It all starts this way: things get ugly at the Silver Bullet. We hit the road, Jane and I, and head for Mexico, picking up handsome parolees, running from the Feds (that’s what we call them—the Feds), and blowing up lecherous truck drivers along the way. But then, trapped! Only to find self-realization halfway to the bottom of the Grand Canyon! At least we’ve had the greatest “spa weekend” of our lives, right?

(Or maybe I drove from Washington, DC to San Francisco in December, bringing my Jane doll—excuse me, action figure—along. Maybe nothing bad happened in Texas. Maybe I just took a lot of pictures of our adventures. Hey, it’s an Austen Nation out there.)

Places and names have been changed to protect the guilty.

Jane on the open road in North Carolina, with the wind whipping through her plastic bonnet. Naturally.

Jane takes out Barbara Mandrell for the spotlight at the Grand Ole Opry. Three words: Lee Press-On.

Jane enjoys Graceland, though the man of the house has not yet arrived and dived into a pond, hotly. So…it’s a nice house, but no Pemberley, if you catch my drift.

Jane gets familiar with The King. It is, after all, very like him and a handsome…ahem. Face.

Jane does Dallas West Texas.

Jane approves of meat wrapped in corn and covered in meat (beef tamale with chili con carne, Franco’s Cafe, recommended by reader Miss Mason). We’re women of delicate tastes, Jane and I.

Jane’s so good, she can spot cops backwards.

Jane went to the beach in Malibu, and all she got was this lousy faked photo! (Coming to an Austenacious near you: Jane Austen Hates It When You Forget Your Camera!) (Kudos and thanks to Miss Osborne for the towel.)

Last photo by Christine Osborne; all others by Elizabeth Ball.

Tagged: Jane Austen, Jane Austen photos, photos, road trip, travel pictures on Tuesday, January 5, 2010 · 3 Comments »