Across the U.S., Day 30 - Baton Rouge (LA)

Why Baton Rouge and not New Orleans, one might ask. Well, Guido and I had been to New Orleans last April. So, for this journey I picked the "Red Stick", Louisiana's state capital.

A red stick (a tall cypress tree draped with freshly killed animals) marked the boundary between the hunting grounds of the Houmas and Bayougoula Indian tribes. When spotted by French explorer Sieur d'Iberville in 1699, he gave the pole and its location the name Baton Rouge. It is now the second largest city in Lousiana (after New Orleans) and one of the largest ports in the United States.

I took a brief walk through downtown and spent some time in the Old State Capitol, build in 1847 and used until 1932. The city has now a newer/taller/larger state capitol, which is said to be the nation's tallest state capitol. But I did not feel tempted to take a picture of that non-intruiging, yellowish-grey building in front of a grey sky. ... The old building - although it has some kind of Disneyland look to me - is kind of neat, especially its stained-glass skylight.

Old State Capitol

Skylight of stained glass

Old State Capitol's staircase

I had a longer discussion with Mea and Katherine at the front desk of the Capitol about people's lifestyle, obesity rates and nutrition in the region. Mea's son and daughter-in-law live with their two-year-old boy in Menlo Park, CA. :-) The little one still gets breast-fed sometimes and his parents pay lots of attention to what he eats (very little processed food etc.). He even likes kale. Baton Rouge has a good variety of Farmers' Markets and healthy food stores. Again, it's not about availability but rather affordability and certainly also education and traditions.

For a seafood lunch, I followed Katherine's recommendation and went to Mike Anderson's Seafood. The place was well-attended and even for lunch time I had to wait a little for a table. I got the Cajun Plate with salad. The food was certainly good, but it feels like I had enough of fried food now. Especially as fried food is connected to inflammatory processes in the body. I also need to remember to keep the salad dressing aside, there was far too much of it.

Cup of gumbo, crawfish étouffée, fried catfish fillet,
fried shrimp, fried mushrooms, hushpuppy and salad
with homemade honey mustard dressing

The rest of the day was filled with exploring even more old stuff. The LSU Rural Life Museum is an exhibition of a typical 19th century working plantation of rural Louisiana, including slave cabins, sugarcane grinder and outhouses.

Blacksmith's House

LSU (Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College) operates this open-air exhibition. They also have a Food & Fiber Research Center, Children's garden etc. in the same area.

Statue of Uncle Jack, to honor the contributions of African-Americans in 19th century Louisiana. Locals also called it "Good Darky".

More to come.

Across the U.S., Day 29 - Mobile (AL) to Baton Rouge (LA)

Coasting along US-98 West brought me into Mississippi, the Magnolia State or Hospitality State.

I followed that highway most of today and came through some beautiful green scenery with mainly pine forest. About 65% of the Mississippi area is forested and timber plays an important role in the state's economy. Jackson is the state capital and - not a big surprise - the state is named after the Mississippi River, which forms the western boundary between Mississippi and Arkansas/Louisiana, respectively.

Mississippi country livin'

Simmons House - Queen Anne-style home from 1904

Wikipedia reveals some interesting but certainly not praiseworthy data about Mississippi: the state ranks highest in the U.S. for obesity (more than 30% of residents have a BMI of >30 kg/m2), high blood pressure, diabetes, adult inactivity and teenage pregnancy rates.

This colorful farmer's market caught my attention and I picked up some local honey. The lady who owns the store is neighbor with the beekeeper.

Today was election day. I noticed that some gas stations did not sell beer because of this. Is this common?

When I spotted a herd of donkeys not too far from the road, I turned off the highway onto a side street to get closer to them. Suddenly, a guy in a truck stopped next to me. He looked rather grumpy and not like someone I would want to argue with. He asked me what was going on, aka, what the heck was I doing there, and I told him about the donkeys. My honest and somewhat naive answer must have totally disarmed him and he started smiling. Well, they seem to have a good neighborhood watch in this area. Good for them!

Smiley-face beetle along US-98

Loud pipe saves life? Maybe?

Shortly after I passed by a food stand and got some boiled peanuts, the cajun type (cooked in salty water + cajun seasoning and cajun crab boil). When I asked the guy whether there are still some peanut fields not harvested yet, so I could take a look, he pointed me to someone in Brookhaven, 45 mi (~ 72 km) up north. I found the store and started talking to the owner, who, although retired, still likes to help out in his store.

No fields with peanuts left to see in the area at this time of the year, but we had a good 2-hour long discussion about the peanut economy in general and some new business ideas he has, his family, the U.S. welfare system and work ethics in particular and what other nice places there are to visit in Mississippi. When I left, we hugged each other and he gave me a bag of yummy Louisiana Satsumas, some Mutsu Apples and many good wishes for the road. Thank you Wayne, you made my day!

Just before it turned night, I got into Louisiana, found my hotel in Baton Rouge and was pleased by this welcoming place, including complementary fresh fruit, ice cream and bottled water for their guests!

Today's route with some spontaneous detours

More to come.

Across the U.S., Day 28 - Mobile (AL)

To be honest, I had never heard about Mobile (AL) before I planed this trip. Now I learned that it was founded in 1702 by the French as the first capital of their new colony "La Louisiane". It is Alabama's only seaport and located near the mouth of the Mobile Bay. It is said that the city is most beautiful during azalea season (same is also true for Savannah), mid-March through early April, but today was not a bad day for a visit either.

There are several historic districts (e.g., Church Street East, Oakleigh Garden) and the easiest is to start at Fort Conde, military center of the Louisiana Territory in the past and welcome center today. They also have a nice exhibit about the settlement's French, British and Spanish Period before it became American and part of the Mississippi Territory. The city even provides a free trolley that loops downtown.

Hey, isn't this the perfect home for Pippi Longstocking?!

504 Church Street

Historic buildings (= at least 75 years old; Hey, you Europeans, don't laugh!) that have retained their original architectural character and are well maintained become awarded with the below Historic Building Marker. The banner indicates the names of the original and current owners as well as the construction date. The shield shows the six flags that have flown over Mobile: French, English, Spanish, Republic of Alabama, Confederate States of America and United States of America.

Many mild to severe epidemics of yellow fever had hit Mobile 1704 - 1921. A great number of deaths from the epidemics of 1819 and 1839 are buried in the Church Street Graveyard.

Now it serves as the perfect rest spot to relax and read a book.

I came by the usual diversity of "perfectly groomed" to "needs serious face-lift" ...

Richards DAR House, 256 N. Joachim Street

Lott House, 160 Rapier Ave

... and the fancy and not so fancy food options.

For the first time in at least 6 years I bought some food from McDonald's (quarter pounder with cheese & white chocolate mocha) and watched the other people while eating. The place remained fairly busy during the time I was there; 8 out of 10 customers were black. (Based on the 2000 U.S. census data, 46.3% were black, 50.4% white.)

I certainly would not want to eat there every day. (Once every 6 years is more than enough.) This meal provided me with at least 1,260 mg of sodium (~ 55% daily value). One positive change I noticed though since the last time I had set foot into a McDonald's restaurant: the packaging material was mostly made from cardboard, not styrofoam as it used to be in the past. And if one wants to/has to eat out there and selects one of their premium salads with an orange juice and e.g., the Fruit n' Yogurt Parfait as dessert, such meal is actually not too bad.

More to come.

Across the U.S., Day 27 - Thomasville (GA) to Mobile (AL)

7,782. This is the amount of km I have travelled so far (~ 4835 mi) in almost four weeks. Guido did me a huge favor and created the below progress map by utilizing the coordinates tracked by my spot system. Pretty interesting, I must say.

For today's route I thought about traveling through the northern part of Florida. But for some reason I just don't find it appealing to spend extensive time there. Probably because to me, Florida is for the elderly and I don't qualify for this yet?? I decided to stay some more in the southern parts of Georgia and Alabama instead.

Suddenly, we spotted that fellow and had to stop to say 'Hi'. But that other donkey was really not interested or impressed by our appearance. What an ignorant ass!

On my way through Georgia and Alabama, I came across many more cotton fields, and one with harvesting machines. The origin of is type of cotton picker was invented by the Texan John D. Rust in the 1930s.

Cotton picker

Genetically modified cotton has become widespread. Most GM cotton is grown in India and in the U.S. The below cotton is root-knot nematode resistant. Another GM variety, which is widely used in India, is BT cotton. Due to genetically modification, it produces a specific crystal protein derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis which acts as insecticide. Advocates of GM crops emphasize the benefits (reduced insecticide use, improved cotton quality, increased yield), but this is only one side of the medal.

Packaged for further processing

Cotton seeds, which I exposed from the fluffy fiber

After harvest, the fibers are separated from the seeds. The protein- and oil-rich seeds are processed for cottonseed cooking oil or margarine while the protein is used to produce animal feed. Can you tell that I'm fascinated by Gossypium hirsutum?

Those two extra hours today (daylight saving last night and return to CST) were filled with intense exploring of the area. What I have seen from the cotton state Alabama so far was indeed beautiful: very green, lots of pine forests, rolling hills, well maintained houses.

I am so glad to have a GPS!

I only briefly cut through the panhandle of Florida, the sunshine state ...

... and shortly after I entered Alabama again on my way to Mobile, I was greeted by a beautiful sunset.

Snap shot taken while arriving at Mobile on I-10

More to come, after some sleep!

Across the U.S., Day 26 - Savannah (GA) to Thomasville (GA)

Today was the official start for my way back home. The day began cold and extremely windy, mainly tailwind I suppose? :-) I thought that it would be perfect for a visit to the Bonaventure Cemetery, located east of Savannah and in use since 1846. Its avenues lined with old Live Oak trees -  Georgia's designated state tree - make it a gorgeous place.

The silver-geenish stuff hanging from the trees is called "Spanish Moss". However, it is neither Spanish nor moss, but actually belongs to the family Bromeliacea and yes, is related to the pineapple.

When I got to the cemetery this morning it was deserted. And I left just in time before a large tour bus emptied its content on the parking lot and people swarmed all over the place. This cemetery is certainly the most famous in Savannah, partially due to John Berendt's book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil".

I was surprised to find so many German names on the tombs such as Hohenstein, Schwarz, Vogel, Entelmann, Heise.

Savannah is said to be the most haunted city in the United States. According to one of the tour guides yesterday, there is one house in downtown nobody wants to live in because it is occupied by ghosts. And I have never seen a city with so many "Ghost Tours". Well, if it helps tourism, so be it.

On my way through the deep south, I stopped by Debbie's Diner for a coffee and bathroom break. No, this place is nothing famous, it just happened to be on the route. Kelly, the waitress, noticed my license plate and we started talking. It turned out that the parents of her ex-husband lived in Sunnyvale for many years until they moved to near Fresno last year. The world really is a small place! She had visited them with her daughter in Sunnyvale and especially liked the fresh citrus fruit they had in their garden. Like me, she does not understand, why so many people just let their oranges etc. rot on the ground. She loves to visit California, but would never move there, because that little town Ludovici where I met her is home.

The Wiregrass Georgie Parkway has lots of small communities along the way, many abandoned houses, mobile home parks and several antique stores, like this one:

Driving through this swampland feels odd to me. I don't want to imaging driving off the road accidentally and into the swamp, which lies left and right to certain roads. The creeks I drove by (Big Alligator Creek, Small Alligator Creek etc.) must have their name for a reason. ...

All of a sudden I noticed this:

Cotton! It might sound silly, but never in my life I had seen the raw material growing on a field. Of course I had to get closer.

Real close:

Cotton is grown in the southern United States, mostly in Texas, Arizona, the Mississippi delta, but also California and in recent years also in Georgia and North Carolina. It is grown as an annual plant from seeds. Depending on state and location, planting usually starts between February - May, while harvesting begins as early as July and ends in December.

The cotton plant is a member of the Malvaceae family and related to okra and cacao. As of 2012, the United States were no. 3 in the world cotton production, behind China and India.

Cotton blossom

The fluffy white fibers grow around the cotton seeds and are protected by a green capsule (boll).

After harvesting, the seeds are removed and the cotton fibers get formed into bales, 500 lb (~ 227 kg) each. Cotton cultivation has a long history BC in Egypt, Pakistan and Mexiko and "King Cotton" is certainly tied to slavery and the prosperous development of the American South before the civil war.

More to come.