I did it, I took public transport

How proud you must be Luis.

After walking 30 klms yesterday, I vowed to learn public transport and go with the comfort of double socks from here on in.

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Nashville is no Cathy Rigby

I arrived in Washington DC yesterday after a rather long day of driving.  Google maps claimed it was going to be 10 hour 13 min or 10 min 32 min in traffic.  It always gets travel times wrong because it forgets to factor in "you missed the critical turnoff" time.  I'm still too trusting of the position of the blue dot.

Memphis had Beale street which was pretty cool.  I ended up not visiting one of the blues bars in it because I was not in the mood to sit in another bar alone.  I was pretty tired after xmas and the drive to Tennessee.  The next morning I walked around Memphis downtown to see it in the daylight and then walked to the banks of the Mississippi. Coming over the Mississippi into Memphis was pretty cool when I arrived the day before with the  city lights growing out of the banks of the river.

I then attended the entrance of the ducks at the Peabody hotel.  Since about 1930 the ducks which live on top of the hotel enter the elevator, make their way to the ground floor (someone from the hotel pushes the button) and they exit the elevator into a red carpet which leads to the hotel's marble fountain. It was quite a sight and a grabbed as much of it as I could on video but the crowd was huge.

I moved on to Graceland to see the home of the king.  I am sure I don't need to tell you it is very commercial.  Fun fact, it was called Graceland when he bought it originally and he retained the name.   I'm glad I have done it - would have been crazy not to but not in my top 10.

I moved on to Nashville which was a mere 3.5 hours drive (I think my shortest journey on the trip).  I checked into the hotel which was on the outskirts of downtown so I jumped back in the car for some cruising.  This is when I worked out it was the music bowl (the Gaylord music bowl that is).  So I parked back at the hotel and made my way in for dinner.

I walked through Broadway street which had the flashy, neon signs above the bars and also many shops of cowboy boots and related clothing. It was a quiet night for me as I was told by my waitress that when the football finished, the city would be teeming with drunk football fans.

The next day I made my way to the Grand Ol Opry which was next to Opryland, the biggest shopping centre I have ever seen.  I did a quick tour of the mall and escaped to walk around the actual Opry.

Unfortunately tours of the Opry were closed over Christmas so I had to settle for a quick photo and a browse of the gift shop.  I picked up some drum sticks for my budding drumming career and a couple of other thinks for other people.

I stopped in somewhere for lunch and then made my way to the Pantheon (the Nashville recreation, not the Greek one).  Getting out of the car made me realise I had left my coat at lunch.  That ruined my plans to tour the pantheon art museum but shit happens.

I double backed, picked up my jacket at the restaurant and went back to the hotel to book my DC and NY accommodation, or so I thought.

I walked back into downtown for dinner, drinks and dancing.  It was still early so I walked the block around Broadway before I bit the bullet and went into one of the live country music bars.  I ordered a Bud and watched the resident band.  The song was Mustang Sally so it was looking promising.  A few beers through and Mustang Sally was the only song I had recognised so far- false advertising I say.

About now, a lady beside me started to knock my chair every few minutes.  I was starved for conversation and saw it as an opportunity to have a chat.  So Debbie was here with her partner Dedar on holiday from Alabama.  We ended up chatting for ages and they saved my Nashville experience.  Dedar even requested Keith Urban for me but the hacks on stage did not know any of his songs.

So we hung there for a while and then moved on to "The Stage" which was the same deal but a bit bigger.  They explained to me that getting to play in one of the bars in Broadway, Nashville is a big deal.  I decided to get a CD from one of the bands (I was drunk).  I also picked up a "The Stage" coolie, or stubbie cooler in Australian.

They then took me to the BBQ joint in the street that is apparently famous.  It was good but I was pretty unsure about what was going on- it was served like we were in high school.  I ended up getting pork - I think.

Now how do you top such a night off?  Well go cowboy hat shopping of course.  I decided it was really important that I have a black cowboy hat to complete my Nashville experience but alas, neither of the open hat shops had any that fit the bill.

So a few beers down the track, some good conversation and the best Southern BBQ I have ever had, that was my night in Nashville that saved the city for me.

I walked the girls back to the hotel (the Hilton 2 blocks away) and walked a little further to mine, the Best Western Music City Inn (not quite as glamorous and a few blocks further).

I had an early start in the morning for the 10.5 hour drive to Washington and the hangover did not help.  Unluckily I had downloaded Stephen Hawking's "A briefer history of time" which I could not really handle until the afternoon.

Overall, I love the south for the accents, food and of course the people.  I had some good experiences and glad I got to see this different part of the US.

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It would be great for America Australian relations

If he would invite me in for soup

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The boots have possessed me

I'm sitting in Legends Corner listening to a live country band and my boots are a tappin'. I even had a country music station tuned in when I was driving today. Thank god in back to civilisation tomorrow- I'm leaving for DC early morning. Any longer here and I will apply for a hunting license and destroy all of my sisters plastic music.

I booked my hotel in New York- right next to the Waldorf Astoria, five blocks from Saks 5th avenue. Parking is going to be costly, so Mark, any chance of an advance?

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Blue screen of death on a coke machine

If only mac OS was compatible with . . . well anything. Maybe we should consider ubuntu- just kidding Walter.

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It’s the Beverly Hillbillies (insert banjo music here)

When I started writing this, I was in a bar in Beale street, Memphis enjoying a beer and the emerald bowl (American football). Since we left off last, I was enjoying the cold sights of Chicago.

I ended up spending most of my time there walking around the city. I had plans for the natural history museum and the art institute but was occupied walking and taking in the sights. I have a memory card full of photos to remember it (I think I was channelling Lisa).

Chicago was this bustling city with more cars than I have ever seen (this may change, New York is next week). I broke Chicago into three areas, high end shopping over the river, shopping in my side of the river and the lake bank (I think it was called millennium park).

It was a cold day so I took Emma B's advice and found a coffee shop where I could watch the world for a while. This was a really nice wind down for me. I had worked up to my departure in Cleveland, jumped in a car and left (without one of my blackberry chargers as well). Sitting in Chicago with a coffee for an hour of watching the Christmas shopping rush and snow fall was great.

I made my way back to the other side of the river and found an English pub for lunch. Looking back on it, my time in Chicago was really a series of restaurants and cafés interspersed with walking.

I checked out the ice skating rink. It is in millennium park which is a long public area in the banks of Michigan lake which also has a stage which can seat 11,000, a giant sculpture called cloud gate which looks like a large blob of molten stainless steel which was cooled in a weightless environment. It offers reflections of the city skyline from its curved surfaces (see picture). There is also a fountain which has two 15m glass towers which display, in vivid colour, videos of Chicago residents' faces. It was quite striking.


I wandered more around the city, picked up a Chicago shirt (which has become a theme on this trip). I ended up having a quiet night in after all the walking. This gave me a chance to get an early start for the drive to Springfield.

The drive to Springfield was about 7 hours. The plains of Illinois gave way to the hills of Missouri. This was a nice change as the view was more to look at and it meant the road would rise and twist. I had to go through St Louis and stopped off at the arch (the photos are below). It was a welcome break from the drive.

It was great to see Megan and Brad again. I was lucky enough to get the use of Megan's friend's loft apartment while Brad's parents and his sister and family stayed in their apartment. It was good to have a home while I was there.

I mostly hung around, did some shopping and had a few beers. One day I ventured an hour south to Branson for some outlet shopping. It turns out it was the home town of the Clampbetts from the Beverly Hillbillies TV show. It is also home to more than forty theatres, featuring over 100 shows and productions. All of these are advertised on billboards on the highway leading to the town. The shows I can remember are the The Presley family, the Baldknobbers, and of course Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede.

Whilw I was in Springfield I also was able to experience s‘mores (thanks Steph). This is a roasted marshmallow, block of chocolate and sweet crackers (graham crackers). You roast the marshmallow in a flame and sandwich it and the chocolate with the crackers. It was great and it is popular over here by the campfire.

I left Springfield at lunchtime on boxing day (which is not a holiday here- it is Christmas eve and Christmas day. How is everyone supposed to watch the boxing day test?). I arrived in Memphis Tennessee at about 5.30 and continued my adventure.


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Well I'll be

I'm in Nashville Tennessee watching the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl. I am serious, that is actually the name of the game. It is held between two college football teams and neither are from Nashville. The fans are all through the bar and they are scary. It is either this or a bar with live country music. I will try that tomorrow night - baby steps.

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There's only one king (well there was)

Graceland from outside the house. Interesting tour- the house was not as big as I expected for Elvis. It was great to see. I felt a little guilty that I was not an Elvis fan.

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This is Christmas

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Welcome Santa

Santa came and brought the snow with him. We need it to keep going so we have snowman levels.

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Bring on the snow

It's Christmas eve here and Megs, Brad, me and the Clark clan are hanging out for the snow to start. There is a 30% chance of a blizzard overnight which is snowman, snow angel, snowball and yellow snow material. Cross everything for us.

Sort of Christmas spirit

I have emailed this around before but it seems in line with the idea of Christmas spirit- something just for the enjoyment of others. I always makes me smile.

Merry Christmas all

It is the tree in the appartment I am crashing at while in Springfield.

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Thanks Brent

Great driving snack.

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The St Louis Gateway arch

The view down from 630 ft up (192m) in the St Louis Gateway arch

The arch itself
A cool one I took from the base
The arch was comissioned by Thomas Jefferson as a monument to the Westward expansion of the US. It is 193m tall and 193m wide and is in the shape a chain forms when held by each side. Interestingly, In 1980, Kenneth Swyers tried to parachute onto the Gateway Arch, planning to jump off to land on the ground. Instead, he slid all the way down one leg to his death. The pilot, Richard Skurat, had his pilot certificate suspended for 90 days.

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