We drove the scenic 54-mile stretch of the US-80, westward from Montgomery to Selma. Along this exact route (in the reverse direction) in late March 1965, hundreds of protesters made the historic march to demand enforcement of their right to vote. By the time they reached the state capital of Montgomery, the march had swelled to 25,000 strong. Cotton fields of the South. Selma was settled in 1815, and over the years became a regional trading centre with a focus on cotton. By the time of the Civil War, the town had a major iron works & foundry that produced…

Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16th American president in late 1860. Among other things, he ran on a platform that opposed the expansion of slavery into western states. The agricultural powerhouses in the South relied heavily on African American slaves, particularly on labour-intensive cotton and sugar plantations. Such landowners saw Lincoln as a threat to their livelihoods. Leaders from seven Southern states met in Montgomery, Alabama, and decided to band together and secede from the United States. Their leader, Jefferson Davis, stood on the steps of the Montgomery State Capitol and announced the formation of the Confederate States of…

We left New Orleans, picking up some fried chicken from Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen on our way out of the state. We drifted along the Mississippi coastline with its beautiful beaches, passing cities like Gulfport and Biloxi, before entering the state of Alabama near the city of Mobile ("Mobeel"). (We passed by a "Cruisin' the Coast" classic car festival near Gulfport, MS) A few random facts about the great state of Alabama: The state is named after an indigenous Native American tribe.It is the 4th biggest automobile manufacturing state in the country, with big Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota plants. Autos…

New Orleans was founded by the French in 1718 and became the capital of the massive French territory of Louisiana. Situated near the mouth of the enormous and navigable Mississippi River, the city became a key port that linked the entire territory (much of the continent) to the ocean. After the Brits beat the French in the Seven Years War, the colony was ceded to Spain. Under the Spanish, the city built much of its distinctive 18th century architecture that still wows people today. This is most prominent in the French Quarter (Vieux Carre), take a look: (The Carousel Bar…

Heading eastward out of Houston on State Highway 225, we passed a near-endless procession of heavy industrial facilities - oil refineries, petrochemical and gas plants. It's not exactly a pretty sight, but it is big business in the state and the country. (Crossing the Fred Hartman Bridge on the 146) (We passed through the tiny town of Mont Belvieu (pop: 5,500), one of the key pricing points for natural gas liquids in the country.) (The huge Valero Port Arthur Refinery) We carried on south towards the Gulf and got our first glimpse of an LNG facility - the Golden Pass…

In 1957, the Russians shocked the world by putting Sputnik 1 into orbit, the first man-made satellite in space. This jolted the Americans into action, leading to the formation of NASA and Project Mercury. The goal: put a man into space (>100km above the earth) and return him safely. The program achieved this goal in 1961, three weeks after the Russians did. Over its six-year span, Project Mercury launched twenty "uncrewed" flights (successes & failures) and six one-man flights, which all ended in success. The longest of these missions was about a day and a half, resulting in 22 orbits…

General Sam Houston led the Texan army to victory over the Mexicans in the decisive Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. Texas won its independence and Houston became the fledgling nation's president. A year later and about 40km to the west of the battlefield, two brothers from New York City founded a brand new city and named it after Houston. Over the years, this city saw impressive growth, particularly as a railroad & trading centre. But that growth trajectory changed sharply with a discovery in the town of Beaumont (140km to the east). A guy named Anthony Lucas struck oil…

The trip from San Antonio to Austin is a mere one hour and twenty minutes - very quick by US roadtripping standards. Thus, we decided to put in two stops on the way. The first was the small tourist town of Gruene. The town was started by German immigrants in the 1840s. It become a prosperous cotton producing town and a prominent stagecoach stop between San Antonio and Austin. But the double whammy of a beetle blight and the great depression left it a shadow of its former self - by the 1950s it became a ghost town. Since the…