Carolina-Outer-Banks-Quest-Bob Davis Podcast 988

Carolina-Outer-Banks-Quest-Bob Davis Podcast 988

In The Carolina Outer Banks

Firstly I am in the Carolina Outer Banks on a quest to find the ultimate weather beaten old school beach town. Learn more in Carolina-Outer-Banks-Quest-Bob Davis Podcast 988,

Atlantic Coast Challenges

Secondly from Florida to North Carolina the Atlantic coast is a challenge for travelers.

Back Roads Always

Even more I’m staying off the interstates and taking the back roads.

On The East Coast A Lot Of Frustration

Traveling off the interstates adds up to a lot of stop and go traffic and frustration.

Myrtle Beach…Oh God

For example Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Welcome To New Jersey

Stop and go traffic. An endless stream of shopping centers. Auto Parts stores. Worn miniature golf places.

Beach? We Don’t Need No Stinking Beaches!

In the same vein you can’t get to the beach. Too many high rises and retirement villages.

Memories of Florida…Back In The Day

On the other hand I can always revert to halcyon memories of Florida back in the day. Before the onslaught of development.

Outer Banks

Most importantly we come to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Finally

Finally the Atlantic Ocean. Without having to park in a high rise parking lot.

Weather Beaten Villages

Moreover this is where you’ll find the weather beaten, old school villages.

Welcome Home To The National Seashores

Meanwhile as I drive these National Seashores and stay in the National Parks Campgrounds I realize the importance of these designations.

Certainly there are some who feel the national park system can be over bearing.

Without National Reserve Designations…More Golf Resorts

However especially here I get the impression that without these national designations, these coastlines would just be more condos and golf resorts.

Development Done Poorly

To sum up, I’m not even talking about environmental stuff so much here as the fact that development in these resort communities is often done poorly.

Essential

In short while I suppose development is essential for communities, sometimes it’s better for everyone is it isn’t allowed at all.

Wiping Out History

Likewise the urge to put in golf villages, hotels and condos all along what used to be a pristine coast may or may not be an environmental issue. However it does have the effect of wiping out history.

Back To The Memories

Finally I go back to the memories of visiting the Atlantic Coast as a boy, especially in Florida. Before the big rushes of the 80’s, 90’s and two thousands.

Great To Find An Unspoiled Coast

In conclusion we all want modern conveniences. But when you’re looking for a pristine beach or a vision of what it was like back in the day, it’s really great to be able to find it.

Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul

Carolina-Outer-Banks-Quest-Bob Davis Podcast 988

 

 

 

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Podcast 472

Texas. That’s all you need to say. Texas. We start on the Texas Gulf Coast at Galveston and work our way up to Beaumont, Houston, on through central Texas with an eye toward La Grange, Austin, Waco and finally to Dallas. If you woke up in one of these places, even any of the smaller towns along the way, you would know, you could only be in Texas. Along the way, lots of stories from this Road Trip so far, including the drive up the Gulf Coast through Mississippi and Alabama, and Louisiana, ending in New Orleans on Saturday night, where Mobile Podcast Command was forced to break the law, in service of a cup of chicory coffee and a pastry from Cafe Dumonde. Sadly, New Orleans seems like it is still struggling to overcome the effects of Katrina, which is probably why there are suddenly so many parking restrictions, and the parking authorities so vigilant. So out of character for this ‘anything goes’ town. In Mississippi, you pass the beautiful home of the president of the confederacy Jefferson Davis, and one can only wonder what it must have been like to leave this gorgeous home on the beach, move to a place like Richmond, to ‘run the confederacy’; a really bad decision in the long run. Did he ever make it back? Then the gulf coast, with its brand new ‘towns on stilts’…literally the houses, the stores, the cafes are all built on pylons, to withstand floods and perhaps the intense winds of hurricanes, which come every year. The Bolivar Peninsula, and Galveston where I finally found the deserted coast line I have been looking for. Finally central Texas including Houston and finally Dallas. Both of these cities are juggernauts on their own. When you combine Houston and Dallas with San Antonio, Austin and the western Texas cities, you begin to understand why this state is so important, and why it is unlike any other. Sponsored by Hydrus and Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul. 

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Podcast 470

The Florida Gulf Coast. 2 days of travel have taken me through some of the most populated and spectacular parts of Florida. From the sugar white Siesta Beach through Sarasota, to Saint Petersburg, and the search for the weatherbeaten deserted beach takes me to the Florida Panhandle. Driving across US 19 all along the coastline, picking up US 98 at Perry, finally finding a beach town that’s pretty close, on through to Panama City, Destin and Pensacola. Although I keep mixing up Pensacola and Panama City, the Florida Gulf Coast was pretty nice on a windy, sunny day not unlike late September back in the upper midwest. I’ve traveled through the southern states many times in my life, and different times. As a kid it was road trips with the family to see the grandparents at Christmas. As an adult work brought me down to Florida, or the pleasure of picking up a brand new car and driving it where ever I wanted. Florida has changed. It seems to be a theme in these travel podcasts, how the southern United States has changed. There are more people than ever. More business than ever. And all kinds of businesses, from industry to banking, tourism, of course the mainstays like agriculture. Those days of finding the out of the way beach and the quiet beach down, still weather beaten from the last hurricane, are waning. Oh those towns are still there, but you might have to look on the Gulf, or on the west coast, or higher up the Atlantic coast, north and south of Jacksonville. Still, travel is so much fun. Getting off the Interstate and onto US19 and US98 were great decisions. Having objectives and deadlines has made this trip great. Ahead, the famous Red Neck Rivera, Louisiana, New Orleans, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Iowa, and back to the Twin Cities. Sponsored by Pride of Homes and Luke Team Real Estate and Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul. 

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