Friday, June 27, 2008

Road Trip Part 2







Day 2 of the road trip was very lack luster. We left West Memphis Arkansas at about 9am. Arkansas was one of the worst states to drive through. That is until we got to Oklahoma. Oklahoma was just as boring as Arkansas, maybe even worse. So we ended up stopping at a subway in some remote part of Oklahoma, which was across the street from the oldest Wal-Mart in America. We went inside the Wal-Mart for some supplies and those folks were looking at us like we were the first black people to ever step foot in that Wal-Mart. Then I realized that we probably were the first black people to step foot in that Wal-Mart.



After leaving the state of Oklahoma, we entered Texas. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a Redskins fan, so anything that has to do with Dallas and the state of Texas can eat a fat one. Well my cousin is also a Redskins fan so it was only right that we pull over on the side of the road to piss on the state of Texas. Our next stop was at a What A Burger in Amarillo,TX. I don’t usually eat fast food anymore, but back in my college days What A Burger was one of my favorites (and the ketchup they use is the best ketchup ever), so I had to order a double What A Burger with cheese. After dinner, we kept driving until we reached Albuquerque NM and got a hotel room.


Day 3 started in New Mexico and took us into Arizona. So while we were driving through Arizona, we saw signs for the Grand Canyon. After using my trusty Blackberry phone, equipped with Google maps, I realized that the Grand Canyon was only an hour out of the way so we decided to check it out. After driving on a road with a 100 foot drop off and no guard rail, we reached the Grand Canyon. It was cool and I got some good pictures, but I think the bigger of the 2 parks was another hour out of the way. We pull up to the park and notice that there is a toll booth. $25 to see the Grand Canyon? How in the hell are they allowed to make you pay to look at a big ass hole in the ground. That’s like charging $25 to look at the Potomac. But since we had already paid we were like F-it.After we left the Grand Canyon out next stop was Phoenix.








I know people say that desert heat is different and sometimes better than east coast humid heat, but I have to disagree. I stepped out the car at El Pollo Loco in Phoenix, and it felt like a sauna. I thought we had parked next to an open oven. I realized that there is no way I could live in Phoenix. So after we left Phoenix we entered Yuma Arizona where it was 102 degrees at 10:00 pm. 3 hours later we were in San Diego where it was 75 degrees. I don’t know how the temperature changed so drastically in 3 hours, but as hot as it was in Arizona I didn’t care.




San Diego was a cool city. Of course we hit Tijuana where a cab driver offered to take us to see a "donkey show", and little kids were trying to sell everything from Chickletts to necklaces. Tijuana is also where they will pull you into a club, literally grab you by the head and throw a shot of tequilla down your throat. Then charge you $5 for it.



We also ended up going to a San Diego Padres game for $9. I spent more on beer than I did on the damn game. Over all, it was a good trip. That is until I tried to leave San Diego...... To Be Continued..........











Saturday, June 21, 2008

Road Trip


My cousin who recently graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy was stationed in San Diego CA. So instead of shipping his car and flying, he decides to drive cross country from VA to San Diego. And of course, like a fool I said I'd ride with him. I must admit, I've always wanted to drive cross country and this was the best chance to do it. So armed with a car full of his clothes, a laptop that wanted to work after the trip was over, and 2 4GB Ipods we left for San Diego.

We were supposed to leave Monday morning, but the going away cookout lasted well into Sunday night and early Monday morning. So after we woke up and got ready we left Hopewell VA at noon on Monday.

Day 1:

The first leg of the trip was pretty much lack luster for most of the day. We drove through western VA and into Tennessee. Tennessee doesn't look that big on the map, but damnit it seemed like it took forever to through Tennessee. We stopped in Knoxville and rode around the University of Tennessee but since it is the summer, nothing was really going on. We decided that we'd drive to Memphis and stop there for the night.

We pulled into Memphis at about 1:30 am tired, but ready to ride around Memphis to see if any Strip Clubs were open. As we rode around downtown and past Beale Street, we see the sign for the Civil Rights Museum and decide to ride by it. We both knew what the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis was luckily because if we didn't we'd have thought what was the point of going to a museum at 1:30 am when it would probably be closed. So as we were following the signs and riding towards it I looked down the street and saw it, "The Lorraine Hotel".

Other than the lights from the hotel, it was pretty dark but we decided to get out and take pictures (I will post pics later). Now, I watch First 48 and I know Memphis aint a place where you want to get out the car and walk around at 1:30 am. But, we had to do it. Plus, you would have to be as low as whale shit to rob someone where Martin Luther King died. So we walked up and took pictures of the hotel and the room he was shot outside of. I've been to a lot of memorials, but something about this one was different. I really can't even explain the feeling I had looking at the hotel and the room that they had roped off. After about 10 minutes we left. Needless to say, after being at the hotel where MLK died, we decided that we shouldn't go to the strip club and we went in search of a hotel.

We decided that downtown Memphis would be too expensive for a room so we headed across the Mississippi river and into West Memphis to rest for the night. As we got into the room I didn't feel tired (my cousin drove the entire day) so I decided to work on this blog. I tried to fire up the laptop but it wouldn't turn on for some reason, so I said forget it and went to sleep......... To be continued.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Frozen.....For 2 months



Apparently, I have been frozen like David Blaine by my man G-Mo and wasn’t allowed to post another blog until I “thawed” myself by posting this blog. I guess technically I could have but I want to abide by the bloggers code since I am new to this. Well, thanks for the inspiration G.
Here are the rules:



-Link the person who tagged you.-Mention the rules in your blog.



-Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.



-Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.



-Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged


6 Quirks


1. I hate people sitting behind me on the Metro. Ok, some of you are probably saying to yourself “I wish I could get a seat on the Metro”. But I have been spoiled. Riding the Green Line in from Greenbelt in the morning, I’m among the first people on the train. And if I time it right, I can catch the 7:30 am 8 car train and it’s usually only 4 or 5 people in the last car with me. So then, why is it that someone will come and sit directly behind me when there are seats available everywhere else on the train? It pisses me off and I’ll usually move. Not before I ice grill the person who invaded my personal space first. Now when the train is crowded, I don’t care, but if it’s not damn it gimmie my buffer zone.


2. I randomly say rap lyrics to myself out loud. I can be chilling in the house playing Madden, driving, at work, or on the Metro and I will just blurt out a random rap lyric. As a matter of fact this morning when I woke up I said out loud “Rich bitch shit, drinkin Cristal till they piss the shit UNHHH” Notorious B.I.G (You’re Nobody Till Somebody Kills You). One of my favorite lines to recite “Wake up in the morning got the yearning for herb” Channel Live (Mad Izm). I just hope I never blurt that out loud at work.


3. Like the dude that froze me G-Mo, I’m a pack rat (or boxer) too. I don’t have much stuff from the 80’s (my mom threw a lot of my stuff away) I still have my 2 way pager from the days of FAMU. I also have my first Redskin’s shirt with my name on it. I still have old college acceptance letters, SAT scores, and velour sweat suits. I’d still have my big ass WWF wrestling glass with Hulk Hogan, Junk Yard Dog, Rowdy Roddy Piper, and Nickoli Volkoff on it and my Redskins Super Bowl XXII victory mug but some bitchass broke in my crib while I was in the process of moving and stole both of them. Yes, that’s all they took. Then again, that’s all that was left. That and a cable modem but I guess when they plugged it in and it didn’t start playing go-go music the thief felt it was of no value.


4. I crack my knuckles obsessively. About every 2 minutes. There is a myth that cracking your knuckles will give you arthritis but it as to be false or my fingers would look like they had been beaten with a sledge hammer.

5. I have a crazy memory. I am terrible with faces and directions, but pointless trivia and little insignificant details of my life I am great at remembering. I can remember my pediatrician Dr. Familot’s waiting room having 2 seating sections: Sick as a Dog, and Healthy as a Horse. I remember my white friend Nathan singing the Hall and Oates song “Out of Touch” but he was saying “Piranha Touch”. I can go on for days about the dumb shit I remember.

6. I laugh for what seems to be no reason at all, but it’s actually because I am thinking about something funny that happened. I do it all the time. I caught myself doing it at the grocery store the other day. I was in line and was thinking about the time when my drunk cousin fell at Christmas dinner, right after the prayer was finished. It was “Amen”, and then she hit the floor like Flo-Rida. And the worst part was, it happened right by me so I had to be the Good Samaritan and help her up. This happened over five years ago, but anytime I think about it I just start laughing out loud.

I'm going to freeze the followin people, but since I'm new to the blogging world they will probably pay me no attention. Hell, they probably don't know who I am:

Metro Man
Bag Lady
Imnotarolemodel
Chris Cooley
Dhaani-James
Field-Negro