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Three States in Three days.
Monday, August 28, 2006
I'm pretty tired. These time zone changes are getting to me a bit. Everyday I seem to switch an hour and now I keep waking up at 7am or falling asleep at 10. What time is it!!? AND I've been driving a lot the last few days. I've driven over 1,000 miles since Friday.
I spent all of one day in Texas. I went to Austin to break up the drive to New Mexico. I can't say if Austin is good or bad as I didn't do anything in the city. However, I meet some interesting characters at the hostel. There was this one guy from England there who was giving me good tips on diving and getting around in Indonesia. The hostel itself was pretty blah. It was the least exciting one I've been in and the showers were a little gross. The best part of the hostel, and my short stay in Austin, was the lake in the back. It was gorgeous and had this little dock. Now this little dock with the white chair gave a view of the most amazing sunset had I had seen to date. There were all these white swans flying around as the sun set on the horizon, shining beautiful oranges, yellows, and red over the sky and reflecting off the water. I just sat there for the whole thing on that chair watching the sky change colors.
Awaking at what seemed to be an ungodly hour on Saturday, I began the 500 mile drive to Carlsbad, New Mexico. I was in NM for 1 day before I headed into Tucson, AZ. I'm going back to NM to see Sante Fe/Albuquerque when I begin to swing back toward Chicago. I hit the open road and my jaw dropped. The west is more majestic than any picture or movie could convey. You really just need to see it. I can't believe how much sky there is. It goes on with the land forever. Nothing breaks it up, no buildings hinder the view- its just goes. I tried hard not to stare too much otherwise, I might have crashed the car! The Texas hill country and West Texas is amazing. The mountains, the hills, the ranchland, the vistas- all of it beautiful. I kept stopping to take pictures as often as I could, though it can be tough pulling over on a major interstate. Driving to NM, I saw tons of oil derricks, small abandon towns, and lots of pick up trucks!! The best site I saw was the huge huge wind farm. I had always heard Texas had them but when I saw them, the environmentalist in me smiled. I also passed though the typical desert town- Orla, Texas. It had 1 road, a post office, a gas station, and a mini-mart. Half the buildings were abandoned. Seeing this run down town ghost town made my western journey a little more complete.
New Mexico is a million times more amazing than Texas. I stopped at Carlsbad Caverns which was pretty cool. Though I have seen cooler caves and had cooler cave experiences, it is definitely a site to be seen. It's hard to fathom how big this one cave can be without collapsing. It's real interesting and worth a trip. Make sure you walk the mile down, stay for the night bat show, and take time to view the surrounding landscape. I also saw the one of the best sunset I have EVER seen from the hotel that night. The sun out here takes forever to go down and after 40 minutes, there was still some color in the sky though the sun had long fled behind the horizon. The sky had the darkest reds and oranges I'd seen in a long time and after the sun went down, there was this beautiful band of green and blue that stayed in the sky. Sunsets here are crazy and I get to see them for another month!
Sunday I finished off my three states in three days by waking up at 8 am and driving 500 more miles to Tucson, AZ. First though, I stopped off at White Sands National Monument. Now, let me say something about driving out west- the speed limits are higher but no one goes past them. I learned the hard way in Texas that when the speed limit is 80, don't go past 80. Everyone here goes exactly the limit or less...a lot less. Coming from a state known for speeding, it is a hard adjustment. The podunk cops here love to pull outsiders over so whenever I near a town, I'm way below the speed limit. Another hindrance is the landscape- I keep stopping! It took me 4 hours to drive 100 miles to White Sands because of the speed limit and because I must have stopped about 10 times to look at the scenery. If you have never been to this part of the country, GO! Go now! US-82 from Artesian to Alomagordo is one the most beautiful stretches of highway ever. You go through Lincoln National forest. The landscape with its rivers, grassland, fields, ranches, and pine mountains looks more suited for Wyoming or Montana than New Mexico. It was utterly amazing and you come into this town, Cloudcroft, which is super quaint (and yes I said quaint). It is definitely worth stopping there and walking around. Then suddenly- it's desert again. It's amazing how quick the landscape changes once you get out of the mountains. It's as though God, made this imaginary line that separates them. One day, I am going to go back to Lincoln and spend a few days hiking the trails and seeing the area.
White Sands national monument is cool to see- lots of well, white sand dunes, but how long can you really walk around sand dunes? The rest of the drive into Tucson was just as beautiful as it was before, except it went a lot quicker. Texas Canyon in AZ is amazing with boulders lining the mountains and area beside the highway. I've spend the last 2 days in Tucson and, though the city is nothing special, the wildlife and mountains around it are.
Overall, I don't know what I am going to do- at the rate I'm going, its going to take me forever to drive to Chicago and I'm going to run out of memory before I am even half way there! I'm up to 800 pictures already!! Yikes!
Tomorrow, it's off to the Grand Canyon.
-Matt
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I've been driving around "The South" for the past three weeks. As I said in an older entry, I was using this opportunity to give the south a chance. I've never really been around the south so I figured I'd see if it lived up to my image of it. For the record, this is my preconceived notion of the south: The South is a land of rednecks, racists, and raging bible beaters. It still thinks the Civil War is going on, its filled with trash, trailerparks, and idiots. Aside from a few major cities, nothing of worth is there and letting them secede from the Union might not have been such a bad idea. I know it's harsh but it was a view reinforced by what I saw on TV, what their politicians said, what their leaders said, the fact that they wanted to teach the Bible in school and ban evolution, the fact they pay the least taxes and get the most federal aid, and because they have the highest rates of abortion, teen pregnancy, alcoholism, child and spousal abuse, and drug abuse in the country. All in all it seemed like a cultural wasteland and I was glad to never really have gone there.
However, that's the old view. After driving through a good chunk of it, I have a somewhat new, less harsh opinion of Southern living. While driving I noticed many cultural differences- some I knew existed, some I didn't. One thing I noticed here is that everything on the radio is either country, Christian, preachers, or conservative talk. There are only one or two stations that play new rock/pop/rap. It really gets to you after awhile. You can definitely tell by the radio just how far "south" you really are. After listening to lots and lots of country, I realized I still hate 99% of it but there are a few good songs but for the most part, how many different ways can you talk about cowboys, tractors, and small town living!!!! Let me tell you though- the preaching stations NEVER grow on you! NEVER!!
The food down here is symptom of the suburban lifestyle they mastered here. I noticed that outside a few major cities, a lot of the south lives in cookie cutter developments. This is especially true east of Alabama. All these new developments all look the same. Florida was the worst offender of this. So many of the towns here were so bland- they epitomized Suburbia. It seemed to go hand in hand with the vast roads filled with strip malls and chain stores, especially chain restaurants. Up north, even outside the cities, we tend to have more local and unique restaurants. (and cities and towns.) Sure, we have our Applebees, Chili's, and fast food but that isn't good food to us. Down here it seemed that those chains were the good cuisine. When you ask people about their favorite restaurant, its usually a chain. "I love Chick Fil A" I love Cracker Barrel." Up North, we go to those chains as a last cheap resort, not as a first pick. If you have seen Talladega Nights, the movie hits this right on the nail. It was only in the big cities that you tended to see the nicer, non-chain restaurants. Everywhere else, it was Applebee's!
Overall, I guess "The South" isn't as bad as I thought. Despite what I said above, there are some nice qualities about it. The hot woman, the hot accents, the friendly people, the beautiful architecture, the warm weather, and good food (if you stay away from the chain restaurants.) It's still weird to be walking around or standing on the street and having people come up and talk to you. It's like "What do you want? Are you trying to sell me something?" but that's the norm down here. I'd say people are more outwardly friendly to strangers here. They also walk and move slower- don't they know time is a valuable commodity?!
I still think it's filled with bible beaters and some rednecky people though but not as much as I thought. The people here aren't so backwards and it does seem some are living in the 21st century, despite not having any real form of public transit. I would come back here, especially to places like New Orleans and Charleston. One day I'd like to go visit like the rural South and see if they are really that rednecky. A lot of the people I've meet told me if I really wanted to see the stereotypical South to head into the little rural towns and backcountry.
Maybe on the next trip.
-Matt
PS- I have new pictures up. I just don't have time to put them on the blog. You can see picks from Disney, Atlanta, and New Orleans on my Yahoo! picture site. Http://photos.yahoo.com/sanchitos123 (The link is also on the bottom left under travel links.)
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My trip to Atlanta was slightly shorter than expected so I arrived in the Big Easy a day early. My friend in Atlanta lives in a nice area and I enjoyed the house party she had but overall, I didn't like Atlanta. The city was pretty dirty. I walked around a while and everywhere seemed to be the ghetto. Centennial park, which was created for the 1996 Olympics, is really nice- up there with Forsyth Park in Savannah. Lots of people go there and the noise of kids echoes through the park. I skipped the World of Coke because I had no desire to wait in the enormous line during the 100 degree heat. After walking around Atlanta, I decided this was the least interesting, or clean,or exciting city I've been in so far. I don't think I'd come back here.
So here I am now in New Orleans. I was a little worried about coming here. Who knows how rebuilt it would be? Who knows if another hurricane would come while I was there? (Because, yes, that is my luck.) Who knows what it would be like! However, I love New Orleans. I like it so much I am going to stay here a few extra days. The hostel I am staying at is extremely interesting. Its this huge old house with like a beer machine, a pool, a little garden, picnic tables, and outdoor dorm rooms. The characters here are even more interesting- serious southern liberals and bayou folk. For all my backpacker friends, if you are ever in New Orleans, I recommend staying at the India House.
I've pretty much stuck to the French Quarter, The Garden District, and other non destroyed areas. There isn't too much to see outside of these areas anyways so I don't think I am missing much. I love this city though. It has a great vibe and atmosphere to it despite it still being ravaged by Katrina. People here are so friendly and all very interesting people. The city itself is very pretty. The Garden District is very reminiscent of a combination of Charleston and Savannah. It's like the area combined each of these cities when it was designed. It's not as nice as the two but its like there rundown cousin. However, it's run down in the sense that it gives it a magical, spooky feel to it. Walking around, even during the day time, you can tell why Anne Rice used this area as the location of all her books. The graveyards, the houses, the small streets, the colorful locals, and the voodoo/Creole presence lend itself to air of magic that permeates this destroyed city.
The French Quarter is still the city's highlight. The buildings are beautiful. They all have wonderfully ironworked porches that have crazy plants draped over them. Bourbon street is insane. I was out there on a Monday night and it was still wild. I didn't even get carded and you can brings drinks from one bar to another. It was a crazy time. What's also a little strange is the strip clubs they have on the street. It's like Montreal or Amsterdam with girls dancing in windows and pictures of what your money gets you. It was a little weird to see that in an American city and a Southern one nonetheless. The food in the city is amazing. It is by far the best food I have had in awhile (see video below) and the blues, jazz, and soul music here is incredible. Every bar you walk past has great music blasting out of it, enticing you to enter. Though the city is deserted and while you can be the only one on the street, and despite the apparent and obvious destruction, I love New Orleans. I'm staying here longer.
After talking with my friend Dave, I am going to follow his suggestion and add video to the site. He suggested taking video of some of the things I do. My camera will only do 1 minute of video at a time but that is probably better because I doubt any of you will want to sit through a 20 minute video. So without further ado, in two parts, is my first video- My first Creole food experience.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Before I go, the other big news is that I now right a travel advice/tip column for the website, Go Wander the World. I'm excited about it. I was going to do something like that on this site but now I just do it there. You can read my first article on "Finding a cheap flight" at http://www.gowandertheworld.com My article is on the main page. Once you know how to get a cheap flight, you can start making plans to come visit me!
Until next time,
Matt
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WOW! I can't believe I got 95 hits my last post and 20 comments. I am going to have to try to post pictures more so that I can get more site traffic like that. Hopefully writing for some travel sites will do just that.
I was in Disney World that last two days and it was amazing time. The rides weren't as thrilling as Busch Gardens but it was still fun nonetheless. Disney is definitely a family affair and going alone gives you a whole different perspective. It can get a little lonely but it lets you do the park a lot quicker. Regardless of being bored sometimes, I had a lot of fun. I did the Magic Kingdom and Epcot in a day and a half. At the Magic Kingdom, they redid the Pirates of the Caribbean. It started off cool with Davy Jones giving you a warning as you travel through a waterfall and then you have this little dip but the rest of the ride is the same. People wait like three hours for the ride because they added Jack Sparrow but they only added three small animatronic robots and he only says he likes being a pirate at the end. It was disappointing but I did it first so I walked right on. I would not want to wait three hours for that ride. If I did, I'd be pissed. Space mountain is still great and Splash Mountain is still the best ride they have there. They have this new 3-D Mickey movie that is really fun too. Now with modern technology, they can scents to give you a total experience. I recommend the "ride" if anyone is going to Disney anytime soon. I also recommend the Buzz Lightyear shooting ride. Fun times. I wouldn't recommend the Lilo and Stitch ride- that was just a bad version of the Alien ride they had a number of years ago. Don't waste the time standing in line.
Epcot is still the same but they have a few new rides. I did the Mission: Space ride. It was fun but I can't believe that people died on that ride. It wasn't that intense (at least to me). I would recommend that ride too. The world showcase is still the same but its still one of my favorite aspects about Disney. I like how in each country they have people from that country working there. (Beautiful international woman) I hung out at the Norway area for a bit chatting it up with a few Norwegians. I found out a lot about the country which is good because it's my first stop in Europe. I also never realized how much of a booze fest the whole thing was. In every country, you could get booze, buy bottles of wine, do wine tastings, and carry the booze around with you. I saw lots of people getting loaded and for 4 dollars a drink, it isn't too expensive!!
One of the things I really didn't like about Disney was the massive amounts of product placement. Every ride and snack stand is sponsored by some company. The worst one was the Test Track, this car ride that is sponsored by GM. The ride itself is cool but the advertising is insane. At the end of the ride, you can take a virtual tour of the GM process that brings a car from design to showroom then you actually walk through a GM showroom with a bunch of their cars. I thought it was pretty ridiculous. I also thought sitting through the 8 minute Kodak commercial before the Honey I shrunk the kid ride was ridiculous too. As a consumer, I hate it. It got in the way of why I was there. As a business major, it is great marketing and product tie ins. Genius on Disney's part! However, by the end of the two days, I was sick of the overt yet trying to be subliminal advertising! If I want to pay for a commercial, I'll see a movie!
Right now I am in Atlanta for the weekend then I am off to New Orleans, where I am praying for there not to be a hurricane. In other news, I am soon going to be adding video to this site so stay tuned for some clips from the road!
Until then,
Matt
PS- Lauren, I got the pictures for your kids. I will e-mail them to you this weekend.
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I have more pictures that are posted at the end of this entry but before that I'd like to share one of my revelations with you all. I get a lot of time to think in my car since I'm driving alone for long hours at a time. In that time, I realized I know many flaky people. I'm not talking about the friend that cancels for dinner, or drinks, or going to the gym. (I do that all the time.) I'm talking about the people who makes travel plans and cancel, promise you things that don't turn out to be true, or consistency cancel plans, promise to return your call but you never hear from them. You know the people and I know too many of them.
One of the reasons I wanted to do the US first was to travel around and see all of my friends. I haven't seen many in years and probably won't see some for many more. It was time to see them all because who knows- maybe I will stay overseas and as more get married and settle down, those crazy post-college days are slowly ending.
I cut people a lot of slack. I put up with the cancel plans, the forgotten calls, and the broken promises. It's time I stop. I have enough friends who actually do what they say. I don't need to fill my time with people who don't live up to their word. It makes me not trust most of my other friends and that's just not healthy. This trip has allowed me to sort out many of the flakes and well, those flakes are no more. I'm not going to put up with those people any longer. I have enough friends who do what they say and those are the truest kind of friends.
Now, onto the second round of pictures. These are from Charlottesville, Charleston, and Savannah:
Shenandoah Valley
Waterfall
University of Virginia
Pretty home in Charleston
In Charleston, they dedicate everything to those heroic Confederates
Charleston
The waterfront in Charleston
Savannah had beautiful parks with these great oak trees.
It incredible homes...
...and gardens.
Another great home.
The oldest oak tree in Savannah.
Another patriotic home.
Artistic.
Even the spanish moss covered oak trees line the streets.
This time there are only about 150. I took most of them in Savannah. Lots of homes, oak trees, squares, etc. It was just so pretty. I got to thin some out. For now though, I'm off to Disney World and then to Atlanta.
Until next time,
Matt
P.S.- I'll try not to make the posts so long anymore.
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I making my way further south. On Tuesday, I woke up early and began the first of my many long drives around the country. It was time to head further south to Charleston and Savannah.
The two cities remind me of the old south- cotton, blue bloods, country clubs, and cocktail parties. When I think of old southern money and sophistication, I think of these two cities. Stepping into these cities, one steps back in time. Suddenly, you feel like saying hello, sir, and ma'am to everyone. Suddenly, you are surrounded by history with its old houses, old streets, and old habits.
Charleston was the first stop and I have to say I loved the city. I only spent two nights there but, if I didn't already have reservations in Savannah, I would have liked to stay longer. It was a beautiful city filled with history. It was here in 1861 that the Civil War started when South Carolina attacked the Union Fort Sumter and it was here in 1886 that a devastating earthquake destroyed half the city. I arrived mid afternoon to severe thunderstorms so I didn't venture far from the hostel. I spent a whole day next day walking around the city and was amazed by the architecture. Large houses with double decker porches, private gardens, cobblestone streets, and colonial forts. It was like I pictured it would be. It was tough walking around as the humidity was hard on me and after while I couldn't take it. I paid for a tour of a historic home just to step into the AC. The tour was interesting and I learned a lot about the history of the home and Charleston. Yet despite the heat, I loved walking around the city. The homes were beautiful and the atmosphere was friendly. I found it interesting that they use the old slave market as a huge outdoor tourist market now. I guess its always going to be used to sell something. The area around the market is real nice too. Great bars and restaurants. I took a walk down to the water front where they had this beautiful park with great views of Fort Sumter. It was probably the most enjoyable part of the city. If you ever go to Charleston, make sure you check out Waterfront Park. I didn't take the over priced tour out to the Fort but I did take a walk around the museum and soaked in some more history of Charleston. The heat eventually got to me and I headed back to the hostel to cool off. That night some of us from the hostel went to see a local jazz band that was pretty good.
After Charleston, I went to Savannah. Mapquest took me down US-17 going through the South Carolina low country. The low country was beautiful and it was filled with marshes, winding creeks and rivers, and beautiful trees. I bet there is some good canoeing and fishing in that area.
I only spent one night in Savannah but I used my time well. I got there pretty early and decided to do one of the trolley tours to orient myself to the city and learn some history. The tour was cheesy but I did learn a lot about the city and it's history. (Did you know the Girl Scouts was founded there or that Nathaniel Greene is buried there?) So I spent the whole day walking around the city (something I've been doing a lot of). I thought Savannah was beautiful. The houses weren't as luxurious as in Charleston but the atmosphere was much better. The city has twenty four little parks every two blocks and its just a great way to constantly be cooled off. Add to that large oak trees with the Spanish moss and the small cobblestone and brick streets and you have yourself a great city. While in Savannah, I decided to get some good ole southern food because I skipped out on some while in Charleston. I walked down to the riverfront area, which was pretty lively. Savannah lets you drink outside and it was a little weird to see everyone walking around drinking- I felt like I was at a giant block party. I can see the area getting out of control at night with tourists, locals, and college students mingling after a long night of cheap drinking. It was there that I found a nice little restaurant and got some good Southern food. It was pretty good. The south is famous for its sweet tea so when in Rome, do as the Romans. I wasn't too impressed though. I don't know what I was expecting but it was more than tea with lots of cane sugar.
Overall, I really liked Charleston and Savannah. I thought Savannah was a prettier city than Charleston but overall, I was a bigger fan of Charleston. The Spanish moss on the trees gives Savannah a great look and the city seems more relaxed and sophisticated than Charleston (also a lot more expensive) yet while it was more aesthetically pleasing, Charleston had more overall charm to it. The lively city market, the restaurants, the waterfront, and large porched homes led to a place I would like to go back to again, especially when I have more money to spend. I would recommend both cities to travelers. They are musts on any trip through the south but they can't be done on shoestring budget. Both cities have so much to do that when you go, go with some spending money.
In other news, driving through the South keeps on getting more interesting by the day. I did enjoy driving through Georgia. Everyone likes to speed and I enjoy getting places fast. However, in Florida, everyone drives like a maniac. It's just reckless- worse than New York! The radio has also been really interesting. On my way to Florida, I listened to this Christian law foundation program on Israel. I liked how they supported Israel and its fight against Hezbollah but those guys are nuts. They kept quoting scripture and calling for people to go on a mission there to save souls.
I also found a few interesting Christian rock stations. They had this one song about how the founders were Christian and what America really needed was Jesus. His whole riff was "America needs Jesus. Oh yeah America needs Jesus." Then I was listening to this country station and the song was talking about how woman need to be in the home in order to be fufilled! It's interesting to listen to the radio because you get a good idea of the various cultural differences in the country though it. As I move into different areas, the radio keeps changing. Now in Florida, gospel stations are replaced by latin stations and when I head back up into Georgia, I am sure those will be replaced again by gospel stations and conservative talk radio.
Until next time,
Matt
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I'd like to address two things as they seemed to be common themes in the comments. First, since everyone seemed to be so upset at my view on Waffle House, I decided to give it another chance. I hadn't been there since I was about 14 or 15 so maybe my opinion was outdated. I'm an adult- I'm can handle flip flopping on an opinion. So on the long drive to South Carolina, I stopped at one for lunch. Ok, so you all were right, it was really good and way better than IHOP. Those hashbrowns were incredible. I will probably stop a few more times before I exit the south. So ignore my previous rant on Waffle House. Speaking of the South, ya'll seem to not think Virginia is "the south." Well, I do and I'm going to tell you why. First, it's below the Mason Dixon line. Secondly, they have the southern drawl. Thirdly, they fought for the Confederacy. I don't care where you are from, if your state fought for the Confederacy, you are in the south. Sure, Virginia isn't the deep south and parts of it are very liberal. It may not be as "south" as Alabama or Kentucky or Georgia but it's the south to me and that's the way it is going to stay!!!
So Sunday after cleaning and swimming in my friend's pool all day, I said goodbye to Geno and Jamie, for what will be a long time, and drove up to Charolettsville. I still definetly think Virginia drivers are some of the worst out there. They slow down for no reason, go below the speed limit or like 100. I miss the controlled chaos of New England driving.
I drove to Charolettesville to visit my friend Mark. I met Mark in Belize while staying at the dirtiest hostel in Central America. Mark, his brother, a few english girls, and I spent a few days enjoying the sun in the day and the drinks at night. Since I was passing through, I thought I would stop by and say hello. I've always heard nice things about Charlottsville and have always wanted to hike in the Shenendoah Valley. I didn't know much about Mark but learned a lot about him while I was there. Mark turned out to be a cool guy- a hippie in the wrong state. He reminded me of a lot of people I knew when I was out at school.
Charlottesville was very fun. Though only there for a short time, it seemed like a city I could really enjoy and despite being in Virginia, I felt more like I was at home. I went to a bar to listen to a bluegrass band an, expecting to find Southern people, I found Northerners. I found myself surrounded by a haze of hippies, both young and old, white rastas, lesbians, pot heads, and people who wanted to talk about my aura. I felt slightly out of place not because of who I was surrounded by but because of where I was. I wondered if I was really in Virginia- maybe I had taken a wrong turn and ended up back in Massachussets.
The next day proved I was in the right location. Hoping for a long hike, Mark and I set out at about noon and planned to hike until dinner time. The Shenedoah is beautiful and the place we went to was filled with breathtaking views of rolling mountain tops covered and cascading waterfalls that formed swimming pools to us off in. However, the hike was short lived. Not being from the South, I wasn't experienced in hiking during such humidity. The hot sticky air quickly got to me and before long I was covered in a coat of water that weighed me down like chains. It wasn't before long that I was using my shirt as a rag and telling Mark it was time to head back before I fainted from heat exhuastion. So we headed back to town where I saw the Univeristy of Virginia campus. Jefferson created a beautiful campus. UMaryland was designed to look like UVA but it does a poor job of capturing the beauty of UVA. If any of you go to Charlottesville, you have to check out the UVA campus. You also have to check out their first ammendment wall. They have this little wall outside city hall where people can write whatever they want on this giant chalkboard. They even have a soapbox that people can get on. They are trying to keep the Jeffersonian ideal of free speech alive. It's something that also belongs up north. There were a lot of interesting sayings on it either about Jesus, Bush, or the media. They ahd a lot of stupid stuff on the wall but the best thing I saw was on the ground beside it- a giant outline of a person. Some people made people lines and I found that to be the coolest thing ever. Don't ask why- it just was. I wrote some cool stuff on the wall too. Check it out when you are there.
Until next time,
Matt
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I'm currently in "The South." You know you are driving in the south when three things happen:
1. Most of your radio stations become gospel and Jesus stations. I'm testifying while I drive!!! 2. The rest of the stations become country (which depending on the song can be gospel too!) 3. You see Waffle House's EVERYWHERE!! A Waffle House is like a bad, dirty version of IHOP. They are everywhere and its a sure sign, I've crossed the Mason Dixon.
I'm going to be in the south for awhile. It'll be interesting to see if I get rid of any of my completely biased opinions of Southerners. Let's see what the South is really like. I also have this theory that America is not made for traveling. Its very hard to get around, complicated to find cheap places to say- basically the opposite of the entire world. More on both of those later as I develop both views.
Right now I'm in Williamsburg VA visiting my friend's Geno and Jamie. They are the newlyweds that got married in July. I'll be here all weekend. Before this I made a quick stop in Washington, D.C. I've been there many times so it wasn't anything special. Had I not been there to see friends, I would have made a quick pass through just for the day. It's been soooo hot that I didn't even want to sightsee. After 6 days of walking around cities in 100+ degree temperature, I needed something new. Yet I stayed the course and walked around and got my pictures. I stopped into a Smithsonian to cool off. They still have the same exhibits up from like 6 years ago. It was pretty bad. You would think they would have had something new by now.
The highlight of D.C. was seeing my friends Ary and Sharon. I haven't seen Ary in like two years and it was great to see her again. We are friends from back when I went to UMaryland and she is only one of two people I still keep in touch with and she's a really good friend. Her friend Sharon is someone I've just been talking to over the past few years and it was good to finally meet her. Progressive environmentalist. Ary wanted to set us up years back but she never made it happen. Maybe in the future.
From there I drove to Richmond to stay with another friend. Let me say this- Virginia drivers are AWFUL. They can't drive. They either drive like 50 mph or 95. Then when it rains, they suddenly stop and go thirty like they don't know what to do. It's only rain there- move your ass! I'd like to see them drive around in a blizzard. I think I'm going to be very frustrated with driving outside New England.
Anyways, Richmond was fun. I got to see the old area, downtown, and this great little island in the middle of the city. It's a nice area people swim in which I don't understand because that river smells. My friend's place was a disaster though. Everything was fine until we noticed cockroaches- lots of cockroaches. Apparently, she never noticed them before. We killed about 5 and since I hate bugs, especially cockroaches, I was like I can't sleep here. Luckily, neither could she so when her friends came over, we all went to her friend's place and we both crashed in the extra room. No roaches. It's a shame too because her place was huge- 3 bed, 2 bath, like 10 rooms, and a back yard for 900 a month!!! So cheap! A place like that would be thousands in Boston. I love Southern prices!! Like I filled up my tank for 2.89 a gallon- haven't seen that price in Boston for awhile!!
Well, that's been my last few days. Tomorrow I am off to Busch Gardens. I promised pictures and they will be up Sunday- All the ones I've taken. So check back Sunday at like noon for lots and lots of pictures.
Until next time, leave some love!!
Matt
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Having grown up with family in Philadelphia, I'm very familiar with it. I've been here many times before either to sightsee as a kid, attend family gatherings, religious holidays, birthdays, or Bar Mitzvahs. In fact I was here last year to see the Live 8 concert. But I haven't been a tourist in this city since I was a little kid with my parents. I wanted to do it again because, let's face it, everything is funnier when your not 12 and with your parents.
So after being stuck in Jeresy traffic for about an hour, I made it to Philly Monday morning. Let me tell you though- it is hotter here than it was in NYC. Is everyone experiencing a heat wave too? Walking around these cities in 100 degree heat is tough....really tough. I ducked into the Constitution museum for like two hours today to cool off. It's actually a really cool place and I highly recommend going there if you are ever in Philadelphia. They combine all sorts of visuals, sights, sounds, documents to provide this great interactive experience. Highly recommend it. It was one of my favorite sights here.
But back to the heat. I must have gone through about 5 water bottles each day staying hydrated and the humidity makes it worse. Now I love the heat and the humidity. This is my kind of weather- just not when I am walking around in it for 5 hours a day and have no real access to like a pool, an A/C, or the ocean. But I liked it here. It wasn't as exciting as my trip to NYC but it was good to see all the historic sights.
I spent the last two days walking around the Independence Hall National Park. It was cool to see all the sights. I don't really remember them from when I was a little kid so this was like a refresher course. There really isn't much here besides a few cheesy tours and some buildings. Since early American history was my major in college, the National Park guides didn't tell me much I didn't already know but I liked seeing the buildings and just walking around. Those NPS employees are so hit or miss though. I would say like 75% of them are just flat out rude. I was pretty annoyed at their attitude- like you ask a simple question like where is this building and they give you shit. I asked one guy where you go to get into one building and he replies "The entrance" in this sarcastic tone. I just looked at him and was like "no shit! The entrance. Well, I never would have guessed!" then I just walked away. What a jackass! Yet there were some cool people there. The guide in Independence hall, while really really cheesy, was pretty funny. He kept the tour pretty lively. Also around the park, they have these "Once upon a nation" storytellers that give you little stories from the Revolution. Those guys are strange, strange people. A few of them told some good stories but overall, they just acted kind of weird.
So other than looking at some cool architecture and seeing Ben Franklin's grave, I just walked around the city for awhile. Society Hill, south of Independence Park, is a really nice area. Great colonial architecture, cobble tree lined street, old churches, and nice parks. I was very impressed. I walked around the old city and well, that wasn't so impressive. It's like they never really redid it so it does look old...old and run down. Not so much a fan. Overall all though I was impressed with how nice much of the city looked. It reminded me a lot of Boston and it's South End and Back Bay areas.
In other news, I was asked to write an article for Student Traveler magazine on "Why I travel" for their September issue. I have to compete with some other people but I hope I get in. I didn't really want to do it at first but now I'm really hoping I get published. I think that would be pretty cool and maybe could led to a few things. If I get published, I'll def post what I wrote for them here.
Also, I'm taking a million pictures it seems. My friend Mark who did his own Gap Year said he took 8-10,000 pictures in his 11 month journey. Before I left, I figured I'd take 3,000 but at the rate I'm going It could be closer to 10,000. So I decided to keep track. On the right hand side on this site, below "miles traveled" you will see how many pictures I've taken. After 5 days, I've already take 184 and that's WITH cutting some already! I think I should have brought more memory!
Well, I'm off to head to D.C. in the morning and then into the Dirty South!
Until next time,
Matt
P.S.- I'm on a Mac and I hate Macs so I'll post pictures this weekend when I get to a computer that I like. So if not the next post, than the one after will be pictures! Promise!
THIS IS OLD SITE!!! CLICK HERE TO GO TO MY NEW ONE!!!!
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