Deep in the Heart of Texas

(They're Texas-size pictures!)




























On our way to Austin, we stopped for a short time at driving range in Houston, TX. And, after just a few minutes in the "armpit" of Texas, we drove on to get to the much nicer Austin.

In Austin we stayed with Alicia and Rachel (Thanks girls!), our friends from Tufts. That first night, we had our official introduction to delicious Tex Mex-- melted Queso dip and stuffed avocados at El Arroyo were my favorite. And, of course a round of watermelon margaritas...

Alicia was an incredible tour guide and even wrote out a full list of everything we needed to do in Austin before we left including grabbing an Iced Turbo from Jo's coffee for breakfast and a slice from Home Slice, the best pizza place in town, for lunch. Alicia and Rachel's apartment was in an ideal location on South Congress St., an awesome street full of way too many Vintage stores and some nice cafes south of downtown. Austinites are way hipper than the rest of Texans and Congress st. is where the hipsters gather. (Greg is rolling his eyes right now).

On our second day, we did the tourist thing and visited some of the monuments. We first visited the Capitol building. We learned about the six flags of Texas (fyi: Republic of Texas, US, France, Spain, Mexico, and the Confederacy). We learned about the Texas revolution, the fact that the dome of the Capitol is higher than the dome of the US Capitol ("everything is bigger in Texas"), yaddah yaddah yaddah. Our tour guide, though, was a tiny blond girl from Moscow, complete with a very strong Russian accent and a struggling grasp of the English language. The effect was odd, but entertaining.

After the Capitol we went to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. It was very well laid out, but tended to skip over some of the less proud moments of the state's history. Our favorite part was the plaque that explained how, while Texas (or Tejas) still belonged to Mexico, more and more US Southerners started immigrating in. As a result, a Mexican Government official observed that the culture of Texas was shifting from hispanic to anglo. Eventually, that observation led to a new law forbidding new immigrants from the US. Stop me if this sounds familiar. We then watched a Texas-themed IMAX movie which was essentially an hour long advertisement of the state, with no important information. Oh, then again we did learn that the corn dog (or "corny dog") was invented at the Texas State fair. I stand corrected.

Twice during our stay in Austin, we ate at Torchy's Tacos, which is just a trailer on the side of the road, but which blows the competition away. Never have I had a taco which comes even close to being as good. Different ballpark ... different league. Some of the tacos we tried had eggs, fried avocado, fried poblano peppers (yum!), bbq pork, fried chicken, feta cheese with carnitas.

Saturday night, we went out to 6th St., which is basically a big Frat party on the street. Hoards of college age kids stumble down the street from bar to bar, most of which have outdoor patios. We had a great time hanging out with Alicia and Hexar over a few drinks and checking out the scene.

On our third day, we went with Alicia and a few of her friends to San Antonio for the day, as the yearly Fiesta festival was going on. We visited the Alamo, checked out all the food stands (amazing), listened to some live music, walked down the riverwalk, and played a crap load of word games (I love word games ... 1 guess for who is writing this paragraph). Finally, we discovered that San Antonio bars make the weakest drinks in the country. That's right ... I'm calling you out.

On our forth day, we went on a winery tour with Alicia and her BF Hexar. One highlight was the crazy guy at the Fredericksburg Winery (he showed us his favorite book, "What Texans should know about the other 49 states", in which every page was empty). Texans sure love their sweet wine. I was especially surprised to try several different types of sweet red wine-- who has ever heard of sweet Merlot? Also, to our surprise, I asked how one winery makes their sweet red wine and they said they "just add sugar".

After a full day of wine tasting, we headed to Cooper's BBQ in Llano, TX, an awesome place where you pick pick out your meat at the pit before entering the restaurant. We stuffed ourselves with incredible beef brisket and pork ribs dipped in thin, vinegary BBQ sauce. Just check out the picture! (coming soon)

...I drove my chevy to the levy but the levy was GONE

Shana and Greg:
After a final breakfast with the Habitat crew at Yankie Stadium, we headed to New Orleans. First stop was at Tea Eva's for crawfish pies and pralines. Next, we went to Holly and Burt's house, with whom we stayed with for the next 4 nights. (Thanks, by the way!). They live right near Magazine St., which is an awesome young, cool neighborhood with lots of restaurants and way too many antique shops. Many of the other houses in the area (also called the Garden District) were gorgeous, large, old homes with huge decks (my favorite) and trees covered in mardi gras beads.

That afternoon we went to the French Quarter for the French Quarter Festival. We met up with our friends Mike and Ryan from Habitat at Cafe du Monde for some traditional beignets, which are basically fried dough in powdered sugar (and are AMAZING), and cafe au lait with chicory. Next, the 3 guys and Shana strolled around Burbon St. where there were way too many "gentlemen's bars." But, we did enjoy the very cheap drinks "to go" and all the live music in the street for the festival. The social scene was way more centered on drinking rather than music unlike some of the other cities we've visited. New Orleans is the 3rd place on our trip where you can drink in the streets, but this outdoor party scene just blows the competition away. We were also surprised by all the obvious underage drinking-- not that we're providing any suggestions (Joe!). We also enjoyed the many crazy T-shirts for sale. Our 3 favorites were: 3) "FEMA Evacuation Plan: Run, Bitch, Run", 2) "I drove my chevy to the levy but the levy was GONE", and 1) featuring a picture of both Obama and Hillary with the caption "Bros before Hoes"

The next day we went back to the French Quarter Festival but spent most of the time away from Burbon St. on the waterfront. We heard some incredible local bands, including a complete brass band and some great swing, country, jazz, and blues. For lunch that day we had the absolute best sandwich either of us have ever eaten. It was a Crab Cake Po'Boy with Remoulade sauce from Johnny's Po'Boys. The whole road trip was worth it for that sandwich!

We also got some delicious bread pudding with Burbon sauce at one of the festival food stands (which all had to be non-chain, local, sit-down restaurants). Later that afternoon we visited Tulane, which was appropriate since we had just started reading Grisham's The Pelican Brief which features a Tulane Law Student and her lover/professor.

On Monday, we drove to the Bayou and took a chartered swamp tour. Both of us were impressed with the beauty of the small bayous. We also made two important discoveries. First, alligators speak French/Creole (the guide called the gators to the boat by yelling "Ici ... viens ici") and, second, gators love marshmallows. We really liked the tour in general, and also enjoyed driving around afterwards. When we got back to New Orleans, we took a break from Cajun food and went out for pizza ... and $2 pitchers of local beer (Abita). Have we mentioned that alcohol is dirt cheap here?

On our last day in New Orleans, we took a walking tour of the French Quarter, led by the National Park Service. We learned a lot about local history, culture (finally found out what creole means: it refered to someone born in the colony, but now refers to the mix of French/Spanish/African/Anglo culture unique to Louisiana), and architecture. The tour guide also claimed that cola and root beer was invented in a French Quarter Pharmacy (which is counter to the Coca Cola Company's claim of inventing cola in Atlanta).

Although we had a good time, we found New Orleans a bit exhausting. The effects of Katrina are still very evident in that you shouldn't drink the tap water, you have to watch out for infections, and prices are much higher than usual. Life is just a lot harder, especially in the non-touristy areas. However, we were very impressed by the camarederie among the locals and the vast number of fleurs-de-lis displayed around the city as a symbol of pride.

We were quite exited to hit the road again, get to Austin, TX, and (especially) to listen The Golden Compass in the car.

I got hammered in Biloxi

Shana:

For the past 4 days Greg and I have been waking up at the crack of dawn and working construction for Habitat For Humanity in Biloxi, Mississippi. Every day we are shocked that our right arms haven't fallen off from hammering so many nails. We've built 3 sheds (with roofs and shelving), lain down foundations, floors, and raised walls for 3 houses that will go to families who lost their homes during Katrina. Working from 8-4 in the Gulf Coast sun gives you a really good farmer tan!

For the week, we're staying at "Yankie Stadium" (don't worry, this one is spelled with an "ie"), which is basically set up like a summer camp. We sleep on bunks and eat dinner in a large mess hall underneath the stands. We've spent each evening playing cards, telling jokes, and having fun with our crew of volunteers-- Mike and Ryan from Canada, "Juvenile" Joe and Jim (his dad) from Michigan, and Liz from Connecticut. Basically, all the twenty-somethings had to stick together.

We highly recommend coming down here to work for Habitat. We've had a great experience. It's been a lot of fun and very fulfilling. It's awesome to work your body really hard and actually see a physical product of your labor.

Graceland

Shana:

Before going to Memphis, we detoured to Holly Springs, Mississippi, home of "Graceland Too."  This personal collection of Elvis Memorabelia owned by the self-appointed "Wolrd's Greatest Elvis fan" was incredible but very very strange.  Basically, the owner, also the tour guide, was incredibly Obsessive-Compulsive about Elivs.  He had thousands of Elvis posters, records, VHS tapes, clothing, cars, rugs-- basically anything Elvis hoarded in his small house.  He was very knowledgeable about Elvis, but also crazy.  It was certainly one of the most memorable tours I've ever had.

We were surprised how much poorer Memphis is than Nashville.  Elvis Presley Blvd. was full of cheap motels, fast food, and run down stores.  Downtown and Beale St. were vibrant and full of activity.  We especially loved that Beale St. is one of the 5 places you can drink your beer outside (2 visited on this trip, 3 to go).  Beale St. (made famous by the Beale St. Blues style) is also blocked off from cars and made into a pedestrian walk way.  We loved being able to walk from bar to bar, checking out all the live music, and watching the city celebrate since the Memphis Basketball team had just won its Final 4 game.  We saw an awesome blues band as we had a fried catfish dinner. 

The next morning we went to Graceland-- Elvis' mansion.  It was really interested learning about the life and career of Elvis, but the mansion wasn't quite as crazy as we had expected.  The green carpeted floor to ceiling "Jungle Room" was a site to see, but the rest of it just looked like typical 70's celebrity style.  And, now, we really want to find a Peanut Butter, Banana, and Bacon grilled Sandwich, Elvis style...

We couldn't find anywhere to make us an Elvis style sandwich, so we opted for a Dinner Style Seafood restaurant with 25 cent Oysters and crawfish by the pound.  We had a whole fried catfish, oysters, and banana pudding.  And, we got to watch the Red Sox game while we ate.  Greg wishes there was a place like that by his house.

The Nashville Sound

Greg:

We arrived in Nashville on Thursday night. There we stayed with Tiffany and Joshua, a really nice couple we had found on couchsurfers.com and who let us crash in their spare room.

As soon as we got to downtown Nashville, we realized how much the city deserves the nickname "Music City, USA". Everything there is centered around the music scene. Every bar on Broadway, offers live music almost around the clock. Of course, country music dominates the scene, but there is a little bit of almost everything. We even passed by a hip hop bar/club.

On Thursday night, we went downtown for dinner and music. We ate at Jack's BBQ, one of the most famous places in town, which serves fantastic ribs and pork shoulder, and offers 6 types of BBQ sauce. They are 1) Kansas City Style (tomato based, sweet, smoky), 2) Texas Style (similar to KC style, but a little less sweet and more spicy), 3) Tennessee style (vinegar based), 4) Carolina style (mustard based), 5) Extra hot Texas Style, and 6) Music City White BBQ Sauce (made from mayonnaise and horseradish). The first 2 were delicious, and the rest were "interesting". After dinner, we walked up and down Broadway and stopped in various bars to listen to the live music. Very few had covers. Unfortunately, we arrived to late to take part of the free line dancing at the Wildhorse Saloon.

On Friday, we went for brunch at the Loveless Cafe, a restaurant opened in 1951 which was recommended in our roadtripping guide despite being 20 minutes out of town. Boy was the drive worth it. Both of us agree that the biscuits were far and away the best we had ever had, and the eggs, hashbrown casserole, and preserves were also delicious. After brunch, we visited the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and got to learn all about the style's history and characteristics. Neither of us are big country music fans, so we were surprised by how much we enjoyed the museum. We ended up spending 3 hours there, much of the time spent listening to excerpts of great songs.

That night, we capped off our whirlwind tour of the country music scene by going to a performance at the world famous Grand Ole Opry. This is a live radio show recorded in a large theater, in which about 15 member bands and singers perform one or two songs. Supposedly, the Grand Ole Opry has dominated and shaped the country music landscape over the years similarly to how SNL has dominated the sketch comedy scene. We had a blast, especially when Little Jimmy Dickens, a tiny old man in a ridiculous cowboy outfit, played and made jokes about his wife (e.g.: "my wife was looking at cars for Christmas, and said she wanted me to get her something that went from 0 to 160 in 10 seconds ... so I bought her a set of bathroom scales).

Before leaving the city we had to see the great spectacle of The Parthenon. Who knew you could visit Ancient Greece by visiting Nashville. A full size replica of the The Parthenon stands in Centennial Park. Oooh wee!

Next up: I'm going to Graceland, Graceland ... Memphis, Tennessee ... I'm going to Graceland.

Middle Tennessee

Greg:

After Atlanta, we head to Nashville, Tennessee. On the way, we made two very memorable stops. The first was at the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg (and no, we couldn't determine whether that's what the name of the town refers to. We took a free tour. It was very authentic, and not too corny or commercialized. We got to see (and smell!) the sour mash of corn, rye and barley, as well as the charcoal which they drip the whiskey through, and which distinguishes Jack Daniels, a "Tennessee sipping Whiskey", from Bourbon. The tour guide carried a bottle of "cough syrup" in his back pocket the whole time and spoke in a great southern twang.

After the distillery, we stopped at On Target Indoor Shooting Range and Gun Store. Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking. Neither of us had ever fired a handgun, and I had always wanted to try. Plus, I have the coolest girlfriend ever, and she was up for trying. We found the store/range on the GPS, and they rented us a .22, sold us 100 bullets, and gave us basic instructions. Shana got a free t-shirt because she was a rookie, and because she's hot. I, on the other hand, got a free bumper sticker which said "REPUBLICAN: Because We Can't All Be On Welfare!". I had to pretend to be a Republican, but it was worth it to get such a great souvenir. Unfortunately, Shana won't let me put it on the car. Surprisingly, both of us were pretty good shots. Despite enjoying the experience, Shana was a little freaked out by the whole thing. I, however, enjoyed the rush of testosterone and might want to try again. I'll pass on testing the assault rifle, though, unlike the guys firing bomb-like shots next to us.

Atlanta

Shana:
Atlanta is home of prestigious headquarters like Coca-Cola, CNN, and of course (most importantly) the American Cancer Society. I was high impressed the ACS's prominent and imposing building right in the middle of downtown. I was almost tempted to go in, flash my old business card, and ask to chat with the President of The Society.

Our first night we stayed at our friend Sarah's house which is located about 1 block from Folton Prison (not to be confused with Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison which would have been much cooler). Nevertheless, we enjoyed a impromptu Beirut / Beer Pong (the name all depends where you went to college) party to use up the left over beer from Sarah's Crawfish Race and Boil (if only we had been in town for THAT).

The next day we toured the Coke Factory and become inundated with their messaging that Coke is what brings people from all over the world together and makes everyone happy. It's all about "living on the coke side of life" or something like that. But, we did have the chance to taste other sodas made my Coke from countries all over the world-- all of which were pretty gross. We'll stick with regular Diet Coke.

Next, we went to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site and Museum. The old photographs, quotes, and videos were very inspirational yet reminded us how much turmoil has taken place in the places we were visiting. I found it incredibly remarkable that MLK gave his first notable speech (in which he talks about the "fierce urgency of now" often quoted by Obama) when he was only 26. On our walk away from the museum we chatted with a homeless guy who had taken part in the marches and protests in Atlanta. He remembered MLK confronting the police and going into "white" restaurants despite being scolded by both the white and black communities. It was impressive to talk to someone who had taken part in something so important yet was living in poverty today.

Later that day we enjoyed a free Jazz concert in Olympic Park and then went to see a Braves baseball game. It seemed unreal to us that we could purchase tickets day-of and get decent seats for only $11. Although the stadium was beautiful with high tech jumbotrons and kids games in the corridor, everything about it seemed very un-Fenway. As New England baseball snobs, we thought it was pretty sad that the home openner for Atlanta was not even closed to sold out and that everything was just a little too new and fancy instead of classic old school that we hold so dear. But, we did greatly enjoy our dinner of a Georgia Dog-- a hot dog with coleslaw, onion relish, and BBQ sauce.