Shehzadi at her parking spot in New Orleans

It was the final morning of our final planned stop. New Orleans had cast its spell on us, as she tends to do, and it was tough peeling ourselves away from the jazz-soaked streets and beignet-laced breezes (see NOLA Deep Dive - a Perfect Day in the Crescent City | New Orleans, Louisiana). But the road was calling. Again. Always.

Shehzadi, our faithful Toyota Tundra, was rested and ready. We gave one last glance to the streetcar gliding past our BNB on St. Charles and Euterpe, loaded up the gear, cranked up the playlist, and pointed our wheels northeast. The final leg: a 1,098-mile familiar home stretch from the Crescent City to our little corner of the world in Hyattsville, Maryland. We had been on most of this route many times over the last 25 years of living in Maryland.

Shehzadi Odometer 14255 miles = 7,860 miles driven on this trans-American roadtrip so far

As Shehzadi rolled off her parking spot, her odometer read 14,255 miles. Since it read 6,395 many thousands of miles and weeks of driving ago, the math says we have driven a whopping 7,860 miles from flagoff when we left Hyattsville, MD for Dublin, Ohio.

Rolling Out: Louisiana to Mississippi

Leaving New Orleans, we crossed the twin spans of the I-10 bridge over Lake Pontchartrain, sunlight glinting off the vast, marshy expanse. Soon enough, we dipped into Mississippi, skirting past Gulfport and Biloxi—coastal towns with shrimping histories and beautiful barrier islands just offshore.

We bypassed Hattiesburg and caught the scent of pine trees and barbecue smoke drifting from roadside diners. This leg was about the road itself—watching landscapes change, people shift, and the rhythm of the country evolve mile by mile.

Alabama: Hot Boiled Peanuts and Birmingham

Crossing into Alabama, we found ourselves in the Trussville suburb of Birmingham around mid-afternoon. It was hot. Southern-hot. We stopped at a gas station to refuel Shehzadi and grab cold drinks—and that’s when we spotted them: hot boiled peanuts.

Hot Boiled Peanuts at Gas Station in Alabama

If you’ve never had spicy hot boiled peanuts, you might raise an eyebrow at the sight of wet legumes floating in briny tubs. But trust us, once you pop a few into your mouth and bite into the tender, Cajun-spiced goodness, you're a convert. They're salty, savory, and just the right amount of messy. It’s like Southern soul in a shell. We devoured a bag sitting on the truck bed tailgate, watching the Alabama sun beat down and feeling grateful for small roadside surprises.

Hot Boiled Peanuts at Gas Station in Alabama

Birmingham flew by with glimpses of its steel industry past and civil rights history. We waved metaphorically at Sloss Furnaces and the 16th Street Baptist Church and continued on.

Tennessee: Smoky Mountain Magic

After a puny few miles across a corner of Georgia, Tennessee welcomed us with open arms and sweeping ridgelines. Knoxville came and went, and before long, we were weaving into the heart of Chattanooga and the great Smoky Mountains.

Now, the drive through Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge? It’s like rolling through a postcard and a theme park at the same time. You’ve got misty peaks on one side and roadside attractions on the other. In Gatlinburg, quaint mountain lodges and pancake houses sit under the watchful gaze of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Pigeon Forge? It’s pure Americana—think Dollywood, vintage car shows, and neon-lit dinner theaters.

Bojangles, Dandridge, Tennessee

It was a joy to be back in Bojangle's country and we stopped for some of our favorite Cajun spiced fried chicken at their Dandridge, Tennessee restaurant.

But once you leave the commercial buzz behind, the mountains take over. That stretch of road through the Smokies is something else—layered ridges stretching into the haze, cool breezes, and that blue-gray mist that gives them their name. We rolled the windows down and just let it all in.

Virginia: Appalachian Tranquility

Crossing into Virginia, the road climbed and dipped with the gentle rhythm of the Appalachians. It felt quieter here—peaceful. Small farms, rolling pastures, and dense forests. The kind of landscape that invites long silences and soft conversations.

We drove through the Shenandoah Valley, past Roanoke and Staunton, letting the Blue Ridge Parkway whisper to us from nearby. It was like a soft goodbye from the mountains.

Merging onto I-66, we knew we were getting close. The familiar D.C. traffic tension started to buzz in the air, but it couldn’t touch our road-weary calm.

Shenandoah to D.C. to Home

As we passed through Northern Virginia and entered the orbit of D.C., the sky turned that soft evening gold. We crept along the Beltway into the city, recognizing the skyline like an old friend. The monuments appeared like sentinels—silent, dignified.

And then—at last—Hyattsville. Home.

Shehzadi parked at her rooftop home spot at our garage in Hyattsville, MD

Shehzadi rolled into our driveway as if she'd never left, though she now bore an odometer reading 15,334 miles and the dust and stories of 9,000 miles. From Rockies in Colorado to mountains and Moab, Mohave, Mojave and Chihuahuan desert cliffs in Utah, Nevada, California and Arizona to Mexico and then across Texas to the Mississippi River in Louisiana, from fry bread and roast mutton deep in Navajo Nation to spicy tacos in tiny Boquillas village in Mexico to boudin in Lafayette to spicy peanuts in Alabama, from the Colorado Rockies to the Smoky Mountains via the Death Valley and Sierra Nevada —this journey was everything we had dreamed of, and more.

Shehzadi Odometer 15,334 miles  = 8,939 miles total roundtrip on trans-continental America road trip

We unloaded the last of our bags, stood back, and gave each other a look that needed no words. What a journey it has been!

We were home. But the road? The road will always be a part of us now.

You can now read about our other trans-continental America roadtrip when we started at Maryland on the Atlantic coast to reach all the way to Columbia icefields in Jasper National Park, Canada just short of Vancouver on the Pacific coast, starting with the first episode of that overland trip: Ice, Fire & Mountains Transcontinental North America USA & Canada Overland Trip | Part 1 | Germantown, Maryland to Wall, South Dakota.

Until the next adventure,

- The Vagabond Couple and Shehzadi