Happy birthday to me, I'm in Memphis, Tennessee, I'm no longer a teenager, I am freaking twenty
Guess twenty doesn't make me any more creative or less cheesy. Oh well. SOOOOOOOOOOO
Last night was even worse than I thought. I could not sleep for the life of me. Through headphones and earplugs, and television, I could still hear my parents snoring. AHHH!!! I FINALLY fell asleep, after I asked my mom if I could sleep in the lobby or the car. She then stayed awake and poked my dad long enough until I fell asleep. I think my dad was bothered by that, because apparently after one time, he said, "I'm just breathing!" We had to get up earlier today, which kinda sucked. My mom got me a waffle in the shape of Texas. See unlike Michigan, the people that live in Texas actually like their state. They even make waffles shaped out of their state. Imagine that. Well we left around 10:30 or 11:00. Needless to say, I slept for a bit of the stretch, considering winkin and blinkin made it hard for me to nod off last night. That was cheesy. I apologize.
We drove through the rest of Texas, and came to Arkansas. The city at the border is called Texarkana. Kinda weird. Arkansas is where Angie should live cuz they're kinda corny. One of their other cities is called Arkadelphia, Hope, and Friendship. Weird city names. We stopped at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. They only managed to confirm my stereotype that Arkansas is kinda weird. We drove past Little Rock. That was about as exciting as it got. Otherwise, it was mostly grass and trees. Which was pretty I guess. But they are hicks out there. I asked my parents if Kennedy was a liked president, and my dad proceeded to tell me everything he knew about Kennedy, including his similarities to Obama, for like, 10 minutes. He also lectured me later about the health care plan. Oh father. About 100 miles west of Memphis, I switched with my momma and drove the rest of the way to Memphis. I was kind of scared after the whole Houston experience, but Memphis was much easier to navigate than friggen Houston. So that was good. However, I didn't know where my sunglasses were, so I spent the whole time trying to balance my parents "sunglasses" on my nose. They both have glasses, so they have these sunglasses that slide behind their glasses, but they have no ear things. So that was pretty cool...
Memphis is the shiz. I liked the city quite a bit. It was kind of like a mix of Old Town in Lansing during JazzFest, and Times Square. They had lots of neon lights and stuff, and they had a bunch of jazz musicians just on the street. Although I'm getting ahead of myself here. First we stopped at the welcome center. It was really quite pretty. It was on the Mississippi River, which is the border of Arkansas and Tennessee. They had some cool displays and a statue of BB King and Elvis. But the river was really pretty looking with the big bridge from I-40, and they also had the most beautiful tulip trees. We hopped back in the car, and headed to Beal street, which is what reminded me of Old Town and Times Square. I got a couple keychains, one that said Memphis on it and such, and then a guitar shaped one. There were a ton of people there tonight. I guess it was a Friday night, but there was also a John Mayer concert going on. We went in another store, which was one part sketchy but another part cool. It was cool because the ceiling was lined with drumheads from different bands and their signatures, and there were also a bunch of guitars on the walls signed by famous guitarists, including Justin Timberlake : ) It was sketchy cuz it smelled like pot. We kind of just walked down and saw what there was to see. We also discovered the headquarters of Gibson. Kelsey drooled. For those of you who don't know, Gibson is a brand of really nice guitars. Unfortunately, they were closed so I couldn't go in, but I looked in the windows : ) It was pretty cool.
We walked down to the end of the exciting part of the street, and there were two jazz bands just playing outside. Full band, just on the sidewalk. They were good too. We walked back up, and there was a band inside by a pavillion. They were amazing. They sounded really good together, and were really enjoyable. We stayed and listened to them for a bit. There were also these kids doing like, 10 straight backflips down the street. It was CRAZY!!! I got a video. We explored around Memphis for probably about two hours, and then headed back to the car and attempted to find our motel. We followed where the parking guy told us to go, but screwed it up somehow. We whipped out the phone gps, which, as my mother described it, led us halfway across the country before we finally found the highway we were looking for. It was hilarious. I thought maybe it was like the time when I was trying to find Good Will, and ended up at someone's house who apparently had their own private business called Good Will Printing. We went all over the place. We did, however, finally find our motel. Memphis is a little ghetto though. We got to our room, which was literally the farthest room from the front desk (which is a little scary in and of itself,) and then discovered a parole notice on the door. Needless to say, this freaked my mom out a little bit, so we got a different room. It's still a ways from the front desk, but at least there's no ex-con, parole violators living in it. My parents will just have to drive to get breakfast tomorrow.
We got in our room in time to let the Spartans scare us half to death, but pull off a win. That was about 9:00, and then we went to find a place to eat. We ended up at Perkins. I got birthday steak, which was very good, as well as a piece of peanut butter cream pie, which was delicious as well. We came back to the motel, watched a little more basketball, and then my parents went to sleep and I talked to Livia on the phone. And now I am certainly ready to head to bed, especially considering the day we have tomorrow....
We've got about 12 hours of driving tomorrow, and we lose an hour. It might very well be 11 or 12 by time we get home. That's a crapload of driving. I'm guessing I'll be watching some movies. We won't be sightseeing in any cities, but some of the funnier moments occur in the car anyway, so I'm sure it will still be entertaining.
I overall, had a very good birthday, and this trip was definitely up there in my favorites. Not that I've really had a trip I didn't like, but this one was really pretty cool. Visited lots of cool places, and I wasn't bored to death being alone with my parents like I was afraid I might be. So cool beans : ) I'm a lucky girl. I got some really nice wallposts, texts, and inbox messages from my friends on my birthday, including some from some of those I haven't heard from in awhile, and it reminded me that I am loved and appreciated. And what on earth more could you ask for on your birthday?!? It's good to be reminded of that now and then. That really made my birthday what it was. Memphis being a cool city certainly didn't hurt either : )
-Concensus: Arkansas is pretty hick-ish, and Memphis is a little ghetto, but Memphis really is a pretty neat city. My mom said she'd never want to live here, but I don't think I'd mind it a whole lot. I'm really just a sucker for jazz. There's something beautiful about it. There's really something beautiful about live music anyway, but seeing some blues in it's "birthplace" is something special.
-Movies Watched: none, but I'll have plenty of time tomorrow
-States Covered: add Arkansas to the mix. And the final states list will read: Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas. That's 10 freaking states. Holy cow. And add Little Rock and Memphis to the list of cities. Maybe I'll cover that sucker of a list tomorrow.
And that concludes my 20th birthday. What a day.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Day 6: Dallas, Texas
Last day of Texas, and last day of twenty. Holy Moly
I don't remember exactly what time we left. I think I woke up just a little before 11, and then I went and laid out on my other side for about half an hour. I don't think I got any color though. I just can't win. 30 minutes means no color, but 1 hour means burned out of my mind. Grr. Anyway, we packed up, and headed out. We stopped at walmart and got some groceries, but more specifically, I got some aloe vera and vitamin E lotion. I've pretty much been bathing in it all day. It's supposed to keep my tan, which is nice, but it's not particularly soothing. Doesn't really smell all that great either. We'll see if I actually keep the tan. I'm hoping this burn will be tan by tomorrow. It really looks kinda dumb, and it's worse on my left side for some reason. Oh well. I'm hoping I don't peel. My mom doesn't seem to think it looks too bad, so we'll have to see. All this from one hour in the sun. Gee whiz. Sun must be hotter here. And, better than the aloe vera, is the, *drum roll please* avacados!!!!! They were 50 cents a piece! I couldn't believe it! So cheap. So we got a couple, and tomorrow, I'm gonna make me some birthday guacamole. Marvelousssssssss
So after walmart, we made our way over to Dallas. I think it was about 6 hours? I actually didn't sleep at all this trip. I tell you what. I like Texas and all, but I don't think I'd ever move here solely for the reason that the traffic and roads and driving here is just nuts! It was a Thursday afternoon, and there was so much traffic! I watched a couple movies to pass the time. We stopped at a "picnic area" off the side of the road. What a joke! Ha I guess if the only parameters for a picnic area is a picnic table, it fit. It was pretty ridiculous. We had a nice view of the highway congested with crazy Texan drivers, and a haunted hay ride park. Oh we also got to watch a guy pull off and go pee behind a bush. That was nice with my sandwich. Shortly after that, we stopped for gas. I went to go use the bathroom.... it smelled horrible. I think it really might have been the worst smelling bathroom I've ever smelled. Like someone crapped all over the floor or something. So I passed, cuz I thought we were supposed to get to our hotel in like, an hour and a half. That was false. But I made it, lol. Despite the fact that some crazy chick decided to almost kill is by coming into our line exactly where our car was. Little terrifying. Pretty much stopped my heart for a second. But I will live to see 20 : )
We stopped in downtown Dallas, and checked the Kennedy Assassination scene. We looked at the memorial, which was kind of weird, but solemn and quiet at the same time, and then checked out where it actually happened. I learned a lot. It was really sad. I guess it was a lot the same for my mom as Ground zero would be for me. She remembered where she was when she found out, and they actually went out and bought a television when it happened so they could hear what was going on. It was pretty crazy. It made me feel so bad for Jackie Kennedy. That would just be horrible. It was very interesting to see all of that stuff and learn some stuff. After seeing the memorial and the actual place where it happened, we headed to our hotel. We got a little lost, but not past what my phone gps could handle. I really don't know what we would have done this trip without it. I was like map from Dora the Explorer this trip. Except I didn't deliver the directions in threes, or in song. Thank God. I may have punched myself. "Dad, to get to the hotel we need to look for the tree, the rock, and big green fence. Tree, rock, big green fence. Tree, rock, big green fence! Yeah!!!"
We found our hotel, and I guess while my parents were carrying stuff to the room, the guy asked them if we wanted a handicapped room... my mom wasn't sure how to take that. We watched a little basketball, and then went to Cheddars. The elevator here is pretty crazy. It's very abrupt whenever it stops. I felt like I might die. I said that it was like dad's driving. He proceeded to "stick em up" like he wanted to box me in the elevator. It was pretty funny. I guess that's where I get it from : ) So anyways... Cheddars... I don't mean to sound horrible, but there were a ton of black people there. More black than white. It was interesting. We got tortilla chips and artichoke dip for an appetizer and that was wonderful, and then I got chicken tenders. I didn't eat a whole lot of them cuz I had so much artichoke dip, but I think I'll eat it for lunch tomorrow.
We came back to the hotel, and watched a bunch of March Madness. There have been so many upsets this year! My bracket is already a huge mess. Friggen Marquette and Georgetown screwed me over! I should probably just use it as toilet paper. There were some really good games though. I love my family, haha. All of us just laying in our beds, watching basketball, screaming at the TV, and looking sorrowfully at our brackets.
I've gotten a bed back in this room, but the heater/air conditioner here doesn't work, so I don't have the fun noise to drown their snoring out... : ( that and there is no A&E so I can't watch CSI or shows like that. I'm super sad too because they had a Criminal Minds marathon, and I like that show a lot. This could be a rough night. And I think the sink just hissed at me. Now I'm kind of scared...
Tomorrow is a big driving day. About 8 hours it what my mom guesses. Nothing better for your birthday than 8+ hours of driving. However, it does mean I'll get to spend my 20th birthday dinner in downtown Memphis, probably listening to some sweet jazz bands, so that should be pretty cool. Man I really get around for my birthdays. Last year, NYC, this year, Texas, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. And hopefully MSU will give me a nice birthday present of a win tomorrow. Please, boys, please.
I've already gotten two phonecalls saying happy birthday : ) so that's been nice. I've got some good friends. I'm happy to see 19 go. Teenagerdom, though, not neessarily. I might miss that a little.
Well I'm going to get some shut eye cuz mom wants to head off a little earlier tomorrow.
-Concensus: Texas driving is crazy, and when I first heard we were checking out the JFK assassination memorial, I wasn't like, super excited about it or anything, but it ended up being quite interesting. Also, my bracket is destroyed, and I love March Madness : )
-Movies Watched: How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days, and Superstar. Both HILARIOUS
-States Covered: still the same list, but add Austin, Waco, and Dallas, Texas to the mix of cities. Cool beans.
I am sad that this trip is nearing its end. It's been pretty fun getting a taste of American cities, and what they have to offer. It's like a chili cookoff, and I'm the judge. Except I like traveling. I don't like chili much. Well. Happy birthday to me : ) see you from Tennessee. Oh my gosh. I am the freaking map. I just rhymed...
I don't remember exactly what time we left. I think I woke up just a little before 11, and then I went and laid out on my other side for about half an hour. I don't think I got any color though. I just can't win. 30 minutes means no color, but 1 hour means burned out of my mind. Grr. Anyway, we packed up, and headed out. We stopped at walmart and got some groceries, but more specifically, I got some aloe vera and vitamin E lotion. I've pretty much been bathing in it all day. It's supposed to keep my tan, which is nice, but it's not particularly soothing. Doesn't really smell all that great either. We'll see if I actually keep the tan. I'm hoping this burn will be tan by tomorrow. It really looks kinda dumb, and it's worse on my left side for some reason. Oh well. I'm hoping I don't peel. My mom doesn't seem to think it looks too bad, so we'll have to see. All this from one hour in the sun. Gee whiz. Sun must be hotter here. And, better than the aloe vera, is the, *drum roll please* avacados!!!!! They were 50 cents a piece! I couldn't believe it! So cheap. So we got a couple, and tomorrow, I'm gonna make me some birthday guacamole. Marvelousssssssss
So after walmart, we made our way over to Dallas. I think it was about 6 hours? I actually didn't sleep at all this trip. I tell you what. I like Texas and all, but I don't think I'd ever move here solely for the reason that the traffic and roads and driving here is just nuts! It was a Thursday afternoon, and there was so much traffic! I watched a couple movies to pass the time. We stopped at a "picnic area" off the side of the road. What a joke! Ha I guess if the only parameters for a picnic area is a picnic table, it fit. It was pretty ridiculous. We had a nice view of the highway congested with crazy Texan drivers, and a haunted hay ride park. Oh we also got to watch a guy pull off and go pee behind a bush. That was nice with my sandwich. Shortly after that, we stopped for gas. I went to go use the bathroom.... it smelled horrible. I think it really might have been the worst smelling bathroom I've ever smelled. Like someone crapped all over the floor or something. So I passed, cuz I thought we were supposed to get to our hotel in like, an hour and a half. That was false. But I made it, lol. Despite the fact that some crazy chick decided to almost kill is by coming into our line exactly where our car was. Little terrifying. Pretty much stopped my heart for a second. But I will live to see 20 : )
We stopped in downtown Dallas, and checked the Kennedy Assassination scene. We looked at the memorial, which was kind of weird, but solemn and quiet at the same time, and then checked out where it actually happened. I learned a lot. It was really sad. I guess it was a lot the same for my mom as Ground zero would be for me. She remembered where she was when she found out, and they actually went out and bought a television when it happened so they could hear what was going on. It was pretty crazy. It made me feel so bad for Jackie Kennedy. That would just be horrible. It was very interesting to see all of that stuff and learn some stuff. After seeing the memorial and the actual place where it happened, we headed to our hotel. We got a little lost, but not past what my phone gps could handle. I really don't know what we would have done this trip without it. I was like map from Dora the Explorer this trip. Except I didn't deliver the directions in threes, or in song. Thank God. I may have punched myself. "Dad, to get to the hotel we need to look for the tree, the rock, and big green fence. Tree, rock, big green fence. Tree, rock, big green fence! Yeah!!!"
We found our hotel, and I guess while my parents were carrying stuff to the room, the guy asked them if we wanted a handicapped room... my mom wasn't sure how to take that. We watched a little basketball, and then went to Cheddars. The elevator here is pretty crazy. It's very abrupt whenever it stops. I felt like I might die. I said that it was like dad's driving. He proceeded to "stick em up" like he wanted to box me in the elevator. It was pretty funny. I guess that's where I get it from : ) So anyways... Cheddars... I don't mean to sound horrible, but there were a ton of black people there. More black than white. It was interesting. We got tortilla chips and artichoke dip for an appetizer and that was wonderful, and then I got chicken tenders. I didn't eat a whole lot of them cuz I had so much artichoke dip, but I think I'll eat it for lunch tomorrow.
We came back to the hotel, and watched a bunch of March Madness. There have been so many upsets this year! My bracket is already a huge mess. Friggen Marquette and Georgetown screwed me over! I should probably just use it as toilet paper. There were some really good games though. I love my family, haha. All of us just laying in our beds, watching basketball, screaming at the TV, and looking sorrowfully at our brackets.
I've gotten a bed back in this room, but the heater/air conditioner here doesn't work, so I don't have the fun noise to drown their snoring out... : ( that and there is no A&E so I can't watch CSI or shows like that. I'm super sad too because they had a Criminal Minds marathon, and I like that show a lot. This could be a rough night. And I think the sink just hissed at me. Now I'm kind of scared...
Tomorrow is a big driving day. About 8 hours it what my mom guesses. Nothing better for your birthday than 8+ hours of driving. However, it does mean I'll get to spend my 20th birthday dinner in downtown Memphis, probably listening to some sweet jazz bands, so that should be pretty cool. Man I really get around for my birthdays. Last year, NYC, this year, Texas, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. And hopefully MSU will give me a nice birthday present of a win tomorrow. Please, boys, please.
I've already gotten two phonecalls saying happy birthday : ) so that's been nice. I've got some good friends. I'm happy to see 19 go. Teenagerdom, though, not neessarily. I might miss that a little.
Well I'm going to get some shut eye cuz mom wants to head off a little earlier tomorrow.
-Concensus: Texas driving is crazy, and when I first heard we were checking out the JFK assassination memorial, I wasn't like, super excited about it or anything, but it ended up being quite interesting. Also, my bracket is destroyed, and I love March Madness : )
-Movies Watched: How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days, and Superstar. Both HILARIOUS
-States Covered: still the same list, but add Austin, Waco, and Dallas, Texas to the mix of cities. Cool beans.
I am sad that this trip is nearing its end. It's been pretty fun getting a taste of American cities, and what they have to offer. It's like a chili cookoff, and I'm the judge. Except I like traveling. I don't like chili much. Well. Happy birthday to me : ) see you from Tennessee. Oh my gosh. I am the freaking map. I just rhymed...
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Day 5: San Antonio Part 2
This day started out pretty nice because I slept in today. It was marvelous. Like seriously wonderful. I totally would have kept sleeping, but my mom woke me up to catch some sun. So I did. I laid out for about an hour by the pool. It was so nice, being in the sunshine outside in a swimsuit, and not being cold. Actually, I got a little warm. The pool was too cold, so I cooled off by getting in the hot tub(?) which at first just felt way too hot, but then it felt pretty good. I cooled off when I got out though. Haha unfortunately, I got myself a nice sunburn on my cheeks, my chest, and my shoulders. Guess that's what I get for being white. Not that I can help it. Still, FIRST SKIN PIGMINTATION CHANGE OF 2010 : )
After that, we headed back towards downtown. Well sort of. First we headed a little south of downtown to a mission. I'm pretty sure it was the San Jose mission. It was pretty cool. It was like a big rectangle, and I think three of the sides were a bunch of little houses, or something like that. Then there was a big church, and the church was really beautiful. They still hold services there. It was pretty neat though. After that, we headed into downtown and went back to the Alamo, except today we actually got to go inside of it. It would have been a little cooler if it weren't for the elementary school's worth of kids running around in it. There were so many people, especially kids, who I don't think quite understood where they were. Oh well. The inside kind of reminded me of the secret garden, except it wasn't must of a secret. It was really beautiful though. Oh, and just so everyone knows, I saw lots of cactus today, up close and personal and I got some pictures : ) YAY cactus! haha I'm a dork.
After the Alamo, we went to a souvenier shop, and my mom got Kacie and JD some blankets, and I got a texas orange texas shirt, and an Alamo Bowl Michigan State shirt. The guy saw my mom's shirt, (she was wearing her Michigan State shirt for St. Patty's day) and gave it to us for like, half price. So that was kinda cool. Yay for shirts! Haha. My dad went to bring that stuff back to the car at the parking ramp, and I went in a shop and got some gifts for some friends : ) can't tell what they are though... has to be a surprise! The funniest item in the store was this pair of whitey tighty briefs with handles on them that said "Hillbilly Brief Case." Made me lol a little. So I purchased the stuff, and we headed to the riverwalk.
Today we actually took the boat ride through, and that was pretty neat. We waited in line forever to get our tickets, and then waited in line forever to get on the boat. It was a little disappointing cuz we were in the middle, near the back, so we couldn't see as well, but it was still pretty sweet. Our tour guide's name was Rusty. He was pretty cool. Typical tour guide: cheesy jokes, overly enthusiastic, but informative. I learned some pretty cool stuff on the tour. He did tell one funny joke. What do you call bear's without teeth? Gummy bears. There's a knee slapper, in case you needed one. The riverwalk seriously is a pretty neat idea though. I've said it like, a thousand times, but it's really quite beautiful. I think I drove the passangers next to us crazy, trying to take pictures and stuff. Oh well. Had to be as much of a tourist as possible.
The tour ride lasted about 35 minutes, and after we got off, we walked by the river for a bit, and then found a mexican place on the street. Once again, marvelous food. I got two tacos with EXQUISITE guacamole. Nothing like good guacamole. Our poor waiter was running all over the place. I guess they were short-staffed, and it didn't seem like his coworkers cared for him much. Oh well. Food was good : )
We walked around the river a little more, and found a mall that was off of it. We explored the mall a bit, and then found an ice cream place. Got me some cake batter ice cream with chocolate chip cookie dough and oreos. Mmmm tasty : ) Don't ask Fergie how to spell tasty. She spells it wrong. She's better at spelling glamorous though. And Fergalicious, though I don't know when you'd ever use that in a sentence. We walked around downtown and little more, bade our farewells to the beautiful riverwalk and beautiful downtown San Antonio, and drove back to our hotel. And of course, I've watched some more t.v. I'll see how comfortable I can get sleeping tonight, with my sunburn and all. I'm gonna get up at 11, lay out in the sun (this time, on my other side, see if we can even things out a lil) and then we're off to Dallas. I guess it's about 4 hours, so hopefully we'll get to check out Dallas a little too. There's isn't really any new concensus, any new cities or states, so we can just skip all that stuff. No new movies either.
I'm going to fill out my March Madness bracket, and call it a day.
Goodnight San Antonio. I greatly enjoyed your city : )
Oh, and Happy Opening Day of March Madness!!!!
After that, we headed back towards downtown. Well sort of. First we headed a little south of downtown to a mission. I'm pretty sure it was the San Jose mission. It was pretty cool. It was like a big rectangle, and I think three of the sides were a bunch of little houses, or something like that. Then there was a big church, and the church was really beautiful. They still hold services there. It was pretty neat though. After that, we headed into downtown and went back to the Alamo, except today we actually got to go inside of it. It would have been a little cooler if it weren't for the elementary school's worth of kids running around in it. There were so many people, especially kids, who I don't think quite understood where they were. Oh well. The inside kind of reminded me of the secret garden, except it wasn't must of a secret. It was really beautiful though. Oh, and just so everyone knows, I saw lots of cactus today, up close and personal and I got some pictures : ) YAY cactus! haha I'm a dork.
After the Alamo, we went to a souvenier shop, and my mom got Kacie and JD some blankets, and I got a texas orange texas shirt, and an Alamo Bowl Michigan State shirt. The guy saw my mom's shirt, (she was wearing her Michigan State shirt for St. Patty's day) and gave it to us for like, half price. So that was kinda cool. Yay for shirts! Haha. My dad went to bring that stuff back to the car at the parking ramp, and I went in a shop and got some gifts for some friends : ) can't tell what they are though... has to be a surprise! The funniest item in the store was this pair of whitey tighty briefs with handles on them that said "Hillbilly Brief Case." Made me lol a little. So I purchased the stuff, and we headed to the riverwalk.
Today we actually took the boat ride through, and that was pretty neat. We waited in line forever to get our tickets, and then waited in line forever to get on the boat. It was a little disappointing cuz we were in the middle, near the back, so we couldn't see as well, but it was still pretty sweet. Our tour guide's name was Rusty. He was pretty cool. Typical tour guide: cheesy jokes, overly enthusiastic, but informative. I learned some pretty cool stuff on the tour. He did tell one funny joke. What do you call bear's without teeth? Gummy bears. There's a knee slapper, in case you needed one. The riverwalk seriously is a pretty neat idea though. I've said it like, a thousand times, but it's really quite beautiful. I think I drove the passangers next to us crazy, trying to take pictures and stuff. Oh well. Had to be as much of a tourist as possible.
The tour ride lasted about 35 minutes, and after we got off, we walked by the river for a bit, and then found a mexican place on the street. Once again, marvelous food. I got two tacos with EXQUISITE guacamole. Nothing like good guacamole. Our poor waiter was running all over the place. I guess they were short-staffed, and it didn't seem like his coworkers cared for him much. Oh well. Food was good : )
We walked around the river a little more, and found a mall that was off of it. We explored the mall a bit, and then found an ice cream place. Got me some cake batter ice cream with chocolate chip cookie dough and oreos. Mmmm tasty : ) Don't ask Fergie how to spell tasty. She spells it wrong. She's better at spelling glamorous though. And Fergalicious, though I don't know when you'd ever use that in a sentence. We walked around downtown and little more, bade our farewells to the beautiful riverwalk and beautiful downtown San Antonio, and drove back to our hotel. And of course, I've watched some more t.v. I'll see how comfortable I can get sleeping tonight, with my sunburn and all. I'm gonna get up at 11, lay out in the sun (this time, on my other side, see if we can even things out a lil) and then we're off to Dallas. I guess it's about 4 hours, so hopefully we'll get to check out Dallas a little too. There's isn't really any new concensus, any new cities or states, so we can just skip all that stuff. No new movies either.
I'm going to fill out my March Madness bracket, and call it a day.
Goodnight San Antonio. I greatly enjoyed your city : )
Oh, and Happy Opening Day of March Madness!!!!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Day 4: San Antonio, Texas
Well today was another good day. Each day I realize more and more how lame my state is. Haha jk. But seriously.
We left I think around 11 or 11:30. I'm pretty sure it was 11:30. We drove for about 3 and a half hours, and I slept most of it. San Antonio's highways are just about as dicey and confusing as Houston's, but at least this time I wasn't driving. My mother did manage to pick the least accessible hotel in San Antonio. We had the hardest time figuring out how to get to it. We could see it, and see that the parking lot was off of a one way street, but we could not figure out how to get on the one way street! It was pretty crazy. But we eventually figured it out.
We got to the hotel, and it's kind of a let down. First of all, I was expecting my own room. Well, it's basically just one big room with an arch over my parents side. No way to actually separate them. There are two tv's, literally within 10 feet of each other, without a wall. So basically, not only do I still have to share a room with my parents, but I have to sleep on a couch instead of a bed. Oh well. Such is life.
I took a long shower, and then we headed off for downtown San Antonio. We drove around for a bit until we found a parking garage. We walked around, and once again, it's a pretty cool city. One street was pretty funny. There was a mirror maze and a Riply's believe it or not, a Guinness World Records museum, and a wax museum, which had a statue of Predator right in the window. I texted Dustyn to let him know. Haha oh my. We walked over to the Alamo. It was kind of weird because this big historical thing was just in the middle of downtown, but the Alamo was actually cooler than I was expecting. I guess I always do find historical stuff to be more interesting than I give credit. I learned that David Crockett died there. I didn't even know he was a real person. We did a musical called Tall Tales and Heroes in elementary school, and he was in it, so I just assumed he was a tall tale. Turns out he was a realy life hero. Learn something every day.
So I never realized that the stereotype that Texans wear cowboy hats is true! I guess not everyone was wearing one, but there were a lot. Also, I saw cactus today! I never saw one that I could take a picture of cuz they were mostly on the side of the road, zooming past at 70 mph, which was pretty sad, but nonetheless, Kelsey saw cactus. This is cool, okay? I don't think I've ever seen wildlife cactus before. Also, how sweet is this, there was a guy on a street corner doing tricks with his lasso. Never seen that before either.
I'm getting off topic here. After checking out the Alamo, we went and walked down the Riverwalk. I didn't exactly know what to expect for this. I figured it was some boardwalk or something like that. This riverwalk is AWESOME! It's like a mini Venice right in the middle of downtown San Antonio. It's super pretty at night too, with the pretty water and the lights. Basically just amazing. I wish I could do a better job of describing it, but it really is pretty cool. And there's a bunch of Tex-Mex restaurants and other shops lining the river. I wish I could have taken pictures of how beautiful it was, but some things just can't be captured with a camera. We saw a couple mariachi bands too, and that was pretty neat. I've never seen a live mariachi band before. We walked for awhile, and then found a Texican place on the river. We put in our reservation, and my dad waited nearby to hear our name get called, and my mom and I checked out a couple shops. Then we sat down to eat. We got a seat outside by(ish) the river. I got some chicken enchiladas and refried beans and spanish rice. SOOO good! Authentic tex mex. Seriously great.
After dinner, we walked back down to the shop, and bought me an authentic cowgirl hat, purchased right in San Antonio, Texas. Haha my momma says it's cute. I like it, though I don't think I'll ever wear it in Michigan. I think Texas has brought out my inner redneck woman. I might even let out a "hell yeah." : ) I also another keychain with a picture of the Alamo and the riverwalk on it, which was pretty perfect. Then we walked down the riverwalk a little further, and miraculously stumbled on the street our parking ramp was on. So we got in the car, and drove back to our hotel. And I watched a couple episodes of Criminal Minds and Now what will be two episodes of CSI Miami. Good day. Another cool city. Really cool city. Very unique.
This roadtrip has made me appreciate my country. There are a TON of really cool cities, and each one has their own flavor, their own point of pride, their own specialty. I may not agree with the politics, all the policies, or all the goals and values of my country, but I do agree with and appreciate the beauty and the capability of the people in this country.
Alright, well that's a basic summary of today's events. No interesting stories, really. Just a good day in a neat city. You know. Well, tomorrow, we're probably gonna do just about the same thing, except in greater detail. We're gonna go INSIDE the Alamo, and take a boat tour down the Riverwalk. So that'll be pretty cool. I'm guessing we'll figure out some other stuff to do too.
Goodnight from San Antonio.
-Concensus: San Antonio is another city that is like none other I've been to. It has this Mexican , western vibe, but at the same time, this beautiful and elegant Italian feel, almost even tropical by the riverwalk. Beautiful, clean city. And I will remember the Alamo : )
-Movies Watched: none. had no time.
-States Covered: same list as yesterday, but San Antonio was added to the list of visited cities.
Happy Saint Patty's Day tomorrow!!! Night, ya'll
We left I think around 11 or 11:30. I'm pretty sure it was 11:30. We drove for about 3 and a half hours, and I slept most of it. San Antonio's highways are just about as dicey and confusing as Houston's, but at least this time I wasn't driving. My mother did manage to pick the least accessible hotel in San Antonio. We had the hardest time figuring out how to get to it. We could see it, and see that the parking lot was off of a one way street, but we could not figure out how to get on the one way street! It was pretty crazy. But we eventually figured it out.
We got to the hotel, and it's kind of a let down. First of all, I was expecting my own room. Well, it's basically just one big room with an arch over my parents side. No way to actually separate them. There are two tv's, literally within 10 feet of each other, without a wall. So basically, not only do I still have to share a room with my parents, but I have to sleep on a couch instead of a bed. Oh well. Such is life.
I took a long shower, and then we headed off for downtown San Antonio. We drove around for a bit until we found a parking garage. We walked around, and once again, it's a pretty cool city. One street was pretty funny. There was a mirror maze and a Riply's believe it or not, a Guinness World Records museum, and a wax museum, which had a statue of Predator right in the window. I texted Dustyn to let him know. Haha oh my. We walked over to the Alamo. It was kind of weird because this big historical thing was just in the middle of downtown, but the Alamo was actually cooler than I was expecting. I guess I always do find historical stuff to be more interesting than I give credit. I learned that David Crockett died there. I didn't even know he was a real person. We did a musical called Tall Tales and Heroes in elementary school, and he was in it, so I just assumed he was a tall tale. Turns out he was a realy life hero. Learn something every day.
So I never realized that the stereotype that Texans wear cowboy hats is true! I guess not everyone was wearing one, but there were a lot. Also, I saw cactus today! I never saw one that I could take a picture of cuz they were mostly on the side of the road, zooming past at 70 mph, which was pretty sad, but nonetheless, Kelsey saw cactus. This is cool, okay? I don't think I've ever seen wildlife cactus before. Also, how sweet is this, there was a guy on a street corner doing tricks with his lasso. Never seen that before either.
I'm getting off topic here. After checking out the Alamo, we went and walked down the Riverwalk. I didn't exactly know what to expect for this. I figured it was some boardwalk or something like that. This riverwalk is AWESOME! It's like a mini Venice right in the middle of downtown San Antonio. It's super pretty at night too, with the pretty water and the lights. Basically just amazing. I wish I could do a better job of describing it, but it really is pretty cool. And there's a bunch of Tex-Mex restaurants and other shops lining the river. I wish I could have taken pictures of how beautiful it was, but some things just can't be captured with a camera. We saw a couple mariachi bands too, and that was pretty neat. I've never seen a live mariachi band before. We walked for awhile, and then found a Texican place on the river. We put in our reservation, and my dad waited nearby to hear our name get called, and my mom and I checked out a couple shops. Then we sat down to eat. We got a seat outside by(ish) the river. I got some chicken enchiladas and refried beans and spanish rice. SOOO good! Authentic tex mex. Seriously great.
After dinner, we walked back down to the shop, and bought me an authentic cowgirl hat, purchased right in San Antonio, Texas. Haha my momma says it's cute. I like it, though I don't think I'll ever wear it in Michigan. I think Texas has brought out my inner redneck woman. I might even let out a "hell yeah." : ) I also another keychain with a picture of the Alamo and the riverwalk on it, which was pretty perfect. Then we walked down the riverwalk a little further, and miraculously stumbled on the street our parking ramp was on. So we got in the car, and drove back to our hotel. And I watched a couple episodes of Criminal Minds and Now what will be two episodes of CSI Miami. Good day. Another cool city. Really cool city. Very unique.
This roadtrip has made me appreciate my country. There are a TON of really cool cities, and each one has their own flavor, their own point of pride, their own specialty. I may not agree with the politics, all the policies, or all the goals and values of my country, but I do agree with and appreciate the beauty and the capability of the people in this country.
Alright, well that's a basic summary of today's events. No interesting stories, really. Just a good day in a neat city. You know. Well, tomorrow, we're probably gonna do just about the same thing, except in greater detail. We're gonna go INSIDE the Alamo, and take a boat tour down the Riverwalk. So that'll be pretty cool. I'm guessing we'll figure out some other stuff to do too.
Goodnight from San Antonio.
-Concensus: San Antonio is another city that is like none other I've been to. It has this Mexican , western vibe, but at the same time, this beautiful and elegant Italian feel, almost even tropical by the riverwalk. Beautiful, clean city. And I will remember the Alamo : )
-Movies Watched: none. had no time.
-States Covered: same list as yesterday, but San Antonio was added to the list of visited cities.
Happy Saint Patty's Day tomorrow!!! Night, ya'll
Monday, March 15, 2010
Day 3: Houston, Texas
Ooo de lolly ooo de lolly, golly what a day.
Today was definitely my favorite day so far. We covered a lot of awesome places today, and I think I might have even gotten a little sun : )
We left closer to 10:30 this morning, and this time we actually brought all of our belongings with us. We drove probably for about an hour, and then stopped in Biloxi on the beach. It was really pretty out, and a decent temperature, though the water was pretty cold. I walked on the beach a little bit, snapped some pictures, and then we went to a souvenier shop. I got a keychain, and a stuffed animal dog that looks a whole lot like Shelby and has ears like her. That was a good find : ) We drove around the city a little bit to see the effects of Hurricane Katrina, and then made our way to New Orleans. We tried quite a few times to get my dad to say it right. We never succeeded. It kind of reminded me of the scene in My Big Fat Greek Wedding where Ian's parents try to get the Greeks to pronounce bundt cake correctly.
New Orleans was AWESOME! We drove around for a little bit and finally parked on a random street and got out of the car. We walked around and it was so cool. The weather was PERFECT, about 70-75 degrees and sunny. There was lots of people, and a bunch of random street musicians, mostly jazz and a little bluegrass. There was also a guy who was one of those human statues. He was the best one I have ever seen. He was midway up a ladder that was just standing in the middle of the street, not propped against anything, balancing a board on his shoulder. I had no idea he was a real person at first! I am so mad because my camera decided to stop working at that point so I never got a good picture. It was so amazing. We stopped in a few shops, and I got another keychain (if you haven't figured out yet, I'm collecting keychains from the places we've been.) Saw some of the crazy sweet mardi gras masks and beads. We then walked down to Jackson Square.
Jackson Square was amazing. I really just liked the overall flavor of New Orleans. Jazz music, people, art, palm trees. It was similar to New York but at the same time just not the same. There was palm trees : ) No subway though. We also went to Cafe Du Monde and got beignet's and coffee. Magnificent! I can't imagine working there though. It's sort of like a pavilion, because it's outside but it has a roof. You seat yourself, but it was absolutely packed. There was a line all the way down the block. (My dad and I actually went up these stairs and looked at the Mississippi River while my mom stood in line.) But the way it works is you stand in line and wait for awhile until you see an open table, whether it's been cleared off or not, and go sit at it. Then someone comes and asks you what you want. You order and it's there. I have no idea how they keep track of what tables they have, how much it costs or anything. It's so chill and relaxed but chaotic at the same time. The beignet's were marvelous. After that, we walked down to Bourbon street and walked a couple blocks. We stopped in one of the shops and I bought a T-shirt. It's pretty sweet : ) Bourbon street wasn't really all that exciting. Guess you have to be there for Mardis Gras. We walked back to our car, got in, and figured our way out. We were in New Orleans for a little over three hours. It is definitely up there in my favorite cities. There's just no place quite like it. And I am now pretty happy that the Saints won : ) There's saints stuff EVERYWHERE! But their hometown seems pretty proud of em. Who Dat?
By this point, I think it was about 4:00 and we hadn't made it that far. We drove for quite some time, and then stopped for a bathroom, dinner at McDonalds, and WalMart for flip flops. We got back on the road and drove through the swampy mess of Louisiana. There was a bunch of rice fields which was kind of cool. Way better than Farmville, haha. The trip tic said to watch for Aligators. I didn't really want to see one up close, but I wouldn't have minded seeing one from the car, but we didn't. We crossed the Mississippi River. I told Olivia that I saw Jim and Huck floating down on a raft, naked. She said it would be a story to tell the grandkids. There was a beautiful sunset over the Lousiana horizon. We stopped for gas about 25 miles shy of the Texas border, and I drove. This was of course after my dad somehow managed to spray my mother with gasoline. She wasn't happy, and he was flabberghasted, swearing he didn't touch anything. I thought it was funny, except for the fact that our car then kinda smelled bad.
Anyways, I drove. We crossed the Texas border, and Texas has some pretty weird roads, I tell ya what. We must have been on a couple bridges or something, but the bridges don't have paint to mark the lanes they have like ridges sort of, and the lanes literally had two inches of shoulder before there was a cement barrier between our side of the road and the highway going the other direction. It was terrifying and the most claustrophobic I have ever felt driving. It was also kind of weird because the speed limit changed a lot, but whenever there was a sign that said 70 mph, there was a sign beneath it that said 65 mph Night Speed. I've never heard of a different night driving speed. There were also lots of refineries, which are really pretty at night. So here's where the story gets fun...
We were approaching Houston, and goodness sakes does the highway driving get dicey around here! We were on a four-lane highway that split off into 3 different highways, and the first time, it said that to be on the highway we wanted to stay in the middle lane. Well I did, and then at the last second discovered I had to be one farther right. I was able to make that one, but it happened again. Once again, we thought I was in the correct lane, but at the last second (this time too late of a second) we discovered we were in the wrong one. So I took the wrong highway, and got off at the next available exit, which pretty much put us in the heart of downtown Houston. We were trying to find some place to park to figure out where we were and how to get back. So I get in a left turn lane. There were two left turn lanes. So silly me, figured that since there were two left turn lanes and 4 lanes of traffic, that meant the one I was in was supposed to turn into the FALL lanes, as they described it in driver's ed (First Available Legal Lanes.) Well I turned into a FAIL lane (first available illegal lane) but neither I nor my family realized that we were going the wrong way down a one way until we saw a car coming at us. I then let out an expletive, though it was muffled because, really I hardly ever swear, especially not in front of my parents, but for heaven's sakes, I was in the downtown of a big city in a state that I had never been in going the wrong way down a one way. Holy (you fill in the blank.) I was able to stop literally like, 2 feet before the divide between the two sides started and floored it over to get so I was at least driving in the right direction. We found a parking lot. My dad offerred to switch. I took the offer pretty quickly. Afterall, my heart was racing like a percussionist's beat in a New Orlean's band (yeah that was cheesy, deal with it) and I had nearly shat my pants. My mom and I then whipped out our phones, figured out the address of where we were and where we wanted to go, and phone GPS'd our way to our hotel. It was no easy task, let me tell you. And my father does not have much patience for reading cell phone digital maps. We accidentally toured downtown Houston for quite awhile. At the time, it was kind of crazy, but afterwards was pretty funny. Seems to be a theme here...
Well now we're in the motel. We ate a little bit, and my parents have been sleeping for a couple hours now. I watched two episodes of King of the Hill. In Texas. How sweet can it get? Although I was pretty sad to find out today that Arlen, Texas, is not real. I was gonna go visit Hank and his buddies, and say "yup" with them next to the trash cans. Oh well. Guess I'll talk to Langston Hughes about when dreams die.
I tell you what, though, this motel is freaking hot! I swear it's like 95 degrees in here. Tonight is gonna be a shorts and sports bra sleeping night. Hope my dad doesn't mind.
Tomorrow, we're off for San Antonio. I'm pretty pumped cuz it sounds like there's some pretty sweet stuff out there, and the hotel my mom booked for us sounds pretty sweet. I FINALLY GET MY OWN ROOM, SNORING FREE!!! That and we're staying for TWO nights! Plus it only takes about 3 hours to get there. So short drive tomorrow, and no drive on Wednesday.
Well I'm out. Talk to you tomorrow from San Antonio : )
-Concensus: Biloxi is a pretty beach town. New Orleans surprised me and is one of my new favorite cities. And Texas has got some crazy roads.
-Movies Watched: didn't watch a thing today. There wasn't enough time between Mobile and Biloxi, or Biloxi and New Orleans, and there certainly was enough time between New Orleans and Houston, but I actually did some homework while I could still see, and when it got dark, I was driving. So. Movies tomorrow maybe : ) I did catch the end of Slumdog Millionaire today though. I want to watch the whole thing sometime.
-States covered: Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. That's 9. Holy cow. There will only be one more added to the list, and that's not for a few days now. Today, we went through Biloxi, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and now Houston. I don't think I forgot any...
The Ides of March were actually pretty sweet. Favorite day of the trip so far, despite almost being killed in downtown Houston. Darn FALL lanes...
Today was definitely my favorite day so far. We covered a lot of awesome places today, and I think I might have even gotten a little sun : )
We left closer to 10:30 this morning, and this time we actually brought all of our belongings with us. We drove probably for about an hour, and then stopped in Biloxi on the beach. It was really pretty out, and a decent temperature, though the water was pretty cold. I walked on the beach a little bit, snapped some pictures, and then we went to a souvenier shop. I got a keychain, and a stuffed animal dog that looks a whole lot like Shelby and has ears like her. That was a good find : ) We drove around the city a little bit to see the effects of Hurricane Katrina, and then made our way to New Orleans. We tried quite a few times to get my dad to say it right. We never succeeded. It kind of reminded me of the scene in My Big Fat Greek Wedding where Ian's parents try to get the Greeks to pronounce bundt cake correctly.
New Orleans was AWESOME! We drove around for a little bit and finally parked on a random street and got out of the car. We walked around and it was so cool. The weather was PERFECT, about 70-75 degrees and sunny. There was lots of people, and a bunch of random street musicians, mostly jazz and a little bluegrass. There was also a guy who was one of those human statues. He was the best one I have ever seen. He was midway up a ladder that was just standing in the middle of the street, not propped against anything, balancing a board on his shoulder. I had no idea he was a real person at first! I am so mad because my camera decided to stop working at that point so I never got a good picture. It was so amazing. We stopped in a few shops, and I got another keychain (if you haven't figured out yet, I'm collecting keychains from the places we've been.) Saw some of the crazy sweet mardi gras masks and beads. We then walked down to Jackson Square.
Jackson Square was amazing. I really just liked the overall flavor of New Orleans. Jazz music, people, art, palm trees. It was similar to New York but at the same time just not the same. There was palm trees : ) No subway though. We also went to Cafe Du Monde and got beignet's and coffee. Magnificent! I can't imagine working there though. It's sort of like a pavilion, because it's outside but it has a roof. You seat yourself, but it was absolutely packed. There was a line all the way down the block. (My dad and I actually went up these stairs and looked at the Mississippi River while my mom stood in line.) But the way it works is you stand in line and wait for awhile until you see an open table, whether it's been cleared off or not, and go sit at it. Then someone comes and asks you what you want. You order and it's there. I have no idea how they keep track of what tables they have, how much it costs or anything. It's so chill and relaxed but chaotic at the same time. The beignet's were marvelous. After that, we walked down to Bourbon street and walked a couple blocks. We stopped in one of the shops and I bought a T-shirt. It's pretty sweet : ) Bourbon street wasn't really all that exciting. Guess you have to be there for Mardis Gras. We walked back to our car, got in, and figured our way out. We were in New Orleans for a little over three hours. It is definitely up there in my favorite cities. There's just no place quite like it. And I am now pretty happy that the Saints won : ) There's saints stuff EVERYWHERE! But their hometown seems pretty proud of em. Who Dat?
By this point, I think it was about 4:00 and we hadn't made it that far. We drove for quite some time, and then stopped for a bathroom, dinner at McDonalds, and WalMart for flip flops. We got back on the road and drove through the swampy mess of Louisiana. There was a bunch of rice fields which was kind of cool. Way better than Farmville, haha. The trip tic said to watch for Aligators. I didn't really want to see one up close, but I wouldn't have minded seeing one from the car, but we didn't. We crossed the Mississippi River. I told Olivia that I saw Jim and Huck floating down on a raft, naked. She said it would be a story to tell the grandkids. There was a beautiful sunset over the Lousiana horizon. We stopped for gas about 25 miles shy of the Texas border, and I drove. This was of course after my dad somehow managed to spray my mother with gasoline. She wasn't happy, and he was flabberghasted, swearing he didn't touch anything. I thought it was funny, except for the fact that our car then kinda smelled bad.
Anyways, I drove. We crossed the Texas border, and Texas has some pretty weird roads, I tell ya what. We must have been on a couple bridges or something, but the bridges don't have paint to mark the lanes they have like ridges sort of, and the lanes literally had two inches of shoulder before there was a cement barrier between our side of the road and the highway going the other direction. It was terrifying and the most claustrophobic I have ever felt driving. It was also kind of weird because the speed limit changed a lot, but whenever there was a sign that said 70 mph, there was a sign beneath it that said 65 mph Night Speed. I've never heard of a different night driving speed. There were also lots of refineries, which are really pretty at night. So here's where the story gets fun...
We were approaching Houston, and goodness sakes does the highway driving get dicey around here! We were on a four-lane highway that split off into 3 different highways, and the first time, it said that to be on the highway we wanted to stay in the middle lane. Well I did, and then at the last second discovered I had to be one farther right. I was able to make that one, but it happened again. Once again, we thought I was in the correct lane, but at the last second (this time too late of a second) we discovered we were in the wrong one. So I took the wrong highway, and got off at the next available exit, which pretty much put us in the heart of downtown Houston. We were trying to find some place to park to figure out where we were and how to get back. So I get in a left turn lane. There were two left turn lanes. So silly me, figured that since there were two left turn lanes and 4 lanes of traffic, that meant the one I was in was supposed to turn into the FALL lanes, as they described it in driver's ed (First Available Legal Lanes.) Well I turned into a FAIL lane (first available illegal lane) but neither I nor my family realized that we were going the wrong way down a one way until we saw a car coming at us. I then let out an expletive, though it was muffled because, really I hardly ever swear, especially not in front of my parents, but for heaven's sakes, I was in the downtown of a big city in a state that I had never been in going the wrong way down a one way. Holy (you fill in the blank.) I was able to stop literally like, 2 feet before the divide between the two sides started and floored it over to get so I was at least driving in the right direction. We found a parking lot. My dad offerred to switch. I took the offer pretty quickly. Afterall, my heart was racing like a percussionist's beat in a New Orlean's band (yeah that was cheesy, deal with it) and I had nearly shat my pants. My mom and I then whipped out our phones, figured out the address of where we were and where we wanted to go, and phone GPS'd our way to our hotel. It was no easy task, let me tell you. And my father does not have much patience for reading cell phone digital maps. We accidentally toured downtown Houston for quite awhile. At the time, it was kind of crazy, but afterwards was pretty funny. Seems to be a theme here...
Well now we're in the motel. We ate a little bit, and my parents have been sleeping for a couple hours now. I watched two episodes of King of the Hill. In Texas. How sweet can it get? Although I was pretty sad to find out today that Arlen, Texas, is not real. I was gonna go visit Hank and his buddies, and say "yup" with them next to the trash cans. Oh well. Guess I'll talk to Langston Hughes about when dreams die.
I tell you what, though, this motel is freaking hot! I swear it's like 95 degrees in here. Tonight is gonna be a shorts and sports bra sleeping night. Hope my dad doesn't mind.
Tomorrow, we're off for San Antonio. I'm pretty pumped cuz it sounds like there's some pretty sweet stuff out there, and the hotel my mom booked for us sounds pretty sweet. I FINALLY GET MY OWN ROOM, SNORING FREE!!! That and we're staying for TWO nights! Plus it only takes about 3 hours to get there. So short drive tomorrow, and no drive on Wednesday.
Well I'm out. Talk to you tomorrow from San Antonio : )
-Concensus: Biloxi is a pretty beach town. New Orleans surprised me and is one of my new favorite cities. And Texas has got some crazy roads.
-Movies Watched: didn't watch a thing today. There wasn't enough time between Mobile and Biloxi, or Biloxi and New Orleans, and there certainly was enough time between New Orleans and Houston, but I actually did some homework while I could still see, and when it got dark, I was driving. So. Movies tomorrow maybe : ) I did catch the end of Slumdog Millionaire today though. I want to watch the whole thing sometime.
-States covered: Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. That's 9. Holy cow. There will only be one more added to the list, and that's not for a few days now. Today, we went through Biloxi, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and now Houston. I don't think I forgot any...
The Ides of March were actually pretty sweet. Favorite day of the trip so far, despite almost being killed in downtown Houston. Darn FALL lanes...
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Day 2: Mobile, Alabama
I confess I was a little disappointed yesterday that our journey didn't start out as I had forcasted, and we actually made it out of the driveway and out of the state without much fuss. This morning was much more Lehman-vacation typical...
I was first awoken because my dad was messing with his phone, trying to figure out what time it was because of the time change and everything. I got up and showered, and then we pulled out of the parking lot around 11. About 11:20, my dad received a phonecall from, well, my phone, at which point I realized I had left my phone in the hotel room. This is when mass chaos erupted. My mom was trying to figure out how to answer my dad's phone and my dad was trying to figure out where to exit and how to turn around and I was trying to explain the technological age to my parents. I'm pretty sure my mom did answer the phone, and the person on the other line only heard my mother yelling about not knowing how to answer the phone and yelling at me for forgetting my phone. They probably thought we were taking someone to the hospital by they way she was panicking. At this point I told my mother to calm down, and everyone got a grip. It was pretty hilarious, after the fact of course. Is that all one word? Afterthefact? After the fact? I don't believe I've ever used that expression before. Hmm...
We went back to the hotel, got my phone, and headed off for Alabama. Once again I slept the first leg of the trip til around 1:40, and we had already crossed the Alabama border. I actually ended up driving for a good stretch of the trip. There was a ton of traffic for most of the time I was driving, which was pretty crazy, but it kept things interesting I guess. I think my favorite thing I saw was a water tower that was shaped and painted like a peach. I wanted a picture of it, but I was unfortunately driving, and getting my parents to successfully take a picture of anything when I am driving is near impossible. By time they get the camera out, on, and facing the right direction, the photo op is no longer an op. That or my dad can't even figure out how to push the button. Haha. Long day... Anyways...
We finally found the sun and the sixty+ degree weather about 7:00 tonight. We were a little over an hour away from Mobile when my mother discovered our route was literally 6 miles from the Florida border, so we decided to dip into Florida just so we could say that we did. We spent about 90 seconds in Florida, most of which consisted of us squabbling at each other and me getting out of the car to snap a picture of the "Welcome to Florida"sign. It was a pretty sunset anyway. We then headed back on our way to Mobile. We got to Mobile I think around 8:30, checked into the hotel, and decided to find some food. We decided we wanted to eat somewhere Alabaman(?) so we settled on IHOP. Adventurous, I know. It was good though. Just not sure how they make their pancakes so good.
We went to find some sort of souvenier shop so my mom could send Kacie and JD a postcard and I could get a keychain. We finally found a gas station that had some stuff, after the fourth try. We didn't find anything that said Mobile, mostly coastal stuff. We found one post card that said "Alabama" on it, and had a dolphin on it, which is kind of funny because I don't really think dolphin when I think Alabama. All their stuff dealt with the coast, even though only like, 10 miles of Alabama is actually coastal... I got a big red keychain that says "BAMA" and has a mirror on the other side. Now I have fingernail clippers and a mirror. Nifty.
Well, I am in the room watching That 70's Show. I was hoping there would be another CSI Miami marathon on, but instead, the channel that I watched last night has a marathon of a show where people get parking tickets... why on earth that sounded like a good idea to anyone, I'm not sure. Also, imperative information here, in the bathroom, there's this nifty little heat bulb or something. I think it should be law to have those in every home/dorm room in Michigan. It's like the sun. It's warm and bright, so in the winter, when we've forgotten what the sun is like, we just go in the bathroom and remember... Ha. I suppose they thought that maybe someone who is so fascinated with a heat bulb would be just as fascinated with watching people get parking tickets.
Tomorrow, we're hoping to leave a little earlier and spend some time in 'Nawlins.' My dad is still pronouncing it very North, New "Or-lee-ins." We're driving through there, after we cross the Mississippi River, and then spending the evening in Houston, Texas. I'm pretty psyched for tomorrow. Hope it's a little more interesting today. Maybe I'll even get some dirty south sweet tea. Mmmm
-Concensus: Alabama's pretty, sunnier and warmer than yesterday, but we pretty much sat in a car from 11:30 til 8:30 and ate at IHOP. And I still haven't seen "Sweet Home Alabama."
-Movies Watched: No movies watched today, but I did watch 3 episodes of The Office, 4 if you count the 5 minutes I caught on TV tonight.
After day 2, we have covered Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. That's 6 states in 48 hours, and by tomorrow, it'll be 9. Today we drove through Birmingham, Montgommery, and the outskirts of Pensecola. I think those are the only major cities we went through anyway.
P.S. Hope everyone had a good Pi Day!
P.P.S. Beware the Ides of March!
Happy trails to you...
I was first awoken because my dad was messing with his phone, trying to figure out what time it was because of the time change and everything. I got up and showered, and then we pulled out of the parking lot around 11. About 11:20, my dad received a phonecall from, well, my phone, at which point I realized I had left my phone in the hotel room. This is when mass chaos erupted. My mom was trying to figure out how to answer my dad's phone and my dad was trying to figure out where to exit and how to turn around and I was trying to explain the technological age to my parents. I'm pretty sure my mom did answer the phone, and the person on the other line only heard my mother yelling about not knowing how to answer the phone and yelling at me for forgetting my phone. They probably thought we were taking someone to the hospital by they way she was panicking. At this point I told my mother to calm down, and everyone got a grip. It was pretty hilarious, after the fact of course. Is that all one word? Afterthefact? After the fact? I don't believe I've ever used that expression before. Hmm...
We went back to the hotel, got my phone, and headed off for Alabama. Once again I slept the first leg of the trip til around 1:40, and we had already crossed the Alabama border. I actually ended up driving for a good stretch of the trip. There was a ton of traffic for most of the time I was driving, which was pretty crazy, but it kept things interesting I guess. I think my favorite thing I saw was a water tower that was shaped and painted like a peach. I wanted a picture of it, but I was unfortunately driving, and getting my parents to successfully take a picture of anything when I am driving is near impossible. By time they get the camera out, on, and facing the right direction, the photo op is no longer an op. That or my dad can't even figure out how to push the button. Haha. Long day... Anyways...
We finally found the sun and the sixty+ degree weather about 7:00 tonight. We were a little over an hour away from Mobile when my mother discovered our route was literally 6 miles from the Florida border, so we decided to dip into Florida just so we could say that we did. We spent about 90 seconds in Florida, most of which consisted of us squabbling at each other and me getting out of the car to snap a picture of the "Welcome to Florida"sign. It was a pretty sunset anyway. We then headed back on our way to Mobile. We got to Mobile I think around 8:30, checked into the hotel, and decided to find some food. We decided we wanted to eat somewhere Alabaman(?) so we settled on IHOP. Adventurous, I know. It was good though. Just not sure how they make their pancakes so good.
We went to find some sort of souvenier shop so my mom could send Kacie and JD a postcard and I could get a keychain. We finally found a gas station that had some stuff, after the fourth try. We didn't find anything that said Mobile, mostly coastal stuff. We found one post card that said "Alabama" on it, and had a dolphin on it, which is kind of funny because I don't really think dolphin when I think Alabama. All their stuff dealt with the coast, even though only like, 10 miles of Alabama is actually coastal... I got a big red keychain that says "BAMA" and has a mirror on the other side. Now I have fingernail clippers and a mirror. Nifty.
Well, I am in the room watching That 70's Show. I was hoping there would be another CSI Miami marathon on, but instead, the channel that I watched last night has a marathon of a show where people get parking tickets... why on earth that sounded like a good idea to anyone, I'm not sure. Also, imperative information here, in the bathroom, there's this nifty little heat bulb or something. I think it should be law to have those in every home/dorm room in Michigan. It's like the sun. It's warm and bright, so in the winter, when we've forgotten what the sun is like, we just go in the bathroom and remember... Ha. I suppose they thought that maybe someone who is so fascinated with a heat bulb would be just as fascinated with watching people get parking tickets.
Tomorrow, we're hoping to leave a little earlier and spend some time in 'Nawlins.' My dad is still pronouncing it very North, New "Or-lee-ins." We're driving through there, after we cross the Mississippi River, and then spending the evening in Houston, Texas. I'm pretty psyched for tomorrow. Hope it's a little more interesting today. Maybe I'll even get some dirty south sweet tea. Mmmm
-Concensus: Alabama's pretty, sunnier and warmer than yesterday, but we pretty much sat in a car from 11:30 til 8:30 and ate at IHOP. And I still haven't seen "Sweet Home Alabama."
-Movies Watched: No movies watched today, but I did watch 3 episodes of The Office, 4 if you count the 5 minutes I caught on TV tonight.
After day 2, we have covered Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. That's 6 states in 48 hours, and by tomorrow, it'll be 9. Today we drove through Birmingham, Montgommery, and the outskirts of Pensecola. I think those are the only major cities we went through anyway.
P.S. Hope everyone had a good Pi Day!
P.P.S. Beware the Ides of March!
Happy trails to you...
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Day 1: Nashville, Tennessee
Are you from Tennessee? Cuz you're the only ten I see.
Today, my parents loaded up the car, and we set sail for the south around 10:30 this morning. I slept off and on until around 1:30, long enough to pass across the Indiana border. I finished all the playlists and burned the cd's in the car, and sat along for the ride. We had planned on taking the scenic route through Elizabethtown, which I wanted to check out because it is one of my favorite movies, but we caught a pretty significant traffic jam in Louisville, Kentucky, so we had to scratch that plan. I popped in a movie, and we decided to go straight to downtown Nashville to get a feel for the flavor. It was pretty crazy.
My sister told us to eat at a place called Wild Horse Saloon, so we figured out how to get there and parked. The first thing I can think of to describe Nashville is loud. It wasn't how I had assumed it would be. I guess I thought it'd be a bunch of Keith Urban's and Taylor Swift's lining the street, but mostly it was drunk Kentucky fans. I guess UK had played in the SEC Tournament and won, right there on Broadway (there's a Broadway street in Nashville, though it's WAY different than NYC's Broadway,) so there was a bunch of people dressed in blue slurrishly yelling "WHOAAA C-A-T, C-A-T, CATS CATS CATS!!!!" Anyway. We walked to the restaurant only to find that there was a 2-and-a-half to 3-hour wait, so we decided to pass. We walked up and down Broadway with my old horse, Leroy. Not really. I'm doing a horrible job explaining this...
We walked to the saloon, and there were a bunch of scantily clad early-to-mid twenties girls sticking their heads out the sun roofs of cars and yelling, and all the Kentucky fans, plus super loud country music playing. It was overwhelming, but exciting, especially after 9 hours in a car. After deciding the bar was a bust, we walked up and down Broadway just to see what we could see, which consisted of several bars, each with drummers in the windows accompanying their country bands, entertaining all the drunk people. I'm not even kidding, I feel like me and my parents were the only people in that city with a BAC less than .2. The streets were also peppered with Elvis statues and street musicians, my favorite probably being this lady who played the spoons. It was amazing. Oh and my mom and I took a picture with Elvis : ) We also walked to the pedestrian bridge and walked about halfway across. It was really pretty, and a ferry went under the bridge, which was pretty cool. After exploring, we went to find our hotel, and ate dinner at Cracker Barrel. We're now in our hotel, and I'm watching my third straight episode of CSI Miami. Pretty exciting if I do say so myself.
Oh, also, in our exploration, I got some guitar-shaped fingernail clippers. I'm gonna try to collect key chains from all the major places we go and put them on a ring. That should be a cool souvenier, right?
I always forget about the accents they have down here. It's so weird. Everything is "ya'll" and drawwn ouuut. The waitress tonight called my dad baby. I don't think my mom was too happy about that.
Well I'm going to finish this episode of CSI, and go to bed to get ready for the 6 hour drive to Alabama tomorrow.
-Overall Concensus: Nashville's pretty cool. I wonder what it looks like sober...
-Movies Watched: Up
God Bless, Ya'll
Today, my parents loaded up the car, and we set sail for the south around 10:30 this morning. I slept off and on until around 1:30, long enough to pass across the Indiana border. I finished all the playlists and burned the cd's in the car, and sat along for the ride. We had planned on taking the scenic route through Elizabethtown, which I wanted to check out because it is one of my favorite movies, but we caught a pretty significant traffic jam in Louisville, Kentucky, so we had to scratch that plan. I popped in a movie, and we decided to go straight to downtown Nashville to get a feel for the flavor. It was pretty crazy.
My sister told us to eat at a place called Wild Horse Saloon, so we figured out how to get there and parked. The first thing I can think of to describe Nashville is loud. It wasn't how I had assumed it would be. I guess I thought it'd be a bunch of Keith Urban's and Taylor Swift's lining the street, but mostly it was drunk Kentucky fans. I guess UK had played in the SEC Tournament and won, right there on Broadway (there's a Broadway street in Nashville, though it's WAY different than NYC's Broadway,) so there was a bunch of people dressed in blue slurrishly yelling "WHOAAA C-A-T, C-A-T, CATS CATS CATS!!!!" Anyway. We walked to the restaurant only to find that there was a 2-and-a-half to 3-hour wait, so we decided to pass. We walked up and down Broadway with my old horse, Leroy. Not really. I'm doing a horrible job explaining this...
We walked to the saloon, and there were a bunch of scantily clad early-to-mid twenties girls sticking their heads out the sun roofs of cars and yelling, and all the Kentucky fans, plus super loud country music playing. It was overwhelming, but exciting, especially after 9 hours in a car. After deciding the bar was a bust, we walked up and down Broadway just to see what we could see, which consisted of several bars, each with drummers in the windows accompanying their country bands, entertaining all the drunk people. I'm not even kidding, I feel like me and my parents were the only people in that city with a BAC less than .2. The streets were also peppered with Elvis statues and street musicians, my favorite probably being this lady who played the spoons. It was amazing. Oh and my mom and I took a picture with Elvis : ) We also walked to the pedestrian bridge and walked about halfway across. It was really pretty, and a ferry went under the bridge, which was pretty cool. After exploring, we went to find our hotel, and ate dinner at Cracker Barrel. We're now in our hotel, and I'm watching my third straight episode of CSI Miami. Pretty exciting if I do say so myself.
Oh, also, in our exploration, I got some guitar-shaped fingernail clippers. I'm gonna try to collect key chains from all the major places we go and put them on a ring. That should be a cool souvenier, right?
I always forget about the accents they have down here. It's so weird. Everything is "ya'll" and drawwn ouuut. The waitress tonight called my dad baby. I don't think my mom was too happy about that.
Well I'm going to finish this episode of CSI, and go to bed to get ready for the 6 hour drive to Alabama tomorrow.
-Overall Concensus: Nashville's pretty cool. I wonder what it looks like sober...
-Movies Watched: Up
God Bless, Ya'll
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