***Because of internet problems.. this post was written on the 17th and I am just now able to publish it!***
Well! Tonight marks the last fun destination of my trip! We just got back from Nashville..which I LOVED! It was fun and country and plaid and lovely. But don't worry, I will rewind and review the past 3 days. I KNOW YOU WERE WORRIED!
Well! Tonight marks the last fun destination of my trip! We just got back from Nashville..which I LOVED! It was fun and country and plaid and lovely. But don't worry, I will rewind and review the past 3 days. I KNOW YOU WERE WORRIED!
So, Austin. What a fun town! On Saturday... all day... we drove 11 hours from Albuquerque to Austin and actually didn't hate our lives by the end of it. Although, I would like to comment on the inefficiency of most Texan roads. Here it is: they are inefficient. Let me explain. Texas is huge and you'd imagine there'd be a major road between major cities. This is not always the case. Instead, they put you on roads that go through little itty bitty towns so the speed limit is very annoying and slows down just as you put your cruise on. However, I will let this slide because the poopy roads were made up by the awesome cities :) Also, as we drove into Austin, we were driving through really cool scenery. Huge thunderstorms, tall trees, all with the background of Austin-y music in the car we didn't know the words to... it was an experience.
Unfortunately, the huge thunderstorms that made the drive epic also limited our fun shenanigans Saturday night. We stayed at this really trendy hostel. And by really trendy I mean they had maps on the walls, the employees looked like they were cooler than me, and people were playing guitar on the back porch. On Sunday morning we woke up early (trying to adjust back to eastern time gradually), and headed into the city for brunch, thrifting, and museums. However, the problem with this is that on Sunday most things are closed until 12... so we were bored in the city for two hours. Now I know this fact, but in my travels, I like to think the world operates on my time schedule. For example:
World: Oh hey! Is that Macy and Jackie coming into town?
Me: Why yes, yes it is!
World: Oh quick let me drop the baby I was carrying, end my jog early, and abandon my omelet making mid-flip.
Me: thanks
In spite of that actually not happening... we really liked Austin! The feel was like a combination between Portland and a charming southern town. They were funky but nice.
World: Oh hey! Is that Macy and Jackie coming into town?
Me: Why yes, yes it is!
World: Oh quick let me drop the baby I was carrying, end my jog early, and abandon my omelet making mid-flip.
Me: thanks
In spite of that actually not happening... we really liked Austin! The feel was like a combination between Portland and a charming southern town. They were funky but nice.
So because everything was closed... we decided to go after the only thing two 22 year olds want on a Sunday morning in Austin: Mimosas. Now let me just give Mimosas a little love right now. They are liquid gold. They take mornings from sunny love to beachy bliss. From a mundane morning to AWESOME. Back to reality... we didn't get any mimosas. An iphone will only help you so much to find a cheap mimosa in Austin within 20 minutes walking distance.
So we waited in a local coffee shop until 12 for the Mexican art museum to open free to the public. EXCEPT IT WAS CLOSED. Just our luck. But it was a magical town so we were still in high spirits and walked to a thrift store and then to this lovely Mexican joint called "Juan in a Million." Clever right? They had great brunch and after that we headed out to Houston.
**Now, even though this wasn't Portland... we couldn't help but keep quoting Portlandia because it did still feel kind of like Portland. And they had cacti. Please watch this clip and die laughing with me because a part of my soul will permanently die laughing because of this (and then it will eventually die from laughter):
p.s. look at me I know how to put youtube videos instead of just the link, good thing my trip is over
On to Houston. We stayed at the LOVELY Kraft residence in the Woodlands of the northern Houston area. It was so special and great just seeing Kelley and her family and being able to relax! Her and her sister took me and Jackie out to explore their town after a HOME MADE DINNER. Yes. That is correct. We had a home made dinner and it wasn't from our backseat. It wasn't oatmeal. It wasn't made over a camp stove. Holla back. But yes it was lovely and such a great break in the trip.
After staying the night at the Kraft's, we woke up and drove to NAWLINS! Or, for those of you all who don't say things with a Louisiana accent.. we went to "New Orleans." It was.. interesting...
Our hostel may or may not have been sketch and the whole city may or may not have been sketch. We did the whole French Quarter thing which was nice getting authentic seafood gumbo at a hole in the wall bar which was awesome. After dinner we wanted to hear some live music at a local bar so we walked to Bourbon st. and hung out a bit. It was fine... except for the part where the strippers were LIT-RULLY out on the street, enticing passerbys to stop in with their undergarments and floss-like lingerie. Ah I felt gross and sad and appalled all at the same time. So we ended up just walking to the water and sat for a bit... walked back to the car (and saw a HUGE rate scuttle by).
So after bbq, we walked around to the MANY bars from where live music was blasting. Now, this is what Jackie and I were looking for. We were a little disappointed from the lack of quantity of live music in New Orleans (granted it was a Monday night), but our musical desires were totally satisfied in Nashville! We poked our heads in a few bars and ended up at "Honky Tonk Central." Yes. Yes, that is the name. And it was epic. Something fun about these bars is that the band on stage yells something like.. raise your glasses!! and then everyone yells really loud... and then everyone drinks together. It's like.. bar-community-building.
After staying the night at the Kraft's, we woke up and drove to NAWLINS! Or, for those of you all who don't say things with a Louisiana accent.. we went to "New Orleans." It was.. interesting...
Our hostel may or may not have been sketch and the whole city may or may not have been sketch. We did the whole French Quarter thing which was nice getting authentic seafood gumbo at a hole in the wall bar which was awesome. After dinner we wanted to hear some live music at a local bar so we walked to Bourbon st. and hung out a bit. It was fine... except for the part where the strippers were LIT-RULLY out on the street, enticing passerbys to stop in with their undergarments and floss-like lingerie. Ah I felt gross and sad and appalled all at the same time. So we ended up just walking to the water and sat for a bit... walked back to the car (and saw a HUGE rate scuttle by).
gumbo!
view of the downtown
a live band
down by the water
So we decided to wake up really early this morning to get to Nashville so we could lay out by the pool. Excellent way to begin that trip! So after pooling it up a bit, we headed downtown into Broadway st. to walk around and do the honkytonk-bbq-country accent thing. It was quite delicious... the bbq that is. We ate at this place called Jack's barbeque and it was kind of a hole in a wall, but if it's one thing I've learned... it's that holes in the wall are usually awesome (especially if you did your research and knew it had great reviews before hand ;) )
ELVIS LIVES
So after bbq, we walked around to the MANY bars from where live music was blasting. Now, this is what Jackie and I were looking for. We were a little disappointed from the lack of quantity of live music in New Orleans (granted it was a Monday night), but our musical desires were totally satisfied in Nashville! We poked our heads in a few bars and ended up at "Honky Tonk Central." Yes. Yes, that is the name. And it was epic. Something fun about these bars is that the band on stage yells something like.. raise your glasses!! and then everyone yells really loud... and then everyone drinks together. It's like.. bar-community-building.
At the honkytonk, you can see the band in the back!
So yes! I had a lovely time in Nashville and I would love to come back and explore more and FINALLY GET THOSE COWBOY BOOTS I'VE BEEN LUSTING OVER.
**Update, I am now back in Harrisonburg after making a pitstop in Boone, NC for a bit. I have one more post up my sleeve! I'd like to leave y'all with some practical tips and advice for planning/going on a long term roadtrip. Also I'd like to leave you all with some last bits of humor that never made it into the other posts ;)
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