RoadTrip D10 French Quarter, New Orleans 紐澳良

Day 10, 12/31 New Year's Eve in French Quarter

After brunch, we drove to French Quarter and parked neat the ferry. The steamboat on the Mississippi river shows the perfect image of south and reminds me the Cartoon "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"

We don't have time for the steamboat, though it's a good idea to experience the south. I find the best way to feel it, is to look at it sailing on the river slowly with the steam.



Next stop is the Jackson square and French Quarter. The whole area was French before. The streets, houses, church, and smell are different. The street is narrow, old with a strong cigar smell. The cigar stones are around the corner, and it seems you can smoke and drink anywhere in the street. Horse-draw carriages go thorough the streets touring the its long history to the visitors. Two-floor old house decorated as European style are coffee shops or paint galleries.



Before it gets dark, we found people throw down the beads form the second floor. I know this! I've heard about Mardi Gras tradition "boobs for beads" for a long time. Although it's way to early for this, people still do this for fun.

The beads on Kathleen is from the children upstairs. It seems her dress today is not attractive enough.



NO ONE WANT TO EXCHANGE FOR KATHLEEN'S BOOBS!!! ha, it's ok. I don't see anyone showing either.

When the night came. We walk on the Bourbon street, the most famous and notorious one. More than 30 crazy bars and pubs making a lot of noise. Strip bar.. is too much for me. Half drunk people holding a "hurricane" on their hands sang and shouted on the street. Couple


Strip show girl came out for the throng.

When we walk around, I found a humor T-shirt says "Watch pickpocket and loose women". Funny!

Suddenly!! I saw it!! Really!!

A women's showing her @@ to exchange the beads. oh, no.... Ma'am, you're way too old for this...


[there is no boobs on this photo]

Before the midnight, we walked down the riverside and joined a small music concert. Alex and Kathleen do some dance there, and we had a good time for the last minutes in 2008. Happy New Year!

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RoadTrip D10 New Orleans

Day 10, 12/31 Fisherman's Cove! Best Oysters!

[大推] 紐澳良便宜的oyster bar!! 只有當地人才會去的店 Fisherman's Cove
一打開好的生蠔才六塊！ 比French Quarter那些觀光客去的店便宜一半（約12塊）。

Sleeping in the best hotel we have in this trip, we waked up late this morning. In order to keep our budget, we usually choose the cheap motel like Super 8. The quality of these inexpensive one is variable, but most of them are old building and furniture, sometimes with bad smell. I bade a 3 start hotel at Priceline.com and it's almost the same price as those cheap hotels. What a excellent deal!



We went to a local oyster bar "Fisherman's Cove", a restaurant that only local people visit, for our brunch.

The outside of Fisherman's cove. It's a basically a fish market with a oyster bar on the side. Surprisingly, it was full of people at 11:45 on a Wednesday morning. We wait for a while, but it's worthy. Because their oysters are so good, very fresh and inexpensive, only $6 a dozen. (The price of the oyster bar at French Quarter is around $12) We also try the famous crayfish and darken fish. The darken fish is so so. But the oysters are really yummy, almost bring me to the heaven.







They have website here: Fisherman's Cove Seafood and they ship to your door.

RoadTrip D8-9 Galveston and NASA 休士頓太空中心

Day 8-9, 12/29-30 Galveston and NASA



We drove all the way south to Galveston to see the Golf of Mexico. Alex, Kathleen's cousin came with us. He went to the university in Dallas and now in vacation.



I remember when I first met my Loco family, they ask me have you seen the ocean. That was a very interesting question cause I'm from a island. With in one or two hours, you can reach the sea shore and put your feet into the sea water. After staying in US in 2006, I finally realized that if you live in a inland city, you may not see easy to see the ocean.

The birds like Cheetos very much.




I don't remember the last time I go to the beach, it must be more than 6 month. Today, I touch the water of Gulf of Mexico. Maybe next time, I will go to the other side to visit Mexico.



After feeding the sea birds, we went to the NASA Johnson Space Center in south Houston. NASA is dream of every kids. I think many people want to become an astronaut when they are little. That's true! I feel the same way. But when I grow up, the dream seemed away from me for a long time. This time, I really pay attention to all the exhibition in NASA. Read the mission history of every space shuttle and I even tough the rock from the moon! I'm really really excited about this moment. Feel like the dream come true.



Rock from the moon


Titan V Rocket, VERY BIG!!!


NASA總共有六艘太空船，分別是 原型機、挑戰者號 Challenger、發現號 Discovery、亞特蘭提斯號 Atlantis、奮進號 Endeavours、哥倫比亞號 Columbia六艘。除了原型機沒有上過太空以外，其他都有去過。挑戰者號(1986)跟哥倫比亞號(2003)各在一次任務中爆炸。



Now I know NASA has space missions every month and there is a international space station fly around the earth 16 times a day. The scientists doing research up there was also amazing to me.

They are going to launch three space shuttles on February and May from Florida. Maybe we will have a chance to see that.

Astronaut's food. We bought a ice cream flavor. It taste very special, creamy like the ice cream, but in room temperature.

RoadTrip D3-7 Time in Dallas 達拉斯夢

Day 3-6, 12/25-28 Pleno

Kathleen's uncle, Michael, live in Dallas. He is a guy really know how to enjoy the life. He has three labrotors and walk them every morning in a park near by. Kathleen and I go with him once. The fresh air in the morning is really good. But the big dogs are really powerful and hard to control.










Check out the pictures below. My goodness, all these stuff are only in my dream.

Big house with swim pool.


Canon 5D camera


A Hummer H2!!!


A Harley Davidson!!!



Incredible..... I want stay here....

RoadTrip D2 William J. Clinton Presidential Library, Little Rock, AR 克林頓總統圖書館

Day 2, 12/24 Memphis, TN to Dallas, TX

On our way to Dallas, we took the way in Arkansas, a state full of natural sources and park. We don't have time for the wild life this time. So I decided to stop by the William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock to gain some knowledge of history.



Bill Clinton is the 42th president of US from 1993-2001. My only memory about him is his sexual scandal. 也就是傳聞中克林頓"速懶趴"的事件。People here seems concentrate more on what he has done to the country and he & his wife are still pretty active in the politics. If this happened in the conservative Taiwan, he may gone forever.

The library is basically his memorial hall and museum introducing the world history of the 90'. Ticket is 7 dollars, not much, but why a library need ticket? The three-floor building lie on the riverside with beautiful scenery. You can see his Lincoln limousine on the first floor. On the second, was demonstrated the affairs happened in 93-01 and a room decorated exactly the same to his office.







The third floor keeps many of his collection gave by other country of people. I saw the calligraphy from Kim Dae Jung, president of Korea, and bicycle from Lance Armstrong, the greatest road racing cyclist ever. Besides, a room decorated as the white house office was there. But I still can stop thinking Miss Monica Lewinsky..

RoadTrip D1 Night at Beale Street, 夜遊藍調之城 比爾街

People like the blues must know BB King, the King of Blues. He is an American blues guitarist and writer, the greatest blues music performer ever. In 50', BB King become one of the most important names in R&B music.

Before the Club surfing, we stop by the Peabody Hotel for the famous duck show. Peabody located downtown Memphis is a old and classic hotel famous for it's ducks swimming in the fountain of the lobby. The ducks live in the 9th floor and come down to work in the fountain from 9 to 5. At the end of the day, the Duck Master (or duck manager?) with red suit will make them walk of the carpet and go back to their home up stair. That's the tradition of Peabody, but I only think of my favorite 薑母鴨 (a duck dish in Taiwan, sorry).

The Duck Master is introducing their history


Duck's coming


Run! Run!


The night belong to explorers. On Beale street area, more than 30 music clubs contain different music style: Blues, R&B, Elvis?, POP, country, Hard rock cafe and something I don't know. We picked the BB King Club, the most famous traditional blues club, for tonight. They said it is not really safe in this street because it's crazy at night. We saw a lot of police car around the area. But the alleys and the place we parked is really really scary. Although we are from A town, the black capital, still feel not comfortable with the strangers.

Beale Street at night


BB King's Club



The owner of BB King's Club is BB King, as a matter of course. Entrance ticket is 5 dollars and you can buy the drinks at the bar. Tonight is the night before Christmas Eve. Not really crowded on Beale Street. We took two beer and sat at sat corner. There's a dance floor in front of the stage. Many people shake their butts with the music. The band and the singer are excellent and the high light tonight is a black man with bright-red suit and bow tie dance with her wife to celebrate their anniversary. How romantic!

RoadTrip D1 Graceland 貓王的家

Day 1, 12/23 Atlanta, GA to Memphis, TN.

The first day of our trip began at 5 a.m., heading Elvis's home, the Graceland, at Memphis. We brought our GPS and a laptop with as this time. Hopefully, we don't get lost too much.
I was really excited at the first 2 hour drive because we never go that far. Then, as you can image, I felt sleepy because of waked up too early, and can't stop drinking coffee. Kathleen tried to feed me every five minutes in order to keep me awake.

Six hours drive is not a big deal here. Our GPS really worked pretty well. Although sometimes we drove on the the "farms" in that map, we got Memphis on time. It's central time in Memphis. I have to adjust my watch.

寄件者 ChristmasRoad Trip - Memphis, TN

Here we are! Graceland, Elvis Presley's house. I remember there is a news said that Elvis Presley is a the most incredible dead man because he made 45 million last year. I'm sure he is. The tickets to his house cost me 33 dollars. He passed away in 1977, 3 years before I was born. Since I was little, his voice came out from the radio all the time (I didn't know it was Elvis at the time) and the TV show always have someone sing and dress like him. I'm really curious about him and want to know more about his life. Here are the answers.

The front door of his house.

寄件者 ChristmasRoad Trip - Memphis, TN

Elvis's living room and dining room




Elvis's house is not really big. A two-floor house with basement. The living room and dining room is in the first floor. The basement having a bar and billiard table is his place for fun with his friends. The second floor is his private place and not for the guest.

Elvis's back yard

寄件者 ChristmasRoad Trip - Memphis, TN

Another building for his collection

寄件者 ChristmasRoad Trip - Memphis, TN

寄件者 ChristmasRoad Trip - Memphis, TN

His jumpsuit

寄件者 ChristmasRoad Trip - Memphis, TN

The room for his hot music and suit

寄件者 ChristmasRoad Trip - Memphis, TN

Another room for his car collection. They said that he have more than 100 cars at that time and he always give it to his friends or family as a gift.

1973 Stutz Blackhawk


More jumpsuits


Incredible design..



His airplane, named after his daughter Lisa Marie Presley



And he passed away when he was only 42. The reason seem to be... too much drug abuse? Now he sleep in his backyard with his family. Fans from all over the world still send cards and flowers here.



And there's Elvis Internet Radio. All Elvis all the time, 24/7.



Many people believe Elvis is still alive. What do you say?