Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Nashville to Memphis-- Quest for Ink

Day 2- Complete!

We woke up today in the beautiful city of Nashville. There's no where like it in the world. I've always said, if Tennessee wasn't landlocked, I'd be there. But, this water baby can't survive without a coast.

First thing in the morning, I took Mav out for a nice stroll...his favorite place to do his "business" was in front of the crazy huge courthouse. Business people walked purposefully into work, while I stood there with a bag of poop in my hand. Ah, the joys of being a dog parent, unemployed in the middle of downtown NashVegas.

Tim and I went to breakfast in the lobby (free!) and ate our weight in all types of breakfast food. After all, we had to store up some energy for a busy day. We checked out of the hotel and hit the streets, loving every minute of the cowboy-infused culture of Music Row. This is where the good stuff happens!

Ms. Kristi Finigan (for those who don't know-- she's my "replacement" back home at Gold Key) had referred me to a cool tattoo parlor in Nashville called Black 13. Unfortunately, we couldn't get an appointment in time, so we hit the road. Since Memphis was only 3.5 hours away, we thought we could make it there for a relaxed dinner.

Upon arrival, we decided to cancel the non-pet-friendly hotel and opt for a Comfort Suites. They love them some Maverick! When we got in the room, I realized that I have finally perfected my power nap. Gimme a solid 20 mins and I'll be raring to go for the rest of the evening.

We got up, I bbm'd (blackberry message'd) Kristi to see if she knew any tatt spots in Memphis. She replied with "Underground Art." So, we went! We waited forever, but it was worth it (see pictures)! It was my 30th birthday present to myself (July 3rd!) and Tim said that if I did it, he had to, so he didn't look like a wuss. We decided to both get our family initials on the back of our right leg. Higher on the calf for him, low and by the ankle for me (a little more feminine, I think :)).

We were wicked excited and proceeded to talk to the folks in the studio about the awesomeness of 90's rock. I wanted to take my mind off things, so I multi-tasked by chatting and playing e-Scrabble with one of the other tattoo artists. I almost called this blog post "Make Yo Mama Proud" because:
1) that's the name of the website for the parlor and
2) we were pretty sure Mom would hyperventilate when she
found out what we did and my Dad would proceed to laugh incessantly at her reaction.

So, we rounded out the day with Taco Bell and came back to the room exhausted. And so I sit, ready for another day
of this self-professed epic road trip.





Tomorrow's agenda: 7.5 hours to Tulsa, OKLAHOMA! When we get there, we just want to chill and go see Transformers 2, but who knows what shenanigans we'll get into next.

Miss you guys! Keep in touch!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Nashvegas-- The land of hotels with only one entrance...

Well folks, we made the 12 hour trek to Nashville, step one of many on our trip across the country.

We started off in a typical manner-- me nagging Tim about being late/slow/taking his time. And, for those of you who know him, that doesn't go over well, but I just can't help myself. So, we finally got on the road around 830 a.m., stopping at Wawa for breakfast.

For awhile, the trip was uneventful...blah blah I-64, blah blah I-295. But then, cool thing happened that just made my day: pulled up behind Mr. Brett Brownell, who was on his way to a very important meeting in DC. So, we rolled up beside him, smiled, waved, called each other on the phone. Maverick gave him a high-five for encouragement through the window and we continued the drive. Funny thing-- we had just passed our exit at that point and had to turn around. Amazing how God knows when both sets of people just need a little "pick me up" to make it through a tough day. :)

We then get back on track and begin our quest to find a license plate for each US state: Geeky, I know, but you gotta do whatever you can to help the time pass. For the next 8 hours, we gabbed, listened to music, complained about bad drivers, etc. Mr. Maverick was in an adjustment phase, perpetually shaking like a leaf for the first 10 hours. We think that he swears we were giving him away. He was thinking that I just got him a new collar to "pretty him up" and we were gonna drop him in the middle of farmland to fend for himself. After 10 hours, I guess he figured we would have done it already, so he calmed down and enjoyed the ride.

Sample of what was pumping through the speakers:
"The River"- The Boss
"Rise" (Into the Wild Soundtrack)- Eddie Vedder
"Freedom"- George Michael
"Dig"- Incubus
"Hallelujah"- Jeff Buckley
"Say Hey (I Love You)"- Michael Franti
"You Are The Best Thing"- Ray LaMontagne
"Come Let Go"- Xavier Rudd


And so we arrive in Nashville-- on fumes. We went on a mission for a gas station and the hotel. In scoping out the hotel prior to checking in, we realized that there would be no separate entrance to smuggle Maverick in. For all that know him, he never barks and is no trouble, so we figured we might be able to "forego" the pet fee. We got creative. Decided to park across the street in overnight parking to avoid the valet, put him in Tim's backpack and roll up. Little did we know the hang-ups that would shortly ensue.
1) Front desk inspects everyone going through the lobby
2) The valet stand is the only way to enter the hotel
3) it's blazing hot outside at 8pm and
4) I have a squirmy dog that hates his mom for trying to put him in a backpack.

So, we bail and I call the front desk begging for mercy. The manager is sympathetic (you'll understand why in a moment) and offered us (2) comp. breakfast tickets and comp. internet--which I am writing you from now.

So, here are the expenses:
$39 room (great deal!)
FREE breakfast
FREE Internet
$6 fake overnight parking garage (ching)
$22 valet charge (after finding out about the doggie) (ching)
$30 room service (ick)
$75 non-refundable pet fee (ching ching ching)

Starting the first leg of the trip $100 over budget= priceless lesson that I'm not very smart and that honesty is always the best policy.


Day one: complete. Tomorrow, we are going to attempt to walk around Nashville a little and then make our way to Memphis, TN. Wish us luck. We're gonna need it.


“Bizarre travel plans are dancing lessons from God.” - Kurt Vonnegut

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

It's official-- We're LA Bound!

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” - St. Augustine

So, okay, I've hopped on the blog bandwagon. However, this is for a limited time only, meant to document my travels. If it runs on past that, so be it.

My first attempt at blogging is to announce my final moving decision. It has been made--I am officially Los Angeles bound.

Beginning Monday morning, June 29, I will be blogging about my cross-country drive from Virginia to California, documenting all of the interesting (and non-interesting, I'm sure) events along the way.

I am sad to leave my loved ones here on the East Coast, but my insatiable desire has finally gotten the best of me. I am also more than excited to re-connect with all of my friends out West.

So, if you want to follow the craziness of Emily, Tim and Maverick-- you are more than welcome to take the journey with us.

“What is the feeling when you're driving away from people, and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? --It's the too huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.”
--Jack Kerouac