ROAD TRIP TO NYC - DAY 9

We got up pretty early the next day cause we knew we were only gonna have one night in Nashville, so we wanted to get there as early as possible. Driving out of New Orleans, is quite the drive. Driving over these huge bridges crossing Lake Pontchartrain and looking out at Lake Borgne with these huge rain clouds in the distance is just a cool sight.

From New Orleans to Birmingham, where we planned to stop for lunch, was also a really pretty drive. Just pretty overcast so the colors don’t really show through in the pictures. We decided to stop at a sandwich place in Birmingham called Brick & Tin. Well, Mal and I rolled out in our driving clothes (shorts, t-shirt, sweatshirt, and flip flops) and started getting stares. Cause you know, its raining. Well, as we started walking toward Brick & Tin, Mal reached into her jacket and says, “Oh my god.” 

That is me destroying the card that we thought we lost back in Colorado. When we got gas before the worst drives of our lives, she used my card and I went in and paid with cash for some water. She took the jacket off and hadn’t worn it since. Already cancelled, all funds transferred. Ugh. Luckily, Brick & Tin, provided us with an amazing sandwich, awesome decor, and good tunes. With Death Cab for Cutie, The Shins, and Zero 7 playing in the background I enjoyed their Florentine sandwich. Which is roasted chicken, sweet peppers, lemon & rosemary ricotta, and a mixed salad. Really Really good.

The drive up to Nashville was unreal. So many colors and bright blue skies. We were so happy that we got to drive it when we did. 

Our good friends Prentice and Jordan live in Nashville and offered to show us around the town for the night we were there. And boy did they. Started off at Jack’s BBQ. Christ. So insanely good. I think what really made it stand out wasn’t so much the food, but the sauces. I was going nuts with 4 different ones literally just pouring them over everything. Even things that don’t need sauce. I sauced it. We took zero pictures of the food cause it was devoured so fast. But there was this.

After Jack’s we wanted to wet our whistle so we went to what was basically an indoor trailer park called Paradise Park. Enjoyed a pitcher of local beer and were on our way.

It just so happens the night we were in Nashville, the CMA’s were going on at Bridgestone Arena. So the town was hoppin.

Mal and I are big fans of hand made cocktails. And we heard the place to go in Nashville, was a place called The Patterson House. Kind of hard to find (just like every hand made cocktail place) but it was definitely worth it. Of course with the hand made title, you are gonna pay a little more for the drinks, so we each just got one. I got basically a Manhattan, but was by far one of the strongest things I had ever drank, and was oh so good. Unfortunately the pictures of the drinks we took are just a little too dark. This is the only one of my drink that you can kind of see. 

I would highly recommend this place. After that we were all kind of toasty so the pictures don’t really exist, but we went to a dive bar on the east side of Nashville called Red Door East, which through and through was a dive bar. Including the 45+ year old guy workin the bar who looked like he wanted to be 22 again. So sad. But a good brew selection. We made plans for breakfast in the morning, and Mal and I went back to our shady ass hotel and passed out. 

ROAD TRIP TO NYC - DAY 7 & 8

This will be a bigger post just cause Day 7 is pretty small and Day 8 is pretty big. So here it goes. We woke up pretty early in Austin to leave and head to New Orleans. We went to this place called, Magnolia Cafe. Got a bomb ass omelette with lemon sour cream on it. Twas very good.

Leaving, we saw this guy. Which made me smile.

Not much else to see on that drive. We stopped in Houston to grab some food. Went to a highly recommended pizza place called Luigis. It did not disappoint. 

We finally got into New Orleans around 8 or so. And were starving so we walked around the streets for a little bit. Went down Bourbon Street and realized it is even more gross than what people told us. 

We ended up at a pub and got some chicken sandwiches and some drinks. Really good Lynchburg Lemonade. And Mal got some sort of sugar blasted frozen drink. Also pretty tasty.

We were pretty beat from driving all day after that so we headed back to our hotel to get some sleep and then waking up early for a full day of New Orleans.

Road Trip to NYC - Day 8

Mal and I stayed at this super old hotel right on the edge of the water called the French Market Inn. We booked a room with no windows, but were surprised when we walked into our room and it had a view. And one of the springiest beds imaginable. You win some and lose some. Mal kept raving about this place called Cafe du Monde. So we went there for breakfast. And by breakfast I mean dessert. We had what tasted just like a funnel cake. But in sphere form. Covered in powdered sugar. A Benign or something. Perfect for a diabetic.

One of the coolest things about New Orleans is the architecture. It is amazing. It’s like walking around Disneyland all day. 

It was also very cool to see the two colleges in the the city. Tulane and Loyola are both beautiful campuses and right in the center of the neighborhood, which is awesome.

It was also highly recommended that we go up to the cemetery district and just walk around. Seeing graves that had been there for almost 200 years is almost a bit overwhelming.

Like I said before, we had an awesome friend giving us tips of where to go. She hadn’t steered us wrong yet, so we decided to go with her recommendation on fried chicken. Willie Mae’s Scotch House was by far the best fried chicken I have ever had. Every bite had a distinct flavor. Whether it was the saltiness, the juiciness, or the crispness of the fried skin, it was amazing. Also some of the best cornbread I have ever had. 

After that meal, which was just lunch by the way, we decided to walk it off by heading to the north west area of New Orleans. Tons of awesome houses and we came across this park which looked like a scene out of a movie.

We took another recommendation and went to a place called The Columns Hotel for a mint julep. This place straight up looked like the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. 

And had by far the best Mint Julep I have ever had. 

We were told to go to a street called Magazine Street and just walk around. Reminded us a lot of North Park. Which we liked. We ended up passing this. Which really just made Mal’s day.

Then we found a bar called the Bulldog. They had by far the best beer selection that we had seen so far. Mal and I both had a couple. I became a big fan of Abita at this place. More specifically Abita Andygator. Mmmmm.

Plus, in their little courtyard outside, they had this insane fountain. Just stare at it for a little bit. Take it in.

So awesome. That night we knew we wanted to see a good jazz show somewhere far away from Bourbon Street. (which I am pretty sure gave me the clap just by walking on it). So we went to the eastern area of New Orleans to a bar called The Spotted Cat. Pretty packed in there for what looked like the most hipsteresque band I could have imagined. But to our surprise, they were very jazz oriented. And pretty good. Drinks were a little bit expensive so we crossed the street and went to a bar called D.B.A. where to our surprise, The Treme Brass Band, the real one, was playing for 5 bucks. Naturally we stepped in and enjoyed ourselves for a couple hours.

From walking and eating all day, we were pretty exhausted. So we headed back to the hotel around 1:30 in the anticipation of waking up early and heading to Nashville.