On The Road…Sam’s USA Road Trip!
Ah, the much revered and fabled Great American Road Trip. We saw Sal Paradise and the notorious Dean Moriarty take on those sublimely straight roads in Keroac’s ‘On the Road’, we’ve marveled as Thelma and Louise burned rubber through the deserts of Utah and watched Wyatt and Billy barrel along the famed Route 66 in counterculture hit Easy Rider. In short, it’s not an untapped genre – and after hearing about Sam’s recent trip to the big U S of A, we can see why.
A jetlagged Sam arrived back from his holiday with promises of thrilling tales from the other side of the pond, and I’ve finally managed to weasel a few out of him through a combination of brute force and cake. Considering that the one and only Sin City was on the list, you may be surprised at how wholesome his trip sounds – but I’m assured that what both you – and I – are hearing here is very much the PG version of events. What goes on tour, etc…
First stop was New Orleans. Sam and his two friends, incidentally also called Sam (Yes. The three Sams go to America. We know. It’s ridiculous) headed to the famous Bourbon Street to give the locals a run for their money in New Orleans’ oldest neighborhood, the French Quarter. It’s an area that locals love – always a good barometer of a city’s hotspots – and arguably offers up some of the best live jazz in the city, as well as great food and cheap drinks. Winning!
Back behind the wheel, they passed through Housten briefly before arriving in Austin where they attempted a go at some Cultural Stuff in the form of a visit to the Capitol, soaked up the cities legendary street culture and visited some (apparently) famous bats who live under a bridge. These bats went down particularly well with our Sam, who said he’d ‘definitely consider pet bats in the future’. Excellent.
In Dallas, they visited the place where JFK was famously assassinated and spent some time in the Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. Before there is a mass outcry and people start smashing things: three 28 year old men CAN spend an afternoon enjoying an army of beautiful pink flowers – it’s not all Hooters and gambling, you know. It’s just not.
They then passed through Fort Worth, Lubbock, Alberqueque and Flagstaff – none of which Sam has deigned to give me much information about, aside from mumbling something about ‘rodeos and barbeques in the desert’. This either suggests they aren’t much to write home about, or that Sam is bone idle – I’m going with the latter.
After a brief moment of calm before the brightly lit storm at the Grand Canyon, the merry band of Sams descended on Sin City… and sadly, ladies and gents, this is where our tale ends. For no story that comes out of Vegas should be suitable for public consumption, and Sam assures me his too is consigned to a far less public domain. Boo! Hiss! We know this much: There was gambling. There were hangovers. There may have been some questionable behavior. We’re pretty sure that Mike Tyson’s pet tiger didn’t end up in their hotel room – but aside from that, all bets are off. That’s all folks!
Oh, he may have tied the knot though. We hope you have a very happy life together, boys!
