We survived the 17 hour ride south! Barely! Since we bought a little chest cooler air conditioner we thought we could leave during the day (departed from northern Iowa at 6 AM). Third of the way through we discovered it was a horrible decision. Once in Missouri, the car temperature started climbing past 80's, reaching a high of 100F in Arkansas. We were unable to get the car below 90's until past 8PM. This entire mistake resulted in three very unhappy and dehydrated guinea pigs. Each lost about 3% of body weight just over the time of our ride. As of right now, I think it may be alright, since they regained half of the weight overnight thanks to water, cucumbers and lettuce we've been feeding them every few hours in hopes to rehydrate the poor things. I suppose the lesson learned is: if you have animals but no ac (or you were assured a "chest cooler ac" will do the job), do not travel during the day.
So now for something of use to a potential future Mississippi dietetic intern.
I doubt you need driving directions- you can get those from google maps, and they are reliable. Something you do not yet get from maps is where to stop to gas, to eat or to rest. So here are my observations: there are plenty of gas stations along the road, so if you need to refuel- not a problem. If, however, you need a breether at a rest area- not much for choice here. Traveling from Iowa, there is only a handful of rest stops: all on interstates. This is a problem in general because over a third of the way is on state roads which do not have any rest areas (unless you count gas stations). There were two open (out of three total) rest ares in Missouri, two in Arkansas and one open (of two) in Mississippi. Some of the better stops were in Mississippi- well shaded, woody areas. The worst were in Arkansas- newly established, so without good shade or trees. On a day like yesterday (pushing 90 degrees) it is hard to really justify stopping: much better to stop at a cool gas station and roam around the convenience store section. This also helps fix the food issue: plenty of fast food and slower restaurants (think: Perkins or BBQ joints). Personally, I just packed some snacks so that I didn't have to stop (restaurants and gas stations do not allow pets so I had no option).
A problem you may run into is the duration of the trip. In our case it was 17 hours. I was lucky to have a co-pilot (kudos to my husband Brendon!) and we switched seats every three hours. I am convinced I could never do this trip by myself, so if you have to, you will most likely have to consider stopping at a motel (but there are plenty of those along the way too).
Overall, the route from Iowa to Biloxi is very well marked, so even without a GPS (which is our case), it should be easy to follow. All roads were 65 mph speed limit or more, with exceptions when passing cities. This means that the 1000+ miles flies fast. When done on a weekend- no problems whatsoever.However, we have done this route on a weeknight before- not as good: St. Louis MO, Jackson MS. and Memphis TN can be very congested during rush hours so plan your route with that in mind if you must leave on a weekday.
My project for tomorrow: meet with the preceptor at 8 AM at the Singing River Hospital for all paperwork and a tour. Then I have a week off while the tests (drug) and background check clear.
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