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I have a glamorous friend named Alexa Rossy. We both grew up in Miami Beach and her fun little book, Showering with the Alligators, is about her travels around America in a recreational vehicle. Enjoy this lightly edited, condensed version of the delightful convo we shared on an episode of my travel podcast, Places I Remember with Lea Lane. The complete conversation is here. Lea: As a woman who’s a South Beach sophisticate, how did your book about road tripping in offbeat areas of the U.S. come about? Alexa: I met a man and he convinced me to go in an RV with him. One of our very first trips was in Starke Florida, known for the electric chair. The shower in our air stream trailer was really tiny, so he said “So don't worry, go down to the shower house on the park and take all your stuff.” I walked down there with my crocs (no pun intended) and my soap on a rope and there they were — alligators of every size off to the left. Well, I got a big chill in the Florida heat and then I realized that there was a chain link fence between the alligators, but that became the phrase for all our scary, fun adventures, and there were many. Water level view of a wild Alligator in Florida Let’s share a few experiences. Tell us about the vortex in Sedona, Arizona. Sedona is called the spiritual center of the United States, and the vortexes are swirling in your wine glass, maybe in your swimming pool, but in this case in the mountains and flatlands in Sedona. So we picked a vortex to sit in to get a spiritual uplifting. I'm not sure it worked for us, but thousands of people go there — intuitives, healers, celebrities, actors, actresses. MORE FOR YOU In Colorado you went to the Rubber Duck Derby. In Aspen, upscale people were making complete fools of themselves with little rubber duck bath toys. Each duck costs $5. They're all numbered and they dump them into the Rio Grande River, and then everybody gathers to see whose duck is coming in first. The winner gets $1 million. Mass of floating ducks as part of a fun duck derby Maybe now inflation has upped the ante. But picture a waterway covered in yellow rubber ducks. Continuing with water, let's talk about the mermaids at Weekee Watchee Springs. One of the last of the old Florida attractions. The day we went they had brought in the mermaids from the 1950s and 60s, but they performed just like they were 18 years old, flashing their tails. And then they brought in the new ones and I reverted to being five years old watching a huge tank of bubbles and sparkles, watching the actress Esther Williams. Where do you stay as you travel the roads? We have a thick directory of every RV park in the United States that's been rated, so we look ahead to see where we might be at the end of the day. And then we call up one of the parks and ask for a space. Most times we get it. If all else fails, you can sleep in the parking lot of a Walmart, for free. You were in an air stream? It's just the most precious retro little piece of equipment. We did end up going to a place where they make the air stream, in Ohio. Only one crew works on one air stream. If any space alien came to the United States they would think they landed in home territory, with all the little shiny things lined up. How about Kentucky? You went to Noah's Ark there. It was raining and I said,”We could use an Ark.” And someone said, “Oh, there is one in Williamstown, Kentucky.” The Ark is two football fields long, and three floors, as apparently the other Ark was three decks. Supposedly it’s the largest timber wood structure in the world It has everything the Ark might have had: baskets, exotic carpets, hammocks. And they do have animals, but outside the Ark. Noah would not have recognized this Ark, as it was air conditioned, and had Wi-Fi and a gift shop. Life-size replica of Noah's Ark at the Ark Encounter historically themed attraction near Williamstown, Kentucky. UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images You sometimes take roads that are a little dicey, near glaciers. The Sun Road in Montana smells like pine and it's glowing and beautiful, quite frosty. The first day we went was nasty and freezing and we had to go back the second day and we got a Chamber of Commerce Day. It's about 50 miles on the motorcycle. That's right, you had a motorcycle as well. I got to like it because my partner is a career pilot and he's very careful, so no problem. It's so beautiful that you forget that you could, you know, fall off the glacier. When I was reading your book I was struck with a couple of people in Montana: Martha and Bob. Martha raised red wiggler worms, the worms that we use to eat garbage. They love bacteria. They send them to coffee plantations. Martha also told me that the worms are bisexual, so they're all completely dateable. Bob Wilson is an interesting man, as well. We had toured the Montana State Prison, a foreboding place. But across the street was a prison gift shop, and one of the officials in the Montana government had decided they wanted an inmate to run it. So this gentleman was picked out of several thousand other prisoners. He was an accomplice to a murder, and it was the first time I had spoken with that kind of person. The shop door is wide open. He has a phone but it can only call the prison. We bought lots of things made by the prisoners and the money goes toward their cantines or their family support. You mentioned aliens from another planet. How about Roswell, New Mexico and the UFO convention? Something fell from the sky in 1947 and they thought it was a UFO and that's how Roswell became famous. All the light poles have alien heads on the top of them. They do it up big. They have a parade, Walmart has a big float that says “We've come to shop.” And the motel sign reads “Come, crash with us.” Signage at Space alien themed gift shops for tourism in the town of Roswell, New Mexico. People dress up in neon and they have a museum with a little mummy alien and they even have a panel of people who have been abducted and come back and talk about it. Let's get back to Earth to a tradition in North Carolina. In Bakersville they have an annual rhododendron festival. We found out that there would be a rhododendron queen crowned that very night in the high school, so we bought a five dollar ticket and found a great seat next to the runway. The girls came out one by one, so pretty, poised, nervous, wobbling in their high heels. They had to do gown and bathing suit. And these girls get scholarships, they are encouraged to live their life dream. Another relic in that area, from the 1940s and 50s, is the roller derby. Tell us what's going on now. The women roll around a rink on skates, and the idea is to get in front of the pack. They have killer instincts, sexy uniforms and raunchy nicknames. In between the fishnets and the tube tops, you've got to be fond of giving stitches. The rules say don't push, don't shove. They all pushed and shoved. I know you went to Mount Rushmore and you visited some hot springs, and you took a ride over to Wyoming to see the Devil's Tower. But the thing that I was most interested in was bike week in South Dakota. Picture five hundred thousand motorcycles cruising around, most of them Harleys. Some of the guys come from Europe. My feeling is it's their one chance to get away from whatever they do in real life. Motorcycle riders driving down the street in Keystone, South Dakota during the Sturgis Motorcycle rally. Many of the bikers had scary tattoos, fringes, chains. Suggestions were made to take clothes off, for a string of beads, which I did not. They have to do better than that. Many were lawyers, dentists. it's just their time out to have a great week. Speaking of tough guys, you went to the Lyndon Baines Johnson ranch. Near the hill country in Texas. the ranch is what LBJ and Ladybird called their heart place, It's acres and acres, and after he died they donated it. Anybody can come through the house and see the shag carpeting and telephones in every room. When you drive through the property, there could be a horse, cow or deer scampering in front of you. A very calm, restful place. I imagine that the world leaders who came there were very surprised because of the contrast to this president’s big, bold persona. I know you went to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Utah. I read that there isn’t enough water left in the Salt Lake to float. A few years back you clearly could float. All of a sudden, you're sitting there with an invisible chair. And of course, when you get out, you have enough salt on you to make a hundred thousand meals. Utah’s canyon area is one of the most beautiful places in America. I'm sure you drove near some of them on your road trip. With each turn you go, “Oh look at this one, look at this.” What I realized is that there is so much character and so much beauty in America, on and off the road. You can follow 120 plus episodes of my award-winning travel podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Editorial StandardsReprints & Permissions
