Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans...

I seriously just experienced the shortest holiday dinner/get-together ever. I'm here in Nebraska at my aunt Josette's house, and they don't quite do things the way I'm used to at home. But it was different and now instead of trying to entertain my family for the next couple of hours, I can chill out and relax and finally write a blog entry...

When I last wrote, I was hanging out in Panama City, Florida en route to New Orleans. The weather was already significantly chillier since I left Naples which got me wondering if I was doing this trip backwards. Aren't you supposed to HEAD towards warm weather? But no, this is a Courtney trip. So I do things a little different. The ride to New Orleans was interesting. I had to keep calling my mom to tell her about because my parents would really like the drive through all the white sand beachs of the Gulf Shore, especially the Destin Beach area. I get so mad at them because they continue to go to the same spots year and year and never try anything different. I'm going to make sure that they drive up the panhandle this year though. It's such an easy drive. I also visiting a little bayou in Alabama which was neat, and the towns in Mississippi that I drove through were also nice. But you could still tell that Katrina had been there...there were lots of abandoned buildings and empty lots.

When I arrived in New Orleans, I was so excited! When I came to the city with my CMAA group in 2005, it was probably one of the best trips I've ever been on. To be able to go back to some of those places that made my trip so special were high priorities on my list. I stayed at the Parc St. Charles hotel, which was only 4 blocks to the French Quarter - so I felt safe walking by myself. Of course upon arrival, the hotel didn't have my reservation and I had to wait a good 20 minutes while they figured everything out. But no biggie, no worries mon. I was in New Orleans so all was good!

The first thing I did - after freaking out about how much I loved my room - was go and get my grub on! I didn't eat lunch so I could enjoy a nice Cajun meal that night. I found myself at a place called Oceania where I engulfed a dish of red beans and rice with andouille sausage. I wandered Bourbon Street for a bit, reliving some of the memories I had from '05 - especially when I saw the sign for the bar Razzoo. But my main destination was the best kept secret in all of New Orleans - Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar. You have to walk by all the garbage on Bourbon Street and go up a few blocks before you arrive. And even once you get there, you have to do a doubletake to make sure that this place is an actual bar. It's almost lighted completely by candles, the drinks are a little bit cheaper and the piano in the back has stools so you can just belly up to it and sing along with the piano player all night. And that is exactly what I did. I met a great group of people here on business and I stayed at the main bar and chatted with them for a while before the piano player started. Then I found myself hanging out with these two guys from Texas and let me tell you, we just had an absolute blast that night! So much fun that I barely even remember leaving the bar that night and buying a hot dog from a street vendor! Best bar ever. I already want to go back.

The next day after quickly deciding that it would be wise to not booze it up that night, I decided to literally walk all over the New Orleans Riverwalk and all of the French Quarter. I went up and down the streets all day - in my flip flops, I might add. I took some great pictures, enjoyed watching a band perform on the streets complete with locals dancing and just generally wishing that I had more time there. By the time I got back to the hotel to rest up before going out to dinner, I realized that my feet hurt WAY too much to even walk back down to the hotel lobby, so I ordered take out and stayed in all night. I wish I had been able to go back out to Lafitte's, but I know I made the right decision.

Originally after leaving New Orleans, I was just going to head straight up to Little Rock, Arkansas but while shopping at the Tabasco store near Jackson Square, I became aware that the Tabasco factory was only a couple hours away in a little place called Avery Island, Louisiana. So you can only guess where I went next! The ride was nice and the tour was free, so who would pass that up? Also got some free samples. Don't knock jalapeno ice cream until you tried it! Or jalapeno soda, for that matter. Also on Avery Island was this neat place called Jungle Gardens where you could ride through some nice cypress, bamboo and oak trees and also around a bayou - so I figured I would do that as well. I didn't quite make it to Little Rock that night but the sidetrip was definitely worth it.

The next day, after spending the night in Ruston, Louisiana, it was only a couple hour drive to Little Rock. The only thing I really wanted to see there was the Clinton Presidential Library. Yes, I'm a fan of the Clintons and their work, so I thought it would be an interesting thing for me to see. And it was! There was also a nice restaurant in the bottom floor of the library where I had lunch. The Library itself was more like a muesum. Lots of things to read, some videos to watch and some artifacts that had to do with the Clintons or the White House. There was even a model of the Oval Office the exact way that it looked when Clinton was President. But no, I did not see Monica underneath the desk. Nor was the blue dress on display. Little Rock seemed like a nice enough town but I wanted to get trucking on to St. Louis, so I quickly drove through the center of town and was on my way!

Well, before I write about St. Louis, I guess I should touch upon my first "mishap" of the trip. After leaving Little Rock, I was taking a road called Route 67 which would pretty much bring me all the way to St. Louis. I had about 50 miles to go before needing gas so I said to myself, "I will get off and get gas at the next command of my GPS" (which was only a couple miles away). Then Samantha really thought it would be funny to play a trick on me. All of sudden she started "recalculating" like she had tourette's syndrome. She was doing it so much that I had to put her on mute. Apparently the road was newer so she didn't recognize it. And therefore, the next GPS command didn't really exist. So here I am in basically the middle of nowhere - farms all around, no highway exits, no gas stations - and my fuel is running out. And so that's what it did. Right around sunset, I ran out of gas right off of the highway 67 (the new part) in a section of Arkansas that didn't believe in streetlights. Called my parents, minorly freaked out, called AAA and they said it would be over an hour. So picture this, here I am hunched over in my Jeep so no one would see that the car was occupied, trying to cover up any form of light that I was using and if anyone was to come and harass me all I really had was a hammer and a pocketknife. Now that I think of it, it was pretty hilarious. AAA finally shows up, gives me gas and all is right in the world again. Needless to say, I wanted to get the hell out of Arkansas so I pulled in for the night right over the Missouri line. Word to the wise: Never let that happen again!

St. Louis was definitely a good time. I did a tour of Busch Stadium - the home to the St. Louis Cardinals. Once again, another AWESOME baseball tour. I got to go on the warning track, in the dugout and when no one was looking I put my foot on the field! The tour guide even broke the rules and brought us down to the locker rooms. I also, of course, went to the top of the Arch. The tram ride is definitely not for the claustrophobic but the view at the top was great! After doing the Arch and walking around the Mississippi Riverfront, I passed a helicopter ride barge and impulsively decided to take a ride. I've never been on a helicopter, always wanted to, so why not? That's what this trip is all about! And it was just me, so these private tours really make me feel like a rockstar. The helicopter ride was only a few minutes but it's something I'll always remember - gliding over St. Louis right before sunset. That night I went out and drank. First I went to Schlafly Brewing where I met some interesting locals and had a few beers (two bought for me). Then I decided that that just wasn't enough so I went to a local bar near my hotel. First of all, you could have cut through the smoke with a knife. Second, the owner/bartender had a mullet. And third, these Mexicans that didn't speak much English kept buying me Coronas. OK. It was definitely an interesting night.

I know this is long, please bear with me. I'm almost done. I was going to do the Budweiser tour the next morning, but when I woke up much earlier then I anticipated, I decided to just buckle down and powerdrive to my aunt's house in Nebraska. It was a good 800 mile trip, over 12 hours of driving and I went through a time zone change. Saw lots of cool things on the way that I wish I had time to stop and see, but I had it in my head that I was getting there that day so I kept pressing on. I got to Alliance around 8:45 that night, had dinner and was passed out before 10:30. Man, was I tired. Josette gave me the grand tour of her town the next day, which really isn't much. But I did enjoy Carhenge, which is a tacky version of Stonehenge, but with cars. Besides that, I've really just been taking it easy and relaxing. I got the oil changed in my car yesterday and everything seems to be in tip-top shape. I'm in love with her cat Gaby. She seems to have taken to me too. I also am enjoying the company of her dogs - Gertrude and Nelly, or as I call her "The Tongue". It's nice to spend time with Josette as well. We have some things planned for the next few days. Tomorrow I'm heading up for a solo trip to the Badlands in South Dakota. Saturday we're heading to Scottsbluff. And Sunday-Tuesday we're spending in Deadwood since she won two nights at a hotel there. And it snowed here yesterday. Not a lot but I kind of liked it.

And then Wednesday.....since I just don't know when to stop, I'm heading to Port Orford, Oregon to see my other aunt, Louise. Call me crazy, but I could do this forever.

God it's been a lovely day! Everything's been going my way. I took up croquet today and I'm on fire...

After the past week and a half, I've really been questioning why I left Florida three years ago. Not to say that I would move back, but never say never I suppose. A lot of people that I know, including my parents sometimes, think that I will essentially end up starting a career in Florida because that's where the jobs are. I'm not sure if that is true, but the more I thought about this week...the better the idea sounded. But don't go jumping to conclusions! This is just me talking out loud! I also have stated that I fell in love with Tennessee, so I think I have just as good a chance of moving out there as I do going back to Florida...

Because let's face it. Wareham sucks. There is nothing there for me anymore. Time to move on....

ANYWHO.

I've been back to Key West twice since I moved away in 2006 but those visits seemed somewhat empty for whatever reasons. Maybe because I was with my parents, maybe because I was staying on Stock Island and not in actual KW, maybe because I was sick for one of the visits, maybe because I embarrassed myself at a Super Bowl party with an open bar...really, who knows. But this trip.....oh, it truly felt great to be back. And of course, like I wrote in the last entry, my visit started off with a bang - Duval Street style. I ended up staying Monday through Sunday, with five of those nights being at my friend Jack's house (thanks Jack!) and one night with Mark and Gina on Stock Island. And after the first night, there was no other nights like that (Thank god.) My liver isn't up to Key West standards anymore...and I'm actually quite thankful for that.  Don't get me wrong, I can still party with the best of them....just not every night!

Lots of fun was had while I was visiting. I spent many hours at Jack Flat's eating all the food I so terribly miss sometimes. I even had a couple meals at Caroline's and a frozen drink from Fogarty's. Oh, I miss the perks of working for that company...but if someone were to ask, I would work back at Jack Flat's in a heartbeat. I really do love that place. I had so much fun when I was there. We also spent some time at the Lazy Gecko where Jack introduced me to his friends Brian and Jan. (Hey guys!). I even got Jack to eat at one of my favorite restaurants, The Cafe. It's a vegan/vegetarian place and it is fabulous. Everything is fresh, flavorful and healthy! I went back to Red Fish, Blue Fish once but never ventured there again. Meh, I don't really care.

The second full day that I was there, Jack and I went to lunch at Chico's on Stock Island and ended up doing an off-island bar crawl. We went to Hogfish, Geiger Key and Hurricane Hole. It was fun! It was nice to get away from the tourists, even though technically, that's what I was this week...

After we did that, Jack had finagled tickets for a sunset cruise aboard Sebago but no one signed up for it. So....instead they bumped us to an even better deal! We got to sail aboard the Schooner Appledore, which offers more then just a keg of beer and is a gorgeous wooden sailboat built in the late 70's. She's even sailed around the world! The sunset wasn't the best, as it had been somewhat crummy all day, but still it was fun....even if their sangria did taste like gingerbread. Hmmm...

Another fun thing that happened was that I FINALLY WENT PARA-SAILING!!! I've kind of wanted to do this since college and after conquering my rollercoaster fears last weekend in Orlando, I figured this would be a piece of cake. Once again, Jack hooked us up thanks to his hotel job and Thursday afternoon we were able to do some flying! I would be a liar if I didn't say that I was slightly nervous. OK, I was a little more then slightly. Especially after seeing the first people take off. It looked like it just whipped you into the sky! But in actuality, it was pretty tame. Of course, if you're afraid of heights then I wouldn't recommend doing it, but I have no problem in that department. Being 300 feet above Key West was amazing! You could see straight over to the other side of the island, see the two cruise ships that were in port and even down beyond to Stock Island. I didn't scream. I didn't swear. I didn't lose feeling in my arms. I didn't fall into the ocean. And yes, I would do it again in a heartbeat!!!!

Hmmm...what else happened in Key West...oh! There were big powerboat races going on this week. Not big as in mega-yachts, but big as in hardcore. They were crazy cigarette boats and one of them (Miss Geico) could go over 200 miles an hour! Though I didn't get to see any racing, they did have a little parade down Duval Friday night and then the street was closed for a couple hours so people could check them out. Really neat! There's always something going on Cayo Hueso!

After spending five fun days in Key West, I went and spent some time with family friends Mark and Gina on Stock Island, which is the next island up. When I lived in Key West, this was the first place I lived at for four months...on their couch. It was relaxing to just really not do much. They took me out sailing on their sailboat the Claybasket, made me a delicious home-cooked meal and let me show off all my pictures so far as a slideshow. 

As much as I kind of didn't want to leave Key West, I was getting antsy to get back in the driver's seat and be by myself for a while. I had a lot of fun and I hope that next time I visit it won't be an almost two year gap in between. My next stop was Naples where I spent two nights with family friends (and Massachusetts neighbors) Eric and Linda. It was such a lovely day out that I would have been a fool if I didn't take advantage of it so I stopped along Route 1 a couple times to snap some pictures and visit the Bahia Honda State Park where there are some amazing beaches and the old historic railroad bridge. I pondered the thought of going out to Pigeon Key, the island in the middle of the Seven Mile Bridge, but decided that I wouldn't have time. So here are some cool shots from the Bahia Honda area.

Also, along the way, I decided to play extreme tourist and shell out some money for an Everglades ride. I was driving Route 41, or the Tamiami Trail, through the "River of Grass" and the Indian Reservations so I stopped off at Gator Town. The ticket for the airboat ride also included a gator wrestling show...which was interesting and made me slightly squeamish when the guy went to tackle this prehistoric creature! People are nuts. But I did touch an alligator. So that was cool. The airboat ride was fun, but I enjoyed the Cooperstown ride we did a couple years ago...that one was much more thorough and educational.

Yesterday was a full out day of relaxation. I sat by the pool, got some color (oh my god!), went swimming and even finished my book and started a new one. Thanks Eric and Linda for letting me stay with you guys! And then today, I power drove for 10 hours straight only stopping twice and covered almost 600 miles of ground and most of that were backroads. I drove the Florida Panhandle and now I'm sitting comfy in a Days Inn in Panama City. Let me tell you something about my impression of the beginning of the panhandle. It is...interesting. It's the poor man's St. Petersburg, or Treasure Island...old washed up tourist towns. But this was REDNECK and with lots of falling apart buildings. But that is what makes the trip so much fun - seeing all the different parts of the country. Tomorrow I will head for New Orleans and I already have a hotel booked! I am SO excited to get back to Bourbon Street...even though it won't be much fun without Room 208 (HEY-O!) this time.

Once again, this was longer then I expected. But once I get going, I can't stop writing. I really hope people are reading this. Between putting all the pictures on Facebook and writing this blog, it's really been time-consuming. I know I don't have to go through the trouble of doing all of this, but it's fun to be writing again. I just want other people to be able to experience what I'm doing. Leave a comment if you like what you read!

Wasting away again in Margaritaville...

This will be another long one, I think. So brace yourself. I'm currently in Key West, Florida and that makes me really happy. I'm sitting at the bar at my former place of employment, Jack Flat's, and I feel like I never left. That could be a good thing....or a bad thing. I haven't decided yet.

So, where I last left off I was hanging out with Elvis in Graceland. I ended up spending one more night there so I could explore a couple museums the next day. And let me tell you, the Elvis music was getting a little irritating by now. They played it constantly at the hotel from about 7:30 in the morning to 8 at night. I love Elvis...but not that much. I ended up going to the Memphis Rock 'n Soul Museum which was conveniently located near Beale Street where I fine-dined on a BBQ bologna sandwich. Don't knock it until you try it! The Rock 'n Soul Museum was cool. I spent a good hour or so there walking around educating myself on some music history.

After I did that museum, I wanted to check out the Civil Rights Museum. I almost didn't go because someone told me it wasn't in a safe area of the city but I'm glad that I went because it was really educational. It was actually located in the Lorraine Motel - which is where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. There is a lady who has been protesting the museum ever since its opening and is there every day across the street. While I can agree with the reason she is protesting (she thinks is a desecration to MLK Jr. and a museum dedicated to the shooter), I think the museum has a legit reason to be there. You aren't allowed to take a camera in so here are a couple shots of the outside of the hotel.

The next day, after I checked out of Graceland, I stopped off at the Stax Muesum of Soul in Memphis. Stax is a famous record company that jumpstarted a lot of artists such as Isaac Hayes, Booker T & the MGs and Carla Thomas. But it was another museum that I wasn't allowed to bring my camera in. I really enjoyed it but after going to the Rock 'N Soul Museum the previous day, some of the things were repetitive. But still, can't beat music history!

My original plan was to go straight to Florida from Memphis but my friend Cat (who worked at the BYC with me this summer) invited me to Orlando for the weekend. So what could have been a day trip driving became stretched out over the course of three days. I'm glad I did that though because I drove through some great sections of Mississippi and Alabama. All I really stopped at in Mississippi was Elvis Presley's birthplace in Tupelo. Cool sidetrip, but not worth the entry money if you've already did Graceland. It was neat to see where Elvis was born and to see what he came from.

I had never been to Mississippi or Alabama so it was nice to cross off two more states on my "list". But holy crap, some places I passed by....total hicktowns, big farms with rundown houses but shiny barns, trailers and trailers. And don't get me started on the Wal-Mart I went into! I really wonder where people get their overalls because I don't think I've ever seen them in a store....is there a secret overall store that I don't know of? Haha. 

Alabama was a cool ride. I was originally going to do route 278 and then take a southern route into Birmingham but after some advice from Barbara at Natural Bridge, I stayed on 278 all the way into Georgia. Good suggestion! It was great. Natural Bridge was a tourist stop that I saw signs for and kinda just yanked my car into that direction. It was another nice day out so the idea of taking some nature photos seemed like a good idea. The Natural Bridge is the longest natural bridge this side of the Rockies and it was a welcome stop to stretch my legs and hike a bit.

Also in Alabama I saw a cool covered bridge. I felt like Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood were going to walk through at any moment! But then I remembered that the movie took place in Madison County not Alabama. I also stopped into this place called Ave Maria Grotto. It was part of a Catholic Church and it was all these statues and things that a monk made back in the 50s. Even if you're not religious (like myself), it can be a neat experience. And I didn't burst into flames when I walked through the doors! 

After Alabama, I ventured into Georgia to do a tour of the Braves stadium - Turner Field. It was awesome because I was the only person on the tour. And since it was the last tour of the day, the security guard came with us to lock up afterwards so I felt like I had my own personal bodyguard. And if you know me, you know I love baseball. So not only was it great to visit another ballpark, but it was even better that I got to have my own private tour where I could ask all the questions I wanted to!

I attempted to find the World of Coca-Cola in downtown Atlanta but Samantha, my trusty GPS, did not know that it moved two years ago! Me and Samantha have not completely eye-to-eye on this trip but she really bit the bullet on this one! After paying for parking, walking around aimlessly, getting directions from a cop and still not finding it, I gave up and continued on my journey. I didn't really want to be caught in rush hour traffic anyways. I spent the night in Macon, Georgia which only reminded me of the macon and bacon salad at Caroline's in Key West.

The next part of my trip brought me to Orlando, Florida where I spent the weekend with Cat and Alex at her mom's house. This was the best part of my trip so far. And I'm not just saying that to be nice. It really was. Getting to go to Universal, Magic Kingdom, MGM and my personal favorite - Epcot for free was great and getting to go to the front of the lines was a sweet deal too. It pays to work for a theme park! It definitely comes with a lot of perks. We didn't have good luck at Universal though. The E.T. ride broke down on us when we were already buckled in, the Poseidon ride was misleading, the Spiderman ride traumatized me because it started acting funny and I thought we were going to die, and someone wouldn't let us do the Jaws ride. But still fun! At Magic Kingdom I convinced myself that I could do Thunder Mountain. Having done Splash Mountain back in high school and NOT liking it one bit, I don't know what drove me to think I could do Thunder Mountain. After working myself up into a ball of nerves and being completely numb after the ride, I think I will file Thunder Mountain in my "never again" folder! Epcot was great because I got to drink beer in the countries of the world. And MGM was great because I rode a rollercoaster for the first time EVER! The Aerosmith Rock 'N Rollercoaster was actually a lot of fun. I don't know what I was so afraid of for all these years. But I definitely screamed like a banshee. Actually, I didn't even know I could scream that loud....but I did. And then we rode it again! At the age of 26, I am officially no longer a rollercoaster virgin. Orlando was also really nice because I got to spend time with Cat and Alex and....CONNIE! I love Connie the cat. It had been almost 3 weeks since I was with people that I actually knew and the extra company for a couple days was very welcoming. Maybe I'll stop back through before my trip is over with...

And now that brings us to Key West....my home away from home. I'm staying with my friend Jack for a few nights and reliving all my old memories of this place. Last night we did the ole Duval Crawl and right now the only crawling I want to be doing is back into bed....oh man, welcome back! I've been sitting at Jack Flats for a good four hours now. Not really sure what the plans are for this week. I think we're doing a sunset cruise tomorrow night and I hope parasailing is somewhere in the mix. What I do know I'll be doing is a lot of drinking. That is one thing you can always count on in Key West! 

Once again, if you made it this far...I tip my hat to you! I'll try to write again and sooner, if possible. This trip is going by fast. I can't believe it's already been three weeks. I feel like I could do this forever. But I know my mom wouldn't be too happy if I became a professional vagabond!