On the Road Again

 

Goin’ Places That I’ve Never Been, Seein’ Things That I May Never See Again

 

 

(Willie Nelson’s On the Road Again)

 

While other forms of travel can get you to your destination faster, a roadtrip allows you to see varied draws of a region while enjoying the pleasures of the roadtrip experience:  the open road, beautiful scenery and time to enjoy music or games.  This roadtrip will visit the American South, following a route from Ohio through just a few popular tourist destinations.  Our stops along the way include the Carolinas, Florida, and New Orleans.  During the trip, we’ll play songs, see souvenirs, and explore some of the reasons tourists travel.    Ready?  Let’s hit the road…

 

Riding Along in My Automobile 

 

 

(Chuck Berry’s No Particular Place to Go)

 

Often considered to be a quintessential American experience, the roadtrip is a compelling way to see the large and varied countryside of the United States.  One particular region, the South, has long drawn tourists, especially since the inception of the automobile and the growth of roads like the National and Dixie Highways, which were created as early as 1909 and 1915.  The roadtrip’s popularity grew in the mid-20^th century with President Eisenhower’s development of a national interstate system in the late 1950s and early ‘60s.  A growing middle class with paid vacations and the ability to afford cars, along with the breakdown of Jim Crow segregation, expanded the population able to tour the country.

 

 

 

This Ford Focus with Ohio license plates is our means of transport.  Driving on the interstate for hours is more enjoyable with its padded seats and cruise control.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eyes Real Low, Just Singin’ My Song, Drivin’ Down the Freeway

 

  

(Young Buck and Outlawz’s Driving Down the Freeway)

 

 

 From Columbus, Ohio, take local highways south to Interstate 64.  Take I-64 East into Virginia, and then travel  southeast to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

 

 

 

 

From car games to video games, travelers seek ways to entertain themselves while on the road communally or individually.  Examining the world around them, searching for objects of a certain type or color is a game many have enjoyed on roadtrips throughout the last century.  More recently, video games have become a popular diversion for passengers.  Music has been a roadtrip entertainment for drivers and passengers alike even prior to the 1930 invention of fitted car radios.  Before then, or in areas where reception is scarce, travelers would sing songs and make music themselves.   In the past 50 years, this tradition has changed as the introduction of in-car 8-track players followed by cassette, cd, and mp3 players gave people the ability to bring recorded music with them.  Developments in entertainment technology continue to alter the roadtrip experience for those who can afford the latest devices.

 

 

 

Roadtrip passengers can watch movies like Gone With the Wind on portable DVD players .  Though previous entertainment allowed or demanded travelers to look at the world they passed through, new technology keeps their focus inside the vehicle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travelers have the ability to create playlists of music or video on media players like this ipod.  The diverse possibilities offered by one device allows for personalized roadtrip entertainment that can be communal or individual, audio or visual.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Going to Carolina

 

(James Taylor ‘s Carolina in My Mind)

 

 

 

 

From the Outer Banks of North Carolina, follow local highways east to Interstate 95 South.  In South Carolina, leave I-95 and travel east to Charleston.

 

 

 

 

The natural environment and history of the South are two main draws of the region.  People have long traveled there to enjoy the beautiful scenery and warm weather and to see sites of historical importance.  Although roads were being built to facilitate this movement throughout the 20^th century, not everyone was able to participate easily in such roadtrips.  African Americans, for instance, often faced violence in unfriendly locales throughout the nation and were legally barred from many public spaces in the South prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

 

 

This shell came from a beach trip to the Outer Banks, a popular destination to enjoy the South’s natural beauty and warm weather.  Inexpensive souvenirs like it can help offset the cost of travel for lower-income tourists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the 1960s development of I-95, the South of the Border rest-stop became a familiar sight for interstate travelers.  Built in 1950 along US 301, it was one of few stops where black tourists knew they were welcomed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rangers, like the owner of this hat, educate visitors about American and Southern history at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina.  National Parks are popular tourist destinations that preserve both the nature and history of the country. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And If You Make Time, It’s A Cool Drive

 

 

 

(Rory Gallagher’s The King of Zydeco )

 

 

 

Travel north from St. Augustine, Florida to US 90.  Follow US 90 West to New Orleans, Louisiana.

 

 

 

 

Destination tourism involves sites designed specifically to entice visitors and often incorporates diversions like shopping, dining, entertainment or other activities.  These areas grew drastically throughout the 20^th century and are now abundant in the South, frequently around sites that also provide environmental or cultural draws.  The cost of visiting and participating in these activities can be prohibitive, however, and people who live nearby are often unable to partake in the attractions.   While the Gulf Coast has long been attractive to Southerners for its close and breezy beaches, it has increasingly become more resort-focused, enticing those visitors who can afford a destination vacation and excluding those who cannot.

 

 

This Victorian brooch was purchased at an antique store while visiting St. Augustine, Florida.  Shopping and other attractions in this beach town supplement its natural draws and historic appeal as America’s oldest continuously settled city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

American Map’s Road Atlas suggests taking US 90 instead of Interstate 10 on the trip from Florida to Louisiana.  Though a slower route, 90 provides a glimpse of Southern town life and scenic beach views of the Gulf Coast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Café Du Monde’s 1862 French Market location still sells its famous chicory coffee.  Cultural and historic draws like New Orleans-style coffee, Zydeco music, and the French Market, along with many other tourist attractions, make the city a unique destination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Just Can’t Wait To Get On The Road Again

 

 

(Willie Nelson’s On The Road Again)

 

 

 

  

From New Orleans, Louisiana, take Interstate 59 North to Interstate 65 in Alabama.  Follow Interstate 65 North until it becomes Interstate 71 North in Kentucky.  Continue on I-71 North to Columbus, Ohio.

 

 

 

The journey home is a time for reflection.  Along our trip we enjoyed roadside scenery and culture, stopping at places for their beauty or historical importance.  In many destinations we experienced the infrastructure sites developed to entice tourists and their money.  Money affects people’s ability to enjoy a trip like ours, as race has in the past.  Throughout the 20^th-century the roadtrip became a popular conception of American culture, though the sights, sounds, and experiences travelers enjoy while driving have altered with changes both inside and outside the car.  Regardless, people continue to hit the road to tour the South and the nation.  Where will you go next?  We just can’t wait to get on the road again …

 

Annotated Bibliography

 

Secondary Sources

 

Hollis, Tim.  Dixie Before Disney:  100 Years of Roadside Fun.  Jackson, MS:  University Press of Mississippi, 1999.  This source was extremely helpful as it provided me with information regarding the growth of highways in the South, details about specific areas and highways I was looking at, and insight into the growth of resort-style tourism on the Gulf Shore.

 

Koser, Laura.   Planned by Pedro:  South of the Border 1950-2001.  Columbia, SC:  University of South Carolina Master’s Thesis, 2004.  This source was helpful in providing information on highway and tourism development in the mid-twentieth century South.  Additionally, it provided insight into the racial tensions surrounding road travel during this period.

 

Lackey, Kris.  Road Frames:  The American Highway Narrative.  Lincoln, NE:  University of Nebraska Press, 1997.  This source was helpful as its chapter on African American road travel, “The Nigger Window:  Black Highways and the Impossibility of Nostalgia,” forced me to reconsider my initial argument that roadtrips are a shared American experience.

 

Silber, Nina.  The Romance of Reunion:  Northerners and the South, 1865-1900.  Chapel Hill, NC:  The University of North Carolina Press, 1993.  The chapter “Sick Yankees in Paradise:  Northern Tourism in the Reconstructed South” was helpful in causing me to consider the history of tourism in the South.

 

Statonis, Anthony J.  Creating the Big Easy:  New Orleans and the Emergence of Modern Tourism, 1918-1945.  Athens, GA:  The University of Georgia Press, 2006.  This source gave me insight into how New Orleans developed as a site for destination tourism.

Stanonis, Anthony J., ed.  Dixie Emporium:  Tourism, Foodways, and Consumer Culture in the American South.  Athens:  University of Georgia Press, 2008.  This source gave me insight into the correlation of Southern culture and tourism.

Starnes, Richard, ed.  Southern Journeys:  Tourism, History, and Culture in the Modern South.  Tuscaloosa:  University of Alabama Press, 2003.  This source was extremely helpful in that it provided me with one of the tenets of my final argument surrounding three broad categories of Southern tourism:  environmental, cultural/historic, and destination.  It also provided general and specific information relevant to my exhibit and research on tourists to the South and tourism to different Southern regions.

 

 

 

Primary Sources

 

Hedgji, Alexandra.  Conversation.  November 2008.   A reluctant native of the South, Alex introduced me to zydeco music specifically for this project, which helped me to find the song used in my exhibit, The King of Zydeco.

 

Johnson, Nathan.   Conversation.  November 2008.  A Fort Sumter Ranger, Nate not only provided the hat used in the exhibit, he also gave me insight into what he and other Fort Sumter Rangers tell visitors.

 

 

Music:  All of the following music was used in my exhibit both aurally and as titles for my text panels.

 

Berry, Chuck.  No Particular Place to Go.

 

Gallagher, Rory.  The King of Zydeco .

 

Nelson, Willie.  On the Road Again.

 

Taylor, James.  Carolina in My Mind.

 

Young Buck and Outlawz.  Driving Down the Freeway.

 

 

 

Online

Ebaum’s World.  Forum>Pictures.  http://forum.ebaumsworld.com/showthread.php?t=250282, December 2008.  This site provided me with a picture of South of the Border which was used in my exhibit. 

Google.  Google Maps.  http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl, December 2008.  This site provided me with the map used in my exhibit and the route which my virtual roadtrip follows.

 

Google.  Search Engine.  www.google.com,  November 2008.  This search engine provided me with numerous sites regarding roadtrip songs, many of which I considered, and a few that I eventually used in my exhibit.  It also provided me with sites that provided the images of highway signs used.

 

New Orleans Online.  The City of New Orleans’ Official Tourism Website.  http://www.neworleansonline.com/, December 2008.  This website lays out the types of attractions New Orleans markets to tourists, including such activities as “Voluntourism.”

 

Visit Florida.com.  St. Augustine.  http://www.visitflorida.com/st_augustine, December 2008.  This site gave me an idea of the types of activities tourists can do and enjoy while visiting St. Augustine.

 

 

of class, that is.  Today was our last day of class, and I think we're all just about ready for it.  I actually woke up with my feet still hurting, but I went out for a run in yet another direction - North up the canal (thought it dissapears into a tunnel and it took me awhile to find it again!).  I like exploring via a morning run.

Today was a full day and thus tomorrow will be a free day.  We started, of course, with a long tube ride.  The ride ended right across the street from the Tower of London which actually doesn't appear like much of a tower, but certainly did back in 'the day,' meaning the 14th century.  We had a great personalized tour of the site with a curator ________.  Her tour was very interesting and she made some good points about how legends enter into the history of an object.  It's also interesting how much research they still can do on the site.  Every time they work on conserving a section, they have a precise research plan.  Some other interesting tidbits ... the Tower used to hold a menagerie of animals, ranging from lions to elephants and even a polar bear, whose chain was lengthened so he could go swimming in the Thames!  Also, they have elaborate prisoner graffiti carved into the stone walls of the prison.  A really cool thing is that people still live there today!

One of the interesting things from throughout the trip is the variety of ways in which people came into their position.  Hers, she says, was largely a result of luck and happenstance.  Both reassuring and scary - she worked for a year and a half as a temp after she got her PhD!  But, now she's a curator. 

After our time with her ended we saw the crown jewels.  Which, really, weren't all that exciting.  They are SO fancy, all covered in velvet and ermine and jewels jewels jewels in LOTS o' gold that they almost seem fake.  Too fantastical, almost.  We also saw the study of one of the better-treated prisoners, Walter Raleigh, who lived there with his family in private apartments.  The range of imprisonment experiences ranged from such luxuries to solitary confinement and torture areas. 

Later in the afternoon we went on a public tour of the British Library's conservation studio.  Wow, what work they do - looking closely and bits of paper, stamps, photos, manuscripts, etc. and bringing them together into better shape and better accessible forms.  I thought it was interesting not only in the conservation methods but also in being on a public tour, which is something I haven't done in quite awhile. 

After a long ride home we rested.  Jan's friend's mom, Riki, is in town and has been accompanying us on our travels (she's wonderful!) and she came by too.  She's an artist and showed us some pictures of some of her recent work.  And, I talked to Connie and (miracle of miracles) she said it was great that I was thinking of switching from historic preservation to museums.  I feel like a weights been lifted.  It was a great way to feel as we headed to dinner, the whole group, at a small cafe sitting over the canal (very cool - we sat right over the boats as they sailed along).  Dinner was wonderful.  Riki and I split a linguine with mussels, a salad, and a pear tart for dessert.  Yum.  And the perfect amount.  Dinner was a great way to 'end' the trip.  All of us together have a truly enjoyable evening.  We got Connie flowers and thank-you cards for her and the Greenwoods, a lovely couple that has organized some of the things earlier in the trip for us and have joined us for many of our activities.  After walking Riki to the tube stop, we came home.  And somehow wasted time until now ... bed.  Tomorrow is a free day, all to myself, and then Saturday - long plane ride HOME.

goodnight :)