South-Central USA

The southern-central USA is not a place that one would generally choose as a vacation destination - right? All those jokes about Texas or the south - rednecks, hillbillies, sauna like humidity and on and on - some of that must be true, yes?  Well, some of it is true of course, but those are the same reasons why you might come - to find the truth and to find what these places are really like.  And of course when you come in with low expectations, you often leave pleasantly surprised.  So here are a few of the reasons we'd come back to the south-central USA:

Hill Country, TX:   This area is covered in rolling hills of pasture and stubby pine trees, cute towns with historic buildings selling art, antiques, and dog treats, 

and Lyndon B Johnson museums and hometown.

Austin, TX:  Fabulous city full of great bars, great food, great live music.  Plus

 the UT campus is there with interesting exhibits and festivals (we saw a “Beat” generation exhibit and Indian Holi festival).  And there is a river front trail for walking and biking - right downtown.

Southwestern, LA:  This is Cajun country where all the signs are in French and the food tasted like heaven - crawfish, shrimp, fried, fried, fried and cafe au laits!  The entire area is infiltrated with water - you are on the bayou - and it has created beautiful wildlife refuges where you can walk and drive and see amazing birds and alligators up close. The culture and history is easy to access with exhibits and music at museums and street parties in small towns.  These people love a party!

North/Central Arkansas:   This area is a postcard perfect scenic area.  You can drive through small backroads winding up and over the Ozark, through quaint towns and farms, and capturing excellent views of river valleys or you can hike through leafy forests, along landscaped looking creeks tumbling over sandstone slabs.  Stay in a cabin built by the CCC in the 30's and then visit early 20th century hotspring bathhouses - maybe even take one and enjoy the old time opulence yourself.  We savored secret BBQ recipe at a local diner and wandered through art galleries (did you know Hot Springs, AR is the #4 best art town?)

And another plus to all of these places is 70-80 degree temps in March and that southern hospitality is really true!  So you see - there are some fun places to visit in this great country that you might not expect.  From these experiences I know we're going to infuse our future vacations with "odd" places because it's there that we always learn the most!

Fine Print - Ok so there are some less desirable things about these places which should be mentioned:  West Texas smells like oil and is littered with the world's highest density of roadkill,  Louisiana has nasty, make you want to hurl ticks and little green inchworms that fall from the sky, and Arkansas has dry counties and no alcohol sales on Sunday.  There are some Confederate flags about - just a few - and you can't find too much health food. Oh and it's tornado season apparently and thunderstorms with inch sized hail are expected.  We're off to find shelter.  More soon...