Day 5: A Storm's A Brewin

The next day, the skies cleared up and the sun was out once more, so no rain in sight ... yet. We walked down to the French Quarter again to get some breakfast at Cafe Du Monde,which is famous for their beignets (basically large donuts covered in powdered sugar). They were not only delicious, but really cheap too, definitely an added bonus. We sat in the outside cafe area, which had the atmosphere of a French cafe and sipped on iced cafe au lait while the humidity once again rolled in.

Cafe Du Monde just happens to be right next to the Mississippi River, so we went over and took some pictures and imagined Huck Finn rollin down in his raft next to us.

Whilst taking pictures there, we noticed a huge black cloud about to roll in, so we tried to buy our souvenirs and walk back to the hotel as quickly as possible.

Our last stop before leaving was probably the most important: the Real World

New Orleans house (otherwise known as the Belfort Mansion).

I must say, this was my favorite season of all, with favorite 'characters' such as my Filipina sister Melissa and 'woo woo' David. Who could forget when Melissa got mad at him and threw a chair[SEE HERE!] ?? Classic. Anyways, it looks a little different than it did in circa 1998, but still awesome to see in real life none the less.

We unfortunately had to leave New Orleans to go to Dallas, but I would definitely go back again, because there is a lot more we didn't get to see and a lot more we did see (i.e. French Quarter) that I would love to do again!!

The rest of the day was spent driving for 8 and a half hours to Dallas, where not much really happened. Oh except for the fact we pretty much drove through a torrential rainstorm for half of the drive there. But we survived, and so did Stanley.

We finally arrived in Dallas, and were so tired that we decided to just order delivery and eat in the room. Besides, the only thing we wanted to see in Dallas was the JFK assassination site, which you'll see in the next post. Let's just say that in general, I'm not a big fan of Texas, so I don't think I'll have too much to say about it. Oh well, no need to worry, because Tejas wasn't our final destination, LA was and only 3 days away!

View Directions to Dallas, TX in a larger map

Day 4: When It Rains, It Pours

Now that the walking in Memphis was accomplished, it was now on to New Orleans to walk on Bourbon St. Tennessee had been great to us, so it was a little sad leaving it so soon. The six hour drive from Memphis took us through the entire length of Mississippi, which is not much to look at. Pretty much all of the same scenery over and over again, with hardly anything around. The blah-ness of Mississippi soon broke as we entered the border of Louisiana.

Now, before we began this trip, I had a few places of interest to go to on my list while out on the road. Included in this list was the previously seen Waffle House, as well as America's favorite drive through, Sonic. They play commercials for Sonic all the time in Boston, but there is no Sonic near Boston at all. So Sonic was kind of a mystery. Around the time we were about to cross the Louisiana border, we were starting to get hungry and needed more gas. I looked on the GPS for the closest food/gas combo, and it turns out, our next pit stop would be in Kentwood, Louisiana. If that sounds familiar to you, that's disgusting that you know this, but I mean I do, so I guess it's ok. Kentwood is the birthplace and hometown of Miss Britney Jean Spears!! We tried looking for her, but it was a really small town and there was a random fire burning right by the highway, so we just stayed in the car at Sonic. The concept of Sonic is cool, but the bottom line is that it's still fast food. At least they have good drinks?

Stanley navagating us to New Orleans

KENTWOOD, LA!!

Meghan didn't get to place her order on time, so she made her own lunch

Soon after we stopped in Kentwood, we finally reached our destination of New Orleans! As soon as we got out of the car, the humidity hit like a brick wall. As you can see, it was totally sunny when we arrived, but oh how did that soon change. We walked down to the French Quarter to find some dinner, and ended up at a Cajun place on Bourbon St. with a cranky waiter. Midway through our dinner, it started POURING outside, and people were walking by the restaurant with ponchos and umbrellas in tow (all the while still holding the drinks in their hands). But because our waiter was kind of rude for no reason, we wanted to get out ASAP, even if it was raining and Meghan was the only one with an umbrella. We managed to walk across the street to a souvenir store, and while standing in the doorway, we witnessed a woman slip and fall on the ground and clearly break her wrist!! It was scary, but luckily, she fell right in front of a woman in a bikini & 10 inch glass platform shoes (yes, really), and she helped her get back together again.

Anyways, we went to another bar then decided to walk back to the hotel, as the weather conditions were not exactly favorable. Although we were soaking wet by the end, it was totally worth it. It will definitely be a night I'll never forget!

Arriving in sunny New Orleans

Bourbon St. at night slash with rain

Ryan ringing out his shirt accurately depicts our night

Updated Map!!!


View Directions to New Orleans, LA in a larger map

Day 3: Walking in Memphis

After a short night in Nashville, we went 3 hours south to Memphis, TN. Home of Justin Timberlake, the blues, and Daniel Morris. In general, we really liked Tennessee, even on the road.

Our very first stop in Memphis was none other than the home of the original King of Rock n' Roll, Elvis Presley himself. Located on Elvis Presley Blvd (which begs the question, what was it named before he became Elvis?), Graceland encompasses 13.5 acres of a welcome center, his aircraft carrier center, and of course his home. Now I may not be the biggest Elvis fan out there, but I really did appreciate what his impact was on the music world and his charitable organizations. We went at a really good time, as "Elvis Week," which is the week commemorating his death each August, had ended the day before, so we weren't in the mix of crazy intense Elvis fans. But at his gravesite were all these flowers and gifts from literally all over the world, which was just great to see how beloved he was by everyone. We even ended our time in Graceland by eating at the diner and I had one of Elvis's favorite meals, a peanut butter and banana sandwich!!! (Fun fact; my mom used to make me these sandwiches growing up because it was his favorite meal, so I hold a special place in my heart for it!)

The front of the Graceland Mansion

"Down in the Jungle Room"

Famous Gold Suit!

Elvis's grave, alongside his parents, and all the presents left by fans


Later that night, we had dinner at a quirky BBQ place that was pretty much all Elvis themed, including the fact that we could have been driven there by a pink limo. Legit. The food was mediocre (except the PEE-kan pie which was bangin), but the highlight was trying deep fried pickles. Spoiler alert: they taste exactly how you think it would taste. Pickles in fried breaded stuff. So I mean, if you were planning on eating it, don't expect too much.

After dinner, we drove down past the Mississippi River and on to Beale St.! I really enjoyed Beale St., even though we didn't have any drinks, I liked the area, especially the fact there was live blaring from random bars on the street, and even a band performing in one of the courtyard areas! We wandered over to the Peabody Hotel, which Danny enlightened me about how there are ducks that live in the fountain in the lobby. Every day (and night) their "Duckmaster" rolls out a red carpet for them and brings them to and from their PENTHOUSE on the top floor. WHAT. Yes. This is a real thing. Unfortunately, we missed the ducks, so we just saw the fountain that they swim around in :( But it was pretty cool none the less.

Here's a video of us on Beale St. Enjoy :)

View Directions to Memphis, TN in a larger map

Day 2: Virginia is Bigger Than We Thought

At Eva's house with Stanley!

After a lovely night at Eva's, we had a chance to see Virginia by day, which is much much more beautiful than Virginia by night. However, we had a chance to see pretty much all of Virginia on the way to Nashville. We drove approx 10 hours to Tennessee, and went down the entire western length of Virginia. This is what the entire 10 hours looked like:

We broke up the longest drive of my life by stopping at a WAFFLE HOUSE somewhere in Virginia ... I think it was near Virginia Tech, but who knows. Anyways, I put Waffle House on my list of places to go on the road, and it did not disappoint. It was really good, wicked cheap (Meghan's meal cost $3.06), and we had a great waitress in Cheryl.

Back on the road, we passed through rolling hills and winding highways, which led us to Tennessee. Besides our final destination of the day to Nashville, we made only a couple stops, one of which included a gas station where the cashier said Meghan said "dollars" weird, and this gas station where we switched drivers. The latter of which looked like something out of a horror movie.

No need to worry, we got out of there as fast as possible, and the sky was gorgeous as we rolled into Nashville Sunday night.

We settled into our hotel then walked out in the humid night in search for dinner. At first, a lot of the restaurants we were passing we closed, including this place:

Yeah those "No weapons of any kind allowed" sign was pretty much at every restaurant. This made me nervous and a bit scared, and even more frightened for what Texas has to bring. It was even on the door of the restaurant we went into on the main street the locals call "Music Row." Here's the last video of the night on our time in Nashville!

And updated map!!

View Directions to Nashville, TN in a larger map

Day 1: Traffic for Miles

In the beginning...there were bikers...

Meghan and I started our morning with our last Dunkin Donuts french vanilla iced coffee for while :( then went our merry way towards Ryan's house in south Jersey. Everything was going great, the sun was shining, there was a little traffic outside of Boston, but it was bearable, and we even found a new friend!

Meet Stanley Hudson:

Right before we got to NYC, I switched with Meghan so I could drive the rest of the way to Ryan's house. Apparently, I should never drive because I bring bad luck to the trip. We got stuck right before the George Washington bridge for TWO WHOLE HOURS. To make matters worse, we were getting hungry, and most of the food we wanted to eat was all the way in the back of the car, which we couldn't reach! So we just took a lot of pictures instead & complained about our lives.

Stanley Hudson in the Bronx

This car had a huge decal on the back with a Native American holding a skull

Stanley drinking DD's

Meghan applying makeup in traffic

Finally, there was an end in sight after the George Washington Bridge, and we were on the NJ Turnpike for approx 12 minutes when we got this great news on the radio:

Eventually we got through all that traffic and what was supposed to be a 6 and 1/2 hour drive, became an 8 1/2 HOUR DRIVE. But the good news is that we made it and Ryan's fam provided some delicious cheesestakes (to make up for the fact we couldn't stop in Philly due to time constraints) before our first pit stop. Of course when Ryan started driving, there was barely any traffic and we drove past Baltimore & Washington D.C. in order to get to Eva's house in Purcellville,VA.

View over the Delaware Bridge overlooking the Potomac River

By this time, it was around 9PM, and the GPS took us through the back roads of rural Virginia. Meghan was freaked out to say the least, and i apologize for the following video for being in the dark, but the audio commentary is perfection.

Luckily, we made it in one piece to her house, and it was a welcome oasis for us weary travelers! That pretty much wraps up Day 1, so stayed tuned for our 12 hour travel day to Nashville!!


Oh, PS, I'm going to include a map (per request) that shows where we are each day! Here it is so far!

Start of Something New

On Saturday, August 15th, I, along with two of my dear friends, will be RT-ing (Road Tripping) across the country, to get to our final destination, sunny Los Angeles, California. What perfect way to document this trip than to write about it in my blog! Included in these entries will be fun anectdotes, pictures, and even videos for you all to stalk me on the great American adventure. And for those who just can't get enough of my rediculousness, I will also be putting more live updates on my Twitter, so if you don't follow me yet, or don't have a Twitter, now is the time to start [www.twitter.com/tracileigh27]. So I hope you enjoy our Great American Road Trip, 2009! Here's an overview of the route!

Sewell, NJ (to pick up 3rd party, Ryan)

Purcellville, VA (to visit Eva!)

Louisville, KY

Nashville, TN

Memphis, TN

New Orleans, LA

Austin, TX

Lubbock, TX ( :\ )

Santa Fe, NM

Four Corners!

Grand Canyon, AZ

Final Destination: LOS ANGELES, CA!!!

Pray that I make it there in one piece, specifically that I don't kill any passengers in the car.

(Il)legally Download This

Obviously haven't done one of these in a while, but I have, however, been making a list over the past couple of months for this very post! So take a listen and enjoy!

Alexi Murdoch All My Days

If you haven't seen this movie yet, GO. Right now. Maya Rudolph is a surprisingly strong dramatic actress, and as for John Krasinski, I feel that he can do no wrong, so I'm going to say he was superb in this role. Besides the great story and acting, the music plays another character in the movie. Think : Garden State. Alexi Murdoch sets a great tone with this song in the beginning of the movie as they start their journey to find the best place to raise a family.

Jason Mraz If It Kills Me

I have a suggestion for Jason Mraz. Remember when "I'm Yours" came out like three years ago in acoustic version, then a year and a half later, a radio version was released and it did better commerically, but everyone still said the first version was better? Yeah, you should do that with this song. Although I like the version on the cd and all, this Casa Nova Sessions version is amazing and from the soul. It also helps that probably the best So You Think You Can Dance routine by Jeanine & Jason this season was done to this version. And I can't stop watching it. But I'm just sayin.

Kyle Riabko The Guilty Ones

So when Spring Awakening rolling into Boston recently, I knew it was definitely one of the shows I was looking forward to the entire Broadway in Boston season. Little did I know what I was in for. I saw it for the first time and fell in love. Then I saw it a second time, and sat on stage (there are about 24-30 seats on the sides of the stage they sell to the general public to get a whole different experience of the show!) and became obsessed. Then I saw it a third time just to round things out. One of my favorite songs from the show, "The Guilty Ones", is covered and remixed by Kyle Riabko, who played the lead, Melchior both on Broadway and in the tour. He puts a great laid back hip hop beat to a song from a musical and makes it feel like a relevant song in 2009, not just in 1800s Germany.

MSTRKRFT ft. John Legend Heartbreaker

Speaking of being obsessed, I discovered this song when it was on SYTYCD. I love me some John Legend, and I had never really heard of MSTRKRFT's music before. But as soon as Jeanine and Evan danced to it on the finale, I loved it immediately. That's all I have to say about this song. Oh and watch them dance to it here!

Colbie Calliat Fallin' For You

Colbie Calliat, no matter what she sings, will always remind me of summer. And after watching the music video for this song, it just affirms that. If you liked "Bubbly" and her duet "Lucky" with Jason Mraz, get her first album. Then go to the beach and listen to it. Oh, she also reminds me of Jennifer Aniston. Basically Colbie Calliat = Rachel Green on the beach. Enjoy!

Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse Valerie

Remember when Amy Winehouse was talented and did something with her life? Neither does she. But at least we'll always have this.

Demi Lovato Falling Over Me

This bitch is 16 and her voice is better than 90% of the current pop artists out there. Most of her new cd is rock oriented, but this song is one of the more mellow songs on her album. Sweet and simple, this song is a great contrast to the rest of her cd. Stick to singing, Demi, and I'll be your biggest fan. And also, stay away from Trace Cyrus. That's just bad news bears.

Jonas Brothers Much Better

Judge all you want, but I have to admit, I like the Jonas Brothers. The weird thing is that it's only a recent revelation. This cd, their new Disney show (it's actually really funny) and this song and particular have made me join the bandwagon. That and the fact that Nick Jonas shouldn't be only 16 years old. SMOKESHOW. If they keep up with this sort of music, and not the crap they were playing before, they could be on the road to being the next Hanson. And seriously, Hanson is legit. Listen to their Underneath album circa 2005. Shit is real.

August IDLT

Shooby Doo Wop &Scooby Snacks

On my recent trip to LA, a lot of memorable times were had, but one in particular will always make the 15 year old me squeal as if it's the year 2000.

My friend Jolie's sister and friend told her that they were going to an LFO (yes, that 'Summer Girls' boy band LFO) concert in Boston. The kicker is that Jolie's friend's dad is LFO's lawyer. Because of this connection, Jolie's sister and friend got to hang out with LFO in their tour bus after the show! Earlier, Jolie had requested that they have lead singer, Rich Cronin [see inset] call her while they were hanging out in the tour bus.

And I got recorded the entire thing.