either that or i just really don’t feel like it when i’m tired and recovering from one of the worst allergy attacks of my life. demon cats. they’re everywhere, watch yourselves.

but yes, returning to the original point, i suck at good byes. i’m too much the sentimental type. so let me gloss over my final hoursi n nashville by saying that i had an awesome southern style breakfast and then waved goodbye to folks who’d made my stay in nashville one of the best times of my life. awersome sauce.

yes... sausage, eggs, fluffy-est pancakes evar... and to cap it, CHEESE GRITS

two englishmen and an oz woman walk into a bar...

with that… let me also skip over the ride. who wantsa know about the actual hours passed on the road? what is there to know but that they suck? yet cheap… and can sometimes be less of a hassle than airplane travel.

instead let me start talking about my time in hotlanta.

i think the energy coming off of the good byes at the nashville made me less down to hang out with hostel folks. you gotta understand… i was still being emo about the whole thing when i arrived in atlanta.

and boy was i in a terrible mood, none definitely to be hanging out with hostel folks. so what did i do? i went out to the only available restaurant/bar for a bite a mite of alky. at top flr, the food was good if overpriced, the drinks were interesting, even if their irish whiskey was wack, and their setting was very new york lounge reminiscent.

but more importantly, i’ll recommend the place’s patrons any day. i always go to locals, because locals are always in the know… but no group of locals so far on this trip have been as randomly open and just generally dope as this one. i met my first new vietnamese person, kim at the bar and from there we ended up on an odd-yssey of sorts.

we somehow ended up at the house of LaFace record’s lawyer. yes, that means this dude was the lawyer for outkast in its early days, as well as for TLC before no more scrubs. like whoa. platinum and gold records everywhere.

WATER = COLD

and BALLER mansion. so if it isn’t already weird enough drinking mango rum drinks and eating pigs in blankets, dude has a pool, with a massive slide. which i end up getting to enjoy. while an almost full moon shined its enigmatic countenance down upon us. how fucking weird is that? what set of serendipitous stoner angels must’ve colluded for that to happen? how dope is it that i left that night with my contact for the next night’s entertainment?

gorgeous and fay.

not tired at all, really.

jeebus. i have no idea how i ended up there. how the hell i ended up soaking wet in the pool. or even how i got home. or even why there’s this vague impression of having visited martin luther king jr’s house and church that’s stuck in my head. and it wasn’t even drunkeness… i was just so tired… from the night before partying, from the bus ride, from the cold i was getting.

so i slept in the next day.

you did not read about this earlier for the simple fact that i was having internet troubles like whoa in atlanta… and then i was just exhausted and already feeling the effects of demon cats when i got to pensacola. but i’m getting ahead of myself.

dope cuban food across the street from the hostel in atlanta. i recommend to anyone. good folks at the hostel as well… though i didn’t get to know that many folks.

after a hella late start, i ended up walking to The High, Atlanta’s art museum, after first checking out some local galleries. being from new york city and boston, i’m used to impressive museums… and while the high won’t ever top the met or mfa, it at least gives it a damned decent effort. i had a really good time there, enjoying art. which has always been one of my favourite past times. and of course, monet’s water lilies, which i didn’t get to photograph, were amazingly dope.

little local gallery in between shows

AWESOME use of found objects

who's that sexy beast in the reflection?

that evening, which was also a lot of fun and the entirety of my time in pensacola will come sometime tomorrow. hopefully, when i’m on the bus to norleans.

until then, i bid you adieu.

living is like a coke can, it’s bad for you, but sure is good going down.

oh nashville, you took my heart.

tenn state capitol

who's that handsome devil?

i don’t really have lots of time to do this, because i am only in atlanta for two nights and a day, and then off again to P’Cola to do some training and then watch ufc 100. i won’t really discuss my bus day or the crazy first night i had in atlanta right now, but i will later today. i will say that i am currently in the atlanta international hostel and safe and well, if a little sick just so yall know.

some nashville church that was gorgeous

i will say though, i fucking love nashville. it’s a great, great time. i had hella fun. how awesome is it to be surrounded by loud, live music and a plenitude of alcohol. i had such an amazing time just kicking it with all the dope folks at the hostel and being a tourist. i did a lot of sight seeing, just checking out the state capitol and the horribly unpolitcally correct tennessee state museum. i am not sure if my filipino folks would be insulted or complimented by their exhibit on the philipines war.

pinoy gangstas

see previous caption

i also did the frist art center, which is their big art museum… which was not very big. it was pretty nice though, and i did enjoy myself. and in all seriousness, between the architecture and the music and the surprisingly vibrant art scene, i almost want to say i could live here. not quite though.

i can honestly say this is one of the most beautiful buildings i have ever seen

it’s awesome being a traveler at a hostel, being surrounded by internationals that are all trying to do the same thing i am. there’s this feeling among travelers where we all know we’re only going to be here for the tiniest bit so friendship come fast and strong. and that’s awesome beyond belief.

traveler boys with local girls: what a nightmare

the folks i met in nashville were all really great folks, and we all managed to somehow get to know each other, have injokes and be a good crew within the span of a few days. from oli’s overtly subtle british humour to anthony’s snakiness, to becks good humoured tolerance of all the boys being boys, to ed’s reserved demeanor slowly opening up, to matt’s good ole boy charm mixed with modern sensibilities. obviously, this is only a quick glossing of all the wonderful, amicable folks i met… but it is indicative of how awesome it is to connect with people from canada and australia and britain and even fucking denmark. i

lulz, canadian's already drunk

there’s also that element in vietnamese culture, i feel, this friendliness and openness once you get past the intial awkwardness that comes from the fundamental fatalism that comes along with possibly not seeing someone the next day, for whatever reason. so to make the most of life, we may as well be as close as possible now. i know sure as hell that imma miss those folks.

bex done stole my heart

i SWEAR i didn't drink all those by myself

why does everyone but me always have cute accents?

don't trust danes...

i will briefly say that the country music hall of fame was absolutely awesome sauce. i went on wednesday and it was completely worth the fee. between all the music and artifacts and exhibits, i feel like i learned so much and still had hella fun. like really, just seeing elvis’ car and hank william’s guitar and johnny cash’s guitar… how awesome of a time is that?

johnny cash

erbody

frikkin HUGE

the king and i... too cheesy?

all mine

JOHNNY CASH'S GITAR!!!

good ole country boys

then coming home, we had anthony from australia make us an awesome meal of vegetable spaghetti and then afterwards, we went out… as we always did, pulling in other folks with us.

anthony with his creation... ed can't wait

we like our drink

bex gon' kick anthony's ass for that one

smile erbody!

'parently brits finding hugging awkward

great pic

brits drink so fucking much

ed is a sexy beast

brother i never had

as you can see… it was a great night.

i’m really sad to have said good bye to everyone. now i’m off to get breakfast in atlanta… i will update before i leave tonight for the second part of my atlanta day. but let me just say again, i would recommend going to nashville to pretty much anyone, especially to anyone over twenty one or who just loves music. it really is a great time.

imma miss that city.

life is like an abusive relationship, transcendently wonderful sometimes, abysmally awful others… and with a lot of petty annoyances in between.

beatup old car in paradise park

leaving my mark

i like nashville. i like nashville a whole lot. i hate getting here, i hate the hangover i got from being here, but i really do like this city. it’s places like this that make me absolutely love being a backpacker.

whoa, i look bloated

jigsaw mural

it’s beautiful. like really, there’s awesome architecture and monuments, married to this old tyme feel that quickly welcomes you in. admittedly, the city is a driving city and so loses a mighty lot of points in my book as such, but goddamnit, when there’s this much sun, you can’t help but love it.

so after the shit ass bus ride and updating the blog, i took myself a long nap ‘fore i headed out into the city with a new friend, a former navy man by the name of Bryan. Bryan’s an awesome card magician, a good guy, great sense of humour and from the middle of nowhere kentucky. so it was young men full of sharp contrasts that hit the broadway strip.

bryan from kentucky in front of ryman auditorium

card shark

we hit up jack’s bbq, which is one of the famous spots around these parts. awesome food.

jack's bbq: home of the flying pigs

bbq combo platter

then we started drinking. i love me some country music and nashville is the home of country music. i enjoyed myself so much going from bar to honky tonk bar listening to music. seeing live music is something so fundamentally touching. especially when folks are mostly playing for tips, so there’s no cover. mighty beautiful.

shawna at the Wheel

i love country music because it’s always about the stories… stories of heartache and of home, things that touch the spirit. being surrounded by it, even if it’s somewhat kitschied out and touristified is wonderful. i am hella happy i decided to go to nashville. happy to the point that i’m actually going to stay an extra day.

andrew who played a mean sweet home alabama

awesome singer with the copperhead road tattoo

dude who did an amazing version of johnny come lately

and it’s not just the music that makes me like this place so much… it’s the people.

god, i’ve met so many awesome wonderful people here.

... we were sober.

you gotta understand, i knew no one when i got here, trusting only in my luck and the kindness of folks that i’d be able to find people to hang out with and to vibe with.

and boy did i ever.

from bryan who got my drunk ass home last night, to robyn, steph and mary beth who were the first locals i met and got to hang out with. boy were those ladies cool as hell, and fun to boot. who else would’ve thought to make a set of googly eyes and take ‘em all across the city to take pictures? what a great idea.

pbr eyes

me and the most well dressed girl in nashville

group picature!

the ladies with pat googly eyes

of course, $6 pitchers of beer are an even better or worse idea, depending.

hell, they were so awesome i even gave one of ‘em a set of my buddha beads. i don’t really do this often, it’s kinda a big deal with me, but nothing’s ever felt so appropriate in my life, and let’s face it, i have a tendency to go with feeling more often than not.

when they left, we met even more locals, though these folks were originally from kentucky. which is trippy considering bryan was also from kentucky. i was the only non-kentuckian getting drunk at our table. what a beautiful group of folks. lizzie and christian. and especially heather.

kentuckians and vinh

too cool for school

fun and fun

it's not just northern women who can be scary

i’m going to let the pictures tell the story mostly… but i had a great time yesterday. i had a great time today so far and am probably going to have one tonight and tomorrow.

see you on the road.

life is like a bottle of milk, you gotta drink it up ‘fore it spoils.