Cece and I are taking an extended road trip for the first time since...well, the fall of 2005 when we tore through the UK for 2 White Stripes shows and 4 Dylan concerts.
Now we've been here and there since then, but only for weekends, usually by air, and for the purpose of seeing a concert.
We're getting back to what we love about the travel...looking around.
The goal this year is to create a coffee-table book of 40 to 50 glorious shots of America or Americana. The by-product will be a photo diary of the backroads of the USA. We're staying off the major interstates as much as we can. America is a country of small towns after all, so we're going to visit it.
Here's the short version of our tentative itinerary assuming the weather co-operates.
Leave Toronto for an overnight in Madison OH so we can breakfast at the Nifty 50's Diner.
April 17: Ohio Amish Country. We will visit 3 or 4 Amish towns and see what life's like with no electricity. It starts at the world famous Lehman's Hardware in Kidron OH, takes us into two scenic shopping towns, Millersburg and Berlin, before we end our way-back trip in Coshocton OH.
From there we'll cut off some morning time by heading to Charleston WV for the night.
April 18: Appalachian Hills of Kentucky and the Lincoln Highway. Home of Loretta Lynn, Butchers Hollow, Van Lear, KY, followed by a leisurely drive through the loveliest countryside in America. After stopping in Lexington to visit a friend we'll be spending the night in historic Bardstown, on Stephen Foster Drive. Gonna sip some bourbon.
April 19 & 20: Two days in Nashville. Plenty happening. Jack White's Third Man Records, Andrew Jackson's home, The Hermitage. A funky NashTrash tour and an evening dinner cruise on the Cumberland River.
We will leave Nashville mid-day, stop in at the Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg and sleep in Hamilton AL.
April 21: Rural Mississippi. Elvis' home in Tupelo, Jimmie Rodgers Museum in Meridian and a stopover in Hattiesburg, MS.
April 22-25: New Orleans. A city tour with our very own native son at the helm and a night at Tipitina's for the Neville Family. A swamp tour and leisurely drive along Plantation Row before we indulge in one extravagant dinner and lots of drinks. A day at JazzFest to see Simon and Garfunkel's only North American show. (er, well that was before the North American TOUR was announced). A crazy attempt to pack too much into one day by seeing Patti Smith at Tipitina's the same night.
April 26: The Gulf Coast with some serious stop-time in Montgomery where we will mix Civil Rights and Hank Williams before overnighting in Atlanta.
April 27: A stop in Cornelius, North Carolina then onwards home.
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