Homeward Bound

the drive home was still pretty with lots of pretty trees until we got a little into Oklahoma. then it was just farmland until we reached AZ.

 the Texas sign was much better when we were coming from AZ but it was nighttime and I couldn't get a good pic.

when we got to Amarillo Texas we made a stop at Cadillac ranch. there are a lot of rumors of why the cars are buried there but it was actually an art project two guys did in the 70's. it was definitely worth the stop.

  

 I played a game with my family called "where's Momo?" I would send them a text in every city and say "where's Momo?" (my nickname) and whoever guessed it would win. some of them were a lot easier than others like NY and DC. this one was more difficult- I sent a picture of all the Cadillac's and then this one of me spray painting where's Momo? I had to give a lot of hints because my family had never heard of Cadillac Ranch. I had a lot of fun with the game and hopefully my family did too rather than just get annoyed at all the texts :)

Jason then drove until about 2 am and then we slept in a Walmart parking lot somewhere in New Mexico for a couple hours. we got into AZ as the sun was rising and we were greeted by a beautiful sunrise. while it was hard to be back in AZ it made me think that it has it's own charms and it is not completely bad :) I do really miss see beautiful trees though!

we got home and immediately picked up our dogs who we missed so much. it was good to be home and we were exhausted. it was an incredible trip that we will both never forget. I feel I have a much better feel now for the country than I did before. we weren't in each state for very long but there was something about moving from city to city that was so exciting. you get that feeling of newness and before it wears off you are already moving on. we were able to see how each state flows into the other and what makes each one unique. I highly recommend that everyone take a cross country trip if you have the chance. you will not regret it.

stats-
miles driven:  7,400
weeks on road: 3
# states: 22
states in 1 day: 5
most miles at once: 1,300

Music City USA

t e n n e s s e e

we left Lexington and drove to our last destination Nashville, Tennessee!

that building to the far left is the at&t building but they call it the "Batman building" and you can see why :)

we went straight to the downtown area. it was a Sunday night and all the restaurants and bars had live country bands. there were lots of people and it was very fun and exciting.

 

 

 

 

we went to eat at the Tin Roof and they had a country band playing.

 

 

the next day we went to the Ryman Auditorium and walked around inside. it is a historic music venue and it used to be the main place for all Grand Ole Opry concerts. the Grand Ole Opry built a new theater but the Ryman is still used for concerts. I would love to see a show there someday. 

 

we then ate lunch at Jack's BBQ which was delicious.

we then went to the pedestrian bridge where we had a good view of the city.

 

 

 Jason hates pictures which explains the face. I have so few pictures of him though that I have to take what I can get!

the Tennessee capital building.

Jason is a huge White Stripes fan so we had to stop at Jack White's Third Man Records store. it was very small, quirky and just what you would expect from Jack White. they had a photo-booth and a really cool old voice recording machine that you could sit in like a photobooth. Jason bought a White Stripes shirt with a penguin on it and I bought a cool Raconteurs shirt from the sale box.

 

we both like watching American Pickers so next we went to their store (second location). it was in an incredible old automobile building. it had a lot of really interesting antiques and I saw some of the things they found on the show. not everything was for sale and some things were from their personal collections. 

 we went to a vintage shop and I found a couple dresses and a purse for myself. we both didn't buy any touristy souvenirs on the trip. we wanted any souvenirs we found to be found at thrift or vintage stores or be something that says more about the place rather than keychains or magnets. we had a blast in Nashville and I hope to visit again soon! after we were finished with Nashville we started our long journey home.