Tuesday, August 28, 2007

One of our last night's in SF

I'll miss you guys!

"We're really good friends. We've known each for a while. I know everybody at this party. I have a lot of friends, a lot more friends than this. I have 60 cousins that live in space. I invented kayaks and I invented the streets. I have 6 babies and they all spoke 4 different languages before they came out of my stomach. And, umm, I can fly." Michael and I LOVE Penelope!!! Search YouTube for Kristen Wiig, Penelope if you haven't seen the SNL sketch.

Monday, August 20, 2007

AVP Volleyball Tour- Boston!

We spent the weekend at the AVP volleyball Boston Open. Evan's friend, Lauren Fendrick, was partnering with Holly McPeak. We initially planned to go just to see Lauren, but we had so much fun that we went back for all three days. We saw Kerri Walsh (Stanford grad!) and Misty May play Nicole Branagh and EY in the finals!
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Last Day of the Ultimate Road Trip


Today, we went back to the falls to see the walkway underneath the Canadian side of the falls. It was wet, but fun! After our last tourist attraction, we drove back to the US through Buffalo so we could stop at Anchor Bar- the place that created Buffalo wings! Finally, we made our way across New York and home to Boston.








Day 14: The Henry Ford Museum and Canada

Today, we visited the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit where we were able to tour the Rouge Factory (where F-150s are now made.) It's a pretty high-tech factory and very environmentally friendly. They even have a living roof (a lawn on the roof lowers the temperature inside and filters out pollutants.) Evan was fascinated by the green building techniques. We also rushed through the Henry Ford exhibition hall where they have things like the Rosa Parks bus, the limo JFK was assasinated in, and the rocking chair Lincoln sat in at Ford's theater.
After our whirlwind visit, we drove across the border to Canada and up to Niagara Falls. Once there, we drove down to see the falls. We had a nice dinner at a Japanese restaurant and
watched a tight rope walker cross a thin wire overlooking the falls. We also watched an IMAX movie about adventurers who have gone over the falls in barrels, tubs, etc and saw a display of these contraptions.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Day 13: The Motor City


This morning, we had breakfast at the hotel before meeting Evan's grandparents for a quick tour of the IU campus and their retirement community, Meadowood. Then we took off across Indiana, through Ohio and into Michigan. It was a long drive, but we got to Detroit in time to visit the Motown Museum. We had a great tour guide who was very informative and very fun. We decided to spend the night here so we could tour the Ford F-150 factory and the Henry Ford Museum tomorrow. Both Evan and I wanted to see the assembly line!

Day 12: Nashville to Indiana


We spent the morning at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Got to learn a lot more about country music history! We also went back to the Grande Ole Opry to see the museum tracing the Opry's growth from small radion station to large concert venue. I liked the exhibit on Patsy Cline best!
Then it was off to Indiana to visit Evan's grandparents. We had lunch on the way to Bloomington, IN and got to Bloomington around 7 pm. We went to a dive bar near Indiana University to listen to live jazz and have dinner. Evan's grandmother made us delicious cookies with ice cream for dessert. She also graciously volunteered to do our lunch- something we desperately needed done! :)

Day 12: The Musical Odyssey Continues in Nashville





We spent the morning at Graceland- walking through Elvis' house, seeing his airplanes and many, many cars. They even had a museum on his costumes. There were an incredible number of people visiting because next week is Elvis Week in Memphis. After Graceland, we rushed to the National Civil Rights Museum. It was heartbreaking to learn more about the lead-up to the assasination of MLK Jr and to see his hotel room exactly as he left it on the night we was shot. . We had lunch on the way to Nashville. In Music City, we went directly to the Grand Ole Opry.
Unfortunately, it was closed for a special event so we checked into a hotel with a guitar shaped pool. It was a blistering hot today so it was great to be out of the sun.
That night, we went to the famous Bluebird Cafe to listen to some great live music. It was a round robin where each of the four artists would play an acoustic song in turn. Evan and I both really liked one particular country singer with a great voice!

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Day 11: Hi from Memphis!

Drove from St Louis down to Arkansas and then to Memphis today. Evan had to run a 2 hr conference call so I got to visit the Memphis Rock 'N Soul Museum by myself. It was a GREAT museum (put together by the Smithsonian) and focused on the music that developed in the Delta region (mainly blues, rock, and soul). Everyone got an audio tour so I was able to listen to lots of songs while going through the exhibits. It was so interesting that I barely made it through in the 2 hrs I had to kill while waiting for Evan. We had a true southern meal at a well-known local restaurant, The Cupboard. We both got a "meat and three sides." Evan had chicken friend chicken (isn't that redundant?) with fried green tomatoes, turnip greens, and squash. I had chicken with mac 'n cheese, baked sweet potato, and corn pudding. We both had sweet tea (They aren't lying. it's sweet!) We tried to see the National Civil Rights Museum (where they have preserved the Lorraine Motel just as it was when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was shot there), but some dignitaries were visiting and it was closed to the public. Poopy. So we went to Sun Studios (where Elvis recorded his first song). Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins all recorded there too. The tour was short but very informative. See Evan using the same mic that Elvis used! Next, we went to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music (formerly Stax Records) where all the big soul artists (Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Al Green, Isaac Hayes) recorded. We rushed to the Peabody Hotel so we could see the ducks make their daily march back to the elevator. For 80 yrs, it has been a tradition to watch the ducks march to their fountain (from the elevator) at 11 am and then back to their home on the roof of the hotel at 5 pm. They even have a red carpet for them to walk on and a Duckmaster to usher the ducks along. I got upset at two huge old guys who barged in front of me and prevented me from seeing the ducks. How rude! Next, we were off on the Memphis Duck Ride. I've always wanted to go on one of those amphibious tours where you drive around the city and then plunge into the river. I finally got my wish today! It was totally cheesy but actually a lot of fun. Evan loved his "wacky quacker" noise maker and wouldn't put the damn thing down! While we were on the Mississippi River, two (yes, TWO) big fish JUMPED into our boat! Someone had to grab them and throw them back into the river. One fish hit a guy on the side of his face when it jumped in! It was hilarious!





That night, we went out on Beale Street. We had BBQ at Pig on Beale and then listened to live music at BB King's Blues Club.


Monday, August 6, 2007

Day 10- Missouri!

Woke up in Iowa (right near Omaha, NE) and started driving to Missouri. We stopped in Kansas City to eat some famous BBQ and then drove straight to St Louis so that we could make it to the City Museum before it closed at 5 pm. The City Museum (www. citymuseum.org) is a fantasty land created by an artist with kids in mind. It's half art museum (using only recycled materials) and half amusement park. I thought Evan was going to explode in there. He was running in 10 different directions at once, trying everything, and going mad! It was one of the coolest places I've ever been. Check out our pictures below. Everything could be climbed on, around, or in.





































Next, we went to the Gateway Arch. It's so beautiful.... and learning how hard it was to build was fantasting. Quite a feat of engineering! We had a great dinner of toasted ravioli and Schlafly (a local beer and a St Louis specialty) at a place called Milo's Bocce Ball- a bocce ball bar. We topped off our night with frozen custard from Ted Drewes (another St Louis specialty).
























Evan in the Arch's "capsule"- the tram that takes you to the top.














The view from the top of the Arch.












Yummmmm......custard.........