And we're back...

The temperature slowly decreased as we drove North. It sucked.

Well, Cas and I are back in Indiana and I am about to go pick my dog Walt up. I missed 'em. Not too sure how I should recap this whole adventure. Savannah was by far the best. Spent way too much money. Made some friends. Rocked the South out. Saw the ocean. Ate amazing food (BBQ!). Drank good microbrews. Etc, etc.

Overall, a grand success! More to come later after I pick up the Walter pants. I'm too excited.

- Joey

About to head back North...

Last night was rockin'. We met a couple from New Jersey and decided to have some fun after we played rock 'n' roll bingo. They were pretty nice and we just sat at the bar and closed up shop. We somehow got on the topic of food distribution because the guy I was talking to was in that business. Of course, my dad's bacon business came up and after a while the guy was calling me the "Bacon Prince." Then, he took my picture.

Bingo at the Jinx was great. Cas and I thoroughly agreed that we should bring this tradition back to Purdue. We didn't win though. I was so close during the last game! Ah! Oh well, they were giving away pretty shanty drinks like black vodka.

The bartender, Tony, was awesome. He told me, "I drink Wild Turkey for a living" and then showed me his Wild Turkey tattoo on his arm. He was a good ol' boy with a gnarly braided ponytail, trucker hat, sleeveless shirt and utility belt (bottle opener, Zippo, knife and some other stuff). He shook my hand at the end of the night before we left and said, "Good Huntin'." I vowed, one day, we would eat BBQ together.

Our last night in town was great. We are about to grab some lunch and hit the road. The drive should take about 11 hours, which I'm not looking forward to. We might stop in Knoxville or back in Louisville, not sure. We couldn't get another night in Savannah due to the St. Patrick's Day festival coming up. This town gets stuffed apparently. The drive back north is a different route than the one we took down here but, judging from the map, it should be twice as beautiful. We live drive through a few national parks and by some hills and low mountains. Rock! Well, we will post some more photos later.

Good huntin',
Joey

Rock 'n' Roll Bingo

Oh snaps, I forgot to mention something in the last post. Cas and I are going to play rock 'n' roll bingo tonight at this rock bar called the Jinx. Apparently, when you win the Bingo, you get free Jager shots and other drinks. A bartender told it to us like this:

"It's like, 'I - 17' and then you yell 'Bingo!' and they give you free booze." - bartender at the Mercury Lounge, who looked strikingly similar to Pulitizer Prize winning journalist Rick Bragg. This guy also suggested the BBQ place I mentioned in an earlier post. I love him.

So, yeah, we're gonna do that tonight. And rock out! (Insert guitar solo here).

The 13th Colony

Cas and I went to the coast today. It was rockin'. Tybee Island is a quiet little fishing/tourist town with a lot of lovin'. We stopped off at the Tybee Island Lighthouse museum, which is right next to an old WW II fort with a big gun out front.

We climbed the 178 steps of the lighthouse and took in the view. It was amazing. We met some people up there and did the complimentary, "Can you take our picture?" thing. We could see the whole island almost and, when the crowds broke a little, we could see Hilton Head island off in the distance. Then, we decided to go get seafood. We are about out of there before an old lady insisted we check out some of the other "historic" houses. We did a quick walk through and got out of there. Quick. Hey, we were hungry. We went to Sting Ray's Seafood and it took it. I had a Grouper Po' Boy sandwich and Cas had the Grouper plate.

Both were delicious. After that, we hit the beach and sauntered on down the coast until we got tired and then sat back and did a little reading. A Coast Guard helicopter flew by, which was cool. The water was utterly frigid but we danced in it anyway. It was our duty.

We came back and did a little shopping. Now, we're going to relax and get all gussied up for this evening.

Oh, here are some more pictures. Enjoy!

To the coast!

We're going to see the ocean! Yes!

There is a little island just east of Savannah called Tybee Island. Tybee is actually a Native American dialect word for "salt." There's your history lesson. It has about a three mile long beach and we're going to lounge on it. Yes, all three miles of it.

A couple of lighthouses are on the island as well. Cas has a fascination with lighthouses, so of course we have to see them. One is attached to kind of museum and you can climb the 178 steps to the top and see the entire island and Hilton Head, which is about 30 minutes away. There is another lighthouse out in the middle of the water, but you can get to it on low tides I guess.

There are all sorts of shops and random stops on the island so we are going to spend our day rockin' that stuff out.

Side note: Anybody watching CNN today? First, where's the real news? Second, did you see the video of those dudes catching a shark on a beach in Florida and then it bites one guys hand? Yeah, CNN is great... sometimes.

Tuesday... I had the best BBQ of my life from Sweet Leaf Smokehouse. Cas and I walked through the historic district of Savannah to find this little place. We passed all sorts of squares and parks that could make any city jealous. Once the BBQ was found, oh man. I had the pulled pork with a blueberry beer, which was a perfect match. The baked beans were the best I've ever had. In fact, I'm starting to crave it as I'm writing about it. We will probably eat there again before we leave. If we leave...

We might stay one more night either in Savannah or at another destination on the way back such as Knoxville or Louisville again. I don't know; we haven't decided yet.

We went to the Moon River brewing company on Tuesday as well. It was pretty good. Well, the one beer we had was good. They were out of quite a few things, specifically the cider. That's what I wanted. Boo! Anyway, we might stop back by there for a snack or something. But today it's all about seafood because we are heading to the coast. There are little seafood shacks everywhere that all boast the best seafood in town. They all serve locally caught seafood though so I'm sure it's fresh.

Anyway, Cas and I will post plenty of pictures from the coast later today. My brain is a little slow right now so I'm going to leave the good post up to Cas and then I will add another one later today.

Oh, here is Cas' blog, which I forgot to link on here.

Starbucks at the Parthenon!

Random post...

I just kind of felt like taking a photo of my cappuccino next to the Parthenon replica in Nashville. Yep.

Oh Georgia, Georgia

Well, Cas and I made it to Savannah, Georgia, late last night. Our hotel rocks because they screwed up our room and ended up having to put us in a guest suite. It's about the size of my apartment with a fireplace and all sorts of other craziness. The catch? No bed. We had to rock the roll away but it wasn't a bad catch.

Our hotel is right in the Historic District downtown right on the Savannah River. The view is amazing (the picture to the left doesn't really do it justice). We are right across the street from a great Irish pub and a local micro-brewery called Moon River, which we are going to try out today. We checked out the pub last night and another spot called the Mercury Lounge. They were great. We got the local lowdown from the bartenders and now hold the knowledge of the best BBQ place and the best seafood place. We are going to eat there at these places as soon as possible, stay tuned for more details.

My mom of course said we had to see Paula Deen's restaurant when we came. Well, we saw it. It's right across the street from our hotel! We are going to stroll by there today when we walk around. I'm sure the reservations are booked way in advance so we probably won't eat there but we will give it a shot, at least a photo opportunity.

The drive into Savannah was long and rather boring. The stretch of I-16 East from Atlanta to the coast made me a little nervous. It was pitch black everywhere and I was praying that my car wouldn't break down. Luckily, we made it. We saw a lot of deer too, which made the drive even more interesting because I was picturing slamming into a couple of them and careening off into a Georgian swamp. Eeep! Oh well I think I was just getting bored driving and trying to conjure up fantastically insane images in my mind.

Here (above) is a picture of our room. It's like being in someone's house!

There are Elvis statues everywhere...

Well, good morning from Nashville. Cas and I are about to get out of here though. We walked around last night and it was slow because it was Sunday. There was live music everywhere so we stopped and listened a bit but we both decided we were tired and spent our night watching a movie and eating a sundae. Booyah!

Cas and I decided we just really want to see the ocean and Savannah so we are about to leave. We are staying in the Historic District for the next few days and hoping to sample some great seafood and micro-brews. Our hotel has an amazing view of the Savannah River and the harbor there. We will post pictures asap! But, speaking of pictures, here are a few from the past few days... Album. *

* The link might not be updated for a little bit because the site is a little slow. Check back though!

Little Richard is staying in our hotel...

Little Richard walked through the lobby about 15 minutes ago. LOOK OUT!!

Anyway, we're in Nashville and it's rockin' and rollin'. More country though. Yes, Little Richard is at our hotel at the Hilton right near the main drag. We've had great success at finding hotels for cheap with no reservations. The view is great. The room is great. Now we just need to get out and live up the town a little bit and hear some good music.

Apparently there are a few country shows going on but I'm not too sure about some of the music these people call country. I'm down with the honky tonk though.

Side note: I was reading the Exponent's Web site and I must say everyone should head over and read Andrea Thomas' first New Orleans story. She is down there embedded with some volunteers and covering their trip and clean up effort.

Back to Nashville. We stopped off temporarily and saw the recreated Parthenon in Centennial Park. It was neat but not nearly as cool as the real one of course. I haven't seen the real one though so, who am I to compare?

Well, Cas and I are going to scoot around and find a good brew pub then find some live music.

Laters,
Joey

Off to dip the bottle...

It's a fantastic morning in Louisville and we are about to head out to the Makers Mark distillery in Loretto, Ky. Yes, I will be dipping my own bottle of whiskey to take home and guzzle appropriately.

Last night was wild. Cas and I went to the Bluegrass Brewing Company and had some great brew and grub. I had the something something coffee stout, which was amazing. Cas had a raspberry meade that comes in a "wine glass only." It was delicious. Shepherd's pie rocks my socks too.

Then it was off to 4th Street Live, a blocked off street with countless bars. We went to the Makers Mark bouron lounge and got a little saucy. I had a bourbon flight with three different bourbons: Knob Creek, Four Roses and Makers Mark. Needless to say, it was fantastic. Then we wandered around for a bit and got sappy...

So anyway, it's off to the Makers Mark distillery after we stop and pick up a six pack of some beer from the brewing company we visited last night. Post distillery, it's Nashville time. What are we going to do there? We have no idea.

Rock,
Joey

Louisville, Kentucky

Wow. So we got into Louisville, Kentucky, earlier today and it's been a wild one. Expect a post tomorrow as you can maybe see the hour I am posting this. Well, you can expect a post later today I guess I should say.

By the way, this post goes out to one Leroy Bridges who made fun of me for keeping this new fangled blog post thing.

Rock,
Joey

Just a few more days...

Spring Break is only a few days away. Then, we will be off to the vast highways of the Midwest and the South. No agenda. No reservations. Just a few dollars, a map and the goal to have as much fun as possible.

Rock! Check back for daily updates from the road starting this Friday.

xo