Nashville

The home of country music, the ‘buckle’ of the Bible belt and also, and probably surprisingly, the 3^rd largest city geographically wise in the US. Even more surprising since neither of us were aware and it got hardly any news coverage, the victim of severe flash floods earlier this year in May. This unfortunately means that a number of tourist attractions are currently closed for extensive refurbishment, with rumours that the Opryland Mills Mall near our hotel may even need to be torn down and rebuilt it was so badly damaged. It is actually incredible how badly the city was flooded, they had over 6ft of water in places and we had absolutely no idea! It seems even the US media didn’t give it much coverage. It’s really worth checking out the video below to get an idea of how bad the floods were and you can compare some of the scenes to the pictures we have taken over the last few days. Also keep an eye out for the AT&T building which the locals call the Batman building, since it looks like his mask, and the R2D2 look-a-like skyscraper next door.

They’ve done an amazing job clearing up so far and apart from the closed areas you wouldn’t know anything had happened! Nashville is very similar to Memphis in terms of its influence on music and many Country and Western stars live and perform regularly in the city. Today we took a guided tour to discover some of the places that make Nashville famous. Our first stop was the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, a three floor building dedicated to Country music’s history and performers, from Hank Williams to Taylor Swift, they all started in Nashville. They also all played at the Grand Ole Opry, the world’s longest running live radio programme featuring Country music. They run weekly shows out of Nashville, usually from the Grand Ole Opry House. Unfortunately that is still closed for refurbishment from the flood damage (see video for photos). However our tour did take us to the Ryman Auditorium, a 2,362 seat venue that was the historic home for the Grand Ole Opry and the current temporary home. The theatre claims that the auditorium has the 2nd best acoustics in the world and it’s stage has been graced by countless artists from; Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan to in more recent years; Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins, Sigur Rós, Bryan Adams, Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire and Coldplay and now Jenny and I after grabbing two guitars and jumping up on stage to pose for photos.

Our tour continued by taking us around Nashville to see the various other points of interest including a full scale replica of the Parthenon in Athens which is in fact their sister city. We also popped into a few of the bars downtown, including world famous Tootsies, to catch some live music and have a drink. This evening we nipped to the movies to see Expendables, which somewhere along the line forgot it was supposed to be fun rather than make botched sentiments about mans lack of compassion, before heading back downtown to Wildhorse Saloon for more live music and award winning BBQ...it’s a hard life! 

Memphis

The last two days were spent in Memphis, birthplace of Rock ‘n Roll. When we arrived we went straight to Gracelands. Our first impressions of Elvis’ home were of how different it was as a tourist attraction compared to his birthplace. It’s highly commercialised compared to his first home in Tupelo and with it coincidentally being Elvis week 2010 the place was swarming with sightseers, many of them doing their best to impersonate the King with far too much hair spray and ridiculous sideburns.  

There’s plenty to do around the area with many museums, gift shops and restaurants all set up across the street from his home. For an Elvis fan it is like Dinseyland. We just took the standard mansion tour which takes you in a shuttle bus up Graceland’s drive and drops you off outside to explore the house and grounds with a guided audio tour. The house has been kept in excellent condition and all the furnishings are original and used by Elvis and his family. Take a look at the photos and you’ll see how each room has a distinctive theme and crazy 70’s decor. The tour lasts roughly an hour and you get to see the ground and basement floors of the house, including a piano he sat and played on the morning of his death, and all the gardens and outbuildings; which have been converted into exhibition halls.

Just as we were concluding the tour a huge thunderstorm broke out and we had to finish up in the gardens in torrential rain (see photo of Jenny looking like a drowned rat). But it did make standing over Elvis’ grave very atmospheric as the rain battered the reefs and lightning lit up the sky. As I mentioned previously neither of us were Elvis fans before this trip and to be honest the name just conjured up images of fat look-a-likes and heart attacks on toilets. However, after the last few days of walking in his shoes we have started to appreciate what he achieved and recognise him for the young gifted performer he once was rather than the caricature figure fashioned from rumours and look-a-likes since his death.

Our second day in Memphis we visited Sun Studio. This studio is recognised as being the birthplace of Rock N Roll and also the first place that Elvis ever recorded music. It was also home to such legends as Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. In recent years it has been used by Paul McCartney and U2 and the microphone that you see us posing with in the photos is one of the original five the studio had and was used by all those greats and more. Sam Phillips, the founder of Sun Studio and the record label, said before his death that he didn’t want anything put into a museum; it was his wish that people could stand on the same spot as Elvis and rock out into the same mic. We didn’t quite rock out, but where we are standing is the same place that Elvis recorded his first hit, “That’s All Right (Mama)”.

Both nights in Memphis we spent enjoying the famous Beale Street. Our favourite place was B.B. Kings Blues Club, where we ate both nights and watched the bands performing on stage. One such band was fronted by a 16 year old called Will Tucker, we spoke to someone who was a friend of his family and he told us that he had been recording for Randy Jackson (American Idol judge). He was pretty good for 16 so watch this space! The whole street is full of other bars and clubs that all feature live music, including Ground Zero which is owned by actor Morgan Freeman. In an age where so many bands are manufactured and having talent isn’t the number one requirement anymore it was refreshing to be somewhere where music still felt real and there is a definite buzz in the air.

We usually took the free shuttle to and from our hotel but on the last night we took a 30 minute tour in a horse drawn carriage that showed us a few of the sights in Memphis before returning to our hotel. It was a perfect way to end what has been a very different couple of days but extremely cool at the same time, even if the fairy lights and Cinderella carriage Jenny insisted we ride in were a tad gaudy for my liking!

Jackson to Tupelo (Paupers to Kings)

Yesterday we stayed at the Quality (or lack thereof) Inn, Jackson, Mississippi. After the moronic women at the front desk told us we had no reservation we spent over an hour making phone calls and waiting until we finally got a room. Actually I should make that three rooms; our first we couldn’t even get into because the lock on the door was broken and our second was swarming with flies. We had to make do with the third as it was there last room available with a double bed. It was disgusting and by far the worst hotel we have stayed in so far. If for any reason you are in the area, avoid at all costs...in fact just avoid all Quality Inn’s in case they are that bad across the board.

It was a shame because it marred a day that prior to arriving at the hotel was very nice. We left New Orleans in the morning and escaped an incoming tropical storm that was blowing in from the Gulf. When we got to Jackson we went to the Natural Science Museum, it was a $10 entry fee. I gave the lady $10...and she gave me $10 back. Turns out she thought it was a $20 so we had a cheap day! The museum isn’t huge but it was well run and had a few interesting exhibits including a temporary display of Megalodon artefacts, the largest shark ever to live on earth at around 67ft in length with a jaw span of 6ft! They also had some great little nature trails out the back that meandered through forest swamp lands. The trails were littered with lizards and the smallest frogs I have ever seen jumping between the leaves. Amazingly we also got a brief glimpse of two white tailed deer through the trees, making their way back from the waterside. After realising that she couldn’t take home a naked mole rat from the last zoo we went to, Jenny now has a new pet of choice, a terrapin. The museum even had a two headed snake! (check the pictures).

Today we were relieved to be leaving our grotty hotel room and driving to Tupelo, the birthplace of the King! We stopped by Elvis Presley’s Birthplace before we checked into our hotel. The site features the tiny two bedroom house he was born and lived his first three years in, as well as a museum and a few other points of interest. Neither of us are Elvis fans but being in the area it is something we thought we have to see and it was pretty cool standing in the room that he and his twin brother (who was stillborn) were delivered in. Afterwards we headed to the Hilton Garden Inn, hoping for a better experience than we had the previous night.

To our relief we checked in within minutes and with no fuss, Tchaikovsky played in the lobby and freshly baked complimentary cookies sat atop the front desk. Our room is lovely, our bed even has adjustable dials to change the mattress firmness. We have a pool, a Jacuzzi and a gym. This is how a hotel should be run and coupled with our trip to Elvis’ birthplace this morning explains why we have gone from paupers to Kings! Tomorrow we follow Elvis’ journey as we head to Memphis and the site of Graceland, going from his birth room to his grave within 24 hours.

New Orleans

A few days back we stopped for a night on the border of Louisiana at Lake Charles between Houston and New Orleans. We didn’t have time to do anything substantial but there were a few riverside casinos in the area and a nature trail that took in a number of beaches along the Gulf Coast as well as meandering through alligator infested swamp lands. However, the most interesting thing that happened to us took place whilst we relaxed in the hotels pool. As we casually swam beneath the sun, in the hotel drive way a middle aged, naked man stumbled towards us. Luckily he was being followed by police who kept him modest by wrapping a hi-vis jacket around his waist. Unfortunately we weren’t spared for long, after the police restrained him an ambulance turned up and the paramedics swiftly removed his make shift underwear as they placed him on a stretcher giving us quite the eyeful, nor not as the case may be. We had no idea who he was or why he was roaming the streets naked but let’s just say if we had a choice in the future we would prefer a scrape with the alligators.

As we drove into New Orleans yesterday, the site of Hurricane Katrina, we were ironically greeted by the worst storm we have seen so far. The rain was coming down so hard you couldn’t see more than 20ft in front of you and the way the roads flooded in a matter of minutes gave us a small taste of how a hurricane could swamp a city. Fortunately it passed quickly and by the time we got to the hotel the rain had stopped. After checking in and dodging the workmen on our way to our room (they started renovating the day we checked in...just our luck!) we took a short walk to the historic French Quarter.

We spent the afternoon wandering the streets and taking in the atmosphere. Bourbon and Royal are probably the two most famous streets; only a block apart however they vastly differ. Both feature the familiar balconies and architecture that New Orleans is famed for but Royal Street is full of art galleries, antique shops and coffee houses whereas on Bourbon Street you would see drunken teens throwing beaded necklaces from balconies and parade floats. It really is like chalk and cheese. On the one hand you have a historic street frequented by families and tourists from across the world and on the other you have Americas equivalent to the sort of seedy beach side night life you would expect on a Mediterranean coast, bar after bar broken up by the occasional strip club. It definitely makes for a unique mix.

We did go out for a few drinks the first night but Jenny, true to form, felt sick after a grand total of four cocktails and sure enough when we got back to our room spent a half hour hugging the toilet!* Therefore today we took it a bit easy and explored a few areas we missed yesterday, including a flea market and a stroll along the Mississippi River. We also popped into the original Harrah’s Casino to escape the heat as even though it is only a mild 95 the humidity here makes it feel more like 110. I left with $20 less than when I went in but that’s a small price to pay for decent air con!

*Disclaimer: Jenny isn't just a light weight, despite her continued defiance her body clearly has an aversion to alcohol.**

**From Jenny.

Houston, you have a problem...

We have just spent the day at Space Center Houston which is the visitor’s centre of the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Centre; the mission control for all US space endeavours. No shuttles are launched from this site however, that all happens at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. I asked why they decided to build the mission control so far from the actual launch site and the primary reason was Russia! Apparently the US was so certain that the Soviets were going to bomb they made a tactical decision to split their space stations across the country so not to have all their eggs in one basket. The Kennedy site deals with all the launches and landings but once the shuttles are in orbit it is over to Houston to control the missions. The majority of the astronauts also train in Houston and live in the area.

Perhaps the space centre is most famous for an often misquoted line from an astronaut aboard Apollo 13; “Houston, we’ve had a problem here”. Well I believe it’s now Houston that has a problem. Whilst there is plenty to do at the visitors centre and we did enjoy spending the whole day there, everything has a slight ‘old news’ feeling about it. The tram tour of the working buildings wasn’t as fascinating as you might imagine a space programme training centre to be. It was very interesting getting a look at all the life size replica models of the International Space Station, the space shuttles and the equipment they use to replicate working with no gravity but it all looks slightly tired now. The exhibits inside the visitors centre are all a lot of fun but the whole aura in the building is one of a museum more than an exhibition of America’s futuristic frontier into the great unknown. Bear in mind that the last man to step foot on the moon did so in 1972!

However, the biggest problem facing Houston, NASA and in my opinion the US is the Government’s decision to retire the Space Shuttle programme. The shuttles are the huge white, plane shaped vehicles that they strap onto the rockets and launch into space. Since 1981 NASA has been sending these shuttles into space for manned missions. Their main aim was to supply pieces and build the International Space Station. Since the ISS is due for completion next year, and the US economy is in tatters, President Obama has decided to end the Space Shuttle Programme meaning the last launch will take place next summer. This may seem like a wise economic decision, however it now means the US have been forced into an agreement with Russia to purchase space on their Soyuz Shuttle (at a price of over $50 Million per seat with significant increases expected in the near future) to get a US astronaut to low level orbit or the space station.

The problem with the Russian’s Soyuz is that it wasn't designed to carry large pay loads of cargo like the US shuttles and therefore if there are any major repairs or spare parts needed for the ISS, in the words of a NASA official I spoke to, ‘we better hope someone else figures a way to get them up there’. In my opinion, and it appears many other past and present astronauts (click here) this is leaving the US’ space ventures at the mercy of Russia and as far as the Space Race goes, the US may have won the first battle but the war isn’t over. With the US owing over $700 Billion to China and now having to eat out of Russia’s hands as well they are quickly losing their position as one of the world’s great powers. 

Skydiving!!!

Today we went Skydiving!!!

We jumped with Sky Dive Spaceland in Houston and both our instructors were highly experienced and friendly. Mine was a day from his 10,000 jump and Jenny’s had long since passed that milestone since making his first jump in 1968! You have to sign a whole bunch of waivers, watch a 15 minute instructional video and then you are good to go. Your instructor talks you through everything before, on the flight and during the jump so it is all very easy and most importantly safe. The only hitch either of us had was that my first parachute didn’t deploy and we had to use the reserve (this is visible in the video when we both reach to the right to pull the toggle, nothing happens, and then the instructor uses his left arm to pull the reserve chute) but I didn’t know this until we watched the video back!

All I will say is it was like nothing else we have ever done in our lives and we would 100% recommend it to anyone and most definitely want to do it again. The scariest part is taking off and ascending to height in such a light aircraft, jumping out seems a blessing after 10 minutes in a plane like that!

Words cannot describe! We paid extra to get photos and a video each and I am just going to let them do the talking. Yes, they are incredibly cheesy and I will most likely hide behind a pillow every time I watch it; cringing. But that’s what you get from getting a camera shoved in your face when you’re trying to syke yourself up to jump out of a plane from 14,000ft!

Anyway; check out the videos below and the photos on the right and enjoy!..and do it yourself if you get a chance, what do you have to lose...

Jenny

Matt

Racking up the miles

The lack of updates recently has been due to the lack of anything major to report, it's been mostly driving, driving, driving over the past few days. We did have a free day in Tucson on the 31st of July so in the morning made the most of our National Park pass by visiting the Saguaro National Park situated just on the edge of Tucson. In short it's a desert home for a forest of cactus'. We hiked a small trail and drove the purpose built loop through the park. I channelled the spirit of the late Steve Irwin at one point and slammed on the brakes when I spied a snake side-winding its way across the road ahead. I jumped out and followed it into the shrub but it managed to get away and unfortunately I couldn’t find or take any photos of it. It was black and moved incredibly quickly, from reading the parks website it seems it was a non-venomous snake known as a 'coachwhip'. We did see a fair amount of lizards but they are so adept at camouflage they are difficult to make out in photos as they blend in so well with their surroundings.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool and then went out for dinner and a movie. We have actually seen two films I haven’t mentioned yet. The first was Inception; incredible but almost too clever  for its own good (I think Nolan’s ‘The Prestige’ is still his best film outside of the Batman series) and Salt; totally unbelievable and full of plot holes but as a summer action flick it does what it says on the tin.

The month of August greeted us with a 320 mile drive from Tucson to El Paso where we really didn’t do a lot (it’s literally right on the border of the US and Mexico and isn’t the nicest city we have stayed in). The only thing worth noting is I managed to find a replacement suitcase. Which is good since I was having to carry it around like a log as both zips had recently broken and using the trolley would have been a bit of a disaster. We got an early night as we had our longest drive of the trip the following day. Monday August 2nd we drove 550 miles from El Paso to San Antonio, it took us most of the day and by the time we arrived we were both just about sick of sitting in a car. Thankfully we have three nights here before we set off again. So far we have covered nearly 4,000 miles, just another 3,000 to go!

Today we hit up another themepark, Six Flags Fiesta Texas. The weather was gorgeous today, 98 and not a cloud in the sky, so we also made use of the adjoining water park that is included in the admission price. After a few hours on the lazy river were starting to build up a healthy tan...well I am anyway, Jenny is a few different shades ranging from snow white to bright red! The forecast for the next week is continued clear skies and hot suns, which is not only a nice break from the occasional thunderstorm we have been encountering, but also good news as we have rearranged our skydive! We are jumping on Friday from Houston, with a company called Sky Dive Nasa! I expect there’ll be an update before then but make sure to check back on the weekend to find out if our chutes opened...