Made It To Alabama

After our road trip today, I have officially driven across almost the entire continental U.S., minus only California and Georgia. 

It was such a long trip that my memory breaks it up into smaller blocks of time, and I only remember a tiny bit from each block.

From Tulsa to Little Rock, Arkansas:
Drove for two hours. Slept for two hours.

From Little Rock, Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee:
I was determined to get a picture of every state line we crossed, but then I couldn't get one on the Arkansas border because of construction. Lame. So I tried to get one at the Tennessee border, which would have been cool since this was my first time in Tennessee.

I couldn't get one at the Tennessee border because I never saw the sign. The view was obscured by a giant line of semi trucks.

The picture doesn't even do it justice. I've never seen so many on one interstate before. But once I thought about it, it made sense that there were so many on that stretch of road, since I-40 is one of the main interstates across the U.S. It's amazing how much our country relies on cross-country truck drivers.

From Memphis, Tennessee to Mississippi State Line:

Picture of the Mississippi state line was a success, though I was too lazy to get out of the car.

From Mississippi State Line to Tupelo, Mississippi:
Mom and I couldn't remember if Elvis Presley was from Tupelo, MS or from another T-sounding city in Alabama. We decided that if he was from Tupelo, we'd know as we passed through.

Sure enough, there was a highway sign pointing us in the direction of his birthplace. However, I don't think the sign was quite big enough. In Oklahoma, if someone is from their hometown, their name gets painted on the water tower.

Just sayin.

From Tupelo, Mississippi to the Alabama State Line: 
It was getting dark quickly, so we decided for the longer route through Tuscaloosa over the shorter, windier route on county roads. This meant we hit the state line while it was still light outside. Perfect for picture-taking!

Yours truly got a few honking horns out of this photo op. Either it was my rockin travel outfit, or I was the only nerd they'd seen get out of their car to take pictures of a road sign. I prefer the first.

From the Alabama State Line to Tuscaloosa, Alabama: 
We got lost. So. Many. Times.

Or rather, the blue dot on Mom's Blackberry GPS thing was never right. The sucker refused to update. Not much help when you are whizzing around at 75 mph trying to decide if you need to turn right or not.

Me: "So I turn right?"

Mom: "Uh...." *frantic clicking/scrolling

Me: "Right or straight?! RIGHT OR STRAIGHT?!?!"

Mom: *more scrolling

Me: *drive straight

Mom: "Turn right."

From Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Eutaw, Alabama:
Mom and I counted how many states in the U.S. we have visited. I've now been to thirty of the fifty states (seriously lacking in the Ohio/Iowa area). Today I added Tennessee and Mississippi.

From Eutaw, Alabama to Demopolis, Alabama:
(paraphrasing)

Mom: "You know, when I first moved to Arizona, I looked up all the bugs in the area so I'd know which ones were poisonous. It made me feel a whole lot better about moving. You could do that too."

Me: "....."

Mom: "Or at the very least, look up where the alligators are."