Wild Texas and New Mexico

Texas

At around eleven o’clock pm we pulled into Houston, Texas. It is one of the biggest cities we have ever seen.

We pulled into a gas station in the beginning of Houston. As I got out of the car I was approached by an extremely scrawny addict who looked like he hadn’t eaten in days, and he begged me for some money. I shrugged him off, and entered the store to purchase the gas. Once entering the store I received the full picture of where I had just entered. This woman who looks like a prostitute comes out of a room labeled the amusement room, and asks the clerk for quarters. I purchase the gas, but the clerk is nervous to take my credit card. He was probably nervous because everyone there uses stolen cards.

I returned to the car, and told Tani not to leave my side because this area is obviously dangerous. While filling the tank another man approached and asked me for money because his dog, his dad, and he were recently evicted from their home. I told him to wait until I was done filling and I would see what I can do, but I was not really going to help. I think he was just another addict.

We finished filling the car, and went in to go to the bathroom. The toilets were nasty and overflowing. On the way from the bathroom I saw the amusement room, and decided to peak in to see what it was. The room was lined with slot machines. Men and woman filled the room just pouring their quarters into the machines. This was a massive gambling addiction at its best.

While walking back to the car to leave, a woman with unnaturally red hair pulled into the gas station with her young son. While her husband, or baby-daddy, filled the tank she rooted her son on as he busted some dance moves in the middle of the gas station, in the middle of the night, and in the middle of the worst neighborhood in Houston. At which point Mr. Nobel came and awarded her the Nobel Parenting Prize for the best parent in the world. Not.

We reached our friend, Barel Maayan’s, apartment at around midnight. Barel lives with three other roommates, and all of them are in the same exact situation as us.

They are working and touring the US form Israel. We had a couple of beers with them on the balcony, and talked. After around an hour we all went to sleep. Barel placed an air mattress on the floor for us, so Tani slept on the mattress and I slept on the couch.

We woke up early the next morning, in contrast to what we had been doing in New Orleans. We decided to visit the NASA space station in Houston. It was pretty interesting, but uneventful. Just about the only really cool thing was that this was the Houston from “Houston, we’ve got a problem.” Also seeing their training facilities was pretty nice.

After NASA we set off for Dallas. We stayed at a hostel in Irving, Texas right in between Fort Worth and Dallas. We decided to stay at the hostel, because Yishai the traveler we had met in New Orleans said it was a way to make our trip more exciting and to meet new people.

In the hostel we met two nice British med students who had a flight layover in Dallas on their way to Guatemala. Upon hearing that they want to see the city but don’t have a way to get around we offered them to join us for the next day.

The next morning we set up the car. It was like playing Tetris, because we have so much equipment. We squeezed the two girls into the back where they sat with their bags on top of them. We drove down to the Fort Worth Stockyards because we have seen a bunch of cities already, and this was our chance at a real cowboy experience. The Stockyards were not nearly as active and engaging as we had hoped, but it was still fun. The girls probably think Americans are crazy as this was their first visit in the States. We saw longhorn cows, and horses. We smelled weird spices at a spice shop, which had spices like beer powder that smells like beer. The store next door had flavored crickets and scorpions for sale.

After the cattle drive we drove the girls down to the train station, so they can make it to their flight.

From there we drove down to Austin and tried to find another hostel as the first was a very good experience for us. After getting lost around one hundred times in Austin we finally found a hostel that had a vacancy. After receiving our beds we realized that the clerk had made a terrible mistake and double booked our beds. So we continued our drive to a campsite at the Emma Long City Park.

The next morning we drove to the Hamilton Pool spring which was rated as one of America’s Top Tens. It was very nice, but not nearly as beautiful as expected. After two hours we left.

We drove down to San Antonio to see the Alamo. On the way I read the history of the Alamo out loud to Tani as he drove. The Alamo is very small, but the history behind it is extensive. Tani didn’t relate to the Alamo as much as I did, but I believe that is because I read the history and understood what it meant, while Tani had to drive.

It was a place where at first they fought for freedom, and then they tried to surrender. The Mexicans under Santa Anna’s rule were told to give no quarter, so they refused to accept the surrender. In the end the battle was not only about freedom. It was a battle for life and friends. It was what separated heroes from cowards. When Sam Houston’s troops screamed “Remember the Alamo” it meant remember how they fought like heroes when given no quarter.

That night we stayed in a campsite in Kerrville, Texas. We fished until dark, and continued in the morning. The smartass fish ate all of our bait, and were never caught on the hook.

At around noon we continued our drive to New Mexico. Western Texas is a desert like in the movies. Its climate is much like Israel’s, and a lot more bearable than the humid South. We made sure to stay properly hydrated, so we wouldn’t pass out. We drove for hours without seeing any humans that day.

The Alamo

New Mexico

That first day we drove for thirteen hours and eight hundred and twenty one kilometers until the middle of the night. New Mexico for the most part is empty with almost no towns or homes. It is very big compared to other places in the world, but has a population of only two million people. At around midnight after not being able to locate a motel, hotel, hostel, or campsite we pulled into a gas station where we saw a bunch of trucks parked, and went to sleep in the car like the truck drivers next to us.

The next morning we continued to Taos Pueblo. Taos Pueblo is an ancient Native American Village in the mountains of New Mexico. The village has been through much since the time it was discovered by the Spanish Conquistadors. It is worth it to visit, but it is far away from everything.

After calling the Chabad of Taos, and finding out that the synagogue is only open one Sabbath a month, we decided to stay in Espanola, New Mexico. We stayed at the Motel Six for the Sabbath.

Early on Sunday morning we awoke, and began our five hour drive to the Petrified Forest National Preserve in Arizona. On the way we decided to drive through Albuquerque just to see it. The city was much smaller than I expected, with almost no tall buildings.

We stopped at a gas station to refuel. While inside the clerk saw that my shirt had Hebrew writing on it, and asked if we were from abroad. We told him we were form Israel, and he became extremely interested. He told us that he is from Massachusetts, and drove over six years ago to visit his brother in the air force stationed in Albuquerque. He fell in love with New Mexico and never left. He then began to ask about Israel and its security issues. When we told him that Israel has no allies in the region he said (word for word), “That must make some real badass Israelis, you guys must be hardcore as shit!”

Taos Publo

Summary

Texas is the second most populated state in the USA after California. Most of the population lives in eastern Texas, and you can feel that fact because of its six or seven lane highways which are heavily trafficked. Eastern Texas is also like the rest of the
South with forests and lakes, while western Texas is more of a sub-savannah region, with very little towns and people. In western Texas the street signs are riddled with bullet holes.

Texas’ architecture gives it a feel of its Mexican past and American present. When we entered Texas I felt as if we had crossed the border into another country.

New Mexico is properly named. When you enter into New Mexico it feels like Mexico with an American twist. If you don’t speak Spanish there is not much for you there, even the Native Americans here speak Spanish. There are many Native American Reservations in New Mexico. As understood where there’s Indians there are casinos. New Mexico is full of huge casinos at every place possible, but unlike Louisiana these casinos look like respectable resorts.

New Mexico is filled with open fields and beautiful mountain ranges. Sadly it looks like a state with much unused potential. Its mountains may not be forested or green, but their beauty can give the Shenandoah of Virginia a run for its money.

I highly recommend touring both states.

Cajun Louisiana

Louisiana

We pulled into New Orleans at around seven thirty pm. At nine o’clock we met up with our friend from the army preparatory, Michael Perl. We stayed by Michael for around five days, and forced him to be our tribal guide, named Gashash, through New Orleans.  Michael drafted the same time as me in March 2011. He was a tank driver in the armored core of the IDF, but he didn't serve with me.

Michael lives in a warehouse downtown next to the French quarter among all of the high class hotels. The warehouse has four floors.  His family renovated the fourth floor into a home. The third and second floors are filled with supplies and boxes, while the first is only an entrance room. The entrance room has the steepest and scariest steps I have ever seen or climbed.

On the first night we had our first New Orleans experience, which was very different. We walked through Bourbon Street, which is packed with strip clubs (we did not and will not enter!), bars, and restaurants. Michael referred to Bourbon Street as “the Disney world for perverted adults”.  The whole street is lined with strippers and bouncers standing at the front of the clubs trying to convince pedestrians to enter. After Bourbon Street we walked down to Frenchman Street which was very interesting. Frenchman street was filled with weird jazz dance bars, and all the people dancing inside are definitely high.

On the second night in New Orleans we once again hit the town. We went through Jackson Square down to a couple of shops where Michael has friends. Jackson Square is filled with psychics and fortune tellers who will tell you your future for a buck or two. We walked into a cigar shop run by an Israeli woman, named Esther, where she, like any Israeli would, forcefully sold me a cigar. We chatted with her for a bit, and then walked next door to another store. Jonathan the clerk at the store next door, apparently also an adept psychic, pulled out a deck of tarot cards. He placed the cards on the table and asked me to slice the deck. After arranging the top five cards on the table he begins to explain what each card means, represents, and  how it affects me in my life. We learned that the tarot cards are based heavily on Kabala and Judaism, and even has Hebrew on the cards. I don’t believe in all the Voodoo magic that New Orleans is so famous for, but it was still fun.

On Friday we met an amazing fellow traveler from Israel by the name of Yishai Schuchalter. He is of American decent, and speaks fluent English. He finished his military service, and went on a trip just like us. But unlike us he was at his trip’s end and we are only in the beginning. He stayed with us until we left New Orleans.

For Shabbos we went to the Chabad house of New Orleans. We surprisingly found out that for a city of its size there not many religious Jews there. We stayed by an Israeli Chabbadnik by the name of Uzi. Uzi’s wife is an amazing cook, and I overate. Overall Shabbos was pretty much uneventful which is nice and relaxing.

After Shabbos we hit the streets again, entering a couple of college bars in the university district. By the end of the night I was feeling sick from overeating on Shabbos, and had to go home.

We woke up on Sunday morning and decided to continue our drive to Houston, Texas. Yishai gave us tips for our trip, and Michael wished us luck. Then we were off to continue on our adventure.

Louisiana has many swamps, bayous, and rivers. The state has extremely long bridges that carry you over its endless swamplands. We decided to stop at a bayou on the way in order to find an alligator. We believe we did, but we could only see its eyes sticking out of the water while it was swimming.

Summary

Louisiana is extremely beautiful and mysterious at the same time. New Orleans properly portrays the feeling of the colonization of the area with its diverse architecture. New Orleans is heavily influenced by many different styles including Caribbean, French, English, Spanish, and even African architecture. New Orleans has its own culture called Cajun, and has an aura feeling quite like Jerusalem’s. Between the Voodoo, tarot cards, Bourbon, and Frenchmen Street it was an amazing experience. I recommend everyone to go to Louisiana, because there is no place like it on Earth.

Country Tennessee, Sweet Home Alabama, and the Great Mississippi

Tennessee

The first night we spent in Lynchburg, Tennessee at an inn called the Lynchburg Country Inn. It was very nice compared to the other motels we've stayed in. I accidentally insulted the innkeeper by asking if the room stinks. The other motels had terrible smells, as if a smoking drug addict starting vomiting in the room then died. To which he answered that he can refund my money and we can stay somewhere else, but in Lynchburg there are no other motels. The room thankfully smelled amazing.

In the morning we went to the Jack Daniels Distillery. It is actually extremely interesting and free. The tour is around an hour and ten minutes long. The distillery has its own natural spring which is pretty cool.

After that we started on our way to Nashville we stopped at a War of Northern Aggression (Civil War’s true name) park called Stone Park. We listened to a speech by the park ranger telling the story of a young Confederate officer from the nearby town of Murfreesboro who was killed during the battle. It’s sad to learn how a country could rip it self to shreds like the way that the United States did back then.

In the evening we had already made it to Nashville, Tennessee. We stayed at the Knight’s Inn which is a crappy hotel, but still worth it for the price. We took a cab to Broadway St. not to be confused with the one in New York this Broadway is all country music. We went from country bar to country bar, and had a very positive experience of the real Nashville. My favorite bar there was the Tin Roof.

The next morning we woke up and started driving towards Alabama. We stopped at a plantation called Traveler’s Rest in order to see how life was back then. We learned of how the plantations and towns were affected by the war and it’s after effects.

Us at the Jack Daniels distillery

Alabama

When we entered Alabama we stopped at the welcome center in order to find something to do there. We asked the attendants at the desk what there is to do in Alabama at which they looked at us as if we were crazy. More or less we found out that there is nothing in Alabama other than for farms. We also found out that Alabama has no reception, and the place is completely backwards. It feels like going to a third world country in the middle of the United States.

We pulled into a town called Selma, Alabama and stayed at an inn there. The town has around five different motels it seems. The same Indian woman, from India, or her sister was in every motel working as the clerk.

The next morning we went to a ghost town called Old Cahawba, and it is exactly that a ghost town. There are very few ruins remaining of what used to be Alabama’s first capitol city. The town was abandoned shortly after the War of Northern Aggression (true name of the Civil War). It has a grave yard that is mostly filled with the graves of infants and small children, which is heart breaking. After the ghost town we continued on our way to New Orleans.

Mississippi

We only stopped in Mississippi in order to eat lunch at the welcome center. Mississippi seems a lot more populated than Alabama, and it has reception.

Summary

Overall Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi we very fun. Each state has its own unique feel to it. Right now we are in New Orleans, Louisiana. We will write about it when we leave, this trip is getting more exciting with everyday that passes.

Washington DC, Old Virginia, Southern North Carolina, Peaceful South Carolina, and Lovely Georgia

Washington DC

The trip started horribly, because Washington DC is very complicated to navigate through. Tani got lost trying to drive to the Union Train Station, and the battery in his phone died . After twenty minutes of waiting for him, when he was supposed to be there two hours earlier,  we drove to the Alamo car rental station in Reagan National Airport to figure out why they overcharged us by four hundred dollars. We started the trip around four hours late.

Virginia

We went to a Walmart in Luray,  Virginia to pick up our supplies. Driving through the countryside was our real first exposure to the South. 

On the first night we drove down Skyline Drive in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia to Loft Mountain Campgrounds, which is beautiful by the way. We arrived at around midnight, and set up camp fast. We set up the site in complete silence in order not to wake up the other campers in the vicinty. We'ld set up the campsite by twelve thirty. We stayed awake in order to talk then went to sleep around one thirty.

When we awoke in the morning we went on an hour long hike on a trail through the mountains. It was probably the greenest hike I have ever been on. In the middle of the hike we spotted a deer with huge antlers. We stood silently watching him, and trying not to frighten it. It was extremely cute. 

After the trail we continued our drive down Blue Ridge Parkway. Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway are the most beautiful roads I have ever been on,  and have amazing views and outlook points. 

At a certain point we pulled off Blue Ridge Parkway and continued to North Carolina.

North Carolina

We arrived in Pilot Mountain National Park around nine pm and set up camp. After our first real day real driving I was very agiagitated and cranky. It's funny because Tani does all the driving,  but I am the most tired out of the two of us. Sitting and riding along is not easy. Especially because I have nothing to do all day, and go stir crazy. 

I bashed my finger in the door while setting everything up, and it hurt for three days. It's still blackish. 

Pilot Mountain was not that nice so we continued on our journey down towards Charlotte. On the way to Charlotte we stopped at a Racing Museum dedicated to Dale Earnhardt, which was a lot of fun.  It was also Tani's first real exposure to the true American sport of NASCAR.

Once arriving in Charlotte we got a bit lost,  and could not find the Chabbad there. We went around trying to find a motel. First we pulled into a motel that I swear had a meth lab.  We saw three huge ghetto guys get into a black SUV,  and a bunch of girls with a questionable occupation in the area. We moved on. Then we accidentally entered a clinic for addictive illnesses thinking it was a motel. As we were walking into the clinivlc a ghetto girl from the hood started singing and dancing like a retard in her car. We only realized it was a clinic once we entered and saw cops and drug addicts. We finally arrived at our less dangerous but still dangerous motel. 

We spent Shabbos in the motel,  and almost died of boredom, hotdogs, and cold chicken. After Shabbos we hit the streets of Charlotte which is beautiful. The city has tons to do for all ages and it is amazing. I recommend going there. 

We left early Sunday morning to Georgia.

South Carolina

We basically just passed through on the way to Atlanta, looks amazing though. Fireworks everywhere.
We did stop at a Revolutionary War battle field and went to it's museum which was interesting. It had a Hald hour movie about the battles in the area. 

Georgia

We arrived in Atlanta around noon,  and went to the Georgia Aquarium. I got to see my sharks, and we went to a dolphin show which was really cool. We drove by
Martin Luther King Jr.'s home, and went to the Olympic Park. 

Summary

We've been pulling off the highways randomly and driving through the boondocks and going to just about every old battlefield that we see on the way. We are really enjoying the trip, but still miss home!!!!

Sorry I can't blog more often either we don't have reception or internet or we're just too tired.