Hotlanta

After our lovely Thanksgiving in Birmingham, we followed Rachel's Aunt Sandra and Uncle Jay back to Atlanta for the weekend. Rachel's cousin Becca and her husband Michael we so kind to let us stay in their house while they were still in Birmingham with Michael's family. The first evening Rachel's other cousin Emma took us to Michael's theater for an improv comedy show. The next day we spent time at the Atlanta art museum, The High, and walked through Centennial Park. We passed by Turner Field, where the Braves play, before meeting up with Jay and Sandra for a great dinner. That night Emma took us to a bar to see The Last Waltz Ensemble, a band that specializes in the Band and Bob Dylan covers.

Sunday Becca and Michael came home with baby Sela. Monday we departed Atlanta but not before going to the Coca - Cola museum. What a fun time we had at the plant. We saw many historic artifacts and information about Coke, saw the bottles being bottled and packed for shipping, viewed Coca - Cola Pop Art and classic commercials, and also got to taste of 70 different Coke products from all over the world! We got lunch at the Flying Biscuit, a southern comfort food hot spot in Atlanta.

Now its off to Charlotte where we will be seeing the Celtics play on Tuesday night!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We both feel very blessed and are so thankful to all of our friends and family. Thank you SO much to all of you that have given us a place to crash on this trip. Thank you to everyone at home for your love and support...hope you're enjoying the post cards! We are thankful that it is Day 60 of this adventure on the road and we are loving every minute of it. We hope you all had a fabulous day!

We had a lovely day with delicious food. This video is of Rachel's cute cousin Sela!

N'Awlins

We arrived in New Orleans (or how locals pronounce it- N'Awlins) on Sunday evening. The hometown Saints had won their game earlier that day, making them 10-0. The whole town was crazy! We stayed at a cute hotel in the French Quarter that was just a few steps from Bourbon street. Since there is no law against open containers in the city, we decided to get some daiquiris and walk along Bourbon. We were able to see some live music again which we were excited about! Typical bar bands, but still pretty good.

The next day we walked all around the French Quarter, checked out the French Market and the Flea Market. We ate a famous Po' Boy for lunch and then tried some beniets (friend dough squares with powdered sugar on top- yum!) After a long a day of walking we watched some New Orleans jazz and sat along the Mississippi River during the evening.

Our last day their we drove around to see where Katrina did the most damage. It was very sad to see all the boarded up stores and houses, and many land lots missing houses. Despite the damage, the city has rebuilt nicely and everyone in the city is very friendly and positive in their attitudes. That evening we had some delicious hometown Jambalaya and Gumbo. After we went to a small venue called One Eyed Jacks, to see J. Tillman, the drummer of the Fleet Foxes, who was performing that night. He was great and we met and shook his hand! New Orleans was a lot of fun... Now on to Birmingham for Thanksgiving.

The Deep South of Baton Rouge, Louisiana

After departing Austin, we made our way to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to spend a night with Tyler's friend from high school Amanda Young. Saturday night we went out for a nice southern meal and then downtown to see the city at night and found some live music. When we returned to Amanda's apartment we watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Sunday afternoon we drove around downtown to see it during the day. We walked along the Mississippi River and its' levees. For lunch we tried blackened alligator! Which was actually pretty good. We also had hush puppies, fried corn muffins, and boudin balls. We had a lot of fun in Baton Rouge and wish we could have spent more time here but we made our way to New Orleans Sunday night.

Live Music Capital of the World

After spending a relaxing visit at the Ranch we ventured down to Austin, which is known as the "live music capital of the world!" We were both very excited to explore and hear some good tunes. We had a cute little room at the famous Austin Motel which has been operating since 1938. Our first night there we had delicious margaritas at Gueros and saw some live music from a local favorite at The Continental Club.

The next day we walked all around downtown. This included a stroll through University of Texas campus at peak time, walking by the Capital building, Guadalupe street, Fourth street and Sixth street.

Our favorite part of Austin is most definitely Sixth street, famous for the line of bars and restaurants with live music every night of the week! We had fun bar hopping and checking out different bands. Rachel even beat Tyler in a game or darts - finally! While watching the Celtics game at one of the bars on Friday night we met a fellow Bostonian and Celts fan. Unfortunately they lost, but we didn't let it ruin our fun evening.

Since Friday was a rainy day we decided to go to the Alamo Drafthouse, which is a movie theater where you can order meals and drinks! We saw the Christmas Carol (in 3D of course), which we both enjoyed. We liked Austin so much that we booked an extra night, instead of going to San Antonio. This forced us to find another hotel, since the Austin Motel would not let guests stay only one night of the weekend.

Austin is a very cool modern city, with a lot to offer. We can't wait for our next visit!

Putting The Gap on the map.

After our visit with Marianne, we made our way down to Cranfills Gap for an extended stay with Tyler's good family friend Jan and her husband Joe. For five nights we stayed on their 300 acre ranch. We had a great relaxing visit, which is something that we greatly needed after 46 days in the car. With the town population at 358 people, we were able to rest and enjoy the company. Jan and Joe treated us like a King and Queen and gave us a spacious bed and bathroom, we can't thank them enough for their hospitality! We got to ride around the ranch in the golf cart that Jan takes around and we also got to take the 4 - wheeler out for a spin. We got some local flavor by attending the Fire House dinner, and getting a few drinks and dinner at the local bar, the Horny Toad.