Pass here and move on . . .

I just listened to the Simon and Garfunkel song "America" so I'm feeling the spirit of cross country travel and I figured I'd take a moment to catch you up on the past few days. The people we stayed with in Lafayette were super cool and they gave us a good taste of the local flavor by getting us fried shrip po' boys for dinner and syrup drenched buiscuits for breakfast. We talked about creole traditions like chicken chasing and about the french music festivals they have in town. Learning the difference between cajun music and zydeco music was only a matter of listening to the sounds floating in the air. Fast forward to Austin where we enjoyed some authentic bbq the first night and the best blackened catfish and collard greens in recent memory the second night. In between, we took a peak into the local indie music scene and followed some friends to a raucous high energy show at a local record store. Later we ened up at somebody's house, drinking mexican beer and watching people dance to Creedence and Steely Dan in the soft glow of Christmas lights strung along the cieling. Last night, our couch surfing host in Las Cruces, New Mexico took us for a hike to a waterfall in the surrounding mountains and the stars were so bright that we felt we could reach up and touch them. As I write this we're driving through the badlands of New Mexico on our way to a show in Scottsdale and I'm reminded of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by the dusty ramshackle roadside towns and the rugged mountain terrain all around us. Full speed ahead.