Tale of the Nail--Suzuki Adventure, Day Nine

First off, a confession: It isn’t really a nail that we discover in the front tire of the Kizashi two hours into the drive on our ninth day of driving. It is a screw. However, “nail” rhymes better, and the two have common character: sharp, shiny and tire-popping. Perhaps a screw is even worse, because of the wearing, tearing grooves.

Driving the Natchez Trace: Suzuki Adventure, Day Eight

Equating the concept of “parks” with green space, as people naturally do, it’s difficult to picture a park that’s also a thoroughfare—but that is just what the Natchez Trace Parkway is. It’s a 444-mile road that’s also a national park. It goes from Natchez, Mississippi all the way to Nashville, Tennessee. It passes by Civil War memorial sites, prehistoric mounds, cemeteries and former plantation mansions. For historians professional or amateur, it is irresistible. 

We get on the road early the day we’re driving the Natchez Trace, because the whole point of driving it is to SEE it—therefore, all travel must be during the limited winter daylight hours. I fear that another storm will come along and render the daytime dark and foggy, but happily, we’re in a sweet spot between the New Years’ storms and another snow-showering miserable front that will shortly overtake the East Coast. It’s a crisp, clear, sunny day that promises great pictures and ideal driving conditions.

Creole Eats and the Great River Road: Day Seven

Waking up in the heart of Creole country, Louisiana on New Years Day, only one thing really comes to mind: Where can one find the most lavish, over-the-top brunch in town? 


It’s actually easier said than done, because Lafayette restaurateurs like everyone else enjoy spending the holiday at home with their families, not at work serving the likes of me. We make three fruitless stops before giving up and heading out of Lafayette toward Baton Rouge, deciding there must be some good road-food restaurant that’s open, and we will just have to find it.