Irvine, CA to Boston, MA: Coast to Coast Roadtrip

The idea of spending a long vacation on a road-trip has become a reality when we deferred our India visit to the next year. Our three year old, Tara, has been responding encouragingly well  to the shorter leisure trips  we did in California so we knew the time is just right to resume  the long shelved interest  of ours. 
The plan was to do a coast-to- coast trip from California to Connecticut driving through some of the states we have never been before.  We have friends living in Connecticut so when we get there we intended to drive to Boston and New Hampshire to see the fall foliage.  We estimated a distance of over 4,000 miles and organized to cover it in 18 days, leaving sufficient time for sightseeing, dining and rest.  On 19^th day we would return to California by flight from New York.

The initial plan of driving our brand new sedan was quickly sabotaged by more experienced road trippers and that’s how we ended up renting a Chevy Traverse from Hertz.  This seven-seat cross-over SUV had every comfort, safety and cargo features we were looking for and was a pleasure to drive. AAA associate helped to make cancellable bookings in Hotels and also provided detailed maps and informative tour books for the regions we were passing through.  On 12^th October 2012, we had a Pho dinner at our neighborhood Vietnamese restaurant and drove to Barstow, CA to kick- start our cross country trip on the historic Route 66. 

A link to a Slide Show of all pictures 

Day -1: Route 66 and Grand Canyon Arizona

Established in 1926, Route 66 connected Chicago to Los Angeles and famed as Main Street of America. Steinbeck referred this as ‘Mother Road’ in his book ‘Grapes of Wrath ‘and this is the path the Joad family’s  converted Hudson truck  took in search for better prospects in California. Though replaced by I40 by 1960, the popularity of this road among road enthusiasts recently surged when the animation movie ‘Cars’ was released in 2006.   We started at Barstow and joined the Route 66 at Ludlow and then drove eastwards through Mojave Desert to Needles   and then to Kingman, Arizona.   

Old Ludlow Café, Bagdad, Roy’s Café at Amboy was some of the interesting spots along with the ghost towns that were created when the Route 66 was abandoned in favor of interstate 40. Giant Santa Fe Freight trains and Tank Cars rumbling across the Mojave desert was a real treat for Tara and we stopped at  two places to take a closer look.  Strange vegetations and peculiar landscapes in the desert were interesting and the road felt rough and rugged until we reached Needles. We stopped over at a downtown Oktoberfest hosted by Kingman Route 66 Rotary club and the fun included live music, pumpkin ale and brats with sauerkraut.   There was an old Santa Fe engine on public display so our little one had fun exploring it by going in out and around the engine.  Vintage cars and motorbikes were parked in front of Mr D’s Route 66 diner so we decided to try it for lunch. We ordered a Rueben sandwich to stay in harmony with Oktoberfest spirits and had a relaxed lunch topped with an ice-cream.   We also made a change in our plan to go directly to Grand Canyon National park to see the canyon during the sunset.

 
Our next stop, Grand Canyon, was about 200 miles far and we have decided to take I40 up to Williams and then take AZ-64 to the park. While on I40, it was tempting to detour to Route 66 every time we came across an exit sign but we stayed resolute and managed it with just one restroom/ coffee break in between at Williams where we also looked at some native Indian arts and handicrafts.

Millions of years ago mother earth pushed the Colorado River region upwards and the furious and relentless Colorado River ran steep cutting a mile though the rock bed forming the incredible etching on a grand scale. It was so inconceivable that the Ancient Pueblo Indians lived on the basin treated the site as sacred and trekked to the rims to worship it on special occasions. Pagan flavor to the story is out of favor but worship seems to endure when we arrived at Grand View point.  Continuing on Desert View drive, we stopped at a couple of vista points until it was really dark and then continued to Cameron, a small town in Navajo Indian Reservation, where we booked the night‘s stay in a historic lodge. It took an hour to drive 35 miles through the dense national park at night and by the time we checked in to the lodge, it was 8pm.

The town of Cameron has less than 1000 residents with 90 percent Native Indians. The trading post was established in 1911 and visited then only by Hopi and Navajo Indian Natives to barter wool and live stock for dry goods.  Now the trading post has been expanded to a tourist destination with a Native Indian theme. A fine restaurant with cozy interior, a large gift store that sells Indian artifacts  and a lodge with close to hundred rooms to cater to the tourists. Our room had a Navajo character and a balcony with a view of Little Colorado River and the Swayback suspension bridge that was built in 1911 to help travelers to get to the South Rim.  The restaurant had a stunning ambience with flamboyant ceiling and walls were full of real native Indian weavings and handicrafts. There was nothing too tempting on the menu but we ordered a stew with green chilies and Indian fry bread with honey and both tasted good.  At the gift store, there was so much stuff that it takes hours to just browse through the aisles. Price tag also looked quite steep for original Indian art works and we knew it’s a tourist trap. Exhausted by then, we have retired to our beautiful room for a good nigh sleep.
 

Day 2: Navajo Nation & Hopi Art trail, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico

We made a couple of changes to our day plan in the morning, after looking up the trip advisor phone app and the map.   Tuba city was close to us so we have decided to eat there instead of the hotel restaurant. Also, there was a Dinosaur trail near Tuba city that Sheena wanted to check out.  From Tuba city we could drive 180 miles on AZ 264 to Gallop New Mexico and cover the Hopi art trail in Navajo Nation.   Navajo Nation is the largest semi-autonomous land area primarily assigned to Native Americans within the US.  They have their own law, police and a tax free nation with two hundred thousand Native American people. 

We missed the locations for Dinosaur foot prints first as there was no proper directions on highway 160.  When we located the spot we saw no tourists or any building but only the  vast open Painted Desert. A local Indian approached us and offered a tour and his son also followed along with a bottle of water to mark the tracks.  His four year old son was named after Tyrese Gibson because the dad really liked the musician.   

There were several spots that resembled the fossil footprints and eggs from Dinosaur age and the Indian guide was polite to answer every question Sheena had. Tyrese turned a little naughty when he started playing with Tara and kept spraying water on her because she giggles.  The Navajo man mentioned that he counts on tips and donations to provide for the family. On a regular day many Indian men volunteer to guide a small number of tourists that stop by but today he was lucky as his fellow men are attending the Sunday service at the nearby Mormon temple.  Tuba city’s name derives from Tuuvi, a Hopi headman who first converted into Mormonism and the city was founded by Mormons in 1872. After the tour we proceeded to Tuuvi Travel center in the downtown, a $6 Million complex opened by Hopi tribe  in 2008. At the center we had a nice hot breakfast with green chilly omelet and also bought some inexpensive artworks.

We travelled on 264 East that passes through the largest Novajo and Hopi Indian nation, a 180 miles stretch that ends up in Gallup, New Mexico. We have also covered the Hopi art trail from Tuba city to Keams Canyon. At Hopi Cultural Center exhibition, we listened to an Indian singing and playing drums. We saw Piki Bread (blue corn and rabbit brush ashes) being made on a well seasoned sandstone skillet with hand and tried a variety of snacks made on the spot. We bought a cotton wood Maiden and a Sun god painted with earthen colors directly from the artists. One of them explained us about Hopi art and then showed us an old book that compared the tribes in Nirlgiris, India, with native Indians and they had striking similarities in looks, arts and the way they dressed.  May be Columbus was not entirely wrong in calling these people Indian.  Apart from the art scenes and all happy and vibrant exhibitions,  a number of trailer homes and shacks stand out while we drove through the inroads. Clearly, there is nothing upscale about these places where people lived and every place had a deprived and neglected look.

We stopped at Gallup, New Mexico for a late lunch at a Crocker Barrel joint that serves Sothern Cuisine. They disappointed me by not serving a beer but a pear lemon tea did help.  Tara fell down from the chair while playing with her burger and as usual Sheena was kicking and pretending to be angry at the floor that caused the pain.  An elder Mohave Indian couple was eating in the next table and the lady walked to our table smiling and enquired what Sheena was doing.  When explained that it was just to distract the baby from crying, she said they used to spit on the ground, when the baby’s fall down and it helped.  A third of Gallop’s population has Indian roots and unofficially known as Indian Capital of the world.

We stayed on I40 for two hours to arrive at Albuquerque and checked into Hotel Rio Grande in the Old Town area. The famous Albuquerque hot air balloon Fiesta just ended and the tourists were still hanging around in the town. Picture of Mass Ascension from this festival instantly identify New Mexico but we were a couple of days late for it. We walked to Church Café to try city’s well known Mexican food. Church Cafe is a century old home converted to a cozy beautiful restaurant situated close to San Felipe Church and surrounded by adobe buildings. A verity of red and green chilly salsas, Fajita, Chile, Quesadilla and some local brews were served for dinner and all of them seem to conform to the reputation. The gazebo in the center of the Old Town was packed with couples dancing to the classical ballroom tunes. A long eventful day, heavy meal and the beer started taking a toll on me and we were just longing to hit the bed by 10pm.

Day 3: Santa Fe NM, and Amarillo TX

Santa Fe, the capital city on New Mexico  is  60 miles North of Albuquerque and we drove straight to a the visitors centre near the Capital State building and San Miguel Mission. We stopped en-route at a Trader Joe’s to stock up the drinks and other snacks.   We had a long drive waiting in the afternoon to Amarillo, Texas so picked up some beer so that I could enjoy them while Sheena drives. The guide at the visitor information center suggested that we should visit the State Capital building known as The Roundhouse to see millions worth art exhibits and a beautiful six acre garden with sculptures and fruit trees. The entry to the Roundhouse is free and the floors were active with state business but rather quiet for a working day.  Santa Fe is a hub for artists and probably this place gives an impressive preamble to the art scene in Santa Fe.  We spent a couple of hours looking at the paintings and sculptures and then proceeded to the San Miguel Mission church.

San Miguel Mission is one of the Spanish mission church built in early 17^th century and claimed to be the oldest church in the United States. We have been visiting all the 18^th century Spanish mission churches in California so this one in Santa Fe surely was an attraction because it is older and also the first one outside California.   The church was part opened as the maintenance work was in progress but we still got a good feel of the building and grounds.  There are many small eateries around the Mission church but when we looked up online, Casa Chimayo at Water Street stood out for their authentic descriptions and reviews. We had only one meal remaining to experience the flaunted Mexican cuisine offered in this city so decided to go with Chimayo.

Chile Ristras –a garland of chile pepper pods – are seen everywhere in Santa Fe and their sight alone strikes a spice chord and what follows is an instant heat and growling stomach.  Casa Chimayo had plenty of them hanging all over the entrance and the doorway.  Beers from Santa Fe brewing company was a good start and then we requested a red chile Pork Tamales with Calabacitas (a New Mexican style squash, pepper and corn mix) and a Pollo En Mole Rojo (chicken with  chocolate sauce). The Tamale was a palate pleaser with flavorful pork wrapped in a soft and moist corn flour shell with a mild flavorful Chile sauce on the top.  Mole Rojo calls for a complicated preparation and it was recommended by the server.   A slow cooked chocolate sauce blending in many spices and served over a grilled chicken breast was a novelty and quickly expelled any lingering doubts, about a chicken-chocolate mishmash, and we almost licked the plate clean. When finished with Chimayo we just wished we could go back home and crash to sleep until its evening.  Wishes aside, we walked to The Our Lady of Guadeloupe shrine, a church where its history goes back to 18th century. (It is odd that we are after historic churches in the U.S where the church history goes back only to 16^th Century. Whereas in Kerala, India we had churches from 1^st century and I had visited only a few. One reason I could think of is that I grew older here in the US and started paying attention to history only recently)

The Plaza at Santa Fe downtown is surrounded by shops and filled with tourists and locals alike. We parked in La Fonda Hotel garage for a fee and the hotel was nothing short of grand with a finely crafted lobby and an elite gift shop. Museum of Fine Arts looked appealing from outside but we skipped it for a downtown walk. Locals were selling handcrafted jewelry and paintings along the footpath and there was an array of boutique shops selling cloths, leather, jewelry, porcelain, etc.    The architecture of St. Francis Cathedral stood out from the Pueblo-Adobe buildings around it .  Outside the church stood a seven and a half feet tall, welcoming bronze statue of St. Kateri Tekkwitha, the first and recent saint from the Mohawk Indians. Round arches, Corinthian columns and extensive glass and wall paintings seem to attract a lot of visitors. Local youths, probably a church group, was rehearsing a Spanish play that took my memory back our church where we used to perform Christian themed plays almost every year.  Santa Fe downtown is also the present day terminus of El Camino Real de Tierra- A 1,600 miles long trade route between Mexico City and San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico. Palace of Governors, an adobe structure where   government seated for centuries is now a state museum and chronicles the history of Santa Fe and the region.

Art, cuisine and spirituality dominated our thoughts while driving away from Santa Fe. A conscious effort among the locals to recognize each other’s history reflects in artifacts, building codes, food and conservation in general.  Sheena was behind the wheels as I just used a can of beer to douse my belly fire and Tara was ready for a nap after filling her little tummy with a large chocolate bar. Past the Old Spanish Trail, soon we were on US 285, driving on long stretches to reach Interstate 40 .To kill time, we invented a new game ;  guessing the miles between two hills.

 Amarillo by evening was the plan we started with. Other than the country song (Amarillo by Morning) and sporadic appearances in media, Amarillo is not a tourist destination. However, a colleague at Union Bank mentions this name often , we all now believe that Amarillo is a great place for steak dinners, quality schools , friendly people  and low cost of living. Our colleague Judy's daughter had relocated to Amarillo because of her husband’s good paying job in an oil rig. A lot of Judy's vacations these days are  spent in Amarillo with her three wonderful grand kids. We all knew when it was raining or snowing in Amarillo and some days the sun gets harsh and dehydrates the kids. It was okay for a passenger to sip margarita or beer in a moving car in Amarillo. We paid attention and that’s how Sheena ended up booking our stay in Amarillo. There were two things we planned to do; A steak dinner and visiting Cadillac Ranch. It was dark by the time we arrived at Amarillo so we straight away went to Salt Grass restaurant for a Texas steak dinner.

Salt Grass is a limited chain that serves various cuts of char grilled beef steaks. Warm Shiner Bock beer bread and honey butter starters vanished very quickly while waiting for the Rib eye.  Many styles of Shiner beers, a Texas brewery, were available on tap so it was a revisit of Des Moines beer days.  Sheena kept asking some questions or other to the serving lady only to listen to her sweet Southern accent, which she previously heard only in movies.   We also picked a half rack of ribs from the menu for Tara and she insisted a soda to go with it.   There is nothing outstanding about the food in general but it was an enjoyable meal in a pleasant restaurant.  While driving to the hotel that is sixteen miles west, we have realized, the hard way, that highway exits are designed differently and wasted some time in correcting the route.  Sheena’s uncle in Dallas called to know how far we have reached and he was making plans to meet up at Dallas, the following day.

Day 4: Dallas and Plano, Texas.

The original plan was to stay on Interstate 40 and drive up to Memphis through Oklahoma City and Little Rocks. Sheena’s uncle lives in Plano near Dallas so a 250 miles deviation looked promising as we could visit them , see Dallas city and then take the historic music highway to Memphis. Plano hence become the first decision point in our plan where we would have driven almost 1,600 miles and we could make a fair assessment (with family) of how much toll the travel is taking on Tara. Abandoning the trip and flying back home was a choice as we have made all the reservations cancellable. Five days into the trip, baby looked cheerful and as excited as we are in visiting new places and trying different things.

We hit US 287 South by 7:30 am after a quick breakfast and icebox filling at Best Western.  Gas prices are at least a dollar cheaper compared to California so we filled in premium fuel thinking a high octane drink could make our SUV peppier. After three and a half hours driving through flat lands, we arrived at the Wichita Falls and took Tara to Lucy Park to ride the slides and swings.    The Original Wichita falls was destroyed by a flood in 19^th century and city built an artificial waterfall in Lucy Park, almost after 100 years, to satisfy the tourists.  We started to Dallas without much delay and arrived at the downtown around   lunch time. The six hours drive through the northern Texas offered some imagery of the economy from the past. Donkey pumps running tirelessly in oil rigs, cattle farms in open green pastures and vast cotton fields would become Texas’s history, a little too soon, when you enter into the bustling Dallas city with post-modern looks and ways of life. 

A sandwich lunch at Leny’s sub shop fueled the downtown walk and we first stopped at Pioneer Plaza to see the largest bronze monument in the world. Depiction here is three cowboys steering seventy longhorns (cattle) down a trail and across a stream spread out in a four acre park ground.  It’s like a four acre supersized picture sketched to capture a cattle drive moment with every possible details.  Several blocks away we could see the tall bank buildings and the JFK memorial square and the weather also got a little better.

An empty tomb –Cenotaph- of John F Kennedy was erected near to Dealey Plaza where he was assassinated in 1963. The memorial is a roofless room like structure made of white precast concrete columns. I felt sad thinking  that President Kennedy, the one who made moon dreams a reality, champion of civil rights , reformer of immigration  and a Pulitzer winning writer,  deserved something better than this . In case you could not make out what these concrete columns meant, there were descriptions available to guide you in the right direction of artistic thinking. I was hesitant to step inside to experience “there is hardly any sound to be heard ... giving the visitor a moment in quiet reflection” ,instead, proceeded to Sixth Floor Museum, a location from where the President was shot. By this time, Sheena’s uncle made several calls  to check the whereabouts and provided navigation tips to get to Plano.

We took the Dallas North tollway and realized that there is no way to pay the toll as it had an all electronic toll collection procedure implemented using a TollTag. Later we were told that license plate is captured in the camera and Hertz will receive an invoice for the toll amount that will be added to our bill. We went straight to a Wholefoods store near Plano to pick up some wine for uncle and chocolate for their youngest daughter, Sarah. We initially thought of carrying some wine from California but soon dropped the plan because the temperature variations could ruin the wine. Wines from Monterey vineyards we frequent were available at the shop and we picked a Hahn Merlot and a Talbott Cabernet Sauvignon to give a flavor of California wines.

   

Plano is one of the big and planned cities in Texas where many corporations like JC Penney, Frito-Lay and Dell have their head quarters. Sheena’s uncle’s family lived there for many years and both of them worked for Frito-Lay as scientists.  They showed us the full product range in their pantry – Lays chips, Doritos, Cheetos and Tostitos; salted, plane cheesed, spiced up, peppered, twisted and colorful –and we kept some to snack during the trip.  The story of manufactured food is a story of intense automation from harvesting to garnishing the packaged chips. It was fun to just listen through while Sheena catches up with her family stories and Tara was enjoying the home and the space playing with beads and toys Aunty engaged her with.  A couple of rounds of Scotch whisky and an elaborate Kerala dinner followed in succession, and then it was time for a ride with uncle to see his workplace and the campus. We also took a quick look at the JC Penney campus that reminded me about GE JCPenney dual card program, an assignment on which I came to the United States first time in 2004.

Day 5: Plano Texas, Monroe Louisiana.

It was a dull 300 miles stretch from Plano to Manroe, Louisiana on highway 20 with no major tourist attraction to stop by. We woke up late rested and hanged out at Plano until it was noon. Tara was not done playing at Plano as she found the backyard trampoline ‘bouncy bouncy’ while we unhurried on a heavy breakfast. Two hours into I20, we took a BBQ lunch break, following a highway billboard that said ‘most famous Texas BBQ’.  BBQ ribs here are sold by weight and we ordered a couple of pounds with some coleslaw and other sides. While discussing how good the BBQ was we also planned to visit a nearby museum of Oil and Gas. Oil gushed in to Texas in the early 20^th century and so we thought visiting a museum would be a good ay of spending some time. May be we spent an hour in the BBQ joint and at the end we felt tired thinking about walking in a Museum. So we proceeded to Monroe and arrived at Best Western by 5:30.

Monroe was not known to us for anything but we wanted to checkout there is any restaurant nearby that served a New Orleans cuisine. Northern Louisiana is not even close to their coastal southern part when it comes to food but we just thought there might be at least some restaurants that served the popular Cajun food.  Copeland’s was suggested by the staff in Best Western and on our way we stopped at Target to get Cinderella  blanket for Tara and it was nice to get a glimpse of local crowd, shopping.   Copeland’s looked swanky and carried some local impressive brews on the tap. We ordered shrimp creole and etouffee  as entrees and the creole was simply the best we tasted yet.   Creole is a fusion of French, African and Spanish cooking styles but is considered as a Louisiana original.  Surprisingly, it tasted close to the shrimp curry we make back home with its spice twists and rice combinations.  Etouffee, was competitive with its spicy Cajun crawfish made almost dry in a roux sauce.  Quite impressed with the meal, we also ordered a slice of fresh ripe strawberry cheesecake from their bakery and returned to the hotel stuffed.  Monroe did not feel like a boring place anymore.

Day 6: Vicksburg, Mississippi & Memphis, Tennessee

Mississippi river witnessed America’s history up close from its Native Indians settlements, arrival and establishment of new settlers and   most significantly, at Vicksburg, the American Civil war.  We lived upon her tributaries – Des Moines River in Iowa and Ohio River in Cincinnati and once drove the scenic way up to Burlington in South East Iowa to see the Mississippi river closer. The reason we stayed in Monroe was to see the Civil war battlefields that are overlooking the Mississippi river and at the time of the war, Union army had found it hard to penetrate beyond Mississippi river and resorted to starve the city to weaken the Federation army.  The siege of Vicksburg in 1863 was a turning point in Civil war history and the Confederate army subsequently surrendered to the Union forces.  National Military Park preserves the sites of American Civil War battles that run 20 miles long with thousands of monuments that are in a way alarming the price of a war.  We drove around and stopped at historic trenches and restored gunboats and immersed ourselves in civil war history.   It’s abundantly clear why the south north divide is still so strong in the United States. It’s lost lives and battered pride.  General Grant obviously was the winner and so as President Lincoln. However, it’s hard to confer a victory to anyone when you stand on this side of the Mississippi river.
 

National Geographic featured The Blues Highway, the Route 61 between Vicksburg and Memphis, as drives of the life time and that’s another reason we came to Vicksburg. A few miles into the 61 we started seeing the vast cotton fields that was also a fertile field for delta blues once upon a time. We stopped at a couple of places for pictures. Tara was fascinated to pick the cotton flowers and was playing with its texture and complications inside the car.

Delta Blues is one of the earliest form of blues music developed in this area among the poverty ridden black cotton field workers. Looking for opportunities outside Mississippi during the industrialization time, a lot of people took this road to Chicago and other places and probably that helped to spread the Blues music to other places. We could see the small towns Rosedale and Clarksdale on our way. At Clarksdale, actor Morgan Freeman runs a nightclub called Ground Zero Blues Club but we skipped it for a later visit. We took another exist searching for a famed BBQ joint but ended up in a run-down area and the restaurant was closed long ago. We drove about three more miles and found a Wal-Mart Super Center with a Subway to feed the hunger. We also picked up some supplies and it felt quite awkward inside the Walmart store for no specific reasons.

We reached Memphis by 5 O’clock in the afternoon and found a parking near the Peabody place and walked to Beale Street. The street was closely watched by the cops and people were filling in for the Night Life. Step in to the Beale Street; you will now relate every word of “Walking in Memphis’ song. Live music is played in most of the pubs and blues clubs and we had fun peeping into them looking for someone famous. B.B King, Elvis, Johny Cash all played in this street at some point in time. W.C Handy Park, just after the busy Beale’s street block, had a bad playing Blues so we sat there for a few songs. Tara too seems to enjoy the music and her swaying to the tunes at times made the singer perkier. The night was getting darker and we knew the city is not that friendly at night so we walked to our dinner destination. The storied Charlie Vergo's Rendezvous Alley to try their famous Memphis-style BBQ.

Sixty years old Rendezvous is a hole in-the- wall, but a very large one. Many famous people ate there before us. Bill Clinton, Al Gore, George Bush and Justin Timberlake, to name a few. We ordered a full slab of rib with a pitcher of local beer, Ghost Rider IPA, as Sheena agreed to drive to the hotel. Rib was not as meaty as the regular ribs we are used to but just right amount of meat. Not dripping saucy but dry rubbed with some spice seasonings outside and flavorfully moist inside. Different sauces were on the table but they were unnecessary and we did not even notice the brisket and coleslaw. After fifteen minutes of eating we agreed to each other that this is the best ribs BBQ we had in our life- Kansas and Texas included. And the cold beer, a pitcher full, helped in washing them down tastefully. We normally order some fries for Tara at restaurants but this time she preferred the rib to fill her little tummy. So we repeated the statement- probably she is having more fun than us throughout this trip.

Best Western was just three miles far from the downtown and by 9 O’clock we checked. I called Shaji who lived just 10 miles from downtown and he suggested we go over to their place. It was a long day so we refused the offer for some other time. We also have few things to cover in Memphis before we proceed to Nashville. Earlier plan was to go to Birmingham, Alabama but Nashville appeared to be a better stop over before we meet Sheena’s cousins in Atlanta. This is a deviation farther from Atlanta and would cost us about four hours of driving.