Day 7: beachin it in Florida

Our seventh day is dedicated to relaxation and swimming. 

We went to Perdido Key, Florida

Day 5&6: New OAR-linz

What to say about New Orleans. My initial reactions or my final thought? Both are extremely different. 

My first impression of New Orleans was that I was obsessed with it. I loved the buildings, the charm, the narrow streets, and the balconies. I could see myself having a lot of fun in the city and falling in love with the architecture. It looked like Madrid and Venice had a love child and it was raised by Barcelona.

While there, we discovered that the city was unbearably humid and hot, causing the entire city to reek of hot garbage. Homeless and drug addicts slept under the route 10 bridge. Once you get passed that, it is a very interesting city, with the French Quarter offering restaurants galore, sleezy bars, and upscale art galleries. It's an eclectic mix. 

The Garden District, which we visited several times, has old style homes with bright colors and wrap around porches. Magazine St. offfers shopping and bars that are much more our style. We checked out NOLA Brewing Co. and each had an interesting combination; Marcus opting for the pineapple and jalapeño beer and I chose the stout aged in whiskey barrels. 

We ate at the Cochon Butcher, a deli that serves hot sandwiches, beer, and cocktails. I had a pastrami sandwich with sauerkraut on marble rye toast and it was the best sandwich I have ever had. It gets 5 stars on our book. 

Nighttime is when I disliked the city. It was scary, even for me. I have traveled to places that would make an average person squirm, that didn't affect me at all. I like cities and I see them as all having their issues and scary parts; it just depends on how you behave and handle it. I did not like walking around at night in the French Quarter. We checked out Frenchmen St. for a few hours and headed back to the hotel. Addicts lined the streets and drunks shouted at you as you walked around. 

Leaving the city, I look at it as having a vibe and style all its own. In the beginning, I compared it to the European settlers that inhabited it, but the atmosphere of New Orleans is all New Orleans, both good and bad. Would I go back? I would. It was a fascinating place and I think I only just skimmed the surface of it. 

Day 4: watching the sunset on the lake

After Memphis we took the 5 hour drive south to Lake Pontchartrain to camp before heading to New Orleans. 

Fontainebreu park was filled with trees covered in Spanish moss and it made me so excited for Savannah in a few days. It really makes you wonder what the south looked like pre-civil war. It must have been beautiful; not that it isn't today. Today, things are different. Trailers have replaced plantation homes and highways have paved their way over the beautiful landscape.

We set up camp and left the park to get some ice. On our way back, we stumbled upon something that would become a daily routine for the next three days. We found a drive-thru bar that served daquiris, margaritas, piña coladas, and hurricanes. Yes, alcoholic drinks to go. I heard about drinks to go online while researching all of the cities we were visiting, but I did not know there was a legitimate drive-thru window for frozen cocktails. So we each got one and brought it back to the tent. 

I missed camping. We tried to do it at least every other night on our last trip but weren't lucky enough this time around. This was our first of three nights camping on the trip. It was nice to live outdoors. 

Day 3- bbq in Memphis

The food. That's what this post is going to be about. The food in Memphis was the best we've ever had. We went to Charlie Vergo's Rendezvous for dry rub ribs and after getting covered in bbq sauce and eating the best baked beans of our lives, we agreed that Rendezvous is the best bbq place we have ever been to.

We took the obligatory trip down Beale street and had ourselves a margarita while walking around because drinking on the street is legal in the south. We went to Silky O'Sullivans for drinks and saw the famous goats chilling out next to the patio. Yes, goats. 

The next morning we wanted to grab breakfast before hitting the road and landed in a little diner called the Blue Plate Cafe. Biscuits and gravy with eggs over easy and homefries. That set it in stone- Memphis has the best food. 

Day 1: Courtney in Roanoke

Our first stop was to see Courtney in Roanoke,VA.

It took us two hours longer than expected to get there, partly because instead of driving around the city, Marcus decided to go through the heart of Baltimore to get tacos for lunch. They were pretty damn good tacos, but with them, we ate up a chunk of time as well. 

Courtney took us to Wasena Tap Room where we could order unlimited amounts of flights. I had pineapple cider because Courtney described it as feeling like "you're in Spongebob's house". It was the sweetest coder I've ever had, but good nonetheless. 

She took us to the top of Mill Mountain to see the Star. Roanoke, Courtney told us, originally was called the Big Lick, then Roanoke. It's nickname is the Star City. 

It was sad to say goodbye to I'm glad we got to see her for a short time. I pulled away after saying goodbye and said to myself I hope we are friends for a very long time. 

Day 2: Nashville livin'

We've been to Nashville once before, but I was not old enough to drink or enter the bars. I only remember seeing the bachelor and bachelorette parties filling the street.

We arrived this time around dinner, showered and went to Blackstone Brewery for Texas burgers and flights of beer. The APA was our favorite, by the way. 

We went to find parking and ended in a lot that costs $15 a day. As we were making our way to the pay station, an older couple yelled from the side walk if we wanted their fully paid ticket. We gladly accepted. That's southern hospitality. 

Broadway is where all the action happens; bars with neon signs lighting the entire block.

We walked to the strip and landed ourselves in the first bar that caught our eye because it met all of Marcus's qualifications: no female singers and no solo country singers. Robert's Western World fit the bill. It was fantastic. The atmosphere, the people, and the music made it a great night. 

The next morning we shopped for entirely too long in a vintage guitar shop and walked around, finding ourselves eating at food trucks in the Pride festival. We tried on cowboy boots, and I was way too tempted to buy them.

Nashville is one of the most fun cities I've been to. I texted my best friend and told her "we need to get ourselves to Nashville ASAP." 

Three days till Thursday

Roanoke
Nashville
Memphis
Lake Pontchartrain
New Orleans
Panama City Beach
Savannah
Virginia Beach

We had to cut our Dallas because of the rain. One day I'll get to the grassy knoll.

Our Southern Style road trip kicks off in T-minus 3 days.
Preparations have been made and my car has been packed for two days. We've made our trips to the store and trips to our laundry room, making last minute efforts to shove as much as we can into our suitcase.
This trip is different than the last– more relaxed. We know (for the most part) what we are in for. We survived 21 days in the "wilderness" last time, 11 days should be cake. We aren't cocky, we aren't nervous. We am ready to hit the road and explore the states, and as always, I am ready to explore myself. The open road, as so many cliches go, allows for you to think about things like you couldn't do normally. Where I want to be, where I want to go, who I want with me. These things, I am sure, will be in and out of my mind while I pass mile marker after mile marker on the highway.
So, like I do with most trips, I plan on clearing my head of all the negativity and all those filling it with negativity, and instead, fill it with the wonder of cultures and landscapes different than my own. (Thats the anthropologist in me). I want to take in all that the cities are.

On the Road Again...

Four years ago, I had a wild idea to drive across the country. Luckily, my brother saw my vision and trusted me enough to tag along. After countless hours of planning predicting packing and preparing, we set out on a journey of a lifetime. We traveled for 21 days throughout 21 states seeing everything from prairies and mountains to oceans and rivers. We saw the presidents set in stone, the home of the King, and the rocky cliffs of the Pacific. We laughed, bonded, and fought. But the one thing that was constant was our unwavering sense of being fortunate. We sensed that this was a once in a lifetime journey, dreamed of perhaps taking our families on a trip like this when we are older. We hoped to take another road trip to other parts of this beautiful country, and I am happy to announce that in less than 20 days, we will. We are packing up the jeep again and heading out on the open road to see the sights and hear the sounds on our Southern-Style Roadtrip. From the bars of Nashville to the noles of Dallas, the French quarter of New Orleans to the weeping willows of Savannah. 

We begin our journey just as we did the other, with a crazy vision in a girl's head, but hey, don't all good things start that way?

Culture shock

     We arrived in San Jose. The weather was beautiful, and the people were sweet. But I didn't realize how much of a shock it was going to be to my system to travel to a completely unknown part of the world. I've never been South of Florida. And also haven't travelled in almost two years since I arrived home from London. So I don't think I gave myself any room for adjusting to a new environment again. 

     Traveling is the only thing I think I am truly good at in this world. The planning and preparation and the traveling itself are things I live for. So to arrive in a foreign country and be completely side swiped by the culture, the noise, the hostel, and the drunken hostel roommate, is a little much for my system to handle at one time. 

     The only cure for that is to just move on. Go to the next stop along the way and hope it's a better fit for me. We go see some sloths today. If that doesn't cheer me up, I don't know what will. 

Leaving America? Maybe

     We woke up at 3am. There was a 2.5 hour drive ahead of us, and we wanted ample time to have breakfast, go through security, and relax at the airport bar (at Doug's request).

     Everything went smoothly. We were only 5 minutes late leaving the house. We didn't hit traffic and 3 of us caught a little nap in the car. Poor Mal had to survive on coffee. 

     We get to the airport and we should have foreseen the upcoming issues. One, we were flying in the worst airport I have ever been to. Flying in from Newark on Saturday was my first Fort Lauderdale experience. I was in and out quickly, so I did not have time to take it all in. When we returned this morning, I wanted so desperately to be in any other airport than the one we were currently waiting in. The people, the attitudes, the crowds, and the chaos. Woof. And two, we were flying on Spirit. The cheapest, most frustrating budget airline available. They charge for everything, including checking in at the counter- that's $10. What we didn't foresee were the complications with flying into Costa Rica and flying out of Panama. We needed to prove that we were getting to the latter on some form of transport that was suitable for the Costa Rican government. 

     Mal and jimmy had no problem. They breezed right through with very little questions... Doug and I, however, needed to prove that we were taking a shuttle from CR to Panama. Of course, our paperwork wasn't good enough, and the manager was called over. I was beginning to get mad. Because I had a flash of what the next few days were to be if I was not allowed on this flight. We would be stuck in Florida because of this massive blizzard in the north, and I would be out $415 for the flights.

We persevered and explained everything to the agents and their supervisor, and were eventually able to secure a boarding pass and head through security. 

     I don't mean to bore anyone with that story. I just want everyone to know what I didn't know. I was unaware that I would need to prove anything to the airline agents because I had a return flight booked. Yes, it was a from a different city, but I was returning to America in 10 days. So moral of the story... Make sure you have all plans figured out before leaving. And have all of those plans printed out. And on top of that, have emails ready to show on your phone. It was scary because we weren't sure if we'd get on. But Doug was calm and had his papers printed and luckily I printed mine last night. Preparedness is key. 

     Now we hover over some Caribbean islands on our way to blue skies, crystal waters, smiling sloths, and coconut drinks. 

     I got secretly and surprisingly upgraded to the first row of the plane. So I had plenty of room to stretch. It was great. My cousins were jealous. Seat 1A all the way. 

Part one

     We have made it to Florida. Mal and Jimmy drove through the night, and I flew, leaving the ice and snow in New Jersey once we de-iced. Doug already lives here so he had the easiest Saturday. 

     We leave for part two of our adventure on Monday. I flew into 73 degrees in Fort Lauderdale and will be leaving that for 78 in San Jose. This is a much welcomed, much anticipated, much prayed-for change in weather. Some vitamin D will do my soul good this week. 

     To all those snow birds I left behind, I hope you have an easier time with it in the days to come. May the weather be fair and the degrees be higher than normal. 

New Year, New You?

If you don't want to read a girl's sob story, then skip this one....

     It took me 6 days to write an (what I think to be) obligatory New Years post. To be honest, I hate New Year's Eve. It is depressing, being the night that makes you aware of how unglamorous your life is. It never quite lives up to the hype. Perhaps its the years of Hollywood glamorizing the night, making it always seem like something to be desired, a night for the record books. It is always disappointing and acts as a reminder of the fact that you aren't where you want to be in life and unless you change dramatically in 364 days, you will undoubtedly be in the same spot the following year. What I chose to do that night, let my mom take me to the casino to sit in front of a slot machine...resulting in my $200 win to start the new year.

     I ended the last precious days of 2014 with tears running down my face, collecting in puddles on my bed; soaked tissues scattered in front of me like amateur origami. I forced myself to get out of bed, to shower, to have a routine. The rug was ripped out from under me; I was down.
     But 2014 wasn't always unhappy. There were times that I wouldn't trade for the world, moments that still make me smile, but unfortunately, with that happiness, now comes a pang in the pit of my stomach and a pressure in my chest.  I learned things that I don't think I can or will appreciate until after the storm passes. I experienced something that I had never before, a simple four letter word that swallows you whole and turns your world upside down. Yes, right now it seems like 2014 was a year of sadness, but it wasn't that at all. I cannot let the last week put the stamp on an entire year.
     I began 2015 with a forced optimism, that day after day becomes less forced and more adopted. I promised myself that this year will be better than the last (few days of 2014, that is), and if not better, then different. I have goals for 2015. I want it to be a year of discovering the world and discovering more of who I am. I owe it to myself to do everything I can to make this year my best yet...isn't that what the New Year is all about?