turned out to be tender and crispy to our surprise. My main course was a plate of grilled catfish doused in delicious cajun sauce with crawfish on top. So flaky! So filling! And the hot sauce was incredible too. Andrew had the seafood platter and was similarly impressed. We wandered around a bit after dinner, then hit the highway. Now we're in the Red Carpet Inn, living it large.

Tomorrow we plan on seeing the World War II museum, which is supposed to be incredible. Then we book it for Georgia.