Reply to "Road Trip suggestions"

Being up in Canada, I can't help you too much, but years ago I traveled a bit to Dallas and took a few excursions westward

First, I'd consider taking in the aircraft 'graveyard' down in Tucson Arizona...

http://www.thepepper.com/tucson_airplane_graveyard.html

From there, I'd try to take in Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico (I went there years ago, the caves were outstanding - I stayed in a little motel in Whites City (just outside of the national park), and they had a vaudeville style show that was put on by the towns folk - I couldn't find any reference to it on the web, so it may not be around any longer).

If you need cowboy boots, hit the small town of Justin - just north west of Fort Worth ... you can buy the full-priced boots in the Justin Factory Outlet, or go to their factory seconds shop across the street and get a great pair of boots for much less and other than the stamp inside saying 'Second' you'd be hard pressed to find the defect in a lot of the boots. This is another place that I'd been to >10 years ago, so I don't know how it may have changed.

If you're into steam trains, there's the Tarantula train that takes you from Grapevine into Fort Worth - grab a bite to eat, then take the ride back ...

http://www.fortworth.com/01visitors/0101westernher/0101...10105tarantula.shtml

Continuing eastward, I've always wanted to visit Natchez, Mississipi to understand some of the history of this region of the U.S., then continue southward to Baton Rouge and New Orleans, then follow the coastline to Florida.

Others who live in these regions may be able to give you more pointers (I'm a history and nature buff, so my tastes may be different from yours), and hopefully pointers to places where the Pantera will get some attention - although I can promise you, every gas station you stop at, you'll have a flock of admirers come over to ask about the car.

A word of caution, I was warned about the southern states having a reputation for car theft - I can't imagine someone getting a Pantera very far unnoticed, but just be cautious and do a bit of research about the areas you'll be in (e.g. I did a quick search on "Car Theft per capita" and found both Phoenix and Tucson showed up in the top 20 - http://money.aol.com/insurance/auto/top-car-theft-cities I don't want to make you paranoid, I just want you to be careful so that we can hear great stories about your journey home with the cat.