The Great American Road Trip

July 4, 2007 9:15 AM

Matt Gross, a travel writer for the New York Times, is traveling across the country this summer. He started out in New York on May 23 and is now in Kansas. Check out his dispatches and videos from Weeks 1 (New York), 2 (Georgia), 3 (Kentucky), 4 (Indiana), 5 (Wisconsin), 6 (South Dakota), and 7 (Oklahoma and Kansas - this weeks installment). Follow him on his online map here, check out his FAQ here, and tell him where to go in Texas for next weeks installment here.
posted by jourman2 (13 comments total)

Really didn't like seeing those kids from Greensburg (the place that recently got leveled by an F5 tornado) destroying that guitar they found. Was it theirs? Did they just walk around the remains of someone else's home and stumble across it? When Mr. Gross said they found an outlet for their frustrations and fear and I saw the kid holding a guitar, my first thought was, "Oh, how nice, they've turned to music." Silly me.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 9:40 AM on July 4, 2007

So is he doing his silly little dance in all these places as well?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 9:57 AM on July 4, 2007

Just to start the ball rolling on the Monday morning QB action: he blew it in Kentucky by staying close to Louisville, a city that (in my limited experience) is trying desperately not to be a KY city. If he'd gone to Lexington he'd have met more bourbon drinkers and not had to subject himself to a "hot brown".
posted by drmarcj at 10:33 AM on July 4, 2007

Thank you! I going on a road trip in a couple weeks and had not seen this.

So, drmarcj, where should one go in Lexington?
posted by lalex at 10:46 AM on July 4, 2007

Cool, wish I'd known about this before he blew through my area. Happy he publicized Columbus, IN, though. It's a gorgeous little town.
posted by dhartung at 11:10 AM on July 4, 2007

Corrected link for Georgia.
posted by nzero at 12:09 PM on July 4, 2007

Regarding the Oklahoma entry : I live on the north end of the Asian district, and let me tell you, friends, that every word he speaks about the Vietnamese restaurants here are God's own truth.
posted by suckerpunch at 5:39 PM on July 4, 2007

Yeah! Little Saigon and NW Classen REPRESENT!
posted by Brittanie at 6:03 PM on July 4, 2007

where should one go in Lexington?

So the question wasn't directed at me. But damn, it's such an easy one: Keeneland. I can't believe there aren't better pictures of the place.

And the Woodford Reserve distillery isn't far off, and the Wild Turkey one is only a little further. And in the other direction, it's an easy drive to the Red River Gorge, or even just Raven Run and the Kentucky River Palisades. Or then there's Shakertown. And of course the Kentucky Horse Park is right there.

But Louisville...Louisvillians don't pick up on it, but much of the the rest of the state considers Louisville a part of Indiana, and Louisvillians a bunch of Hoosiers. I've lived in both places, and for anyone really wanting to see the state I'd push hard for Lexington, although I like living in Louisville better. And in case it's not already clear, I agree with drmarcj that the choice of routes through Kentucky was not good at all.
posted by dilettante at 6:35 PM on July 4, 2007

Yeah! Little Saigon and NW Classen REPRESENT!

Woof, woof, woof! Ate at the Golden Phoenix last week, mofos!

(They also smirked at my attempts to pronounce things. I think that may be a thing with them.)
posted by ormondsacker at 11:57 PM on July 4, 2007

The guy must read MetaFilter.
posted by Floydd at 7:39 AM on July 5, 2007

As an eastern Kansan, I'm a little disappointed he went through the boring middle part of the state. Still, I suppose I can see the impetus towards going to see Greensburg.
posted by maus at 12:36 PM on July 5, 2007

Thank you dilettante, I will definitely write those places down!
posted by lalex at 3:39 PM on July 6, 2007