Shreveport icon, Strawn's Eat Shop, is best-known for its strawberry pies topped with smooth domes of whipped cream.

But this little restaurant (featured in SL's November mega-story "Secrets of the South's Best Diners") also serves a mean meat-and-three lunch. The daily menu is so stone-sure, it's painted on one of the walls...

Ashlyn: Cabin fever. BAD. i'm about to say lets jet off to ATL or nashville
Sloan: really?? can we please? i just said those exact same words to my mother i am DYING to get outta this town. (I should add at this point that, despite a Braves game, we have been kicking it in the fabulous 'Ham for approximately 5 consecutive months.)
Ashlyn: you think we could swing it? you know i'm in if you are.
Sloan: well. we'd have to decide where first.
Ashlyn: ha. okay, hm. can we go to n'ville?

Hikers, spelunkers, and other outdoors lovers often advise "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints." As a photographer, I've always tried to adhere to that. Yesterday morning at the beach in Camp Helen State Park in Florida's beautiful panhandle, I found a lot of different footprints to photograph. 

Okay, so this is really cool.  I caught wind about the Southwest Airlines Wi-Fi, but it didn't cross my mind this morning when I hopped the plane from B'ham to Dallas.  

Then, Bam!  Here I am, blogging in real time from the skies.  Their wi-fi homepage shows me the progress of the flight.  (It's 8:15 a.m., we're going 450 mph, our ETA to Love Field is 68 minutes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses...)  During this testing period, the service is as free as the two packs of peanuts sitting on my tray. 

Now, what could I write about?  The guy in 12D holds his newspaper close to his face.  The woman in 13D brought cheese crackers.  She offered me one, but I politely declined. 

I never promised the post would be exciting. Just cool.

Detoured off I-540 to hike at Devil's Den State Park in NW Arkansas.  Followed unmarked paths to crevices and blazed trails to caves.  Didn't make it too far into this one.  Next time, I'll pack a flashlight.   

Sure, Grand Isle is a famous fishing village in South Louisiana that has endured more than its share of hurricane misery, most recently from Gustav. It's also the name of a new dining spot in New Orleans that captures some of the soul of the Lousiana coast in all its funky appeal.

Continuing our local's look into the city of Dallas, here are the next five reasons to visit Big D. Also, I didn't mention that this list of 25 is not ranked. It's a sum-greater-than-the-parts deal. OK, let's get to it.

16. They've painted the town.

The towns of Marfa, Alpine, and Marathon embody the far west Texas spirit of wide open possibility. If you react like locals to the almost endless spread of landscape, you'll be on the next plane to El Paso. For some backstory on the assignment and my three trips out west, watch the audio slideshow.

Even after 100 years of mountain solitude, Balsam Mountain Inn, opened in 1908, remains as tranquil as it is painted white. According to one guest when I visited last fall, the leaves beginning their magic show on the hills, "I just sort of fell in love with the rocking chairs on the porch." Couldn't agree more. An added, and often overlooked, bonus to the driveway-wide porch? The restaurant there is fit for a Carolina king.

While researching "Old Salem by Candlelight", (p. 40 in Southern Living's December issue) I took a stroll down Church Street in this historic district of North Carolina.  Four birds waddled out, crossed the street, and bee-lined to a pile of corn kernels scattered in a front yard. 

A local later told me he had heard of a gaggle of vagrant guinea hens inhabiting the neighborhood. 

He thought it was an urban legend.

For a slide show of images from the story, click here.

Last weekend, Union Station in Washington D.C. turned 100 years old. Though officially opened in 1907, the wonderful example of Beaux-Arts style celebrated its final completion a year later in 1908. Today, the white granite columns, cavernous barrel-vaulted ceilings, and marble floors echo a history of soaring American architecture as bygone as the train whistles just down the hall. If you've yet to experience this old-school grandeur in DC, make it this special year. Even if just for a movie (downstairs theater).

For more images taken by SL Editor Tanner Latham, read on.

Last Friday all eyes were on Ole Miss as the two Presidential candidates opened the debate season in Oxford, Mississippi. If you are wondering what the scene in the little Delta jewel looked and felt like, one Ole Miss senior took nonpartisan notes for Southern Living in the tailgate-like atmosphere.

(photo by Kelsey Blackwell)

Though I’ve never studied architecture or usually take notice of such things, I know something cool when I see it, like this old Greyhound station on main street in Jackson, Tennessee. From what I could gather from locals, it’s one of two in the country to have retained its original art deco design and is still fully operating. A few calls around town and random Internet browsing place that other at anyone’s guess. When I strolled over to check this one out, along with the design it didn’t seem like much else had changed.

Windy days in South Florida.

(Photo by Scott Suchman)

Can you imagine a better swing? Visitors to the Florida Panhandle's "Forgotten Coast" spend weekends in Apalachicola hoping the rest of the world continues to bypass this sliver of fishing village untainted by eager land developers. 

There is only one best, right?  It is the ultimate.  Nothing better. 

(Photos courtesy Audubon of Florida)

Parting the humidity and swatting mosquitoes and other buzzing bothersomes, folks are heading to a swamp in Florida for the rare chance to see a flower so valuable it cannot be priced. The elusive ghost orchid, the bloom that launched a bestseller, box-office stunner and countless pilgrimages through gator infested waters, dangles from the trunk of a 500-year-old bald cypress in Corkskrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples. The big deal here is not how the plant looks (kind of like an old man with close-set eyes and a long Mark Twain moustache), but how rare it is. It takes perfect weather conditions and a prayer to get this sucker to come out.

Interstate travel usually leads to generic, unmemorable, value-meal food stops. On a recent Texas drive from San Antonio to South Padre Island, I found a BBQ place called Van's that made me want to write a story about making I-travel a more local experience. Here are three interstate BBQ joints worth an exit in Texas.

(Photo by Taylor Bruce)

(Photo taken by Kelsey Blackwell)

Fresh off the Letterman show, Birmingham’s homegrown Wild Sweet Orange played to a sold-out crowd at Workplay in downtown Birmingham last Saturday. Amid the smell of lingering cigarette smoke brought in on the shirttails of the audience, and the mélange of sweat and aftershave from the dude curiously overheating in front of me, was the faintest scent of success. In addition to late night, the group’s had a track featured on Grey’s Anatomy and embarked on a nationwide tour that includes a stop in Chicago for Lollapalooza. Folks from the ‘ham, though, can say they knew them when . . .

(Photos by Jennifer V. Cole and Kathryn Cole)

This week, on a twisty stretch of Highway 21 outside Philadelphia, Mississippi, the 119-year-old Neshoba County Fair celebrates the very essence of Southern hospitality (July 25-August 1). I've been going since I was 3-months-old, and I can tell you, there's a reason it's known as "Mississippi's Giant House Party." For seven days, folks do a lot of eating (fried foods required), drinking (you might find some 'shine), front porch sittin', and late-night pickin'. It's a time to slow down. To forget laptops and cell phones. And to practice the art of conversation and storytelling on a lazy summer day. I just spent a weekend at the Fair catching up with friends and chasing around after my nieces and nephews (I've got the red-clay-stained feet to prove it), and I can't think of a better place to be in the month of July. If you've never been, add it to your list.  If you have been, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Here are a few photos of life at the Fair:

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been on the hunt for unusual signs. Below are photos of a few of the standouts – some clever, one brazen, some just whacky. Take a gander at what follows and if you have any you’d like to share, feel free to email them to me @ richarda_banks@timeinc.com.

Running Wild (above)

Is your carpet stain free? Perhaps your child sleeps through the night without a fuss. Your home, it seems, is just too peaceful. Well, Palmana’s Café in lovely downtown Winter Park, FL, offers a simple solution.

In case you missed them, here are the most popular posts for May:

1. Louisiana's Blue Dog Artist
George Rodrigue's Blue Dog paintings and silkcreen prints have nosed their way into our American visual iconography. Rodrigue walks Assistant Travel Editor Taylor Bruce through his latest exhibit with photos and exclusive audio interviews.

2. Blue Spring State Park Marine Life Part I
Is this a face only a mother could love? Apparently not, as sailfin suckermouth catfish (Pterygoplicthys disjunctivus), like the one pictured, are breeding in such numbers they threaten the health of the rivers in which they live.  Livings Editor Richard Banks gets up close and personal with this "armored catfish."

3. Wakeboarding - Orlando, Florida
Wakeboarding combines the gravity defying, aerial marvels of gymnastics with the ramps, speed, and whacky jargon of skateboarding. While working on a story on an Orlando-based wakeboarder, Livings Editor Richard Banks visited the Air Nautique Wake Games at the Orlando Watersports Complex and saw first-hand just how incredible the sport is.

4. Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman, Alabama
When I first stumbled upon the Ave Maria Grotto, a vast collection of miniature religious sculptures in Cullman, Alabama, I almost dismissed it as mere Southern kitsch. The "Jerusalem in Miniature," however, deserves a closer look.

5. TPC Sawgrass: Dad Conquered #17
"Good luck on #17."
The valet guys at the Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL whisper it when you toss them your keys. Our breakfast waitress winked when she said it while dropping off the check. No surprise, really. This is arguably one of the most famous holes in golf, and if you play the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass—-home to THE PLAYERS Championship—-it’s the hole that’s stuck in your head from your first swing on the practice range until your final putt on 18.

6. Hotel Monaco Concierge Saves the Day
Associate Travel Editor Jennifer V. Cole prides herself on being a good packer. She should be--she packs and unpacks a suitcase about twice a week. So when she forgot a certain "unmentionable" item on a recent trip to Washington, D.C., it took a hotel concierge willing to go the extra mile to save Cole from days of discomfort.

7. A Tree Growing Straight Through a Truck
A tree grew straight through the passenger side window of this rusted-out 1957 Chevy truck in Providence Canyon State Park in Lumpkin, Georgia. Ironically, at this point removing the truck would do more harm than good to the surrounding park.

8. Sunset Over the Mighty Mississippi
Associate Travel Editor Tanner Latham stood in Natchez--Under The Hill, to be exact--when the sky went pastel as the sun set behind the far banks of the Mississippi River. Cross that bridge, and you'll find yourself in Louisiana. Vidalia.

9. Skippers, Virginia: The Perfect Southern Accent
Associate Travel Editor Tanner Latham grew up in a small town in Alabama. So he has a Southern accent that digs deep or floats shallow, depending on the situation. He thought he knew Southern accents, until he met Lindsey Vincent at the Good Earth Peanut Company while researching a story out last month on the best stops off I-95.

10. Modern Architecture in Nashville
When you think of cutting-edge architecture, Nashville may not be the first city that comes to mind. Designers like Ryan Thewes, however, are making a name for themselves and giving Nashville a splash of unique homes.

"Jerusalem in Miniature"

When I first stumbled upon the Ave Maria Grotto, a vast collection of miniature religious sculptures in Cullman, Alabama, I almost dismissed it as mere Southern kitsch. The "Jerusalem in Miniature," however, deserves a closer look. So if you're driving down I-65 on a Sunday afternoon, take an hour to enjoy this thoughtful and contemplative collection.

I was standing in Natchez--Under The Hill, to be exact--when the sky went pastel as the sun set behind the far banks of the Mississippi River. Cross that bridge, and you'll find yourself in Louisiana. Vidalia.

(Photo by Warner McGowin)

Here's a shot of the capitol building in Frankfort, Kentucky, taken from the Governor's Mansion near sunset.

Kentucky knows how to show off. That's a good thing. We went to the 134th annual Kentucky Derby this weekend, and we started on Friday, the day before the race, with a tour of Calumet, probably the most legendary horse farm in the world. And despite the tragic ending for Eight Belles, the Kentucky Derby remains an icon of the South, rich with history and pride.

We're one month in here at Tales From the Road, and here are the most popular posts for April:

1. Top 5 Paths to Plane Peace
Want to avoid that chatty seat mate on your next flight? Follow Annette Thompson's five tips to ensure a peaceful plane ride.

2. Backstage with Dierks Bentley
Meet country music's "hardest working man" with travel editor Jennifer V. Cole.

3. "World Peace and Bacon Grease!"
In Charleston, South Carolina, (and perhaps elsewhere in the South), "World Peace and Bacon Grease!" as an appropriate salutation. Read Jennifer V. Cole's reflections on returning to life in the South...

4. Comet Ping Pong Wins Best Family Restaurant in D.C.
Check out the best ping-pong pizza restaurant in Washington D.C. and get in a quick round of table tennis while you wait for your (other) table...

5. Decadence in Miniature: Stealing Hotel Shampoo
Don't let all that perfectly usable hotel shampoo go to waste. In an era when traveling with toiletries is a matter of national security, these small 2-3 ounce bottles come in handy.

6. Free Art in Dallas
The only thing better than fine art is free art, and in Dallas, you can appreciate both. Take a walking tour of some of the most creative artwork this Texas hub has to offer.

7. Stuck in the Memphis Airport
So you're stranded in the Memphis Airport, but don't fear. Livings Editor Richard Banks has a tip that will make an unexpected hours-long layover fly by.

8. Forest Fire Razes Talladega Superspeedway...Wait, No
A hazy smoke lingers over the Talladega Speedway on race weekend. A forest fire? No, just thousands of happy, grilling NASCAR fans.

9. Only Pumpkin in the Patch: Middleburg, VA
Meet Pumpkin Lee of Middleburg, Virginia. She's done tack repair work for Olympian equestrians, and she's an only child - the only pumpkin in the patch, so to speak.

10. Birmingham Jazz Legend - Cleveland Eaton
So you missed Jazzfest. Well, if you live anywhere near Birmingham, you can check out this living legend every week.

(Photos by Matt Bigelow and Kelsey Blackwell)

A tree grew straight through the passenger side window of this rusted-out 1957 Chevy truck in Providence Canyon State Park in Lumpkin, Georgia. (Google map).

(Photos by Richard Banks)

Wakeboarding combines the gravity defying, aerial marvels of gymnastics with the ramps, speed, and whacky jargon of skateboarding. While working on a story on an Orlando-based wakeboarder, I visited the Air Nautique Wake Games at the Orlando Watersports Complex and saw first-hand just how incredible the sport is. While being pulled by a boat like a water skier, wakeboarders flipped backwards and forwards, twisted, whirled, jumped ramps, rode rails, and seemingly flew just yards off shore. It was jaw-dropping, crazy wild, baby.

(Photo by Tanner Latham)

Kyle Busch burned up the track at the Aaron's 499 on Sunday, but that wasn't the only thing on fire around there this weekend.

A hazy smoke hung over the air at Talladega Superspeedway when I drove past it Friday afternoon. My first and ignorant thought was that there might be a forest fire.

(Photo by Joshua Carpenter)

"Pigs will eat ANYTHING," said my host Jamie DeMent (a little proudly) about her Farmers' Hybrid hogs at the 55-acre Coon Rock Farm, a sustainable family farm that provides food to several restaurants in North Carolina's Research Triangle area. 

Dance

(Photos by Richard Banks)

No, it’s not a pile up, it’s art, my friend. Titled Dance, the 12-car choreographic sculpture is one of 20-plus works that together comprise Season Four of Sarasota Season of Sculpture. Mostly located in or adjacent to the city’s Bayfront Park, the works grace the waterfront until May 26, 2008.

(Photo by Taylor Bruce).

Renowned abstract expressionist sculptor Mark di Suervo is the man responsible for the large, apple-red anchor to the Dallas Museum of Art on Ross Avenue. It's becoming iconic in a city gone wild for the arts. His pieces – made mostly from welded I-beams and heavy guage metal - can also be seen in other  spots in Dallas: Meyerson Symphony Hall; Northpark Center; and the Nasher Sculpture Center in the thriving downtown arts district.