Good Morning Baltimore!

Last night we got into Baltimore around 7 just in time to join Kristal's friend Laura and her boyfriend Max for his Bday dinner at Chevy's. Afterwards we went to see Scott Pilgrim at this really cool Egyptian style theater. The walls were all painted as old stone and there were mini sphinxes all over the place.  The movie itself was really awesome. Anyone who has ever played a video game will appreciate a lot of the little things about this movie, and overall its a great mix of action and comedy. Definitely worth checking out.

This morning, we grabbed some lunch at Broadway Diner, which was on the food network.  I got a bruschetta burger, and Kristal got a pizza burger.  From there, we went to the Harbor to check out a fond childhood memory of mind: The Baltimore Aquarium. Unfortunately, upon arriving at 2ish we heard that we weren't going to be able to get in until 5 o clock! WTF!! We end up buying tickets for tomorrow morning, so we will be going tomorrow. We decided to check out the Observatory tower since it was only 5 bucks and we had a couple hours of parking to kill. It was pretty cool and it was interesting to see how close the Ravens and Orioles stadium are to each other. It was also cool because they showed how far a bunch of cities were from that point: including London, Sydney, Tokyo, etc.  After that, we grabbed some Ben and Jerry's before heading to the DC area to visit our college friend Jess.

We stopped by her apartment, then walked around her neighborhood for a bit, before getting a tour of NPR, where she recently got a job. It was cool to see the inside of it, and interesting to see how many shelves of free books they have there.  After our impromptu tour, we headed out to grab our first Asian cuisine of the trip so far, a place called Thai Tanic.  Kristal got her usual yellow curry, and got a chicken and broccoli style curry dish. Delish!! It was definitely a nice change of pace from all the American food we've had on this trip. After taking the train back to Baltimore, we took a quick driving tour of the Maryland Campus, where I was able to point out some of the buildings I remember, and the red M made of flowers. Its a really nice campus.

We are really tired right now. We haven't walked this much all trip lol. Tomorrow we head up to New York, where I'm going to see my parents while Kristal is excited to see her friend Taryn.  We've seen a lot of New York, but there are still a few places we are going to see, including Pop Tart World. We have also added a pit stop in Cleveland to our itinerary. It will break up what would have been a 12 and a half hour drive. We're excited! Thanks for reading.

And We're Halfway There

Charleston marked the halfway point of our journey! It was the transistion point between the South and the East. I loved Charleston, with its historical architecture, Southern hospitality, and Kiawah Island's beach and resort feel. I figure at the halfway point I'll list out my Top 5 Sites to summarize a bit for those that can't read through all our previous posts to catch up. This is just my list, KT has the same top 5, just in a different order of preference.

1. The French Quarter and the St. Louis Cemetery - I loved the architecture and the historic feel. This is one historic district that I felt was truly authentic and not just preserved like this for tourism. Comparatively, the Charleston historic district was all big name shops like BeBe and Starbucks in old buildings. New Orleans' French Quarter seemed like those shops could have been there for decades, just selling slightly different wares.

2. Graceland - I grew up listening to the King and to see his legacy was very interesting. We were there for Elvis Week so it was pretty busy and some of the guests had those tell-tale sideburns that they spent their days as Elvis impersonators. It was incredible that he bought Graceland when he was just 22 years old. It was a pretty big house and it must have been considered quite the mansion back in the 50s - 70s.

3. Dallas Cowboy Stadium - I'm not as big a football fan as KT, so I'm sure this is higher on his list. It is a massive stadium with the latest technology, making every other stadium I've been feel like it shouldn't be good enough for the team. The new JumboTron goes from one 20 yard line to the other and there's even a fountain on the 2nd floor that is like a mini Bellagio fountain show. Also, it was a lot of fun to try on the pads and helmets, just to get a sense of how huge these guys are that play.

4. JFK 6th Floor Museum - It was strange to be in the same spot that Lee Harvey Oswalt stood when he shot the president. The museum goes through the entire life and political career of JFK before it dives into his death and the conspiracy theories that surround it. It was a fascinating walk through history and I couldn't help but notice the similarities between JFK and our current President Obama. I just hope that history doesn't repeat itself in this case.

5. Mardi Gras World - Since I couldn't go to Mardi Gras itself, this was the next best thing. The decorations from years past are stored there and they also were making new floats as we walked through. I had no idea how big the floats were or how professionally decorated they all were. In addition to the float, we got to try on some costumes and learn more about the history of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. If you can't go to the real event, this is the closest you'll get to it.

Coming back to Charleston

Kristal and I left from Memphis bright an early on Wednesday to get ready for the 12 hour long haul to Charleston, SC, where I spent much of my youth.  We got in around 7 and saw my buddy Jason who has been a close family friend since I was 7 years old. It was great to catch up with him and find out how his family is doing.  After grabbing some dinner and watching Minute to Win It, we went to a bar on the marina called Salty Mikes.  We had a good time there; it was a nice location right on the lake front.

This morning we went to the Jason's parents place for brunch, and again it was great to catch up. I haven't seen them in about 6 or 7 years, so it was nice to share some stories with them. They will be family friends for life.  From there, I took Kristal down to Kiawah Island to show her my old house. She didn't seem too impressed with it lol. I then showed her the new hotel on the island called the Sanctuary.  It was reallllly nice with an awesome pool that had a pillar shooting waterfalls of water from each side. After enjoying some of the warm Atlantic Ocean water on the extremely smooth sand, we packed up and headed over to Porter Gaud to check out my the school I went to from 1st grade to 9th. Not much had changed outside of a new weight room and some movements in department locations. After driving around downtown for a bit, it was time to hit Mt. Pleasant to see my buddy John.

We got to his place and watched some of The Dark Knight. That movie never gets old. After catching up with his parents for a bit, we went to Poe's for some good burgers. It's called Poe's because Edgar Allen Poe spent some time in Charleston and was inspired to write "The Gold Bug." From there, we swung into downtown to see a few buddies of mine from school.  We came back to John's and caught most of the first episode of Hard Knocks. I had never seen the show before since I don't have HBO, but it was really entertaining and I'm gonna do my best to find the episodes somewhere.

Well this ends our journey of the South.  Now its time to head to the North East, where its only going to be 85 degrees everyday! Thanks for reading. 

Hunka Hunka Burning Love...For Elvis

Kristal and I got into Memphis about 7 o clock yesterday. We crashed in our friend's Sky's parents house, which is ridiculously nice. After eating quesadillas, we decided to just stay in for the night, enjoy the pool, and get ready for our big day tomorrow. Today was the kick off of the annual Elvis Week, and it started with a nice tiny reception in the Medical Hospital in Downtown Memphis. After grabbing some punch, cheese, and cake, we headed downtown for a quick view of things down there. We heard a lot about Beale Street, but were disappointed to see that it is for pedestrians only. We had pre-bought our Graceland tickets and didn't have time to stop in to check out it. But from our brief view, it looks like a good time. From there, we headed down to the famous Graceland Estate, where Elvis's mansion, planes, and cars are.

Kristal and I arrived and we headed straight to his mansion. In my opinion, it's still a pretty awesome house by today's standards, so it must have been something special back then. The house cost 100,000 dollars, and Elvis bought it at the ripe ole age of 22. Certainly makes me feel like I've done a lot in my time lol. The house was decorated quite interestingly. From the dark red kitchen, to the bright green carpeting and roof of his jungle room (that's right I said jungle room) everything was as flashy as Elvis was in real life. We got to see his basement, his pool room, his 8 billion gold and platinum records, and several of the jump suits that he wore on stage for several of his concerts. We also saw several outfits and scenes from his numerous movies. I had no idea that he had starred in so many films (31 in all!). I thought he only had small roles in like 3 or 4. After touring the house, we got to see his grave site, where he is buried next to his parents and grandmother - who oddly enough outlived them all! After the tour of the house, it was time to hit the rest of the grounds.

After grabbing some lunch, our first stop was the car museum. There, we saw just a small slice of Elvis's notoriously bright cars, the top one being his Pink Cadillac, which was his mother's favorite. We also saw a couple of his motorcycles, as well as the car that he drove into Graceland for the last time the day that he died. We then went into "Sincerely Elvis", which was a showcase of all his film work. There it showed brief summaries of several of his films, as well as some funny side stories, like Elvis giving a young co star a white Mustang for her to remember her first film. Kristal then grabbed some souvenirs from the gift shop before we made our final stop, Elvis's airplanes.

Private jets always make me jealous. They are just absurdly nice and compared to coach it is about as big a difference as you can imagine. The plane was full of couches, private bars, and TV's, and was finished by Elvis's own bedroom in the back of the aircraft. This plane was named the Lisa Marie in honor of his only daughter with Priscella. After that, we were given a brief look into his smaller private plane, and that was it for our time with Elvis! After coming home and napping, we went out with Sky's parents to Corky's BBQ, where Kristal and I both got pork sandwiches with fries. Delishhhh. Tonight we are resting up and getting ready for the long haul to Charleston. We both wish we could spend some more time here, but the show must go on, and I'm really excited to see some old friends and familiar places in Charleston. Thanks for reading.

Just for fun - Sky's dog Jack!

Why is Everything Closed in Nashville!!!

So today we went into Nashville to check out the Grand Ole Opry house, but upon arrival, we found out that the whole estate is closed down until October due to the massive flooding they received in May. After checking out some brochures in the Radison, we decided to go to a banjo factory to see how those joyful instruments are made. The best part is, it was right next door! But of course, it too was also closed temporarily because of the floods. Lame!!!

So we decide to go to 21st street as recommended by a friend of ours. It was a pretty cool area, but sadly, only about a couple of blocks long. From there, we head over to Vanderbilt to check out their school. After going through the massive medical school on campus, we got hungry and decided to head to downtown to get Jack's BBQ. Finally, we found a few things that were open! We ended up getting identical meals of pork shoulder sandwiches and mac and cheese.   They were pretty solid but we have had better BBQ on the trip so far. Here's hoping Memphis lives up to its name and tops all of that.

From there, Kristal and I hit up a famous record store, and take a peek inside the Ryman Auditorium, where Johnny Cash and June Carter once played. We decided to not pay the 17 bucks to take a tour, and we were on our way back to Bowling Green. So in case you couldn't tell, don't come to Nashville on a Sunday!!

After that, we had some down time before our bro joined us for Buffalo Wild Wings. There we got some honey bbq boneless wings, a chicken parmesan flat bread pizza, and then some sweet bbq wings. Delish. We also played some good ole trivia. I dominated the sports IQ section, and then Kristal and Colin split two "Wild Trivia" games. 

After dinner, my bro showed me an interesting documentary about competitive donkey kong playing, called  The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.  For anyone who remotely loves video games, I would highly recommend it.   Next up, we checked out Kick Ass on Blu Ray. So epiccccc! Love hit girl.  And now we are watching Eurotrip. Its TBS edited, but still freakin awesome. And that brings an end to our time in Bowling Green. Tomorrow we head down to Memphis for Elvis Week!!! We are pretty stoked. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading.

Stepping into the Past

For anyone who says America doesn’t have history the way Europe does, I recommend they come to New Orleans. I have been to a few cities on the East, but none of them felt like they had preserved their history as well as New Orleans, especially the French Quarter. I can’t imagine how amazing this city was before Katrina hit, because I was already impressed as is.

We started our last full day in “Nawlins” at Café Du Monde – famous for their Biegnets (fried dough covered in powdered sugar) and coffee. It was packed! I can’t imagine the line/wait on a Saturday when everyone comes out for brunch. The beignets were delicious, but very very messy! I’m glad KT warned me not to wear black, otherwise I would have looked even worse.

Once we cleaned ourselves off a bit, we did a walking tour that was in my Lonely Planet: USA & Canada on a Shoestring book. We walked around the French Quarter learning about the history and trying to survive the humidity. After walking by the old house of William Faulkner, the oldest surviving French Colonial Building, Ursaline Covenant, and more, we headed to the St. Louis Cemetary.

Because the watertable is so high in New Orleans, bodies don’t stay buried for long. Early settlers realized this after a few storms starting making the bodies resurface. So, they started making above ground cemetaries with vaults & masoleums. The only other cemetery I’ve been in like this was in France and architecturally they are very similar. A huge difference to me though was the skyline in the back. In Europe, it was like stepping into the past, but here it was nice to see the juxtaposition of the old and new.

After the cemetery it was too hot to keep sightseeing, so we just went back to Kenny’s place and played Mario Kart until the gang was ready to hit Bourbon Street for our last hurrah. Of course, just as we step outside a huge thunder/lightning storm starts. We waited it out and luckily it was all over after about 30 minutes. I’m so not used to rain like that! It came out of nowhere and just started pouring!

Bourbon St. was crazy and so much fun. It’s just bars and clubs for blocks down this one street. It was pretty busy, but definitely wasn’t packed since it’s the off season and it had just rained. I can only imagine how insane it gets during Mardi Gras and Spring Break.

After we got some drinks, including a Hand Grenade, we headed over to Frenchmen, which is a less touristy version of Bourbon. This street was even busier! I guess since there aren’t many tourists out now, it would make sense that the local bar area would be more lively. We wandered around there and eventually headed back. Overall, it was a great night and definitely a highlight of the trip.

New Orleans is so far my favorite city we’ve been to, but we have so much left it’ll be hard to stay at the top. The French Quarter was beautiful and quaint. While it’s a tourist attraction, it never felt like it was maintained for that purpose. I think I would have loved NOLA even more if it weren’t for that darn humidity! We usually could only hand a few hours of sightseeing before we had to head back to take a cold shower and bask in some air conditioning.

Today consisted of a 9 hour drive from NOLA to Bowling Green, Kentucky. We passed through Mississppi (where I was born!), Alabama, and Tennessee. That's 5 states in one day! We’re visiting KT’s brother for a couple days before we head over to Elvis Week in Memphis, TN. Apparently, there are usually around 100,000 people there for the event! It’s going to be madness, but I’m really looking forward to it.

Visiting Old Memories

Today was one of the few days on this trip where I will be reminiscing about the old days.  Today I took Kristal back to my old neighborhood where I showed her my old house and then we walked over to my high school.  It was great to see how the school had changed but for the most part to see how the school had stayed the same. A lot of the faculty had much turnover after Katrina, but it was great to see the librian that I knew, good ole Mr. Prescott, and share a few minutes with him to catch up on old times.  I showed Kristal all around the school, including the state trophies that I had a hand in winning in Tennis my Sophomore-Senior years. 

After that, we tried to head over to a great po-boy place called Domilise's, but it just so happens that it is closed this week while the owners are on vacation. Lame! So we ended up going to Popeyes because I wanted to make sure that Kristal could see how big a difference there was between New Orleans Popeyes and Los Angeles Popeyes.  We got some good old fried chicken, and oh my god the biscuits were even better then I remember. I think we might go back and grab some for the next part of the journey.  

After that, we went over to the Convention Center to go see Mardi Gras World. This is a warehouse where they build all of the floats that are going to be in the Parades comeMardi Gras. We got tons of pictures of all kinds of floats and decorations. From King Kong to Drew Brees to Pikachu. You name it: this place probably makes it or something close to it.  Its really an awesome place and a must see for anyone who comes to New Orleans and can't make it for Mardi Gras season.

We came back and chilled at Kenny's place for awhile, enjoying the awesome AC.  We got dinner at a popular local place, where I got a shrimp po-boy and Kristal got a BBQ beef po-boy.  It took her almost 5 minutes before she was able to bite into the actual sandwich, as she had to eat all of the stuff that fell out of it and find a way to wrap the sandwich up so that it didn't slip out of her hands. After that, we went to a local bar for trivia, where the categories included 80's TV, Revenge of the Nerds, Candy, and Horror Movies. We didn't fare too well but it was fun overall. After some Mario Kart, we finished up the night.

I'm pretty excited for tomorrow. I'm taking Kristal down to the French Quarter where we will grab lunch and the famous beignets at Cafe Du Monde.  After that, we plan on hitting up Bourbon street with Kenny and Katie as our last hoorah to the city of New Orleans. Thanks for reading.