Keeping Georgia on our minds

Adam and I relaxed quite a bit during our time in Georgia. On our first night, we just went to the grocery store and made some spaghetti for dinner. Other than that, we just watched t.v. and the movie Australia, which was incredibly long. I might be forgetting other things...I guess I'll have to ask Adam!

The next morning, we went to the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum. We spent a good amount of time there and the grounds were really pretty. We didn't get to see a lot of the grounds because we started to get hungry. We ended up just eating a small snack of fast food (in my case, a Whopper Jr. I know, I know...but it was only $1.07).

Jimmy Carter's Nobel Peace Prize

From there, we headed out to Olympic Park. We couldn't find any parking so we ended up going to Piedmont Park where they were having their annual Dogwood Festival, which was a large arts/music/community event. It's a huge park that is really pretty and next to some very beautiful homes. We checked out the artwork, watched an illegal henna tattooist get escorted from the grassy area, and saw some people fishing in the little man-made lake.



That night we had more spaghetti and I did some Spanish hw. There was a huge thunderstorm that night and tornado warnings kept coming up on the t.v. I love rain and miss thunderstorms. We didn't get much of that in the OC.

Other than that, our time in Atlanta was pretty uneventful. Our internet was frustratingly spotty, and our last morning there was no hot water so we didn't shower. But, we did reward ourselves with some Pizza Hut buffet (I know we swore it off the last time we had it, but for some reason the Pizza Hut called our name and we gave in).

Sweet Home Alabama!

After our time in New Orleans, we headed further east into Alabama to Montgomery, home to the Civil Rights Memorial and the Rosa Parks Museum. On our way towards Montgomery, we stopped in Mobile and had lunch with Tiffany, who is also going to be heading to Ecuador in June with us. It was fun to meet another person who is asking the same questions we are and having the same excitement & anxieties! Of course, I did a lot of talking because I'm a chatty cathy. She is going to be a Health volunteer who was originally slated to go to Fiji, but is still excited to go to Ecuador. She is also one of many who majored in Spanish in college. We met up at this very cute lunch place called Spot of Tea, and now we can say that we already know one person who we'll see in June!

After that, it was off to Montgomery, AL. Our first night we went to the gym, finally! Our hotel had a partnership with Gold's Gym, so that was totally great. It was almost empty and also a new facility with way more options than a hotel gym could offer. Then, we got a little taste of Southern Korean BBQ. When Hyundai was brought into Montgomery, many Koreans also moved into town. There were several Korean churches, restaurants and markets that we passed when we were driving through Montgomery, so we figured we should give it a try...and I have to say that it was just as expensive as Cham Sut Gol, and not nearly as amazing. Plus, no Thrifty's ice cream or steamed egg or rice paper. Pshhh! Luckily, I think I've convinced Jennifer that we should go when I am next in town...in less than 2 weeks! Yes!

As always, not holding still for the camera, lol. Ok banchan. No fishcake!

The next day we visited the Rosa Parks Museum, as well as the Civil Rights Memorial & Center. I really enjoyed this part of the trip because it is such a fascinating part of our recent American history and something that people who are still living experienced first-hand. I also liked that the Civil Rights Memorial Center also included a small section about civil rights issues that are still happening today and ways that we can each commit to promoting civil rights for all people. It was surprising how empty downtown Montgomery was too. For a town of 200,000 I think they must all be hiding out in the 'burbs and I'm not sure many travelers come through. We were seriously there on a Saturday and hardly saw anyone. Another thing we found interesting was that there were armed security guards in front of the Civil Rights Memorial (which also shares the building with the Southern Poverty Law Center). I assume it is because the SPLC might be a target as a result of the work that they do and civil rights cases that they have won (against different white supremacy groups like Aryan Nation and also their current case against the Imperial Klans). Either way, the guard was nice enough (probably bored because there was nobody around, so he was super chatty with Adam and I, talking about traffic, the weather, digital cameras...).

The site where Rosa Parks refused to get off the bus and got arrested. It's located right in front of the Rosa Parks Museum.


Civil Rights Memorial

Civil Rights Memorial and Center

From Montgomery, we stopped in Tuskegee, AL. I had no idea that Tuskegee University was so large, or that it was also considered a National Park Services site. The Booker T. Washington house was closed for refurbishment, so we went to the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, which was also under construction but still open. It's interesting to see some of these things in person that we only previously read about and to remind us that we forget a lot from history class!

Gardening in New Orleans

Today Adam and I did a volunteer project with the Oretha C. Haley Renovation Committee. This is a street that is just a few blocks from St. Charles St. and the Garden District, but it is full of abandoned or vacant, dilapidated buildings. There is a committee that is working to revitalize the area by renovating and cleaning up the area. For the day, Adam and I worked with a community garden that is located on the street. It was a long day outside, but it was nice to help out where we can. For lunch, we ate at a restaurant on the street called Cafe Reconcile. It is nice to support local businesses that are trying to improve their communities and provide opportunities for those in need.

New Orleans!

We arrived in New Orleans around 8pm on Monday, April 13, where we checked into our hostel and headed out in search for some Cajun or Creole food. Surprisingly, none was to be found where the hostel employees had directed us. So, we settled for some pizza. Then off we went to Wal-Mart (gosh, we've seen a lot of Wal-Marts on this trip! Which is strange because in California, we never go there, unless we are in Ridgecrest) where we rented a movie from the Red Box.


The next morning, we headed out to the New Orleans Public Library. It was actually quite a sad library. A tad dingy and in need of some love and care. No pencils in the scratch paper box, faded signs, and that musty smell of old buildings. But, it had books! Yay! We flipped through a few books about New Orleans to figure out what to do for the day.

We started out with a trip to Audubon Park, which used to be a plantation and is now a huge park. We did what we had to do and pulled out the camp stove to cook up some tilapia. Yes, the same tilapia that was eaten in Grand Canyon and in Austin. We had two more filets left and of course Adam and I would feel guilty about wasting food so we had to cook it before it spoiled. With that said, I could do without tilapia for a looong time.


After that it was off to the French Quarter where we walked around and then feasted on some beignets and coffee (hot cocoa for Adam) at Cafe du Monde. It was really inexpensive and super good! I'm not sure what else we did, but I know we spent some time at Borders where I did Spanish hw, some more time at the hostel's common area doing Spanish hw, and also cooking dinner at the hostel.

One of MANY mansions in the Garden District

Yesterday was a full day of the French Quarter, the Confederate Museum, walking around the Garden District and riding the trolley cars around town. We managed to also fit in a tour with a Park Ranger, eat some unimpressive gumbo and jambalaya, vaccuum out the car, make ANOTHER trip to Wal-Mart, and watch Slum Dog Millionaire. So it was a full and fun day!

The muddy Mississippi

Jackson Square in the French Quarter (with mule drawn carts in front)

Underwhelming jambalaya in the French Quarter. Presentation was nice though!

Lots of musicians in the streets

The inside of the Confederate History Museum

Mini street car decorations around town

The real streetcars that we took on St. Charles St.

Adam and I found mini pies at Wal-Mart- super cute and only $.50!

Bats! Eggs! Texas Honky Tonk!

Wow, our trip is flying by! Well here is a recap of all the fun things we've been up to!

So the rest of our time in Austin was amazing!! It was laid back but jam packed with fun things! Drew did a great job entertaining us, even if it meant LOOOONG games of Mexican Train Dominoes!! On Saturday, we slept in, relaxed a bit, and then headed out to lunch and a stroll down S. Congress. There were so many cute shops to stop in and browse. Definitely a fun scene in Austin. The only bummer thing was that after the hike, my feet were DYING. Jennifer was sure I had bone spurs, but I am pretty sure it was simply that my feet can't handle 7 mile hikes after not doing anything but sitting in a car for a few weeks.

That night, we ate at the Salt Lick and had way too much food. It was a cute place in the outskirts of Austin. We had ribs, brisket, sausage and ended the meal with some cobbler and ice cream! As Jennifer says, "Do it up!" After that, it was time for two stepping at the Broken Spoke. I was super sad because I had bum feet that wouldn't work, so there was no Texas honky tonk for me or Adam. Which is sad, because Adam actually said he was going to give it a try.

Drew trying to get Jennifer to look like a cowgirl. She put the kabosh on the outfit.

The next morning, we awoke to Easter eggs hidden all around Drew's kitchen and living room, hidden by Jennif....the Easter bunny. After a sluggish start, we finally did some hunting, before bumming around Drew's apartment watching a marathon of Bizarre Foods. We also dyed Easter eggs (super fun!) and made egg salad sandwiches for lunch- in our WCF shirts!! In the late afternoon, Jennifer and Drew went on a five mile hike, while I hobbled over to Dominican Joe's with Adam for some coffee and Spanish homework. At dusk, we met up with them under the bridge where we saw THOUSANDS of bats flying out for the night. It was amazing and made up for us not seeing bats in Carlsbad. After that, we prepped for our WCF grill out, and finally ate dinner and apple cobbler around 10pm! Followed by...Mexican Train Dominoes! Adam, of course, prevailed once again.

Adam makes the most attractive eggs- his is the brownish green mud one.

Us in our matching shirts! Yay!

Waiting for the bats to make their nightly appearance


Excited for our grill out of steak, chicken, fish, corn, and grilled veggies

Monday was time to bid farewell to Drew and Jennifer and say hello to the Big Easy. Sadly, we awoke to Jennifer being severely ill. She had been up all night vomiting and you-know-what. Drew had to leave for class, so Adam and I packed up all our things while Jennifer lay resting or hanging out in the bathroom. It turns out she picked up quite the nasty bacterial stomach bug. =( It wasn't quite the best end to our reunion, but hopefully there will be plenty more in the future!