Heading Out South

The first half of the Spring Semester was almost done. Everyone was desperately waiting for the last minutes of classes to pass by. Finally, after numerous weeks of being only in small Athens, people were ready to get out. At least I was ready. And, I was ready to explore a new part of the United States. The plan was pretty classy: Let’s do a road trip. I invited my friend Adam to come along, and we set out for New Orleans – or how it is also called: "The Big Easy". 

                                                                           Entering Mammoth Cave

First stop on the way south was the Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. Mammoth Cave is the world's longest known cave system, hidden underneath beautiful spring woods among the Green River. As interesting as the cave’s scope is its manifold history. While Native Americans used the caves as burial places some 6.000 years ago, the cave’s rich Saltpeter resources helped the American military in the war of 1812 to overcome the British blockade of gunpowder imports. 

                                                             Tennessee State House

A two hours drive away, Nashville/ Tennessee was supposed to be our next destination. Again, we stopped at a place with a manifold history. However, from the mighty columns of the State House to the countless prestigious music bars, Nashville did not really convince us of being a still pulsating cultural hot-spot. Rather a lot seemed to be made of myth and glorification of the good old days. Numerous monuments witnessed the early days of settlement and victory over the alleged barbarism of the Native Americans. Also, "Music City's" spirit of Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley did not really prove accessible to us. Accordingly, we quickly packed our bags again and headed further south.

Upcoming was the area also considered as the “Bible Belt”. Indeed, the further south we got, more white wooden crosses appeared next to the interstate. Huge bill boards praised Jesus Christ and urged us to turn around and find redemption in joining one of the numerous church communities along the way. However, the bare thought of some delicious Jambalaya and cool drinks on the shores of the Mississippi River kept us focused on the drive further down to New Orleans.  

 

                                                                Live Music in NOLA

The Big Easy would not disappoint us. In fact, the city turned out to be very different to the places we saw the past 1.000 Miles. French and Spanish influence being outwardly apparent in architecture and culture, the city’s flair carried a very unique spirit of freedom and personal fulfillment. Maybe, this is expressed best through the variety of grass-rooting art and music cloaking New Orleans into some entrepreneurial anarchy, while still having all those scars from the devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2004. 

                                                        Art Flea Market in NOLA

 Equipped and refueled with some very enriching and diverse impressions, we started the 1.000 Miles back up north. The retour led us to our final stop in the Great Smokey Mountains, West Virginia. Again, we found some beautiful nature embedded within the Appalachian Mountains. From there, only 400 Miles had to be driven back to Athens, where we finally arrived after 2.005 Miles of driving within seven days.