I was going to go to New Orleans on Saturday, Sept.17 for a week long vacation to celebrate my birthday on the 18th. I had rented a Chrysler 300, booked a week at the Hotel Monaco, had dinner reservations at most of the nicer restaurants. Was going to Baton Rouge to meet the girlfriends parents, visit Avery Island and tour the Tabasco factory, go to a Cajun food festival...heavy sigh...

All is not lost, after getting my oil changed and my 12,000 mile check-up, we're going to hop in the car and head south ending up in Baton Rouge. We'll probably hit Memphis, Nashville, Graceland and wherever else we decide to stop. I think the highlight of the whole trip will be driving the entire length of the Natchez Trace. http://www.scenictrace.com/ If anyone in that part of the country is interested in a quick trip down some or all of the Trace with us, post a reply or send me a private message. I'll give out our phone number and an approximate date when we're gonna be in the area. Expect pictures and a full story when we get back.