Tennassee

First stop in Tennassee was Memphis. Rock and Soul museum, Beale Street, Sun Studios, Graceland and the Lorraine Motel.

Sun Studios was amazing, to be in the actual studio where Elvis, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, etc etc started. I can't quite find the word to describe the feeling of being there!!

Graceland also has the same effect. I've never been one to buy into the hysteria surrounding stars like Elvis but you can see why when you go to Graceland. I came out of it feeling like a huge fan and wanting to buy all tatt I could get my hands on. The knowledge that I cannot fit anything else in my backpack was the only thing that stopped me. The decor was insane, a personal favourite was the walls covered in green shagpile carpet. So good!!

We visited the Lorraine Motel as well, I felt this was slightly odd. You could peer in the window to the motel room and see it the exact way MLK left it, rubbish and all. Even standing on the exact spot where he was shot seemed wrong.

Next was Nashville. Very cool place. Country Music Hall of Fame is the main attraction! We decided to get tickets to the Grand ole opry as that is what one does when one is in Nashville. We asked where we should buy tickets and got told where to go. When we returned that evening, we settled into our spot. It became apparent to us that there were a lot of women in the audience. Then upon closer inspection of the few men in the audience, it turned out they were actually women as well.. Never a good sign. The main act of the show was actually an aging, overweight, lesbian duo. We sat through 3 hours of them singing songs dedicated to each other which was, to be frank, brutal. The large hysterical ladies on our row did not help the situation either. We returned home slightly dishevelled, covered in spilt beer, potential black eyes due to overexcited waving from our companions, to discover we had actually been at entirely the wrong thing. The venue we were at was where it used to be held.

The Moral of that Story - always know what you are buying tickets for.

We moved on to Chattanooga, thankfully to a brilliant hostel! Large wooden beds, with curtains for privacy, a lamp and two, yes two, plug sockets. After closing the curtain on the first night and turning the lamp off I couldn't work out why I was feeling uneasy, til I realised it felt very much like a coffin. This then led to sleepless nights.

We spent a happy few days in whole foods and walking up and down lookout mountain. We discovered the worlds steepest incline passenger railway, this was absolutely insane!! It was almost vertical as you clambered away from the massive drop below you to get out!!

Now to Atlanta..

And they make bull riding look hard...

Our Texas Adventure continued in the form of Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth.

We mainly spent our time in Austin being told we were there on the wrong week as SXSW started the week after our stay. The music scene was big anyway so we made the most of the happy hours and live music. After doing some research we discovered one particular bar was famous for brilliant live music so we decided to give it a try. We tootled down one evening, paid our entrance money to the cowboy on the door, went in to discover what can only be described as a shed that smelt like the bottom of a mop bucket. A locals bar that was full of dodgy looking, past their prime cowboys, who didn't look overly impressed we had found their space. All in all, we definately spent the evening in Austin's dodgiest Honky Tonk.

We spent a day in both Dallas and Fort Worth. There wasn't much in Dallas so We spent most the day at the grassy knoll and at the sixth floor museum. Very strange to see it all in the flesh! In Fort Worth, we spent the day at the Stockyards. The cowboy hall of fame, live gunshow, Live cattle drive through the town, tried a bit of bull riding.. Had some texas barbeque, then spent the evening in Billy Bobs, the worlds biggest Honky Tonk. This was a spectacular place, their version of bar entertainment was a bull riding ring. Unbelievable!! We even narrowly missing an evening with Jesse James.

The few days we spent in Dallas and Fort Worth were soured slightly by the place we stayed. We had a disagreement with the owner over a surcharge he tried to impose. I'm not sure whether I was more offended by his racist comments or the fact he thought we were German...

We discovered after that the surcharge was actually illegal so jokes on him!

It's true what they say about the West being Wild..

The Week of the Road Trip..

Getting in a car that is the wrong way round, driving it on the wrong side of the road and having no control over the gears proved to be a bit stressful at first, but once I'd remembered to stay on the right side of the road and not to slam my left foot on the brake thinking it was the clutch, I easily fell into the American 'lazy' way of driving.

After hitting a few small towns, we headed West on the Interstate and it became very easy to see the real meaning to 'the open road'. The landscape became more barren and the road just stretched for miles. It was Classic Texas.. Cactus' and even Tumbleweed!

The Big Bend National Park was our aim, we spent a couple of days there to explore. We stayed in what can only be described as a Shed, very basic but it was good access for Big Bend. Both nights were spent telling ourselves that whatever was howling outside our door was just a pack of wild dogs.. and that the fact that we were the only people staying there was a coincidence..

It was worth it, we spent a couple of days playing in the desert which proved to be very hot and very dry, even the Cactus' were dying! We then decided to see if we could escape into Mexico through the Santa Elena Canyon.. sadly not successful.

Our next stop was an old Indian Lodge in the Davies mountains which was our base for a spot of stargazing at the MacDonald Observatory. We spent an unsuccessful morning chasing Bears and Mountain Lions up in the mountains.. Breathtaking Scenery.

The thought of giving back the car and getting back on the greyhound is almost unbearable..

But as they say.. The show must go on!

The Eagle has Landed

HELLO TEXAS.

Reaching Houston without being sick was somewhat of a achievement.. the soggy subway sandwich I found in my bag was obviously the key!

The hostel here was an absolute paradise, no wobbly beds and no drunk people meant the first good nights sleep in over a week. Although being in a room full of men made it slightly awkward, still a big improvement on the previous week.

Going up Chase tower gave us a feel for the city, if there is one.. it's so widespread! Beautiful view of the city. The first day in the city was spent being highly disappointed that I'd been in Texas for a good 24 hours and hadn't seen a cowboy or a horse yet. I instead spent a satisfying afternoon chasing Butterflies around in the science museum followed by a walk around downtown Houston. Contrary to popular belief there isn't actually a lot to do if you dont want to spend a lot of money.

We spent the whole time there making a lot of awkward conversation as everybody wanted to know what we were doing.. By awkward, I mean awkward. I even found myself being asked if I'm related to a Viking because I apparently look like one.. (yes, its got that bad.) It was exhausting.

San Antonio brought us real Texas as the Rodeo was in town. We went to the local museum by recommendation and spent a surreal few hours wandering through rooms upon rooms of stuffed animal heads (and in some cases bodies..). One thing can be said about San Antonio is the Riverwalk is beautiful. A lovely part of the city, both through the day and all lit up at night. 

We rounded off our time in the city with an evening at the Rodeo. We were sat right at the top of a massive stadium not really knowing what was about to happen. It was absolutely mental. Fast, Furious and definately not health and safety conscious. A personal favourite of mine was the 'Mutton Bustin''. They actually put small children on the back of a sheep and see how long they can hold on for. Utterly Brilliant!

The entertainment of the evening was Dierks Bentley, a country singer. A revolving stage was placed in the centre of the arena and all the gruff cowboys were replaced by screaming women. They absolutely loved him!

A fantasic way to start our pending road trip into the Deepest, Darkest,Wildest Western Texas...

MARDI GRAS (N'awlins)

Well... I survived.

I don't really know how to go about describing Mardi Gras, chaos doesn't seem to cover it! I went in not really knowing what to expect and came out battered and bruised and feeling like I could sleep for a week.

The hostel we stayed in left little to be desired. A precariously balanced top bunk proved a little difficult for the drunken mind to cope with and nearly ended in tears a couple of times as the whole bed nearly collapsed. Being in the position where I knew I had to be quiet because of sleeping stranger below me, made sure that I found myself many a night drunkenly perched on the top of a ladder not knowing whether to go forward or back as the whole bed wobbled more and more and got louder and louder. Safe to say I was not popular.

The girl in the bunk next to me however had it down to a tee. I was woken up one night by her flinging the door open after spending a good ten minutes trying to get her key in the lock.. she bounded towards her bed, swung off it, flung herself face first onto the bed and just lay there. No attempt to use the ladder or to get changed. Absolutely Brilliant.

Our time in New Orleans was mainly spent being swept up in the Mardi Gras chaos.. We did however find time to spend a lazy afternoon on a steam-powered paddle boat on the Mississippi, obviously with Bloody Mary in hand!

A walk down Bourbon Street proved a bit of an eye-opener. It appeared to be some sort of Gentlemans club, a lot of seedy men in suits and the women were dressed up to the nines, if dressed. People filled the balconys above throwing beads down to the drunken plebs below. It was a bit unsettling to see how willing a lot of girls were to flash in order to get beads or alcohol, especially as the majority of ladies doing it were at a 'later stage' in their life.

I have never seen anything like it.. Ladies in their late 60's (who looked like they worked in the local library) in short skirts, a drink in each hand staggering along the street and a lot of beads round their necks. One of these 'older' ladies grabbed my arm during a parade and loudly appologised for being so drunk and that it was due to the fact she was on her second hurricane.. her poor husband could only shrug.

The parades were also not what I expected, everyone crammed towards the barriers waving at masked strangers on floats in hope that they would throw them some tatt that they had, aside from normal beads, it ranged from giant teddybears, frisbees, flashing beads, cups and Footballs. It became a competition to see who could get all the 'good' stuff.. You had to keep your eyes on the floats at all times we quickly found out as I got hit in the face a couple of times by beads that had been lobbed full force from a float by some sweaty, drunk man in a mask.

After spending 6 days of this, with the added pressure of having to look over your shoulder the whole time as every person we met put great emphasis on how unsafe the city is, the prospect of a comfy bed and good night sleep is on the horizon.

All that stands between us now is a dirty hangover combined with 7 hours on a Greyhound..

The Sunshine State..

The past three weeks has been spent chasing the sun in Florida!

We started in Orlando, the town that was left in the 90's.. its a run down, odd sort of place. I guess just a stepping stone for the theme parks. We contented ourselves with Gator Golf and Frozen yogurt.

Then a week at Clearwater beach.. managed to bag an apartment for a week, bags were unpacked and stuff went everywhere! Lovely beach, lovely sunshine, even managed to fit in a cheeky 15 mile walk along the Peninsula. An enjoyable relaxed week spent with the Blue Rinse Brigade..

From Clearwater to Miami.. The hostel was grim, tiny room that came with strange spanish lady who followed us round with disinfectant.. (things have not got that bad yet fyi!) Miami is a weird and wonderful place, it seems to be quite literally anything goes and noone bats an eyelid. I probably walked round with my jaw on the floor half the time because of some of the sights you see! We filled our time with mainly mojitos, beach and more mojitos. Had a cheeky jaunt to Millionaires row and the Everglades. The Everglades was a brilliant day, went on an airboat and saw Alligators in the wild, tame Alligators for displays, held a baby Alligator called Snappy then ate one. Unbelievable experience!! Sad to leave Miami and its bizzare ways!

Finally ending our time in Florida just out of Fort Lauderdale in Florida's Hollywood. White Sand beaches and above 30°c temperatures are just what we need before a week at Mardi Gras.

Anticipating Carnage...

Life is like a Box of Chocolates..

Getting off the train into Charleston was a bit surreal.. the humidity for one felt strange, I was getting worried I'd never feel warm again! We arrived at our 'Not so' hostel to discover it was basically a house, with a porch, with rocking chairs galore. AMAZING.

We went for dinner at a traditional grill place, which was lovely until we had a little friend join us. Being British however, we sat there and watched the cockroach merrily scampering around the table for a good ten minutes casting occasional pleading glances to the waitress. I had to stand up at one point because I thought he was going to venture into my lap. We finally got someone to remove him and the owner gave us free dessert for enduring our friend for so long. A beer float made up for the experience!

Daylight brought sunshine, deep blue skys and shorts. Downtown Charleston is one of the prettiest places I've ever been to, and traditionally southern with the porches and rocking chairs. Didn't want to leave!

Savannah, Georgia was our next stop. Similar to Charleston, although bizarre how the 21 squares are the focus of the town, making it hard to pinpoint a centre to it. Saw the square where Forrest Gump sat in his famous 'life is like a box of chocolates..' speech. The visit was completed by a trip to Leopold's World Famous Ice cream shop. The Ice cream, it has to be said, was almost better than Brymor. 

Very sad to be leaving South Carolina and Georgia, however Sunshine and Beaches are beckoning...