Welcome to the Music City. Tennessee's capitol and one of the birthplaces of country music, Nashville is a lively town with plenty goin' on. We started our day by heading to the Country Music Hall of Fame and picked up some audio tours to explore the 3-story historical complex. Everything from learning where country got its origins to listening to clips of the first bluegrass and honky-tonk singles, the Country Music Hall of Fame and museum was a pretty jam-packed place with things to do and sights to see. There were plenty of exhibits on the instruments used to make the unique country sound that was heard in the earlier part of the 20th century as well as exhibits highlighting the pop/rock combination that melded its way into the country sound that you hear today on the radio or from your TV screen.
Kelsey was content as there was an entire exhibit dedicated to Taylor Swift and we lost Dad for a long time in the Hank Williams tribute displays. I enjoyed watching old footage of Jerry Lee Lewis and Charles Perkins as "Blue Suede Shoes" played on repeat in the beginning exhibits and a cappella groups such as the "Jordanaires" had a hand in taking the feel of a barber shop quartet and adding a country flare. There were video montages documenting country music's impact on television and other compilations showcasing the impact of country music when the lyrics depicted present day issues and problems. Once again, I made sure to get plenty of photos of the exhibits, one of my favorite being a quartet of squirrels that had been shot by Hank Williams himself and sent to a taxidermist who mounted them to look like a band (a piano playing squirrel, a guitarist, bassist, and drummer). We actually spent about 4 hours touring around the museum and watching the media there. The museum ends with the Country Music Hall of Fame and as we exited the museum there was a live guitarist playing in the common area for a bit.
Since we all split up during the museum itself, we took about 45 minutes to regroup and decided to get a view of the city from above, so we climbed up to the apex of the pedestrian bridge that crosses the Cumberland Bridge and had a quick photo shoot with the Nashville skyline before making our way back to the car and heading out of town. Already 4 o'clock in the afternoon, we were pretty hungry and our eating schedule has been all out of whack this whole trip, so we went to a local restaurant right outside of town known as the "Loveless Cafe." A friend of mine recommended the place and said it had the best soul food in Nashville and he sure was right. Dad cashed in on the blue plate special of "Watermelon Ribs" and Kelsey got a breakfast plate for lunch. I had the famous homemade fried chicken and Mom tried the homemade meatloaf, all of which was absolutely delicious. All the way down to the homemade biscuits with personally crafted jams and preserves. Talk about great food, the Loveless Cafe is one of the best places I've ever eaten when it comes to good ol' fashion southern cuisine. As you can imagine, the Tate Family took our time enjoying ourselves, probably overeating in the process too but the meal was very worthy it.
Following our late lunch, we hopped back in our car and hit the road again for Memphis. In the morning we'll have a flight out of Tennessee and on our way back to good ol' Virginia. We'll be wrapping up the Tate Family Adventure and head back to Harrisonburg for our vacation recovery. Here's an update track list for you to enjoy and we'll be happy to sign copies of our Tate Family Adventure CD's, DVD's, T-Shirts, and other Tate Family Adventure paraphernalia following the trip for a small fee. Cheers.
~Josh
Songs to add to your Ipod:
New Orleans: "New Orleans" ~Kid Rock
Bourbon Street/French Quarter: "Easy Street" ~Annie Soundtrack
Graceland: Insert Any Elvis Song Here
Sun Studios: "I Walk the Line" ~Johnny Cash
Memphis: "Walking in Memphis" ~Bruce Springsteen
Nashville: "Rocky Top" ~Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Country Music Hall of Fame: "Today was a Fairytale" ~Taylor Swift
Monday, August 2, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
The King and I...well...Us.
Welcome back. The past few days have flown by as we're rounding up the Tate Family Adventure and trying to cram in all sorts of last minute attractions and sights while we still have energy left. We started our morning in Memphis with a trip just about a mile down from our hotel to Graceland. After getting tickets, we were pretty quickly shuttled over to the front door of Elvis Presley's estate and able to take an audio tour all throughout his home. Still in 60's and 70's decor, Graceland was ahead of its time with technology, furnishing, and style. Although by today's standards some of the pieces seem ancient, like the giant brown box TV's, it was like taking a step back in time to rock n' roll with the "King" himself and his luxurious lifestyle.
Dad visited here on the original Tate Family Vacation way back in the day when Graceland had just opened up as a museum and American landmark (I'm pretty sure the actual National Lampoon's Vacation was based on this historic first Tate Family trip cross-country) and he informed us that not much changed from his first visit that he could remember. He also said that my grandfather, the legendary "Papa Tate" loved Elvis and Graceland that he took 3 or more rolls of film of the entire place - only to discover that when he left Graceland, he realized in his excitement he never actually remembered to load any film into the camera whatsoever. Therefore, as a tribute to Papa himself I made sure to take at least a few hundred photos of every square inch of the house. I'm sure if you put them all together you might even be able to recreate Graceland in 3D. Your welcome Papa. :-)
The Graceland Mansion isn't anything enormous like you see today on MTV's Cribs or close to the size of a pro football player's house, but for its time it was first class. It came with about 15 acres of property around the house itself which housed stables, a racquetball facility and gym, a shooting range, as well as a few other buildings where business was done for Elvis. At our Graceland visit we were able to see tons of Elvis memorabilia in addition to his personal belongings. For instance, his racquetball court is now turned into an exhibit honoring the King with many of his gold and platinum records and other awards hanging from ceiling to the floor and with his famous jump suits on display while you can watch some of his concerts that play on repeat on monitors around the room. Impressive stuff for sure. We also were able to visit his grave site where the Presley family is all buried and an eternal flame burns to remember the impact that Elvis had on all of his fans and American history itself. I made sure to get tons of pictures of the whole place, and after we left the mansion itself we were able to go visit a number of niche exhibits exploring the other aspects of Elvis' life.
For instance, we saw one display entirely devoted to Elvis' car collection. Everything from his famous pink Cadillac to his own private "pimped" out limousines and sports cars. Elvis was able to wear bling and "pimp out his ride" way before modern day rappers were able to coin the term. Another specialty exhibit highlighted Elvis' sense of style. It had an entire wardrobe that Elvis used to own, from the famous jumpsuits to his silk shirts, to jewel-studded jackets, to even creating his own signature logo. The "TCB lightning bolt" which stood for "Taking Care of Business in a flash." Rings and other jewelry, honorary police badges and colt .45's, and tuxedos were all on display in the exhibit and it was interesting to see just how Elvis created his own persona and image.
We also had the chance to tour Elvis' private planes. The "Lisa Marie" and the "Jetstar" were his way to travel in style as the seats were all custom leather, assorted colors, and the belt buckles and sinks where made with 24 karat gold plate. All of this in combination with the chance to tour Elvis' house made the Graceland experience a full-force insight into the King's life and I definitely think we took advantage and got our money's worth during our visit.
Following Graceland, we took a shuttle down to Sun Studios, which is the place that Elvis first recorded himself singing and was discovered by owner Sam Phillips. Sun Studios was also responsible for discovering legendary artists such as Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many other blues, country, and rock n' roll stars. Seeing some of the old-time recording equipment and listening to the original recordings from some of these artists in the studio was quite a treat and our tour guide was a zany rock n' roller himself who went by the name "El Dorado." Not only did he give us the entire history of how Sun Studios came into existence but was able to paint a picture of what Sun Studios really was like as it evolved from a private business enterprise to a larger record label who signed some of the best artists in music history.
After our exhausting day in Memphis, we packed into our car and headed for Nashville in the evening. It took a few hours to get to downtown Nashville, but we were recharged enough to walk along Broadway street, listen to some live music playing from the various bars and made our way to Rippey's, which was a late night barbecue and ribs place to grab a late dinner. We were able to get a spot out on their upstairs terrace and overlook all of Broadway Avenue while we listened to live music accompanying our meal. It was a nice finish to a long day of site-seeing and gave us the chance to decompress, recap our day, and then get some shuteye before exploring more of Nashville in the morning.
~Josh
Dad visited here on the original Tate Family Vacation way back in the day when Graceland had just opened up as a museum and American landmark (I'm pretty sure the actual National Lampoon's Vacation was based on this historic first Tate Family trip cross-country) and he informed us that not much changed from his first visit that he could remember. He also said that my grandfather, the legendary "Papa Tate" loved Elvis and Graceland that he took 3 or more rolls of film of the entire place - only to discover that when he left Graceland, he realized in his excitement he never actually remembered to load any film into the camera whatsoever. Therefore, as a tribute to Papa himself I made sure to take at least a few hundred photos of every square inch of the house. I'm sure if you put them all together you might even be able to recreate Graceland in 3D. Your welcome Papa. :-)
The Graceland Mansion isn't anything enormous like you see today on MTV's Cribs or close to the size of a pro football player's house, but for its time it was first class. It came with about 15 acres of property around the house itself which housed stables, a racquetball facility and gym, a shooting range, as well as a few other buildings where business was done for Elvis. At our Graceland visit we were able to see tons of Elvis memorabilia in addition to his personal belongings. For instance, his racquetball court is now turned into an exhibit honoring the King with many of his gold and platinum records and other awards hanging from ceiling to the floor and with his famous jump suits on display while you can watch some of his concerts that play on repeat on monitors around the room. Impressive stuff for sure. We also were able to visit his grave site where the Presley family is all buried and an eternal flame burns to remember the impact that Elvis had on all of his fans and American history itself. I made sure to get tons of pictures of the whole place, and after we left the mansion itself we were able to go visit a number of niche exhibits exploring the other aspects of Elvis' life.
For instance, we saw one display entirely devoted to Elvis' car collection. Everything from his famous pink Cadillac to his own private "pimped" out limousines and sports cars. Elvis was able to wear bling and "pimp out his ride" way before modern day rappers were able to coin the term. Another specialty exhibit highlighted Elvis' sense of style. It had an entire wardrobe that Elvis used to own, from the famous jumpsuits to his silk shirts, to jewel-studded jackets, to even creating his own signature logo. The "TCB lightning bolt" which stood for "Taking Care of Business in a flash." Rings and other jewelry, honorary police badges and colt .45's, and tuxedos were all on display in the exhibit and it was interesting to see just how Elvis created his own persona and image.
We also had the chance to tour Elvis' private planes. The "Lisa Marie" and the "Jetstar" were his way to travel in style as the seats were all custom leather, assorted colors, and the belt buckles and sinks where made with 24 karat gold plate. All of this in combination with the chance to tour Elvis' house made the Graceland experience a full-force insight into the King's life and I definitely think we took advantage and got our money's worth during our visit.
Following Graceland, we took a shuttle down to Sun Studios, which is the place that Elvis first recorded himself singing and was discovered by owner Sam Phillips. Sun Studios was also responsible for discovering legendary artists such as Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many other blues, country, and rock n' roll stars. Seeing some of the old-time recording equipment and listening to the original recordings from some of these artists in the studio was quite a treat and our tour guide was a zany rock n' roller himself who went by the name "El Dorado." Not only did he give us the entire history of how Sun Studios came into existence but was able to paint a picture of what Sun Studios really was like as it evolved from a private business enterprise to a larger record label who signed some of the best artists in music history.
After our exhausting day in Memphis, we packed into our car and headed for Nashville in the evening. It took a few hours to get to downtown Nashville, but we were recharged enough to walk along Broadway street, listen to some live music playing from the various bars and made our way to Rippey's, which was a late night barbecue and ribs place to grab a late dinner. We were able to get a spot out on their upstairs terrace and overlook all of Broadway Avenue while we listened to live music accompanying our meal. It was a nice finish to a long day of site-seeing and gave us the chance to decompress, recap our day, and then get some shuteye before exploring more of Nashville in the morning.
~Josh
Friday, July 30, 2010
Do you have change for a French Quarter?
As you can see from our posts and also from our stories, fatigue has taken a course on the Tate Family during our 3-week escapade throughout the country. Our typical 7AM wake-up calls have snoozed until 8 or 9, and we've even missed a few continental breakfasts just for a few extra minutes of rest before our jam-packed days of travel. However, we've survived the travel tiredness and continued forward as much as possible and I don't think it has slowed us down overall.
When we woke up and got checked out of the hotel in New Orleans we walked once again all the way through the French Quarter and down toward the famous French Market to check it out. We stopped off at "Cafe du Monde" which is supposedly the first coffee shop located down in the French Quarter and we all ate breakfast there. They have French donuts known as "beignets" (pronounced ben-yays) that are covered in powdered sugar and quite delicious actually. I got a funny picture of a table of kids with a mountain of these things as they stuffed their faces.
After breakfast we continued through to the French Market which is similar to many other open-air markets you may have seen, such as in Charleston, SC if you've been there. There are plenty of homemade trinkets, crafts, and other assorted goods for sale and we walked the length of the market a few times just browsing all the stuff on each aisle. PS: I'm not sure why at every open-market I've seen some creepy old lady with no teeth trying to sell handmade soap, but either way other than that small factor that creeps me out, the market was legit. We continued back up the street and stopped in various shops along the way to get some air condition and beat the heat until we finally could get back to our hotel to pick up our luggage and board our train. Our afternoon train from New Orleans to Memphis was lengthy and actually rather a rough ride. I don't know what it was about the train we got on, but it was quite the bumpy one. Who knew trains could have turbulence?
Dad and I finished the Star Wars saga on the way to Memphis and Kelsey finished an entire book from cover to cover. Mom caught some shuteye and we were in Memphis by about 10pm and able to get a rent-a-car to our hotel and do some quite-overdue and necessary laundry. We relaxed in the hotel and went to bed pretty late, but planned a full day in Memphis in the morning and were looking forward to spending some quality time in the land of blues, country, and rock 'n roll.
~Josh
When we woke up and got checked out of the hotel in New Orleans we walked once again all the way through the French Quarter and down toward the famous French Market to check it out. We stopped off at "Cafe du Monde" which is supposedly the first coffee shop located down in the French Quarter and we all ate breakfast there. They have French donuts known as "beignets" (pronounced ben-yays) that are covered in powdered sugar and quite delicious actually. I got a funny picture of a table of kids with a mountain of these things as they stuffed their faces.
After breakfast we continued through to the French Market which is similar to many other open-air markets you may have seen, such as in Charleston, SC if you've been there. There are plenty of homemade trinkets, crafts, and other assorted goods for sale and we walked the length of the market a few times just browsing all the stuff on each aisle. PS: I'm not sure why at every open-market I've seen some creepy old lady with no teeth trying to sell handmade soap, but either way other than that small factor that creeps me out, the market was legit. We continued back up the street and stopped in various shops along the way to get some air condition and beat the heat until we finally could get back to our hotel to pick up our luggage and board our train. Our afternoon train from New Orleans to Memphis was lengthy and actually rather a rough ride. I don't know what it was about the train we got on, but it was quite the bumpy one. Who knew trains could have turbulence?
Dad and I finished the Star Wars saga on the way to Memphis and Kelsey finished an entire book from cover to cover. Mom caught some shuteye and we were in Memphis by about 10pm and able to get a rent-a-car to our hotel and do some quite-overdue and necessary laundry. We relaxed in the hotel and went to bed pretty late, but planned a full day in Memphis in the morning and were looking forward to spending some quality time in the land of blues, country, and rock 'n roll.
~Josh
Mom's Musings: 2nd Edition
For those of you requesting more musings from Mom, I come to you from the Amtrak station in San Antonio. It’s almost 10:30, and the rest of my family fails to appreciate the wealth of humanity that inhabits train stations late at night. For me, I’d still rather spend midnight waiting for a train rather than bouncing amongst the clouds in a tuna can contraption. Flying is all about getting there, while train travel is about the journey. (It is here that Jessica and David will retch slightly =)
Much has happened to us since we crossed the Rockies into the West. I prefer to think of it as a life of “incident.” This trip has afforded us laughter, learning, and loads of fun. Each of our days has ended with a “sharing time” of favorites for the last 24 hours. For me, it’s hard to say only one thing because there have been so many large and small. I was surprised at how much I loved California, especially Napa Valley and Sausilito. The landscape was almost magical and I even enjoyed our jaunt through Muir Woods, walking along shaded pathways enjoying the towering Redwoods. Those of you who know me understand that any activity remotely described as “a hike” is not my idea of relaxation or enjoyment. I tend to appreciate the interactions with people and places more than the landscapes. Sitting down to enjoy a shrimp sandwich while watching sailboats on the San Francisco Bay was just about perfect. Yet, the next morning’s journey into Alcatraz made history seem to breathe. San Francisco is one of those destinations that I could visit again because there are so many places near the piers and on the winding streets that intrigued me as we passed by.
After leaving San Francisco, our evening with the Dias family reminded me how much we miss them in the Valley. The conversation over enchiladas never lulled, and I fear our laughter together may have disturbed the neighborhood. I am certainly glad for their proximity to their family, but colleagues with whom we share our passion for teaching and commitment to students are all too rare. It was as if in the middle of our adventure, we were treated to an evening at home. Stephen suggested something about hiking Half Dome in Yosemite, and needless to say, I’m glad there wasn’t time for that venture in our day there. Just looking at it from Glacier Point made me wheeze. I appreciated the cool sprays of the waterfalls, where we were even treated to rainbows in the mist.
Another surprise for me was our time spent in Seattle. The day there at the Space Needle and on the wharf sped by, and I could have spent hours watching the “fishmongers” toss the halibut from man to man. The Puget Sound appears to be so calm and peaceful, a place to linger or catch the ferry. We were blessed with sunshine which I understand is a rarity in Seattle, but the streets seemed so clean and easy to navigate. What could be bad about the town that gave us Starbucks?
Landing in Vegas, I felt assaulted by the heat and the masses. People poured into the airport, casinos and onto the street. While watching the shows at the different hotels is entertaining (no time to catch Donny and Marie), I felt a tremendous sadness at the waste of resources. The town is gorgeous, flashy and fun, but it seems such a guilty pleasure with so much suffering in the world. How are there economic problems when so many people are flushing money into machines? Business is booming in Vegas, but it is certainly the most artificial of the places we have visited. I’m not a gambler, so my return to the Strip would have to be to catch The Lion King or Celine Dion. The gaming tables and the “painted people” just don’t appeal to me as entertainment.
As you can imagine, I was glad to be on the ground in Texas. Again, I was shocked to like Austin and San Antonio so much. In Austin, our gospel brunch was a perfect beginning to our Texas Tour. My “A Team Partner, “ Josh, organized our day. For a history lover, I appreciated the animated tour guide and we even spent two hours in the evening waiting for bats to fly out from under a bridge. Call us crazy, but we can find the hotspots in the town. Josh and I passed the time by sharing “bat puns.” Back in San Antonio, we remembered the Alamo and spent the afternoon and evening on the River Walk. As my colleague and Texan, Dan Horton assured me, we loved it all from the Tex Mex to the boat ride. Contrary to previously shared opinions, I really liked the Alamo and didn’t find it disappointing.
In the final leg of our journey, we will return closer to home. Our short stop in New Orleans and then on to Tennessee. I have to doubt that we’ll find more surprises in each. Even living out of a suitcase for three weeks, I don’t really want the adventure to end. I’m ready to become a historic interpreter somewhere, take up life as a Vegas showgirl (insert laugh here) or become a train conductor. I leave you from somewhere in Louisiana as the train whistle blows to herald our way. Love to you all. Wish you were with us. Next time, we should hire a whole train car for those who are not faint of heart.
Much has happened to us since we crossed the Rockies into the West. I prefer to think of it as a life of “incident.” This trip has afforded us laughter, learning, and loads of fun. Each of our days has ended with a “sharing time” of favorites for the last 24 hours. For me, it’s hard to say only one thing because there have been so many large and small. I was surprised at how much I loved California, especially Napa Valley and Sausilito. The landscape was almost magical and I even enjoyed our jaunt through Muir Woods, walking along shaded pathways enjoying the towering Redwoods. Those of you who know me understand that any activity remotely described as “a hike” is not my idea of relaxation or enjoyment. I tend to appreciate the interactions with people and places more than the landscapes. Sitting down to enjoy a shrimp sandwich while watching sailboats on the San Francisco Bay was just about perfect. Yet, the next morning’s journey into Alcatraz made history seem to breathe. San Francisco is one of those destinations that I could visit again because there are so many places near the piers and on the winding streets that intrigued me as we passed by.
After leaving San Francisco, our evening with the Dias family reminded me how much we miss them in the Valley. The conversation over enchiladas never lulled, and I fear our laughter together may have disturbed the neighborhood. I am certainly glad for their proximity to their family, but colleagues with whom we share our passion for teaching and commitment to students are all too rare. It was as if in the middle of our adventure, we were treated to an evening at home. Stephen suggested something about hiking Half Dome in Yosemite, and needless to say, I’m glad there wasn’t time for that venture in our day there. Just looking at it from Glacier Point made me wheeze. I appreciated the cool sprays of the waterfalls, where we were even treated to rainbows in the mist.
Another surprise for me was our time spent in Seattle. The day there at the Space Needle and on the wharf sped by, and I could have spent hours watching the “fishmongers” toss the halibut from man to man. The Puget Sound appears to be so calm and peaceful, a place to linger or catch the ferry. We were blessed with sunshine which I understand is a rarity in Seattle, but the streets seemed so clean and easy to navigate. What could be bad about the town that gave us Starbucks?
Landing in Vegas, I felt assaulted by the heat and the masses. People poured into the airport, casinos and onto the street. While watching the shows at the different hotels is entertaining (no time to catch Donny and Marie), I felt a tremendous sadness at the waste of resources. The town is gorgeous, flashy and fun, but it seems such a guilty pleasure with so much suffering in the world. How are there economic problems when so many people are flushing money into machines? Business is booming in Vegas, but it is certainly the most artificial of the places we have visited. I’m not a gambler, so my return to the Strip would have to be to catch The Lion King or Celine Dion. The gaming tables and the “painted people” just don’t appeal to me as entertainment.
As you can imagine, I was glad to be on the ground in Texas. Again, I was shocked to like Austin and San Antonio so much. In Austin, our gospel brunch was a perfect beginning to our Texas Tour. My “A Team Partner, “ Josh, organized our day. For a history lover, I appreciated the animated tour guide and we even spent two hours in the evening waiting for bats to fly out from under a bridge. Call us crazy, but we can find the hotspots in the town. Josh and I passed the time by sharing “bat puns.” Back in San Antonio, we remembered the Alamo and spent the afternoon and evening on the River Walk. As my colleague and Texan, Dan Horton assured me, we loved it all from the Tex Mex to the boat ride. Contrary to previously shared opinions, I really liked the Alamo and didn’t find it disappointing.
In the final leg of our journey, we will return closer to home. Our short stop in New Orleans and then on to Tennessee. I have to doubt that we’ll find more surprises in each. Even living out of a suitcase for three weeks, I don’t really want the adventure to end. I’m ready to become a historic interpreter somewhere, take up life as a Vegas showgirl (insert laugh here) or become a train conductor. I leave you from somewhere in Louisiana as the train whistle blows to herald our way. Love to you all. Wish you were with us. Next time, we should hire a whole train car for those who are not faint of heart.
Who Dat? The Big Easy! (Day 18)
Who Dat? The Big Easy!
I never sleep well on trains. If you're planning on traveling the country by train, or become a hobo or one of the boxcar children, account for the fact that you won't sleep well because trains just aren't a place where you can get comfortable. Heading to New Orleans was no exception and I woke up with not only aching and stiff joints, but to the sounds of babies crying, people talking, and the sun in my face through the window. Our scenery from San Antonio to New Orleans wasn't as beautiful as the Rockies or other rolling hills we got accustomed to in our first few train rides but the long ride did allow Dad and I to finish yet another Star Wars movie (we've been trying to complete all six on our trip, kind of just a bonus goal on the side) and by the time you get through a solid 12-15 hours cooped up on a train, you're dying for a shower too. So that's what we did as soon as we made it to our hotel in New Orleans, all cleaned up and stretched out a bit until we were in good enough shape to go exploring.
It was very humid down on the coast, so although we weren't in the 100+ degree heat we've seen before on the trip, it sure felt hot as soon as you left the building. However, as Kelsey has expressed before we have become used to long walks, drives, and covering quite a lot of mileage on this trip and so we trekked from our hotel all the way down the river front of New Orleans and down to a Margaritaville located in the French Quarter. If you're not super familiar with our family whatsoever, we're a bit of Jimmy Buffett fanatics and/or "parrotheads," so this stop was crucial on our family vacation and was still unique to the area too. I got an order of Gator Bites (yes, fried alligator) which were delicious, and as I've heard, do in fact taste like chicken. After dinner we walked back along the Mississippi and enjoyed a lovely and clear evening. A little evening shower during our dinner cleared up the humidity and made for a lovely cool night to spend in New Orleans. We rode a street car/trolley from the downtown area all the way past the residential and greater New Orleans area to pass some time and even got to see a bit of Loyola and Tulane Universities while we were at it too. Unexpected detours always seem to bring up something interesting for us, and our trolley ride was actually pretty cool being that it was totally different than the street cars from San Francisco. In fact, when the street cars are at the end of the line in San Fran, the driver gets out and places the car on a giant circular revolving platform so that the car can be turned around and head back down the street. However, in New Orleans, the driver has steering set up on both ends of the car, and merely switches sides of the car and then walks down the aisle and actually reverses the direction of all the seats so that the car can travel the opposite route. Quite a nifty trick.
Afterward, we checked out the famous Bourbon Street and watched all the drunk people stumble from bar to bar on even a weeknight. I made the family stop in the local "Howl at the Moon" which is a piano bar with great live music and although it was a slow night, the dueling piano gig is always a fun atmosphere. After spending some time exploring the streets we were all pretty exhausted from our traveling and decided to call it a night. Tomorrow's job was to wrap up New Orleans and get back on our last train ride of the trip as we headed toward Memphis, Tennessee! Meet you there!
~Josh
I never sleep well on trains. If you're planning on traveling the country by train, or become a hobo or one of the boxcar children, account for the fact that you won't sleep well because trains just aren't a place where you can get comfortable. Heading to New Orleans was no exception and I woke up with not only aching and stiff joints, but to the sounds of babies crying, people talking, and the sun in my face through the window. Our scenery from San Antonio to New Orleans wasn't as beautiful as the Rockies or other rolling hills we got accustomed to in our first few train rides but the long ride did allow Dad and I to finish yet another Star Wars movie (we've been trying to complete all six on our trip, kind of just a bonus goal on the side) and by the time you get through a solid 12-15 hours cooped up on a train, you're dying for a shower too. So that's what we did as soon as we made it to our hotel in New Orleans, all cleaned up and stretched out a bit until we were in good enough shape to go exploring.
It was very humid down on the coast, so although we weren't in the 100+ degree heat we've seen before on the trip, it sure felt hot as soon as you left the building. However, as Kelsey has expressed before we have become used to long walks, drives, and covering quite a lot of mileage on this trip and so we trekked from our hotel all the way down the river front of New Orleans and down to a Margaritaville located in the French Quarter. If you're not super familiar with our family whatsoever, we're a bit of Jimmy Buffett fanatics and/or "parrotheads," so this stop was crucial on our family vacation and was still unique to the area too. I got an order of Gator Bites (yes, fried alligator) which were delicious, and as I've heard, do in fact taste like chicken. After dinner we walked back along the Mississippi and enjoyed a lovely and clear evening. A little evening shower during our dinner cleared up the humidity and made for a lovely cool night to spend in New Orleans. We rode a street car/trolley from the downtown area all the way past the residential and greater New Orleans area to pass some time and even got to see a bit of Loyola and Tulane Universities while we were at it too. Unexpected detours always seem to bring up something interesting for us, and our trolley ride was actually pretty cool being that it was totally different than the street cars from San Francisco. In fact, when the street cars are at the end of the line in San Fran, the driver gets out and places the car on a giant circular revolving platform so that the car can be turned around and head back down the street. However, in New Orleans, the driver has steering set up on both ends of the car, and merely switches sides of the car and then walks down the aisle and actually reverses the direction of all the seats so that the car can travel the opposite route. Quite a nifty trick.
Afterward, we checked out the famous Bourbon Street and watched all the drunk people stumble from bar to bar on even a weeknight. I made the family stop in the local "Howl at the Moon" which is a piano bar with great live music and although it was a slow night, the dueling piano gig is always a fun atmosphere. After spending some time exploring the streets we were all pretty exhausted from our traveling and decided to call it a night. Tomorrow's job was to wrap up New Orleans and get back on our last train ride of the trip as we headed toward Memphis, Tennessee! Meet you there!
~Josh
Day 17 - Remember the Tates
We continued the Tate Family Adventure back to San Antonio the next morning. We stopped at another famous "Freddy's" for a fast pit stop before heading to downtown historic San Antonio to spend the afternoon hours. San Antonio is famous for a few historic sites, one being the Alamo and the other is known as the River Walk. So we parked and strolled around downtown starting with the Alamo itself.
Now, the Alamo started out as a Spanish mission. These can be found all over the Southern United States from Texas to Florida along the coastal areas. The missions are remnants of the Spanish occupation of the southern states as long ago they used these camps as churches to preach the gospel to the Native Americans that inhabited them first. The Alamo was no exception to this, and the famous image of the Alamo featured in almost every picture seen today is actually of the church itself and its sanctuary. I think most people assume that the Alamo was this "podunk" looking mini-fortress that got overridden because let's be honest it doesn't look like much of a fortified medieval castle or anything, but that's actually due to the fact that the image of the Alamo we have today is merely a fraction of what the garrison used to be like back in the day.
Staying at the Alamo a while was actually an unexpected treat. We spent some time touring around and looking at the artifacts that were excavated from the site after the battle, stood in the long barracks where the last bloody defenses took place, and even watched a video and personal talk with a ranger about the events during the battle at the Alamo too. I personally liked a few of the exhibits featuring David Crockett and the ones featuring general Bowie, a principle leader in the resistance at the Alamo and also made famous for his personal knife. The Bowie Knife. After we left the actual fort area itself, we also went over to check out a full-scale model of the original Alamo with a light show that depicted just how the battle at the Alamo went down. Not bad for an extra $3, not to mention that the show was narrated by Phil Collins. Yes, I can feel it calling in the air tonight, Phil Collins. Turns out he's an "Alamo enthusiast," who knew?
After spending our time at the Alamo, we made it down to the River Walk and took a boat tour throughout the entire area. The River Walk has restaurants, hotels, shops, and other great little places dispersed along small canals, and the boat tour allowed us to travel right along the entire River Walk and see it all. Something interesting about the River Walk is that certain exhibits along it were built for the 1968 World's Fair, for instance towering above the River Walk is the Tower of the Americas. It's a large free-standing tower that looks quite like the Space Needle and rotates around with a revolving restaurant as well. Funny though, it's only the 2nd largest free-standing tower like that in the world. The Space Needle is the third tallest and the biggest one of them all is actually in Las Vegas, the Stratosphere. That was thoroughly interesting to us, since we've actually been to all three on our trip without even planning it!
After our River Walk tour, we took some time to walk around on our own and take some more pictures. The heat was pretty intense though and we were all starving too, so we grabbed a nice tex-mex meal inside a local restaurant along the River Walk itself. We had some downtime, enjoyed some good food and eventually made it back to our vehicle so that we could get a move toward the train station. We boarded an overnight train to New Orleans and said goodbye to the great state of Texas and tried to get some sleep before headin' down to the deep South to explore.
Here's the update track list to follow along to.
Grand Canyon - "Sunrise, Sunset" ~Soundtrack from Fiddler on the Roof
Hoover Dam - "Big Yellow Taxi" ~Joni Mitchell
Austin - "Texas Flood" ~Stevie Ray Vaughn
San Antonio - "China Grove" ~Doobie Brothers
River Walk - "Proud Mary" ~Ike and Tina Turner (The Cover by CCR)
Alamo - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2921198884474947824#
Now, the Alamo started out as a Spanish mission. These can be found all over the Southern United States from Texas to Florida along the coastal areas. The missions are remnants of the Spanish occupation of the southern states as long ago they used these camps as churches to preach the gospel to the Native Americans that inhabited them first. The Alamo was no exception to this, and the famous image of the Alamo featured in almost every picture seen today is actually of the church itself and its sanctuary. I think most people assume that the Alamo was this "podunk" looking mini-fortress that got overridden because let's be honest it doesn't look like much of a fortified medieval castle or anything, but that's actually due to the fact that the image of the Alamo we have today is merely a fraction of what the garrison used to be like back in the day.
Staying at the Alamo a while was actually an unexpected treat. We spent some time touring around and looking at the artifacts that were excavated from the site after the battle, stood in the long barracks where the last bloody defenses took place, and even watched a video and personal talk with a ranger about the events during the battle at the Alamo too. I personally liked a few of the exhibits featuring David Crockett and the ones featuring general Bowie, a principle leader in the resistance at the Alamo and also made famous for his personal knife. The Bowie Knife. After we left the actual fort area itself, we also went over to check out a full-scale model of the original Alamo with a light show that depicted just how the battle at the Alamo went down. Not bad for an extra $3, not to mention that the show was narrated by Phil Collins. Yes, I can feel it calling in the air tonight, Phil Collins. Turns out he's an "Alamo enthusiast," who knew?
After spending our time at the Alamo, we made it down to the River Walk and took a boat tour throughout the entire area. The River Walk has restaurants, hotels, shops, and other great little places dispersed along small canals, and the boat tour allowed us to travel right along the entire River Walk and see it all. Something interesting about the River Walk is that certain exhibits along it were built for the 1968 World's Fair, for instance towering above the River Walk is the Tower of the Americas. It's a large free-standing tower that looks quite like the Space Needle and rotates around with a revolving restaurant as well. Funny though, it's only the 2nd largest free-standing tower like that in the world. The Space Needle is the third tallest and the biggest one of them all is actually in Las Vegas, the Stratosphere. That was thoroughly interesting to us, since we've actually been to all three on our trip without even planning it!
After our River Walk tour, we took some time to walk around on our own and take some more pictures. The heat was pretty intense though and we were all starving too, so we grabbed a nice tex-mex meal inside a local restaurant along the River Walk itself. We had some downtime, enjoyed some good food and eventually made it back to our vehicle so that we could get a move toward the train station. We boarded an overnight train to New Orleans and said goodbye to the great state of Texas and tried to get some sleep before headin' down to the deep South to explore.
Here's the update track list to follow along to.
Grand Canyon - "Sunrise, Sunset" ~Soundtrack from Fiddler on the Roof
Hoover Dam - "Big Yellow Taxi" ~Joni Mitchell
Austin - "Texas Flood" ~Stevie Ray Vaughn
San Antonio - "China Grove" ~Doobie Brothers
River Walk - "Proud Mary" ~Ike and Tina Turner (The Cover by CCR)
Alamo - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2921198884474947824#
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Kelsey's "Corrections" part 2
Howdy from Texas!
First off, I greatly appreciate the positive feedback regarding my post. I’m sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. There are a few reasons.
1. This trip is exhausting. The free time I have I choose to spend sleeping, sorry.
2. As my musical idol Taylor Swift said on her new album release, (Oct. 25, 2010) “You have to live a lot to have a lot to write about”…or something relatively close to that. In her style, I prefer quality over quantity, and needed some material to enlighten you all with. After a week or so with the Tates, you can rest assured I have plenty.
Here goes my view, in list form, as I prefer.
1. Let’s start with the “Soundtrack” of this trip. In the Muir woods I suggested the theme song be “My Name Is” by Eminem. Any rap aficionado knows that the main line is “Hi…my name is…my name is…my name is [insert record spin sound effect] Slim Shady”. Now, the Muir woods were absolutely covered in shade. This is what I remember best about that hour and a half. My thought process when thinking of what song would fit our experience there was “Hmm…shade…shade song…slim shady”. Bam. However, my family shot down this idea with the retort that they didn’t want to explain my simple, yet genius logic. Sorry guys, I know you’re as disappointed as I am.
2. What’s on my mind other than ice cream, Target, or whether I have clean underwear? You guessed it: Dr. Pepper. My favorite beverage. Let me tell you, Dr. Pepper is not a nationally accepted drink. First off, like Chick-fil-A, I am informed that this is a “Southern thing”. (Who knew I was so Southern??) I discover the all-you-can-eat buffet in Vegas has Dr. P and I am thrilled. I have gone without it for days at a time, if you can believe it! So, our waiter Paul heads to the back and brings me back an ice cold glass of heaven. SIKE. It tastes like Dr. Pepper mixed with Root Beer, which if you have never tried such a concoction, is disgusting. Turns out ALL the drinks at this place taste like Root Beer…we’re talking the Mt. Dew, the Pepsi, and the Sierra Mist. How do I know? I asked for them all. Not only was my Dr. Pepper experience quite literally tainted, so was my overall quest for a thirst quencher. P.S. Texas has Dr. Pepper, but it has a weird aftertaste too. After testing around, we discovered it’s consistent throughout the Lonestar State.
3. This brings me to the discussion of everyone’s favorite member of the Tate fam, Tatertot Mom. At the same all-you-can-eat-buffet, Mom was drinking a “Diet Pepsi”. She claimed all of dinner that hers was the only drink that didn’t taste like Root Beer. Mom was a happy camper. When she went up to the buffet we all tried her drink and in fact it was just as Root Beer infused as the rest, if not more. In the same fashion, today she ate half of Dad’s Snicker’s ice cream before realizing it tasted absolutely nothing like the Reeses she had ordered. She then switched with dad and he got the rightful Snickers which Mom had successfully already demolished half of. Point: Give Mom anything, tell her what you want her to think it is, and she’ll believe you. We’re all just as concerned for her going mind as you are.
4. An update on our “teams”. Josh and Mom have dubbed themselves the “A team” and have degradingly referred to Dad and I as the “B team” on numerous occasions. They partake in high fives basically every hour, on the hour, and make remarks like “See that? That was a high five! That was a win! Oooo good one partner! Go Team A!” You can imagine how fast that gets stale. Dad and I would rather be addressed as “Team One” because we are, as you know, Number One. We have a secret handshake that cannot be disclosed on the Internet, for fear Mom and Josh will see. But have no fear World Wide Web, we’re winning the Alphabet Game, and most likely have more points for Best Tours. (Point values still to be awarded and posted)
5. I told you about our dinners where we describe the best parts of our day. This time has been lovingly dubbed “FART”. So naturally we enjoy saying things like “Let’s fart!”, “Who’s gonna fart?” or “Ready to fart?” However, we would NEVER just gain pleasure from silly phrases like this, but like everything with the Tate family, there is a purpose. FART stands for a combination of the beginning of the word favorite and the end of the word part. Aka Fa + rt = fart. Or, if you prefer, “Forum About Road Trip”, with each first letter taking on part of the acronym.
6. As some of you may have seen on Twitter, we weren’t kidding when we said this was no vacation. Folks, we have walked 44 blocks uphill in San Fran, we have driven 7+ hours in one day, and we have all jogged through rainstorms multiple times in a desperate attempt to see all we can and stay on schedule. Most people do not have the grueling determination and sheer will power to survive in such an atmosphere, but I am proud to say we have had no human casualty along the way. (only two pairs of sunglasses) Needless to say this trip has transformed my idea of a “long drive” or a “short walk”. Now, when we stare at a map and see a landmark 10 blocks away we all go “Oh no problem! This beating Texas sun and humid air is nothing for a measly 10 blocks!” The past few days I have woken up and asked Dad how far we have to go and he’ll say “Only about 4 hours” and we’ll shrug and think no big deal. I think it’s safe to say we’re turning superhuman.
7. Lastly, in reference to the music video posted below. While it has entertained many of you, I would like to give you some background info on how it came into existence. We were driving down the Idaho roadway and Josh suggested singing and dancing on the camera, which was no big deal because as I mentioned in my last post, we had done this before. However, right as we started getting into the song and the bass was rocking the rental car, we heard sirens and saw flashing lights. Our hearts stopped. A cop had pulled out behind us. Josh slyly grabbed the cam from the dash and turned off the radio, Dad slowed down 5 miles an hour, Mom gasped as usual when she sees other cars on the highway, and I recessed quickly to the backseat and slipped my seatbelt on. The car was silent as we held our breath. My mind was racing with how I was to explain to the officer that was about to pull us over that we were making a music video…
Then, he passed us. Turns out he was headed for an accident up the road. How anticlimactic huh? Anyways, the moral is you should probably watch for cops, even in Idaho. I’m also sad to say the video YOU saw was actually the second take we did after the cop scare. To see the first you can email me with your credit card number at tatek10@highpoint.edu :-)
We’re on the home stretch! Thanks for your comments and feedback, we all get overly excited to hear from you all. It’s always nice to hear from family, friends, and harmless stalkers as we gallivant across the country. Miss you and see many of you very soon!
Love,
Kelsey
First off, I greatly appreciate the positive feedback regarding my post. I’m sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. There are a few reasons.
1. This trip is exhausting. The free time I have I choose to spend sleeping, sorry.
2. As my musical idol Taylor Swift said on her new album release, (Oct. 25, 2010) “You have to live a lot to have a lot to write about”…or something relatively close to that. In her style, I prefer quality over quantity, and needed some material to enlighten you all with. After a week or so with the Tates, you can rest assured I have plenty.
Here goes my view, in list form, as I prefer.
1. Let’s start with the “Soundtrack” of this trip. In the Muir woods I suggested the theme song be “My Name Is” by Eminem. Any rap aficionado knows that the main line is “Hi…my name is…my name is…my name is [insert record spin sound effect] Slim Shady”. Now, the Muir woods were absolutely covered in shade. This is what I remember best about that hour and a half. My thought process when thinking of what song would fit our experience there was “Hmm…shade…shade song…slim shady”. Bam. However, my family shot down this idea with the retort that they didn’t want to explain my simple, yet genius logic. Sorry guys, I know you’re as disappointed as I am.
2. What’s on my mind other than ice cream, Target, or whether I have clean underwear? You guessed it: Dr. Pepper. My favorite beverage. Let me tell you, Dr. Pepper is not a nationally accepted drink. First off, like Chick-fil-A, I am informed that this is a “Southern thing”. (Who knew I was so Southern??) I discover the all-you-can-eat buffet in Vegas has Dr. P and I am thrilled. I have gone without it for days at a time, if you can believe it! So, our waiter Paul heads to the back and brings me back an ice cold glass of heaven. SIKE. It tastes like Dr. Pepper mixed with Root Beer, which if you have never tried such a concoction, is disgusting. Turns out ALL the drinks at this place taste like Root Beer…we’re talking the Mt. Dew, the Pepsi, and the Sierra Mist. How do I know? I asked for them all. Not only was my Dr. Pepper experience quite literally tainted, so was my overall quest for a thirst quencher. P.S. Texas has Dr. Pepper, but it has a weird aftertaste too. After testing around, we discovered it’s consistent throughout the Lonestar State.
3. This brings me to the discussion of everyone’s favorite member of the Tate fam, Tatertot Mom. At the same all-you-can-eat-buffet, Mom was drinking a “Diet Pepsi”. She claimed all of dinner that hers was the only drink that didn’t taste like Root Beer. Mom was a happy camper. When she went up to the buffet we all tried her drink and in fact it was just as Root Beer infused as the rest, if not more. In the same fashion, today she ate half of Dad’s Snicker’s ice cream before realizing it tasted absolutely nothing like the Reeses she had ordered. She then switched with dad and he got the rightful Snickers which Mom had successfully already demolished half of. Point: Give Mom anything, tell her what you want her to think it is, and she’ll believe you. We’re all just as concerned for her going mind as you are.
4. An update on our “teams”. Josh and Mom have dubbed themselves the “A team” and have degradingly referred to Dad and I as the “B team” on numerous occasions. They partake in high fives basically every hour, on the hour, and make remarks like “See that? That was a high five! That was a win! Oooo good one partner! Go Team A!” You can imagine how fast that gets stale. Dad and I would rather be addressed as “Team One” because we are, as you know, Number One. We have a secret handshake that cannot be disclosed on the Internet, for fear Mom and Josh will see. But have no fear World Wide Web, we’re winning the Alphabet Game, and most likely have more points for Best Tours. (Point values still to be awarded and posted)
5. I told you about our dinners where we describe the best parts of our day. This time has been lovingly dubbed “FART”. So naturally we enjoy saying things like “Let’s fart!”, “Who’s gonna fart?” or “Ready to fart?” However, we would NEVER just gain pleasure from silly phrases like this, but like everything with the Tate family, there is a purpose. FART stands for a combination of the beginning of the word favorite and the end of the word part. Aka Fa + rt = fart. Or, if you prefer, “Forum About Road Trip”, with each first letter taking on part of the acronym.
6. As some of you may have seen on Twitter, we weren’t kidding when we said this was no vacation. Folks, we have walked 44 blocks uphill in San Fran, we have driven 7+ hours in one day, and we have all jogged through rainstorms multiple times in a desperate attempt to see all we can and stay on schedule. Most people do not have the grueling determination and sheer will power to survive in such an atmosphere, but I am proud to say we have had no human casualty along the way. (only two pairs of sunglasses) Needless to say this trip has transformed my idea of a “long drive” or a “short walk”. Now, when we stare at a map and see a landmark 10 blocks away we all go “Oh no problem! This beating Texas sun and humid air is nothing for a measly 10 blocks!” The past few days I have woken up and asked Dad how far we have to go and he’ll say “Only about 4 hours” and we’ll shrug and think no big deal. I think it’s safe to say we’re turning superhuman.
7. Lastly, in reference to the music video posted below. While it has entertained many of you, I would like to give you some background info on how it came into existence. We were driving down the Idaho roadway and Josh suggested singing and dancing on the camera, which was no big deal because as I mentioned in my last post, we had done this before. However, right as we started getting into the song and the bass was rocking the rental car, we heard sirens and saw flashing lights. Our hearts stopped. A cop had pulled out behind us. Josh slyly grabbed the cam from the dash and turned off the radio, Dad slowed down 5 miles an hour, Mom gasped as usual when she sees other cars on the highway, and I recessed quickly to the backseat and slipped my seatbelt on. The car was silent as we held our breath. My mind was racing with how I was to explain to the officer that was about to pull us over that we were making a music video…
Then, he passed us. Turns out he was headed for an accident up the road. How anticlimactic huh? Anyways, the moral is you should probably watch for cops, even in Idaho. I’m also sad to say the video YOU saw was actually the second take we did after the cop scare. To see the first you can email me with your credit card number at tatek10@highpoint.edu :-)
We’re on the home stretch! Thanks for your comments and feedback, we all get overly excited to hear from you all. It’s always nice to hear from family, friends, and harmless stalkers as we gallivant across the country. Miss you and see many of you very soon!
Love,
Kelsey
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