The French Quarter- New Orleans

We rolled into the “Big Easy” on the morning of the 23^rd. Our hotel was able to check us in early, which helped avoid driving around town. After settling in we hoped onto the nearest bus. The bus transferred us to a street car. This was the first time either of us had ridden a street car (it’s basically a trolley on rails.) The street car dropped us off in the French Quarter, New Orleans’ famous district. Finding lunch was our first task. This was a very difficult decision because there were so many options! We ending up at P&G Restaurant. This was a quaint little establishment just outside the French Quarter. They serve their food cafeteria style, which helped keep cost down. P&G offered so many options we had a hard time choosing. We ended up ordering a shrimp po’ boy, a bowl of seafood gumbo, and a catfish dinner, and splitting everything. Our lunch only cost $20! Not only was it affordable, but it was absolutely delicious. I am still having cravings for their shrimp po’ boy… Now that we were completely stuffed we headed to the French Quarter. (We had to walk off the large meal.)

Shrimp Po' Boy, Catfish Dinner, and Seafood Gumbo- so much food!

 The French Quarter truly lived up to the hype. It features beautiful and historic architecture as well as unique shops. Almost immediately after arriving we spotted a street jazz band. It was almost as if New Orleans was welcoming us! The musicians appeared to be our age, if not younger. They each played their instruments beautifully. I could have sat and listened to them play for hours, but we had to press on. We visited several art galleries and tourist shops.

One of the galleries featured works by some of my favorite artists including Andy Warhol, Takahashi Murakami, and Salvador Dali. It was amazing to be able to see them in person.

Eventually we made our way down the famous Bourbon Street. It was a lot smaller than I imagined. The majority of the buildings were bars or other “seedy” establishments. Eventually we ventured to the large Flea Market in the corner of the district. I am a huge fan of thrift stores and flea markets. However, in actuality, this was a large tourist trap. They only sold New Orleans souvenirs at outrageous prices. We ventured on, a little disappointed, and came across a little farmer's market, which was decent, but pretty much a little produce section of a grocery store.

A small ice cream parlor caught our eyes. Originally, we popped in to enjoy the air conditioning. We left with a generous scoop of pecan praline ice cream. Delicious!

We also got to enjoy another band while we ate the ice cream

You are probably thinking “Haven’t these two eaten enough?” Well, the answer is no. Our very next stop was Café Du Monde. This was one stop Allison didn’t want to miss. We enjoyed a plate of their famous beignets. (If you are unfamiliar, beignets are a French style donut that is covered in powdered sugar.) After we finished it was easy to see why the place was packed. 

Beignets and Cafe au Lait- amazing!

As we headed back to the street car stop, we saw the Mississippi River. We even checked out some more shops. The further we got from the French Quarter, the more familiar the shops became. (Urban Outfitters, stuff like that.) I was stopped suddenly by the smell of vinyl. The source of the scent was Peaches Records, a local record store that has been around for ages. Allison and I spent a good amount of time rummaging through their large inventory. Unfortunately, finances and limited car space prevented me from taking any records home.

After seeing everything we wanted, we hopped back on the street car and made our way back to the hotel. We took the time to relax and reflect. Allison had to prevent me (on several occasions) from ordering shrimp po’ boys to be delivered to our hotel. Our day in New Orleans was absolutely amazing. The city is so rich is culture and energy that it’s hard not to take a little bit with you. 

-Marc

Navarre Beach, Florida

For the last 2 days, we have thoroughly enjoyed our time with the Charlton's in Florida!

Florida's Best Kept Secret

I am excited that it is my turn to write this blog post, because this has been such a great time for both of us, but I realized that these last two days were the first time that I have really gotten to spend time with the Charltons, outside of holiday and big family gatherings. I already knew that they were cool, but it was so amazing to be their house guests and learn about their beautiful town!

After spending the night after our long drive catching up, we slept in the next morning, and worked on getting the blog caught up, doing laundry, dishes, and letting our tent dry out. Before supper, we made our way to the Navarre Beach (where the slogan is "Florida's Best Kept Secret"). We had a great time looking for shells with Sue, and relaxed until we had delicious home-grilled steaks and roasted veggies.

We got to realize why Sue spends so much time looking for shells- it is relaxing , and so much fun!

The next morning, we woke up for breakfast, a delicious lunch, and another beautiful trip to the beach, including a trip to the pier, which was very interesting. If I remember correctly, it is the longest fishing pier in the Gulf, and it was busy with fishermen when we visited- we even watched a man pull a very big fish out of the water, and found out later that it was a King Mackerel, which was impressive, even by others' standards.

Everyone with their fishing set-ups at the pier

The guys walking down the pier

The beach!

We even got to watch a winning soccer game! :)

All in all, we had a wonderful, beautiful time in Florida, and already can't wait to go back!

-Allie

I like using the word "bonus", but really these pictures are 

Shenandoah NP, Blue Ridge Parkway, and a long drive

Shenandoah National Park!

Sunday we made our way to Shenandoah National Park. This park is located in the mountainous area of Virginia. We arrived to the park before the visitor’s center opened. To pass the time, we went for a short 

hike around the area. After picking up maps and postcards, we began our drive.

The drive was very slow and full of twists and turns. This allowed me (Marc) to showcase my gravel road driving skills.

Hills! Hills! Hills!

Fog began to form as our car climbed up the mountain. This was very disappointing because the fog covered up the scenery. We received a bit of good luck once we reached the highest point. The fog cleared and we were able to see the beautiful landscape. Allison and I stood on top and looked over Virginia. We were over 3,600 feet above sea level!

Allison reflecting on life, 3,600 feet above sea level!

The fog returned on the ride back down. It was a slow and difficult drive. We stopped to make lunch and get some gasoline. Even through it was a windy day, Allison was still able to make some delicious rice and beans. With a full stomach and a full tank, we continued on. The remainder of the drive through Shenandoah National Park was very foggy. The drive was long and difficult. However, the view from the top made it all worth it.

Acorns are like snowflakes. There are a lot of them. 

From there we drove to Lexington, Virginia. As we arrived to town, storm clouds began to form. The campground attendant tried to convince us to find a hotel instead. She informed us that it was going to rain all night long. We decided to still camp. It barely sprinkled that night. The weather was absolutely perfect. It was cool, but not freezing like what we were used to camping in. We both had a great night’s sleep.

The sign explains it.

The next morning we woke up and headed for the Blue Ridge Parkway. We were very worried that it would a similar experience to Shenandoah. Unfortunately, we were correct. The Parkway was completely covered in fog. There were still some areas where the fog lifted. Like Shenandoah, the scenery was breathtaking. After a bit of exploring and picture taking, we continued on.

It was so foggy, we couldn't enjoy the view.

I didn't know what to do with my hands.

The Otter Lake waterfall

We decided that it would be easier to take the interstate to our next destination. Our original plan was to take the Blue Ridge Parkway to it's end (in northern Georgia I believe), and camp near the end, then spend the next day traveling to Navarre, Florida. Because of the fog though, we decided to use the interstate instead and do the 13 hour drive in one day. The drive from Virginia to Florida was very long and tiring.

There is nothing better than Bar-B-Q 

One of the highlights along the way was lunch. We stopped off at a Barbeque restaurant in North Carolina. This was an authentic, family run establishment. The food was delicious and filling. I was able to enjoy two of my favorite things, fried okra and hush puppies! Both of us wanted to nap afterword. Unfortunately, we had to soldier on.

The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful. Due to my poor navigation skills, we ended up stuck in traffic trying to pass through Atlanta. Later, in a small Alabama town, Allison noticed a small dog wandering around the center of the road. It was around 11:00pm and we didn’t know what to do. We stopped to see if it had tags. Sadly, it did not. We managed to wave down a police officer. When we asked what to do, he responded with “Take it home, it ain’t my problem.” Sadly, we had drop the dog off in a safe neighborhood and hoped someone would find its home. FINALLY after a long day of driving we arrived in Navarre, Florida. We were greeted by my Uncle Chuck. It was great to see a familiar face. Allison, Chuck, and I spent the next hour catching up. I am really looking forward to spending the next two days with my Florida family.

-Marc 

Farmer's Market, Free Books, and Armed Forces Day

We happened to be visiting Baltimore, MD on a Saturday, followed by Washington D.C. Not only was Saturday one of the best days for free activities and the Farmer's Market in Baltimore, but it was also Armed Forces Day- resulting in an awesome-ly busy, amazing day.

In Baltimore, we started off the day at 7am at their Farmer's Market, which we found to be simply amazing. we had about $20 for groceries and food, and left spending about $23 (oops!), but we got everything that we needed for a while, plus some. People were friendly, and prices were right, and we wish this place was back home.

Our farmer's market haul included a huge bag of kale, apples, asparagus, baguette, garlic dill butter, cajun hummus, honey, homemade pickles, and a delicious cup of coffee!

This was only one of the isles of the farmer's market- there was much more!

Following the farmer's market, Marc researched and found a place called "The Book Thing", which is basically a free bookstore open on Saturday and Sundays. We walked in Saturday morning about 20 minutes after they opened, and learned quickly that you weren't doing it right if you didn't start off by grabbing a box from the back room. We easily filled the box in short time with Issac Asimov books, classic novels, and some "Marc books" (I don't know.. ones with comic book stuff?? :) ). We realized that we were going to have to drive all of these books across America and though we could easily have filled another box, we walked out with our booty, tickled pink, and eager to someday return to Baltimore.

The Book Thing- the greatest place ever

Baltimore was also very surprisingly NOT traffic filled, but that could have just been due to the fact that it was 9/10 a.m. on a Saturday. I don't care why. I loved it!

Lovely, calm Baltimore, plus a stadium

A really cool, colorful bridge in Baltimore

Then, we made the short drive down to Washington D.C. Upon advice from my dad (Roger), we parked as far out as we could and took the subway the rest of the way. (in DC- it's called the metro. It's kind of weird how each city has their own term for the Subway..) We were so glad we did, even though it ended up taking over an hour, due to track construction, forcing us to take a shuttle for 3 stops worth. It turned out to be totally worth it, as on the way there, we learned that it was Armed Forces Day, and whether this is the reason or not, the city was packed with other tourists, kids' class trip groups, and a special tribute to Veterans. We really felt honored to be there on such a special day, and loved walking through the WWII memorial and seeing all of the smiling veterans talking to groups of people.

Again, some of the exhibits were under construction (seems to be our luck on this trip so far..), but we still got around and saw the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, the White House, a museum, and a bunch of other, really cool looking buildings. Also, it rained. Of course! But it's cool, using an umbrella has always been one of my favorite things. :)

Also, before you ask- yes. Yes, I do have an entire album with more than 10 pictures of Marc with the Washington Monument coming out of his head. Don't you worry. Soon enough, I will share it.

WWII Memorial and Veterans. So awesome.

Ooooo... reflect-y!

Lincoln Memorial

Standing in front of the white house, thinking of a better tomorrow

Well this guy just flat out laughed at us, then went back to texting while standing outside of this cool looking building. As if he had never seen someone modeling with an umbrella in Washington D.C....

My favorite part of the museum- an exhibit about food had Julia Child's kitchen sitting in it. So jealous!!

After we were spent and our feet hurt, we headed back to the metro station, made our way back to the car, and headed to our hotel for the night (a pretty meh.. place, but you get what you pay for!). We slept wonderfully, and woke, fully rested, and ready to visit Shenandoah National Park in the morning.

-Allie

Bonus!

Philadelphia

Yesterday morning, we left Boston early in order to go around NYC on our way to Philadelphia, PA. We knew that whatever estimate we had of a time frame for this drive would have to be extended, especially when traveling on a Friday. But, we got pretty lucky, in that from start to finish, I think traffic and bathroom breaks together only added 1.5 hours to our GPS's estimate. I (Allison) also continued to improve my aggressive, big city driving. I'll tell you what- by the end of this trip, I will be ready to deal with New York City on a regular-day basis!! (But I will definitely not want to!)

Once we got to Philadelphia and finally figured out parking, we wandered over to the Fireman's Hall Museum, which was free (donations encouraged). They had a bunch of old fire engines, along with quite a bit of fire safety learning material for kids. There were also some very nice memorials and displays.

Painted sign for the Fireman's Hall Museum

As Philadelphia is most often known as the home of the Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall, we decided that we should probably check both of these American memorials out. We also got some good people watching in, as everyone rushed to stand next to the Liberty Bell for their picture to be taken.

After our little historic walk, we did some research to find a decent place to get a Philly cheesesteak, and found a little restaurant in the downtown area with decent reviews and a simple menu: cheesesteaks and burgers. We shared a cheesesteak with provolone and sweet peppers, and it was delicious!

Philly Cheesesteak

By the time we finished supper, it was getting to be about that time, so we found the car and headed to our campsite for the night- a nice place near Dover, DE. It was a beautiful night and we slept well!

-Allie

Bawston

Also, sorry for the formatting mistakes in this post, I can't seem to get it straightened out quite right.. -Allie

We slept in our first morning in Boston, and got up around 9 to help Adam make French toast, which was delicious!

Adam got the morning off work, so he helped us get our subway day passes, and took us around downtown Boston, where we saw the demonstration gardens, the Boston Commons, the historical district, and lots of food trucks and restaurants (including our lunch destination- Pedro’s Tacos). Adam had to head to work after lunch.

Pedro's Tacos- famous fish taco- so yummy!

Our Awesome Host and Wonderful Tour Guide- ADAM!

(more pictures to come later!)

We made our way to the Boston Aquarium. Someone could easily spend days exploring this aquarium. There is a wide variety of marine life on display. We even witnessed a group of sea-lions showing off their tricks. Unfortunately, the penguins were on vacation. There was a small group of “little blue penguins” on display instead! After spending a few hours at the Aquarium, we hopped back onto the subway to meet up with Adam. 

New England Aquarium

Jellyfish at the Aquarium

Once we regrouped we headed to the Harpoon Brewery. Harpoon is one of the oldest independent breweries in Boston. There we went on a tour of the brewery and learned about the process. We were even treated with samples of their many different kinds of beer. We may have done more sampling than learning… From there we went to Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art. They are currently featuring an exhibit by Barry McGee. McGee is easily one of my (Marc) favorite living artists. I feel very fortunate to have seen his work in person. I was not aware this exhibit was in Boston until we passed an ad on the train. What are the odds? 

From the Barry McGee Exhibit

From the Barry McGee Exhibit

The night didn’t end there. Around 9:00 pm we realized we hadn’t eaten dinner. Adam took us to Five Guys Burgers. WOW! Where has this place been all of my life? Over indulging on burgers and fries may have not been the best idea. We still had a long walk back to Adam’s apartment. Once we arrived, we collapsed immediately. It had been a truly fantastic day!

Our first Five Guys experience- it's pretty safe to say that we are hooked!

 Boston has so many things to see and do. Getting a chance to catch up with a good friend made the experience even better. I can say with confidence that Boston has been my favorite stop so far.

-Marc

Bonus: KickAss Cupcake Truck!