Welcome to New Orleans!

Not a bad drive today. Nearly 500 miles in a few minutes over seven hours. My room is small but charming. But this is not about comfort. It's about cold hard cash. More on that later. Instead of a long rambling post, here are some of my observations from the road.

• The Welcome Center just over the Alabama line has a parking lot that is an insane distance from the bathrooms. It seems much longer when you gotta go.
• Alabama is a strange state. There are ghosts of the past everywhere. Like the monument at the Rest Area which said "We Dare Defend Our Rights". I later learned this is the state motto.
• Speaking of ghosts, entering Montgomery you are confronted with a large sign designating the stretch of the interstate as Martin Luther King, Jr. Highway. That's not unusal but the addendum at the bottom stating established by the legislature in 1976 is. Not sure what that means.
• I-65 south to Mobile is comparable to I-16 in Georgia or the future I-22 in Mississippi. I think there's a requirement that every state have a major highway pass through the most desolate part of the state.
• I-10 between Mobile and New Orleans has lots of bridges. Lots.
• My first indication things are different was construction on the new I-10 bridge over Lake Pontchartrain. Based on the height of the pilings, I would estimate this one could withstand a 30 foor storm surge.

That's all for now. More later as the adventure continues.