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 471

Trump’s Sudden Inevitability. The shouting match between Senator Rubio, Senator Ted Cruz and Donald Trump in the Texas Debate recently, doesn’t change the almost daily lame reporting from the campaign trail and the utter emptiness of what they call ‘analysis’ these days. Now suddenly Donald Trump is the ‘inevitable’ candidate. Now suddenly there will be a contested Republican National Convention. Now suddenly the world quakes at the prospect of Donald J. Trump, President. Now suddenly Trump can beat Hillary Clinton, forget what was said earlier. Reporters, TV Stars, ‘consultants’ and ‘analysts’, Talk Radio Clowns and even the Pope can’t resist inserting themselves into ‘the process’ whatever that is. What a process it is. Thanks to the idiots at the RNC we have an almost weekly political wrestling match, with the winner declared before the show is over, because of the barbs thrown and the jabs and thrusts and innuendo. Why not do away with voting entirely and just have people call a number for their candidate at the end of these cage matches, and declare the winner with a mix of votes and judgements by the perfumed princes of media, chosen to look really serious and ask the candidates questions. Ted Cruz is George Washington. No Wait! Ted Cruz is the New Reagan. Trump is Mussolini. Clinton is Jimmy Carter. Bernie Sanders is uh…Larry David. The predictions from the ‘experts’. Trump has a lock on the nomination, even though we’ve only had two caucuses and two primaries, but there it is people. Step right up! See the bearded lady and the midget perform! The voters? The voters you say? Oddly enough The Bob Davis Podcasts is traveling, speaking with and listening to actual regular people and here in the South there are a lot of Trump signs and bumperstickers on brand new cars. People seem angry, and frustrated and ready to stick it to the man, and don’t seem to be taking it any more seriously than the half time show at the Super Bowl. Why should they? Meanwhile, once again the country is not falling apart. The infrastructure is not crumbling. People seem to be miraculously going about their business despite all the magpies telling them how to live and what to think. Have they already made a decision to stick it to the man? Only time will tell. Sponsored by X Government Cars and Brush Studio.

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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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