The first leg of my trip took me through the eastern U.S. to visit friends. The first destination Northampton, PA: eight hours of driving across southern Ontario, western New York, and central Pennsylvania. Thanks to Jim and Rose, ever the gracious hosts, who allowed me into their home to spend the night.
The next morning I set out to visit Paul in the middle of nowhere, Virginia. I had hoped to take photos of the mountains, as the roads passed right through them, but the weather was uncooperative: the mountain that I did cross was covered in pea-soup fog that made driving almost impossible, let alone photography. I extend my gratitude to Paul for guiding me through the country highways and putting me up for the night.
Darcy and Sandra in Kernersville, North Carolina were next. The trip from Paul's was much shorter than I had anticipated, so I arrived early on Monday afternoon. I brought Darcy a case of Upper Canada from the duty-free. Thanks to Darcy and Sandra for once again having me over.
On the morning of Tuesday, May 22, 2001, I set off for parts unknown. I had visited Darcy a year earlier, but I hadn't ventured further south than Charlotte, NC. As I headed for Charles's in Atlanta, GA, my trip took on a more adventurous character. Again, I arrived in Atlanta far too early, and spent a few hours in a suburban mall waiting for Charles's employers to unchain him from his desk. Thanks, C, for letting me crash at your crib.
Over these four days, Stefan and I had managed through phone calls to get a hotel room in New Orleans. We couldn't make these plans ahead of time, because Stefan was expecting to be shipped out to an oil rig any day. Luckily, the job was delayed. Wednesday morning, I took off from Charles's house, and headed across Alabama and Mississippi into New Orleans.
