New Orleans, Louisiana

Memphis - New Orleans via Amtrak (City of New Orleans route)
Brad's birthday
April 24-27, 2008

• Nick, Brad, Amanda, and Erica took the train from Memphis to New Orleans. Drove to downtown Memphis to Central Station, where we checked in, got our tickets, and boarded a bus to an area near President's Island, off Riverport Road, due to an 18 foot deep sinkhole that forced Amtrak to detour train service around the city. We arrived at the train around 6:30 AM in what appeared to be a shipping/rail yard and boarded.
• Train departed and for the next 10 hours we were riding. Surprisingly, there was plenty of good food on board. As we rode through the Mississippi Delta and into Louisiana, we kept ourselves entertained by reading, chatting, eating, and watching the woman behind us interact with her child. And the conductors. This lady felt it was her god-given right to disembark and smoke at each stop (whether she was allowed to or not). She was pretty vocal about her rights as a smoker.
• Arriving in New Orleans around 4 pm, we left the train station via taxi and went to the hotel (Doubletree) downtown. We checked into the hotel and started walking, mainly looking to hit up some bars and score a couple drinks - sorely needed after being on the train all day.
• Harrah's casino was located across the street from the hotel - we made our way into the casino at some point and played a few games. Well, Nick and Brad played (Nick's first go at Roulette banked him about $200) while Erica and Amanda got something to eat. They were both wasting away from starvation. We saw Amy Lavere play a set that evening.
• The next day saw more drinking, hanging out in the French Quarter at bars, playing air hockey, darts, pool. One of Erica's happiest moments of the trip came when she realized that her Coor's Light bottle changed colors once the beer was no longer cold. Amanda said that this was when Erica would know when to start chugging her beer. One of Amanda's meals that day consisted of a chili dog from a greasy spoon, topped with slices of cheese FRIED on a FLAT GRILL. A picture of health, this woman.
• Erica, Amanda, and Brad took an afternoon trip to the Garden District. They visited a cemetery and had some phenomenal pizza. Nick met up with them once back downtown and everyone went to the market to look at junk. We also took a walk along the river.
  
• That evening we all went to dinner at a nice restaurant in the French Quarter and while Amanda was dressed to the nines, she was not wearing the most comfortable pair of hooker shoes...so much so that she had to make a trip into the Walgreen's to get a pair of flip flops. We stopped at a few more bars, had a few more drinks then headed back to the hotel.
• The following morning, we all packed up and got a cab to the train station (NOUPT). Checked in, waited, then boarded the train. Once into Mississippi, the conductor asked us (each, sitting alone with no one next to us) to consolidate since we were together and take up 1 full row because there were several more passengers getting on at the next stop. And one of them just happened to be our lovely carmate from the trip down, just a few days before. And she was still concerned about when/where she was going to be able to smoke her cigarettes. Classy.
  

Phoenix, Arizona

MEM-PHX
Feb 29-Mar 2, 2008
Baseball Spring Training

• Flew from Memphis to Phoenix. Arrived on the afternoon of the 29th and checked into the Homewood Suites in Chandler, a suburb.
• Settled in then made our way to the Spring Training game. We had tickets for 3 Cubs games in 3 days. Cubs play in the Cactus League of MLB Spring Training.
  
• Friday - Game 1: Cubs vs Giants at HoHoKam Park in Mesa. Gametime weather is perfect - sunny and not a cloud in the sky. Nick bought a new Cubs hat and Brad got a new Cubs t-shirt. Cubs lose.
• A banner advertising a place called Culver's in the outfield bragged about something called 'butter burgers'. This is something that can clog arteries just reading/learning about. It is a burger on a bun that has been buttered so generously that the sandwich itself sits in a deep pool of melted butter on the plate. A Google Image search turned up some interesting-looking burgers.
• Went to a bar in the area and had a few beers after the game. Ate dinner then went back to the hotel.
• The next day we went for a hike in South Mountain Park/Preserve. It took some effort to get to the park where the trail starts, off the Maricopa Freeway. It was hard as hell to find. When we arrived, there was nowhere to park, so we essentially had to go to the other side of the park and come in from the north, which ended up working out well anyway, since there was nobody hiking in the area we went. The highest mountain in the park (opened in 1924) is a little over 2,500 elevation. On the hike, we came across some great scenery and lots of wildflowers.
• Saturday - Game 2: Cubs vs Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium. This stadium is easier to access, but was a bit smaller than HoHoKam. Good game, but...Cubs lose.
• That evening we were in Chandler and drove around looking for a place to eat. Ended up stopping at a Greek restaurant called My Big Fat Greek Restaurant (a chain restaurant that clearly had no sense of originality...we ate there anyway). Good food. Annoying belly dancers all over the place.
  
• Sunday - Game 3: Cubs vs Giants at HoHoKam. Entertaining crowd...including the drunk guy in front of us, yelling and waving around a Miller Chill (duh, it's a light lime beer with only 100 calories). Met a couple fans from Chicago visiting Phoenix for Spring Training. Cubs lose.
• After the game, we trek 10 minutes to the PHX Airport and back to Memphis.

Seattle, Washington

MEM-SEA
Seattle, Washington
Jan 19-23, 2008

• We arrived in Seattle and waited for Carrie and Adam to pick us up at the airport - they were already in Seattle. We checked into the hotel, downtown.
• Had a few beers and then met up with Krista and Larry at a bar a few blocks from the hotel. Nice place, although Larry mentioned that we stuck out because we were overdressed for Seattle.
  
• Larry was talking up a bar with a bunch of pinball machines (Shorty's), so we walked till we found it, in Belltown. Played a ton of pinball...no clear cut champion, though. Unless you count the beer as a player. Then, the beer won. Made it back to the hotel without incident.
• Brad and I went to Pike Place Market and ate fresh donuts, looked at the water and then we were done with that. It was cold and rainy. Bought a magnet.
• That day Carrie and Adam went hiking with Krista and Larry, so Brad and I went to Everett, WA - the home of the Boeing Company. We went through the Future of Flight Aviation Center and the factory ($15), which is home to the 747, 767, 777 and the new 787 Dreamliner. Secrecy and security is the name of the game at Boeing - no phones, cameras, electronics of any kind, purses, or babies. The factory was really cool - covers 98 acres, and is the largest building by volume in the world. About 110,000 people visit annually.
• Celeste hung out with us that evening - we went to Hale's Ales and a few other places near Fremont.
  
• The next morning (Sunday) Krista, Larry, Celeste, Carrie, Adam, Brad, and of course Charlie went to brunch at Salty's. We ate a lot of excellent food and then Brad and I went to Celeste's 'temporary' home on the lake and hung out on the beach for a while (even though it was COLD!!).
• The weekend was way too short - seemed like we were only there for a day, but we had a great time. The next day we headed back to Memphis.