新澳门开奖结果

I鈥檝e taken the trip between my current home in San Antonio, Texas, to my home town near Atlanta, Georgia, at least five or six times. It鈥檚 safe to say that by now I have seen a good bit of that journey through the southern U.S. over the course of the last few years, and yet each time I make the trek I find something new to see or experience.

Though often overlooked, the deep South is a place full of culture and history if you鈥檙e willing to look for it 鈥� and when you鈥檙e stuck in the car for 16 hours, you get bored enough to look! So, I鈥檝e gathered 5 of my favorite stops along the way, as well as some of their nearby stops that were worth a mention.

5. Katy/Houston, Texas

For anyone who has traveled to Texas, you may know why I included a stop in Katy on this list, and if you haven鈥檛 been to Texas, you鈥檙e in for quite a unique experience. Imagine a gas station, but Texas sized. An enormous line of over 100 gas pumps, a supermarket-sized convenience store, dozens of stalls in a pristine bathroom, and even freshly cooked brisket with a lively staff who occasionally sing. Oh, and also excessive amounts of beaver merchandise sporting their mascot: Bucky the Beaver.

Buc-ee鈥檚 is a chain of gargantuan gas stations littered around Texas and quickly expanding out to cover popular roadtripping routes throughout the country. Though many may consider gas stations just a passing part of the trip, Buc-ee鈥檚 makes it a stop of its own, with food of any kind, a clean and comfortable experience, and plenty of home decor, grills, coolers, books, toys, and more to kill time browsing around in.

The Buc-ee鈥檚 in Katy, Texas, has been a staple in roadtrips with my family ever since we started making the 1,000-plus mile trip between the two cities, and it will stay on our itinerary for the foreseeable future.

Houston, of course, deserves its flowers here as one of the biggest cities in Texas. Filled with activities like the Space Center, a big stadium and various museums to visit, it makes for a great pit stop or even a trip of its own.

4. Beaumont, Texas

Beaumont is the only 鈥渟mall town鈥� so to speak that made it on this list, but it is still worth a stop on your journey through the South. I only spent a short time there on the beginning of a larger trek up across the East Coast, so Beaumont started out as just a lunch stop.

After driving through the cute small-town streets in search of a place to eat, my partner and my attention was caught by a diverse set of vibrantly colored murals on walls all over the city. There are also several art and history museums to check out around town, with much more to explore than I could discover in just a few hours.

It also happens to sit close to the border with Louisiana, the state in which our next city on this list lies.

3. New Orleans/Baton Rouge, Louisiana

New Orleans is quite possibly my favorite city on this list, and it definitely ranks in my top 10 cities in the country. From beautiful buildings and flavorful cuisine to vibrant and lively culture and endless activities, New Orleans is a must-see stop in the South.

Equally interesting, but certainly much less talked about, is its sister city of Baton Rouge. After an exhausting day of driving, it can save some time to stop early in Baton Rouge and get a taste of rich Creole dishes without making the trek all the way down to the Big Easy.

One of my favorite things in New Orleans includes, of course, having beignets 鈥� though I prefer Caf茅 Beignet over the famous Caf茅 du Monde if for no other reason than getting to skip the line. New Orleans is also a beautiful city to walk around in day or night. In the day, you can appreciate beautiful French, Spanish and Caribbean-influenced architecture and at night you can see street musicians belting out their best performances among the wonders of the infamous Bourbon Street, if you dare.

I am dying to go to New Orleans again and pay a visit to local street markets, try new and different foods and see more of this enchanting city.

2. Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery, Alabama, is a stop full of Civil Rights history. As another lunch stop on a very long road trip, my partner and I were only there long enough to see a few sights before moving along. We were able to visit the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Jr. was once a pastor and helped lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

We also tried to go to the Civil Rights memorial Center, but the interior portions were closed. We were, however, able to see a beautiful fountain with the names of prominent Civil Rights leaders emblazoned on a slab of black stone.

Without much time to explore the city, even a short stop to see these historic monuments makes Montgomery a worthy pitstop as you travel through the South.

1. Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia, brings us to the end of the journey, though there is much more to the South than what was included on this list.

Though I was raised nearby, I moved out at the end of middle school and there was so much to the city that I had never known or explored. Embarrassingly enough, my partner, who is from Massachusetts, ended up showing me around what should have been my home city because she had visited previously and knew the places to go.

Nonetheless, Atlanta, as the capital of the South, has a plethora of activities to offer. From Civil Rights monuments like MLK鈥檚 house to exciting venues like the Coca-Cola factory and the Georgia Aquarium. It鈥檚 also a great spot for me to quench my nostalgic thirst and eat at the Flying Machine or see other sites around Lawrenceville, my home town.