Road Trip in Numbers
Number of kilometres: 9,333
Number of states: 15
Cheapest gas: $2.37/gallon USD in Corbin, KY
Most expensive gas: $2.59/gallon USD in Black River Falls, WI
Number of squirrels killed: 1
Number of speeding tickets: 0
Number of fingers lost to alligators: 0
Number of servings of toasted ravioli: 2
Number of baseball games seen: 1
Number of runs in the baseball game: 8
Number of cupcakes eaten: 12.5 each
Number of Elvis movies watched: 1.5
Number of Georgia peaches eaten: 4 each
Number of giant peach orbs: 2
Number of Cabbage Patch Kids born: 1
Number of Cabbage Patch Kids held: 5
Number of Cabbage Patch Kids with messed up names: too many to count
Top 3 cities: New Orleans, Nashville, St. Louis
Top 5 free: Babyland General Hospital, Golden Flake factory tour, St. Louis Zoo, Laser Show Spectacular, Laumeier Sculpture Park
Top 5 overrated: Georgia Aquarium; Memphis city tour; McDonald’s in a pink victorian house; Laurel, MS; Jilly’s Cupcakes; “giant” rocking chair in Eureka Springs
Top 5 surprises: Nashville, Kelly Ingram Park (Birmingham, AL), Christ of the Ozarks (Eureka Springs, AR), Graceland, toasted ravioli (St. Louis, MO)
Hardest accent to understand: Louisiana (runner up: Tennessee)
Cheapest parking: 25ยข for 2 hours in Birmingham, AL
Most expensive parking: $10 for 2 hours in New Orleans, LA
Best cinnamon bun: 1896 O’Malley House in New Orleans, LA
Most comfortable bed: Dupont Lodge in Corbin, KY
Hardest restaurant to find: Sanders’ Cafe in Corbin, KY
Cities I most want to go back to: New Orleans, Nashville
Worst customer service: La Quinta Inn in Birmingham, AL
Best restaurant: Mary Mac’s Tea Room in Atlanta, GA
Best temperature: St. Louis, MO
Best non-B&B breakfast: Magnolia Plantation Hotel in Gulfport, MS
Best street signage: St. Louis, MO
Worst street signage: Atlanta, GA
Best new fast food discovery: Sonic
Worst new fast food discovery: White Castle
Cupcake ranking:
1 - Muddy’s Bake Shop, Memphis, TN (great size, price, selection, icing)
2 - The Cupcakery, St. Louis, MO (great selection, icing)
3 - Atlanta Cupcake Factory, Atlanta, GA (best red velvet)
4 - Gigi’s Cupcakes, Nashville, TN (great cake and icing, but very heavy on the icing; little selection)
5 - Buttersweet, Hapeville, GA (average, not great buttercream)
6 - Jilly’s Cupcake Bar, St. Louis, MO (too big and bad icing)
I think the only one of the above I wouldn’t recommend is Jilly’s Cupcake Bar.
Best B&Bs: 1896 O’Malley House (New Orleans, LA), Mistletoe Bough (Alexander City, AL), Heartfield Manor (Atlanta, GA)
