Walking in Memphis... in the middle of the pouring rain

So little known fact about Peter... I love bluesy rock n' roll. It's the kind of music I like to listen to when I have some alone time. This was one of the cities I was most excited about seeing; which makes it really unfortunate that it's also the one I feel most unsafe in so far, but it's nothing that Boston hasn't taught me to be able to handle.


After my earlier post/rant, I went to the Memphis Rock n' Soul Museum. They mostly had items from the slave era and musical memorabilia, but the information on blues was really interesting. They had a lot of old blues song samples on their audio tour head sets so used it as an opportunity to expand my itunes library and took pictures of the song lists. This one is off of an old juke box, the songs on it aren't really blues but I thought the picture came out cool.


After that I walked down Beale Street, which I HAVE TO go back to with a group of friends some time. The street is blocked off so you can walk down it Disney World style and then lined with bars and blues clubs. I was planning on coming back and going into one for a beer, but then it started pouring again and I already was feeling unsafe so I decided against it sadly.


At the end of Beale Street I arrived at the famous Sun Studio where a Mississippi boy changed the sound of music for rest of time. I stood at the exact spot where Elvis recorded some of his most famous hits. I literally had tingles going down my spine realizing the musical history that went on in that room, beyond just Elvis too. Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Muddy Waters, B.B. King... needless to say, I had fun today.


Tomorrow is the King's lair; tomorrow is Graceland!

Tennesse HATES Starbucks!

I thought it was funny when I didn't notice any Starbucks on the way to Nashville or even in Nashville. But I didn't fully realize the unpopularity of the coffee company until I didn't see one on the way to Memphis either. When I stopped for gas and ice for my cooler, I asked the woman behind the counter if she knew where the closest Starbucks was. And with this I am not over exaggerating AT ALL... she burst into laughter, practically falling over (she was standing, not sitting), slapping her knee and she needed to cough in order to catch her breath. Apparently this overweight, yellow/black toothed, sans eye-brows madame thought I was funny.

I find it interesting how people choose which corporate teet they like to suck on, and then judge all other company nips as if theirs is more "mom & pop." Across the street from this gas station was a McDonalds and right next door was an Arby's. I don't judge anyone who attends those establishments, but obviously southern hospitality was lost on this beastly woman. In the words of Katie Stock... "You've been Judged."

Obviously I finally did find a 'bucks in Memphis since I'm online and able to finally post my adventures, but apparantely it's the only one in the downtown area and it'll be closing in two weeks. In the end I've come to realize that Tennesse just hates Starbucks.

The weather is still not the best, so I'm spending today at some museums and then I'll go to Graceland tomorrow when the weather is hopefully more agreeable, and then return to this Starbucks to post everything since I can't rely on finding another one on the way to Austin.

Howdyyyyyyy!

So I broke my promise to myself, I didn't go to Dollwood today. The rain continued through the night into this morning, so I decided to drive straight to Nashville instead. But once I got there the skies where completely clear, just in time for me to get in touch with my Country roots... HEY! I could be a little bit country, but I guess I'm mostly a little bit rock n' roll (Ok ok, that was a horrible joke, but I'm a corn-ball, you all know this).


I spent a good portion of the day at the Grand Ole Opry, taking the back stage tour and walking through the Opry Mill mall. The tour was a lot of fun; I can't get enough of the southern twang everyone has down here and the history of the Opry House was actually pretty interesting. They took a peice of the old stage that every performer stood on and put it in center stage of the new one so all the new artist could stand where their idols once stood.


Country may not be my favorite genre, but I have a few artists that I like and I really admire their strong sense of community. The mall was pretty nice too. I geeked out over Marvel Comics with the guy in Barnes&Noble and I had some free time, so I saw "The Proposal" at their theater. I really liked it. It was very well written, especially for a romantic comedy, and I love Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, and of course Betty White.

Then I went to see the Parthanon. I'm not entirely sure why Nashville is the site for the full sized replica of the famous Greek temple, but I figured it was a must see for a Greek boy. It was pretty impressive. They had it all painted and sculpted the way historians believe it looked when it was originally built.


I've come up with quite a few ideas for my movie so far, but I pose this separate idea to you guys... the Housewives of Nashville!

And the Thunder Rolls...

As my title suggests, it's raining at the Smokeys, which is unfortunate. The above picture is pre-storm and below is post, but I suppose it's fitting for the Great Smokey Mountains to in fact look smokey...


This time I did get to do some hiking, but the looming storm decided to unleash its furry on my way back to camp. Even better, being the smarty pants that I am, I decided it was a good idea to wait after my hike to pitch my tent. So instead of attempting such mechanics in the rain, I'm spending the night in the back seat of my car. It's a warm rainstorm anyway so the whole ordeal isn't frustrating or anything. I just had to acknowledge my brilliance.Actually the only part of the whole experience that I didn't like was the fear of knowing that I'm on a mountain during a thunder storm and the chances of me and my handy little metal canteen getting struck by lightning were too high of a percentage for my taste. With each flash came a vision of me becoming that guy in "Benjamin Button."


For now I have the sanctuary of my Hyundai Sonata, and the promise of Dollywood in the morning!


PS... I learned something new today. Apparently if I ever want to have a butterfly garden someday, all I need to do is load up a room with horse dung and they will come.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Jesus Fish

How did I realize I was in Virginia? The migration of holy trout on the highway. Seriously though, all hick jokes aside, Virginia was BEAUTIFUL! I requested a way around the toll booths on map-quest and its response was to put me on this scenic drive through farm land and hilly meadows. I tried to take pictures along the way, but sticking my hand out of a moving car doesn't produce the best photography.


As expected, my enthusiasm for this trip has been fluctuating. I'd be lying if I said it had nothing to do with Scooter, but watching these families camping out together is emphasizing my lack of conversations other than with myself. Even the weird Amish family looks like they're having fun... are they still Amish if they own a car?


I'm in my tent at Shenandoah National Park. I decided to use this time to sit, relax, and maybe do some reading (eat your heart out Anthony Marando). Skyline Drive was amazing, but it took forever... on top of my 5 hour drive just to get to the park. I'm exhausted and the idea of attempting a hike is too painful right now. Besides, all the hikes I had planned for this park lead me to high elevated spots with a view and Skyline provided me with endless outlooks into these awesome valleys. Sadly its been a bit hazy today so the pictures loose the full effect of the view.


PLUS! I'm getting attuned with nature all in the comfort of my own tent. These campgrounds are crawling with does (deer) and stags. One practically came right up to me while I was putting up my tent!


Shenandoah is great place for a future camping trip with some friends. Very calming. I spent a half hour just looking at the scenery and watching this massive puffy cloud morph into different shapes. I'll rest today so I can wake up bright (or in this case dark) and early to get to the Great Smokeys in time to get some hiking in.

R.I.P. Scooter

This trip is officially dedicated to my family dog, Scooter. This morning my mom informed me of his passing. I'm taking it surprisingly well, or at least I'm not letting myself fully comprehend it yet.


Scooter had one of the most adventurous spirits I've ever seen. I think its fitting to continue this quest in his name. I'll love you always Scoot.

The Starting Line

Leaving home was bitter sweet. Mother nature christened my journey with a torrential downpour for the first 20 minutes of the drive, but then the skies completely opened into one of the more beautiful days I've seen this summer. Saying good bye to my family was difficult, even Mia (my cat). It's scary how well she can read me. As I was walking to my car I heard her meowing, and sure enough, she was standing behind the screen door calling for me. I'm pretty sure she knew I wasn't just on my way to work. I really do wish I could have brought her along. Having a companion that can't request alterations to the route is an enticing thought. But day one was anything but lonely...


I've been to Philly before, but the only touristy thing I did was eat a cheese-steak; now that I'm a vegetarian I can skip that heart attack. I met up with Sophie and her friend/our tour guide, Kevin, to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Katie joined us for a stroll down South Street, an artsy, less expensive version of Newburry Street. After spending an already decent chunk of my allotted cash, we proceeded to get emotionally bitch-slapped by my GPS trying to get back to Sophie's house; you'd be surprised how angry a monotone voice can sound when she repeatedly tells you to make a U-turn in the middle of a busy street. Once we had dinner, the three of us (Kevin parted ways halfway through our South Street exploits) stayed up until about 1am picking out future breasts for Katie in "People" magazine and a future occupation for me from Weezer's "Undone."


All in all I would deem Day One a success. Tomorrow I drive to the south... wish me luck?