#BTRoadTrip: Tallahassee, Florida, to Charleston, South Carolina

Hop in the passenger's seat on the ultimate road trip! We're posting real-time dispatches as Budget Travel's Photo Editor, Whitney Tressel, journeys across the country using tips from locals as her guide. Prepare for beautiful beaches and parks, amazing local cuisine, and one-of-a-kind experiences you only get when you talk to the real Americans who make this country great. Swinging low from Baton Rouge to N'awlins and back up again to Slidell via I-10, Whitney found herself deep in southern Louisiana, where the pace is slow, the food is sinfully indulgent, and Lake Charles–born singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams's album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road can almost function as a road map in itself. If you've been to NOLA, you're probably no stranger to Cafe Du Monde's confectioner's sugar–dusted beignets. But we've got a new little-known pastry haven to put on your itinerary: On the advice of a photographer couple, Whitney coasted north, toward Lake Ponchartrain, to Morning Call Coffee Stand, which serves beignets off the beaten track (a.k.a. no long lines of tourists waiting patiently to shake their bags of doughnuts and/or steal your table). After Whitney placed her order, three beignets appeared on a white plate, plump and golden, a sugar shaker at the ready. After giving them a good powdery coat, she bit into the first one. Bliss. Sugar State bliss. Terrifically convenient for a post-breakfast stroll, this outpost of Morning Call is located in City Park, a stretch of nature where seas of purple and orange wildflowers paint the ground—a veritable rainbow resting beneath the trees. Think of the blooms as New Orleans's version of D.C.'s cherry blossoms. Totally worth the trip. The French Quarter, particularly Magazine Street, is a classic stop, and Whitney spent time there snapping shots of the iconic architecture. East of the French Quarter, though, she discovered the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood—Frenchmen Street in particular, a multi-block avenue with smaller blocks jutting out of it. One could say the Faubourg Marigny and Bywater 'hoods are the "new" French Quarter: edgier areas with street art (like the mural above) and gobs of live music. As Whitney walked, a lonely country boy crooned on one side of the street, a jazz singer played the piano on the other, and a singer-songwriter with two guitars appeared later down the road. It was, she says, like changing the radio station every 10 steps. Whitney couldn't leave the south without having a po'boy, and she got her chance in Fairhope, Alabama, at Down by the Bay Cafe, a family-run restaurant that Whitney chose partially out of nostalgia for the classic children's song. (Sure enough, that's what it was named after.) She ordered up a half-catfish, half-shrimp po'boy, "dressed," as one must specify in the south, with lettuce, tomato, and sauce (at Down by the Bay, it's tartar sauce, but other establishments differ). Whitney ate every piece of it. On clear days, you can see the Mobile, Alabama, skyline from the restaurant. After you eat your po'boy, walk down to North Beach Park for a stroll. Admire the ducks while you're there. Whitney continued heading east on I-10 and sought some advice from the front-desk attendant (and Florida State University student) at her hotel in Tallahassee, who gamely agreed to share her secret retreat with BT: While driving on I-10, take Route 27 about two and a half miles south, through suburban Tallahassee. Before you know it, Lake Ella will appear on your left. Grab a cup of joe at Black Dog Cafe and take a seat next to the water. It's a mini sanctuary in the city. Whitney's Travel Tip: Fight the urge to rely solely on internet reviews to determine what's good. Instead, ask the locals. Without their in-person advice, Whitney never would have found those mouth-watering beignets in New Orleans or a hidden lake in Tallahassee. Next stop: The East Coast home stretch. Previously:#BTRoadTrip: Del Rio, Texas, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana#BTRoadTrip: Tucson to Del Rio, Texas#BTRoadTrip: San Diego to Tucson#BTRoadTrip: Los Angeles to San Diego

Hop in the passenger's seat on the ultimate road trip! We're posting real-time dispatches as Budget Travel's Photo Editor, Whitney Tressel, journeys across the country using tips from locals as her guide. Prepare for beautiful beaches and parks, amazing local cuisine, and one-of-a-kind experiences you only get when you talk to the real Americans who make this country great. Like the Dukes of Hazzard on the run from Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane, the law finally caught up with Whitney en route from Del Rio, Texas, to San Antonio. Two-plus weeks on the road will increase anyone's odds for a traffic stop, but in this particular case, Whitney had taken a long-cut around Brackettville, Texas, to avoid stirring up her irrational fear of wind turbines. (We are not making this up—it's called anemomenophobia.) Turns out, the road less traveled is often used by shady types looking to avoid the border patrol checkpoint along I-90. Before long, Whitney had two cops on her tail and was swiftly pulled over. After mentally running through a checklist of things she hadn't done (speeding, harboring contraband, etc.), she owned up to her wind-farm phobia to one very serious-looking officer. In Duke Boys terminology, she thought she'd never get out of this pickle. But as they say, the truth will set you free, and as soon as they realized her fear of giant windmills was no joke, they sent her on her way. Despite the trouble from the fuzz, taking the detour was ultimately worth it for the wildlife: Along the way, she spotted several antelopes with prominent spiral horns. Although seeing kudus in Texas is highly improbable, Whitney's mind immediately flashed back to the creatures from her Big Buck Hunter tournament days—she used to organize team outings, matching tie-dye T-shirts and all—and pulled to the side of the road, taking shot after shot of the big beauties. It was raining and cloudy by the time Whitney arrived in San Antonio. She took a much-deserved break at the Pearl, a cultural and foodie destination a couple of miles north of the River Walk, browsing handmade textiles, home decor, and jewelry at The Tiny Finch, then fueling up with a fresh fruit-and-veggie shake at One Lucky Duck. Next on the map? Austin. And the close wildlife encounters were just beginning: Back in Marfa, she received a true Keep Austin Weird–style suggestion to visit Mayfield Park, a "peacock park" that is not a zoo. The pretty beasts unfurled their plumage as Whitney snapped them mid-mating dance. Later that night, Whitney got her ultimate Texas experience at The Broken Spoke in Austin, a dance hall dubbed the "best honky-tonk in Texas," where locals pay a $12 cover to two-step to live music, sip beers, eat barbecued brisket and cups of potato salad, and watch newcomers try their best to fit in. Whitney had no problem there: Soon after she arrived, a local named Polo who says he comes every Saturday asked her to dance. Even better, a local legend was in the house: Dressed in a flashy red shirt studded with rhinestones, Broken Spoke founder James M. White made his way through the crowd, which treated him with deference and respect, as though he were a beloved local politician. As barbecue fans know, sampling only one barbecue joint's fare on a visit to Texas just isn't enough, so on the suggestion of a Houstonite, Whitney traveled southeast of Austin and spent most of her day among the "pit bosses" at Smitty's Market in Lockhart, Texas, an authentic smokehouse known for its sausages that's about as non-touristy as you can get. (Think: fictional Freddy's BBQ Joint on House of Cards before the media got wind of it.) Whitney eagerly carved into a pile of meat served on a double-stack of butcher paper, which was easier said than done: Smitty's gives patrons only a knife and a spoon, encouraging guests to eat with their hands and get delightfully sloppy. Wet-Naps? As if. A soothing punctuation mark to this Texas travelogue was a sunrise visit to artist James Turrell's Twilight Epiphany Skyspace structure, a grass, concrete, stone, and steel structure with a rectangular window to the sky, designed to function as a mind-bending play on color when the sun rises and sets. Whitney lay on the ground and watched the colors of the sky change as the pavilion's artificial light glowed around it, tricking the mind into thinking the sky is a different color than it actually is—an immersive, highbrow version of the 'blue or white dress" debate. Visits are always free. Whitney's Travel Tip: First, don't cut around the Brackettville/Uvalde border patrol checkpoint if you know what's good for you. Second, at James Turrell's Skyspace, sunset viewings are usually packed with people and require a reservation, but if you have the chutzpah to rise and shine before the sun comes up, morning "shows" are wide open. In fact, you might have the entire exhibit to yourself. Next stop: Finding our inner Francophile in Louisiana Previously:#BTRoadTrip: Tucson to Del Rio, Texas#BTRoadTrip: San Diego to Tucson#BTRoadTrip: Los Angeles to San Diego

Budget Travel's President and Publisher Elaine Alimonti shared our best-ever last-minute weekend road trips with Sam Champion this morning on the Weather Channel's AMHQ. Watch the segment below, and read on for the details on Elaine's top three picks! New England's "Other" Capes. A short drive from Boston, north of Cape Cod, you'll find incredibly beautiful beaches, parks, and great seafood in Cape Ann, Cape Neddick, and Cape Porpoise, for a fraction of the cost. Door County, Wisconsin. This perfect stretch of lakeshore is a secret to those who live outside the Midwest, but offers a quiet, beautiful getaway to those in the know. Chow down on homemade ice cream and Chicago-style hot dogs while ogling the natural beauty. California's Central Coast. A weekend escape from the San Francisco Bay Area to Monterey, Big Sur, and San Simeon is surprisingly wild, with forests to get lost in, empty beaches to wander, and amazing food around each bend of the Pacific Coast Highway. If these three weekend escapes whet your appetite for the road, read 15 Best Last-Minute Road Trips for more easy getaways.  

Hop in the passenger's seat on the ultimate road trip! We're posting real-time dispatches as Budget Travel's Photo Editor, Whitney Tressel, journeys across the country using tips from locals as her guide. Prepare for beautiful beaches and parks, amazing local cuisine, and one-of-a-kind experiences you only get when you talk to the real Americans who make this country great. When we last left our road-tripping heroine, Whitney had blazed through Arizona on her coast-to-coast journey, watching the seaside landscape in San Diego flatten into the Algodones Dunes and then taking the first sip of her new favorite drink: kombucha on tap—literally, probiotics on tap!—at "plant-based" (a.k.a. organic, locally sourced, and vegan-friendly) Food for Ascension Café in Tuscon. After laying eyes on the unmistakable silhouette of the desert's Picacho Peak, it was on to Las Cruces, New Mexico, via I-10—specifically the town of Mesilla, where Whitney spent most of her time. She'd gotten word that the restaurant La Posta de Mesilla dishes out the "best green chiles in town," so she pulled up a chair next to a group of friendly folks who recommended she take Route 28 to El Paso next. Reason being: It runs south through a string of pecan farms, with pecan trees reaching out from either side of the road to form a natural leafy archway that continues for miles and miles. After brushing up against the Mexican border in West Texas, once Whitney hit El Paso, it was time for a caffeine-drenched pit stop: fresh french-pressed coffee from Craft & Social. About three hours southeast of El Paso, the artsy celebrity haunt Marfa, Texas, appeared like a mirage. Whitney happened upon the famous Food Shark food truck, where cool young hipsters in combat boots, families, and in-the-know seniors alike were grabbing Mediterranean eats like falafel sandwiches ("Marfalafels") and lamb kebabs, among other Greek fare and, of course, tacos. (Beyoncé is reportedly a fan.) Less than a half hour east, in Alpine, Texas, Big Bend Brewing Co. is a choice place to grab a flight of local craft beers. Whitney admired the deep-amber-hued pints from a photographer's perspective, but she didn't imbibe. Maybe next time, when she's in the passenger's seat instead. Whitney's Travel Tip: Almost every gallery—or any other establishment, for that matter—looks desolate and closed in Marfa. Don’t be fooled! Check ahead and stick around to find the right entrance; most spots are open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., depending on the day. Next stop: Crossing Texas, then sampling sweets in the Sugar State Previously: #BTRoadTrip: Los Angeles to San Diego#BTRoadTrip: San Diego to Tucson Want more? Follow @BudgetTravel on Twitter and Instagram, and look for the hashtag #BTRoadTrip. It all culminates in an epic photo essay in the July/August 2015 digital issue of Budget Travel.