DAY 1 FRI. MAR. 18 NEWMARKET,ON. - DAYTON, OH.

On a prolonged road trip, much can go wrong. Car problems. Border issues. Bad weather. Difficulties with travel companions. Dangerous road conditions. Fatigue and illness. If we took into account all the possible ways for harm to arrive, we'd never leave the house.

We have set out on a road trip to Austin, Texas. Why? Well, why not? We have never been to Texas before, and that state looms like an enchanted kingdom to us. We were raised on TV westerns, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Gene Autry, and the like. Texas always seemed larger than life and we needed to see it to find out if it's real. And Austin is a city we think we might learn to love. Liberal, music-loving, an island in the middle of vast oceans of cowboy prairie: a university town, state capital, high-tech centre, and owner of probably the best civic slogan on earth: "Keep Austin Weird." We have to see this !!

Today was the reason why we drive. We were completely on schedule. The weather started out well and improved as we headed south and west. The car performed flawlessly. The route was easy. The border crossing took all of 15 minutes. Lou and I were happy.

Michigan was familiar: dowdy, dirty and depressing. Detroit is a city in need of a bath, and the road out of it wasn't fast enough. Ohio was a pleasant surprise. Open, clean, and orderly, it reminded of southern Ontario. But there was no doubt we were in America. Billboards advertised guns, forty different types of beef jerkey, porno and churches. The further south we drove, the more God took top billing. High schools and small colleges with football stadiums any CFL team would give eye teeth for. Fast food and fireworks. The aviation cradle of the world, and God as the co-pilot.

It was a good day. No harm or confusion. A safe, peaceful night ahead in a cookie-cutter suburb of Dayton that could be anywhere. Tomorrow will take care of itself.

DAY 2 SAT. MAR. 19 DAYTON, OH - LAKELAND, TN.

A highway is life. Tom Cochrane might change the word order, but I assert that this is true. A highway flows through time and space. It links people. It provides moments of exhileration and hours of tedium. It tests endurance and gives scenes of laughter and optimism. It frustrates and then delivers you to freedom.

South of Dayton was wide open and reminiscent of southern Ontario. Then, Cincinnati arrived and I could not get "WKRP" out of my head. We crossed the wide Ohio River into Kentucky, a first for both of us.

Kentucky in March is full of promise. The trees were mostly barren, but the grass was green. It rolls in almost ocean-like waves of hills and the forests are deep. In green leaf it would be heaven. The rest stops were re-constructions of ante-bellum fine homes, and welcomed travelers with relaxing rocking chairs. I was reminded of "Last of the Mohicans" and imagined Daniel Boone and Natty Bumpo breaking free of the confines of the Atlantic coastal states and feasting on the natural bounty of this land. And I dreamed of coureurs de bois, the most mad adventurers of history, leaving the relative comforts of Montreal and Quebec and striking into the heart of the continent to Louisville, La Grange, and west to Terre Haute, Des Moines, St. Louis, and Joliet. Such insane courage !

Louisville was surprisingly large and ultra-American. The university, known more for basketball, boasted a new football stadium ready for action. However, the old stadium, on the exposition grounds, oozed character: varsity warriors of the past haunted the obstructed, pillared grandstands, reliving old glory.

Ghosts are everywhere on this road. In Tennessee, the interstate becomes "Music Highway" and invoked Patsy Cline, Chat Atkins, and Isaac Hayes. In Tennessee, one reads the state parks that remind of a divided tortured past: Shiloh, Chickamauga. Nashville gave way to more rolling forests, a bit gentler than Kentucky, but home to proud stands of tall pines, hickory and beech. Trees blossomed with colour, chasing ghosts away.

And then, western Tennessee. Our first true swamp in the Hatchie River National Wildlife Reserve. Lake Kentucky, evidence of Roosevelt's New Deal. Wide, tree-lined rivers. Then, in the west, opening out to farms, forests, and rock that reminded of home.

Nine hours seemed like forever on the highway. But it was a blip. Just like a day in the life.

DAY 3 SUN. MAR. 20 LAKELAND TN. - MESQUITE,TX.

On any southern US interstate, travelers often see huge billboards advertising "adult superstores", huge stores devoted to one-stop porn shopping: books, magazines, videos, toys, novelties, lingerie: they're all here for your shopping convenience. Inevitably, on the opposite side of the road, or just a mile or two beyond, billboards preach bible passages and urge sinners not to commit adultery, or not to covet, or to begin to prepare for eternity. God and the Devil are at war in the US, and it's not clear who's winning.

We left Memphis in the early morning and crossed the wide Mississippi River into Arkansas. The river is a monster, truly magnificent, and more than a mile wide at the Memphis crossing. It is indeed a boundary, between the east and west, and between affluence and, well .... something else.

Eastern Arkansas was an eye opener for us. It is wide and flat, full of swamps, farms, trailer parks, broken billboards, and run-down towns. The soundtrack to "O Brother Where Art Thou?" seemed so appropriate as we passed run down trailers and huge churches. I felt as though I'd left a comfortable world behind we we motored west. Around Little Rock, things looked up. The land became less fetid and more clean and natural. Large pine forests looked happier and healthier. Then, as we neared Texarkana, beef farms appeared.

Instantly in Texas, things looked prosperous. Texarkana was going through something of a building boom as new interstate overpasses churned up the red soil and towered overhead. We drove through more pine forests, driving alongside more pick-up trucks than anything else. Then, the pine forests gave way to flat, open rangelands, lush in the spring gree and wildflowers. The outside temperature flirted with 30 degrees celsius and we needed the air conditioner ( in March! ) . Huge ranch homes, each resembling South Fork, nestled alongside modest homes and trailers that, we assume, provided quarters for migrant farm workers.

We pushed our way through to Mesquite, a bustling, modern prosperous suburb of Dallas. In true Texas style, everything is big. There are sprawling subdivisions, gigantic malls, huge schools complete with professional-looking football stadiums. After another 8 hour day, we collapsed in our hotel, had a celebratory beer and congratulated ourselved for actually making it to Texas. We've set up a relatively easy day tomorrow ( we hope ) to get to Austin. Let's hope the ubiquitous God of the US continues to help us !!

DAY 4 MON. MAR. 21 MESQUITE TX.- AUSTIN,TX.

Texas is huge ... and sometimes a little confusing. Mesquite is a sprawling suburb of malls, freeways, restaurants and overpasses. We got lost. Twice. Last night, trying to find a place to eat, and this morning, trying to get out. Lou displayed her navigational skills by putting us on the right routes, and, in a phrase, we lived to drive another day.

Did I mention that Texas was huge? Our drive out of Dallas through to Waco put us through some of the most wide open prairie we'd ever seen, and we've driven through Manitoba and Saskatchewan ! It's endless here. There are plenty of trees and windbreaks, but they're miles away out to the horizon. The sky is huge, too, and we're sure that storms and tornados here are impressive and terrifying. Waco featured Baylor University, which looked modern and ancient at the same time.

Politics is big here, too. The stretch from Dallas to Waco is in red-neck bible country. Two large billboards caught our eye. One featured a large picture of former President George W. Bush and the caption read "Miss Me Yet?" and railed against broken promises and false hope. The other billboard had an unflattering photo of President Obama and a caption that read "Socialist By Conduct!" Holy crap, I thought politics in Canada was cut-throat !!

We landed in our hotel in Austin around noon, and after a celebratory beer, decided to go outside and explore. It was a hot and sunny afternoon, and our hotel host told us the walk downtown would be about a half hour. It was, in fact, close to an hour and a half in the hot sun. We were not impressed with that!

Austin is, to say the least, impressive. We walked around the perimeter of the University of Texas, past two huge stadiums, one for football and the other for track/soccer, and then down to the state government complex, bigger than most countries' national governments. From there, we went to one of the several entertainment districts: note the plural here !! We enjoyed drinks at an Irish pub and engaged in pleasant conversations with some friendly Texans. We learned a lot about them and their state, and tried to tell them what we could about Canada, a land they'd heard of , but, aside from a visit to Banff by one of them, a place none of them knew much about. We felt like we were the first arrivals from another planet; "take me to your leader !" The day rounded off with a delicious Tex-Mex dinner and a cab ride to the hotel.

We have 3 days in Austin, and we plan to make the most of them. Yeeeeeehaaaawwwww !!

DAY 5 TUES. MAR. 22 AUSTIN,TX.

Our first full day in Austin dawned hot and cloudy. We decided to spend the day at the University of Texas and the LBJ Museum and Library.

The university campus is sprawling and impressive. we entered from the east, in what can be described as the more modern section. We walked past the Darrel Royal Memorial football stadium, which looked even more massive close up. Further along, the buildings became older until we arrived at the beautiful Main Building with its infamous bell tower. It was at this site, in 1966, that a former Marine took several firearms to the top floor of the tower and opened fire on the innocent people below. In all, 16 people were killed and several wounded. The shooter was killed by Austin police. Today, there is no inkling of this tragedy: like all university campuses, UT is an island of youthful activity and discourse. Kids were going about their business like students the world over.

From the Main Building, looking south to the Capital Building is a wide, tree-lined promenade of buildings of a colonial style, red-tiled roofed liberal arts buildings. A massive fountain adorned the entrance, and the view can only be described as colossal. It was fit for a procession of emperors.

We backtracked and spent two interesting hours in the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum. The chronicle of LBJ's life was superimposed on the events in the world during those years. Of course, artifacts from his presidency were on full display. The museum was impressive, too, in that it did not attempt to sugar-coat LBJ's failures, especially the Viet Nam War. But what really came to mind was just how socially progressive his administration truly was. He was a great man, a true visionary, a person who honestly tried to make his country a "Great Society" during incredibly turblent times. I found myself wondering if such things could ever be duplicated in our meaner and more conservative times. The 1960' s were indeed a time where liberals who were motivated to do good in the world could actually do so: the Kennedys, Johnson, Trudeau, King and many others were willing to pay huge prices to bring about the change necessary to promote a better world. I also found myself thinking about the current occupant of the White House, and wished him well in his endeavours: somehow, I think he will have a more difficult time than any of his predecessors, and some of them were killed for their efforts.

This evening found us wandering the night-life strip of 6th Ave. We've never seen such a dense collection of bars, restaurants, and night clubs. We enjoyed a superb Texas barbeque at the venerable Stubb's ( brisket, ribs, sweet potato, ochre, cole slaw ) that melted in your mouth. We wandered past clubs that ranged from seedy to classy. Some of the street people looked like real creatures, while most were a combination of beer-swilling college kids to respectable middle-agers , like us !! We returned with full bellies a little early, and resolved to stay out a little later tomorrow.

DAY 6 WED. MAR. 23 AUSTIN, TX.

Austin is hot .... friggin' hot. This 90 degree F. weather is not what we expected and it's starting to take a bit of a toll. Lilke "mad dogs and Englishmen" we went out in the noon-day sun and got fried. But we weren't alone. The city is populated by legislators, lobbyists, business people, techies, and students, and, if they're not wearing dark suites or ridiculous high heels, they're wearing jeans and hoodies ... in 90 degrees !! Apparently, this is just a "little warm" for Austinites.

Today, we are visiting the incredible capital building, and we were awed by the 218 foot high dome. The building, along with the offices and underground extension would make many nations blush. We took an informative tour and then sat in on sessions in both the House and Senate. I was totally fascinated, not necessarily by the stately grandeur of the building, but by what I saw and heard... politics in its home element. Although we weren't familiar with the issues, I was able to pick up on the somewhat partizan parry and thrust in the House, followed by the almost collegial spirit in the Senate. Apparently, the Texas legislature meets only every two years, and for a five month session, so they MUST get legislation passed fairly quickly. They all seemed to be hard at it, and the galleries and hallways were jammed with lobbyists and aids, and interested observers.

As we exited the capital, we came upon a crowd of red-shirted "protesters" who eagerly applauded several speakers at the main entrance. As we made our way through the crowd, we realized that, far from being radicals, they were retired teachers, like us, concerned that their pensions might be targeted in the Texas deficit-reduction initiatives. Apparently, these retirees hadn't had a cost of living increase in ten years !! A sympathetic legislator called this "ridiculous", to loud applause, including us. I felt like suggesting that they buy into a successful sports franchise like the Dallas Cowboys, but wisely kept my opinions to myself.

We lunched at the glorious Driskill Hotel, a Victorian gem. It was constructed in 1886, and must have been the centre of Austin's social scene in those days. It is a true throw-back to America's "Guilded Age" and spoke of that nation's new found power, elegance, and wealth: an emerging power after the trauma of the Civil War.

And then, there was the walk home. It took us an hour and a half in scorching heat. We were crazy to try it, but we did it, sweating and cursing, watching blue jays, mockingbirds, squirrels and Texas Longhorns football players at spring training mock our every step.

And then .... Austin is cool. We did a crawl of some of the music venues in the Entertainment and Warehouse districts. Such wonderful music in so many styles. We drank whisky and vodka and grooved. We only scratched the surface but learned two things: Austinites love their music, and when you're exposed to music that is SO good, so sublime and soulful, and you later hear a band that is merely "OK", you get disgusted and want to leave the club. The great music was all I had hoped it would be, and Lou and I stayed out late and thoroughly enjoyed it. And it was only 3 clubs out of more than 200 !!

DAY 7 THURS. MAR. 24 AUSTIN, TX.

Every city has its area of shops that are not cookie-cutter, run-of-the-mill, shopping mall standards, and in Austin, that area is called SOCO or South Congress. We strolled the SOCO stretch in more heat and sunshine that nearly fried us. The heat, plus the late night the night before,made our heads light and our stomachs woozy, but we soldiered on.

We were impressed with the ecclectic spirit in this part of the city, particularly in a store called "Monkey See, Monkey Do", a place that sells wacky gifts and products ranging from fake moustaches to breath freshener that would make you turn "Canadian"... complete with a package featuring a Canadian hoser in toque, checked lumberjack shirt and maple leaf gloves. There were outlets selling genuine Texan and western wear, right down to beautiful cowboy boots. Other stores sold recycled clothing, including cowboy boots, and numerous book and music stores. Also present in this stretch was a group of food vendors selling wares from trailers. Most of the food was unusual and gourmet: special coffees, tex-mex, thai, delicious and creamy cupcakes, and unusual hot dogs: my favourite (although I didn't try it) was the "predator and prey" hot dog, with the weiner made from rattlesnake and rabbit !! It's all part of "Keep Austin Weird".

We followed up with an absolutely amazing Mexican dinner at "Maria, Maria's", co-owned by Carlos Santana, and a couple more clubs. Tomorrow, we begin the return leg of our journey. We will miss Austin, rapidly becoming our favourite American city.

DAY 8 FRI. MAR. 25 AUSTIN, TX - BENTON, AK

Under grey skies, we bid farewell to Austin, and retraced our steps back to Arkansas.

We saw familiar sights from the other side of the interstate. Prairie, cattle, hear, and large homes: that's Texas. Then, into the pine woods and western Arkansas. We noticed many signs, billboards, and bumper stickers promoting religion ... more than usual. This is really Jesusland here. The people have core values that simply won't compromise on. The Lord, the military, guns, hunting, football, family .... these are important.

We had a great meal tonight. As much as Texas is known for beef, we think Arkansas is known for catfish, and the catfish we had tonight was awesome, along with sweet potato slathered in butter, honey, cinnamon, and brown sugar and amazing bread pudding with home-made praline sauce. We are eating our way through the south!!

We also had another interesting experience at this restaurant. When we ordered a beer and glass of wine, which were on the menu, we were informed that we had to take out a membership. It seems the county was dry, and the way around it is to make the restaurant a "private club" where they could serve alcohol to members!! Ingenious, and only in America !!

DAY 9 SAT. MAR.26 BENTON, AK - FESTUS, MO

If America is a land of extremes, perhaps that is best symbolized by its weather. We began with an early departure from Benton. The skies were dull and foggy, and a steady drizzle heralded single digit temperatures. We saddled up and left, retracing our steps towards Little Rock and the open poverty of swampy eastern Arkansas. Before we could cross the Mississippi, we turned north, through better looking farmland, paralleling the great river, and into the vast sweep of flat prairie in south-eastern Missouri. The panorama to our left was incredible: it didn't seem to end. To our right were gentle wooded hills reaching down to the Mississippi. Much of our journey was uneventful here: indeed, the sun broke out a couple of times. Then, off to the north, was a foreboding storm system that seemed to toy with us, moving west to east in front of us, and staying north, ahead of us. We witnessed several dramatic lightning strikes around us. Rain returned, and the temperature began to fall. Hail assaulted the car, and conditions worsened. Then, in mid afternoon, we lost the prairie and entered gentle rolling hils and farms that resembled southern Ontario. But as we closed in on St. Louis, the temperature dropped dramatically. Snow dusted the ground, nothing to be considered a problem, or so we thought. But southbound traffic featured cars covered by a thick blanket of snow. We looked at each other and knew what we were driving into. Each mile brought more whiteness, and the rain began to adhere to the shining roadway. We decided to abandon our push to St. Louis and found a hotel in Festus just as the rain became ice pellets. A few minutes later, ice and snow rose to a height of 2 or 3 inches, and we knew we'd made the right decision. A few more miles and we'd be battling an ice storm that bent over the tree tops 36 hours after sweltering in Austin's heat and humidity. The political theme of the day is pro-life. We encountered several billboards extolling that philosophy over the miles, and a large hospital featured a lawn full of tiny white crosses and a large billboard that proclaimed "I trust in Jesus." I believe each cross represented an abortion performed at that hospital, although we couldn't be sure of that. Lou and I, both liberals, are becoming overwhelmed by the loud right-wing agenda of south-central America. Are there no American liberals? Or are they hiding from the billboards and the menacing army behind the messages, ready to take guns and bibles to drive away any "pinko" who dares to exercise his or her free speech rights into oblivion and damnation? Or do the liberals take the high road and express themselves elsewhere? Perhaps the truth of America is that there is no one America. The interstate largely cuts through rural America, and liberals tend to live in larger cities, where there's no need to shriek your beliefs from on high. So the country folk proclaim their ideas loudly in the hope of keeping the city slickers away. At least, that's my hypothesis.

DAY 10 SUN. MAR. 27 FESTUS, MO - BATTLE CREEK, MI

We awoke to a completely different world from yesterday. Brilliant sunshine and dazzling blue skies highlighted a winter wonderland. The snow gleamed in the brightness, adhering to ornamental fruit trees already in pink blossoms. It was surreal and wonderful.

We left Festus im improving conditions and drove north to St. Louis. We beheld the Gateway Arch, symbolically separating old America from the new. Somehow, gawking at the sights, we missed our road sign and drove well out of our way. Lou once again had to plot a mid-course correction, and did so successfully. But it gave us a chance to see some of the fine old architecture in some of St. Louis' older neighbourhoods. We hope they are in good repair.

Re-acquiring our route, we followed and then crossed the Mississippi River for the final time. We rolled north and east through more incredible, flat, wide-open prairie north to Chicago. The sky was immense and we could trace the paths of vast weather systems all around us.

In Missouri, the anti-abortion billboards continued. Some were absurd in their appeal. One claimed that the pathway to peace was through opposing abortion, apparently a quote attributed to Mother Theresa. Another asked who would hold the baby's hand during an abortion. Whether one is for or opposed to the choice based on logic or reason doesn't seem to be a factor in this part of the country. Pure emotion is supreme. It is absurd: how can being pro-life promote peace? If one is pro-choice, it must follow that one is a war monger, no? And how can a person hold the hand of a tiny fetus?

The madness continued on the political front as well. A billboard in Missouri displayed the photos of 4 or 5 presumably Republican officials with a caption blaring out about Republican betrayals and calling for a "GOP Renaissance". I'm guessing that the Tea Party was at work here, although those words did not appear on the billboards. In Illinois, a series of placards proclaimed Chicago as a leading city in gun control .... not to promote gun control, but to promote a group called "Guns Save Lives" .... other placards told of how guns would save your life if you were ever held up or robbed. Crazy stuff !!

A mild detour in Lincoln, Illinois, searching for fuel, provided a pleasant surprise, which drew our two American road trips together. We drove on a section of Historic Route 66, at the eastern end of the Mother Road. We had driven some of the surviving western stretches in Arizona during our trip in 2008, so it was nice to see her again, albeit in small patches.

Prairie disappeared and familiar forest, lake, farms, and rolling hills came back in northern Illinois. We skirted Chicago and caught a tantalizing glimpse of her skyline before turning east. I'd hoped to spend some time in Chicago, one of my favourite American cities, but home is calling. We'll save Chicago for another time. Into Indiana, past crumbling homes and vacant factories of Gary, and finally into Michigan, to gain back the hour we lost last week. We pushed to Battle Creek, fatigued and hungry, and stopped for the night. We re-enter Canada tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll see Tony the Tiger before we leave the U.S. !

DAY 11 MON. MAR. 28 BATTLE CREEK, MI - NEWMARKET,ON

No Tony today. We reminded ourselves that the guy who did the voice is long dead anyway. We left Battle Creek in brilliant sunshine and drove east. It was cold. A brief stop at the duty free in Detroit's urban hell, across the rickety Ambassador Bridge and we were back in Canada. Clean highways and no billboards. Snow, our first since Missouri, gathered along the highway, but the road was good, dry and open. And then, Toronto. Our first and only grid lock traffic jam on the trip. Toronto is just too big for its britches and the tie-up was frustrating. Then, north on the 400 and home! Happy Birthday to me!

REFLECTION THURS. MAR. 31 NEWMARKET, ON

We've had a few days at home to digest out trip, and we've come to several conclusions.

First, as always, the excitement of travel is all-consuming for us. Road trips are now especially appealing, and we plan to do more. A roadtrip for us means picking a destination, such as Austin, preparing our car as though it was an Apollo space capsule, drive like hell to get there, explore and then get the hell back home before we run out of air.

Second, we learned more about our fascinating neighbour, the USA. It is such a colossal country, huge in every way. It is full of contradictions: absolute wonder and beauty, and insane and sleazy absurdity. Its successes are many and magnificent: its failures are sad and pathetic. Its people are completely friendly and pleasant, but have little or no idea about the wider world, and this always dumbfounds me. How can a world power, the greatest world power, be, at times, so ignorant and parochial? How can the home of so much innovation, creativity, and progress be so bigotted and closed-minded? How can there be so much hate and fear in a land that claims earnestly to love Jesus? The truth, of course, is that you can never truly know the US because there is no single, true, one-size-fits-all USA. It is a country more fractured and disjointed than Canada ( and that is saying quite a lot! ) and yet, as John Ralston Saul asserts, it is completely united by a common mythology that everyone buys into: the flag, personal rights ( guns, free speech ), and America's God-given right to dominate the world. Such a fascinating country deserves more study and examination, and we plan to do just that.

Finally, a word must be said about traveling together. Lou and I have known each other since grade 11, and have been married for 20 years now. We are moving too rapidly through middle age now, and aches, pains, bad temper, and frustration are part of the journey. All this, we experienced on the trip. But, there's something wonderful about traveling together. We become a team when we journey, and we work well: if you need proof of this, well, we made it there and back again, and we're still speaking to each other. And, we want to do this again and again, as long as we are able, until we finally understand what this huge world is all about. And, when we learn what that is, we'll be sure to tell you !!

Soundtrack:

On a long road trip, there were many hours of good conversation and companionable silence. But we also listened to great music to help set the mood:

The Goo-Goo Dolls - Dizzy Up The Girl

Cold Play - Viva La Vida

Deep Purple - Machine Head

The Black Crowes- Greatest Hits

O Brother Where Art Thou? - Soundtack

Golden Earring - Moontan

Bruce Springsteen - The Rising

The Tragically Hip - Up To Here

Colin James - Traveler

- Fuse