When I hold my nose; I sound like Axl Rose

Today we made it from Daytona Beach to Mobile Alabama. We didn't cover as much ground as usual for a couple of reasons.

First, we set the mornings alarm a little bit later than usual, because we had realised at about 2am that we'd forgotten to eat dinner and therefore embarked on a mission to Arby's, from which we didnt return until 3. Then the alarm didnt go off as expected (or at all), so we didnt get up until 10. Plus with the beautiful (~22 degree c) weather about, we went for a wander around Daytona Beach instead of taking off straight away.

Probably unsurprisingly, Daytona Beach is full of muscle cars and muscle bikes, so car spotting was pretty fun. We checked out the beach from a distance cos I didnt want any sand on my new shoes.

Cracked open the road atlas around 1pm and Dave suggested we take the coastal road west around the gulf of mexico, mainly because the alternative meant going back to Georgia. We would pass through Panama City and Pensacola before coming to a rest here at Mobile.


Things I have gotten used to in the USA

* Driving on the wrong side of the road
* Anti-abortion and Pro-Abstinence billboards
* Monster Trucks driving along right next to you

Things I will never get used to in the USA

* Monsterous shopping center/hotel/dining areas, all wrapped around a seemingly endless bitumen ocean of carparks, stretching for miles and miles and miles and miles, completely filling your field of view, capable of parking, accommodating and feeding a population many many times greater than the surrounding area could ever produce or even attract. The scale these things are built on absolutely boggle the mind. The carparks are simply unfillable, the hotels would have to be half empty at the least. Either there is a massive seasonal population difference around here or these places can turn a profit while operating at 1% capacity.


Ok finished raving about that now, but seriously, wow.


Dave hit some hotrod messageboards or something last night and came upon some info about the Texas Thaw, which is a hotrod show/festival this weekend. Hotrods are pretty cool, so we're going to see that.

Its near a place called Denton in Texas. I'd like to think we could make it to Denton tomorrow, but if not we can definately be in striking distance.


edit; heres some photos