ROAD TRIP DAY 7 – Who Dat? Who Dat?

At the crack of dawn, all four of our alarms started blaring. After only 5 hours of shuteye, we had to rouse at 7am so that we could maximize our time in New Orleans. This time, everyone was up like a bolt of lightning and got dressed. Today was our eating tour of the French Quarter to sample some good old Creole and Cajun cuisine.

Stepping into the NOLA sunshine, I could feel the excitement radiating from our group. As I soaked in the city, Canal Street oddly reminded of the Embarcadero in San Francisco. It also felt slightly similar to the Strip in Las Vegas with its casinos and cabarets littered amongst the bars and restaurants. As we walked around, I made a mental note to myself that this could be an ideal bachelor party destination.

The French quarter emanated a different vibe, almost like that of a 3rd world country. The buildings were rundown, yet exhibited an air of fun and free spirit. You could tell that the evening before was pretty wild as storefronts would hose down the sidewalks to wash away the remnants of debauchery.

Our first stop was to Café Du Monde, the original café and beignet stand in New Orleans. Upon our arrival, we were seated quickly and Jojo ordered a couple beignets, café au lait for the gents and a hot cocoa for Tiff. Before I continue, let me first explain what a beignet is. Beignets are basically French pastries that are fried, very similar to a doughnut. The dough is very light and airy and is usually served with confectioners sugar and/or fruit. The ones we got were plain with just the sugar and they were simply delicious. Combined with the café au lait, the flavor profile just melted in your mouth. If you ever make it out to bayou, be sure to hit this spot up.

After our light breakfast, we snapped a few pics in front of the St. Louis Cathedral and made our way over to the waterfront to admire the waters of the Mighty Mississippi. There, we gazed out to the massive delta and gulf.

With our action photos checked off the list, we headed over to Bourbon Street to shop for pasalubong (souvenirs) for some of our lucky folks back at home. I felt like we were in a flea market because every worker would try and hook us to come into their store. Inside, we would get into haggling contests for the lowest prices available. Some stores had the coolest trinkets for sale and if we could, would have been gone on a spree. However, time was running short and we had to partake in our Cajun feast before we left the great delta.

For lunch, we decided to try out Café Beignet, another spot that sold beignets but also served lunch fare. We perused the menu and ended up ordering a massive Cajun feast consisting of fried catfish, shrimp, crab cakes, fried okra, chicken and sausage jambalaya and gumbo. Everything was excellent and yet again, we sat there comatose for a few minutes, thankful for all the food.

Hunger pangs satisfied, we headed back to our hotel to pack up belongings and continue on our journey. Our short time in New Orleans was over and we had barely scratched the surface of its wonderful areas, culture, and eateries. Nevertheless, we knew that this visit was merely an appetizer because deep down we knew that we would probably visit again. Mardi Gras perhaps? Now that would be another great experience. For now, it was off to Dallas, TX to visit Joe’s childhood friend Andrea. Dallas? Hmm, I think we’re going to wear our 49er jerseys tomorrow…

ROAD TRIP DAY 6 – Blues Brothers

Initially, from Cleveland, we were going to head to Chicago. Instead, we decided to take the southern route and head for New Orleans. On the way, we would have to pass through St. Louis and walk through the Gateway into the West. Since this was an east to west coast road trip, stopping here for the night seemed very fitting.

While on the drive, my softball team back at home was about to throw out the first pitch in our weekly showdown. Our team, the Brobees, were playing in a crucial game in order to keep our 5 game win streak alive and earn a spot to make the playoffs. It was a must win game in order to retain our standing. Luckily, one of my boys back at home, Rondizzle, promised he would text me the score every inning to keep me updated. Let me tell you, this one was a nail biter. The hard fought battle went all innings and finally ended in a tie.  With a sigh of relief, I was glad all was still well on the home front. Ironically, we saw this on the way to St. Louis while I was getting the softball updates. Since we missed out on Chicago, this one goes out to Dizzle and Raaaaaaaandy. Good lookin out.

Brobee ready for some softball!

The Une in the Midwest

Halfway to St. Louis, we decided to take a pit stop for some gas and fuel for our expanding midsection. Where could we go in the Midwest that could satisfy our craving? You called it, White Castle. I had always wanted to try these little morsels ever since the Harold and Kumar movie. Fortunately, we didn’t have to go through all the trouble that they did!

As we approached St. Louis, the huge stainless steel arch rose up from the darkness. Its surreal size was accentuated with the eerie glow of flood lamps, giving it an air of being from out of this world. While captivated by its magnificence, we checked into our room to rest our sore muscles and roost for the night.

The next morning, I woke early again and slipped off to the hotel gym while the rest of the crew lay snoring. Again, I was thoroughly impressed by the facilities and was able to squeeze in a decent workout to counter the hours of inactivity and overeating. When I returned to the room, everyone was almost packed, so I got ready and we headed out into the St. Louis sunshine.

The walk to the majestic monument was short and sweet since our hotel was less than a quarter mile away. With the sun glimmering off its steel skin, we were able to capture some opportune pictures.

Also, since it wasn’t too busy, we were able to take the motorized tram to the top of the arch. Honestly, the entire ride seemed like a roller coaster experience or even a ride in a space pod. The tram consisted of small, 5 seat shuttles that resembled eggs. I wish we could have taken a picture with all of us in it because I found it amazing that we could all fit inside. However, the park rangers were real sticklers about moving the line forward so Jojo just got only 3 of us in there.

At the top, we were treated with an awesome view of the city to the west and the Mississippi to the east. As I looked out west, I imagined how the pioneers from nearly 2 centuries ago embarked from there to begin a life in a frontier of unknown possibilities. Pretty humbling in my opinion. Anyhow, our stomachs were beginning to clamor for grub so we snapped the last of our pictures and headed back down to earth.

For lunch today, our destination was Pappy’s Smokehouse, another featured spot on Man v. Food. There, we ordered the pulled pork, smoked brisket, a frito pie, cole slaw and sweet potato fries. The meat was nice and tender, with the infused taste of smoked hickory. Personally, I liked the brisket better because it was just so tender and juicy. The Frito pie, which consisted of onions, cheese, BBQ beans, beef and Fritos, was also very good as well. I wish we had ordered a slab of ribs to sample, but that might have been a little bit much.

After lunch, we loaded our swollen bellies into the bimmer and programmed New Orleans into the navi. It was time to get some shrimp po’boys, beignets, and other mouth-watering goodies. As we were driving, I got a call from my med school admissions advisor. They hadn’t received my transcripts from one of my schools nor the last of my letters of rec! Luckily, I was able to google a nearby library right off the freeway and faxed and emailed all the missing documents.

My false alarm out of the way, we continued on our drive. However, instead of heading straight for New Orleans, we took a quick stop in Memphis, TN. The detour lead us to Graceland, the residence of the King, Elvis Presley. The walled off mansion was in a pretty bad area of Memphis, but looking in on the grounds over the fence, you could tell that it was once pleasant. Anyhow, we took our pics and added another stamp in our cross-country passport.

With the sun setting, we made our way through the last couple hundred miles to New Orleans and looked forward to feast on its treats and bask in the warm weather. Tomorrow would yield more eating, driving and hopefully, more adventures for our weary quartet.

ROAD TRIP DAY 5 – School of Rock

To get to Cleveland, we basically had to drive the entire expanse of Pennsylvania, which is about the distance from San Diego to San Francisco. This was the first of the long legs of the journey, so Tiff and Jojo settled in with their laptops to watch a couple movies and I worked on the blog while Jay-R got stuck driving. Interestingly enough though, the drive wasn’t as bad as we thought. We pulled into our hotel around 11pm and promptly knocked out.

The next morning, well rested, we set out again on our journey. First on the agenda was to go and check out the house depicted in The Christmas Story, which was one of our favorite movies growing up. If you don’t remember the movie, it was the one with Ralphie and his Christmas exploits to get an official Red-Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle. Still doesn’t ring a bell? Well, it’s the one they play over and over again on TBS once the holidays roll around. Once we arrived, the house was pretty much how it was in the movie, with the leg lamp in the front window. We snapped a couple pics and we were on our merry way.

A Christmas Story house

Oh Fudge!

We then headed downtown to take a quick look at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. When we arrived, we were met with the skyscrapers of downtown, the Cleveland Browns Stadium, Lake Erie, and the massive glass half-pyramid that made up the Hall of Fame. The sky was weather was cold and cloudy, but we made the most of it and captured some awesome pics and video. The area is very picturesque, reminding us of the Gaslamp district in San Diego. Lake Erie is pretty spectacular, as I’m sure the other Great Lakes are. It literally appears as if we are on the edge of the ocean, but without the salty sea air that normally comes with it. Unfortunately, the city itself is pretty dead, with no feeling of urban culture. I suppose this stems from the fact their “King” turned his back on the people. Aside from where we were touring, seeing the environment firsthand, I would have probably left as well.

Crew in Cleveland

School of Rock

I Love Rock & Roll

Rockin Out

Leaving downtown, he headed over to Melt Bar to have lunch before we hit the road. Melt Bar is another restaurant shown on Man v. Food, that features all sorts of grilled cheese sandwiches. They have a challenge where you can try to engorge a sandwich consisting of 3 slices of grilled bread, 13 different types of cheese, a mountain of fries, and cole slaw. Unfortunately, we didn’t dare try since we were all lactose intolerant! Not a good idea to have that much cheese on a long drive… Anyhow, Jojo ordered the special mama’s meatloaf grilled cheese stuffed with pirogi.  Jay-R got the cheese-steak melt, Tiff dined on the eggplant Parmesan melt, and I feasted on the Monte Cristo melt. Even with our “regular” orders, we weren’t even able to dent half, so we boxed up our leftovers and stumbled to our cars in a gluttonous stupor.

Mama's Meatloaf stuffed with Potato Pirogi Melt

Monte Cristo Breakfast Melt

With our short time in Cleveland up, we bid the desolate town of Rock & Roll adieu. It may have been a great kingdom once, but not any longer. We now set St. Louis in our navigation. It was time for the blues and BBQ.

ROAD TRIP DAY 4 - Due West

AAAAaaaaahhhhh!!! 11:25am! We had all overslept from the long night of festivities. Check out was in about 30 minutes and I didn’t want to be charged an extra night, so I shot out of bed with the quickness and shook everyone up. Half awake, everyone hurriedly packed up all their stuff and took quick showers. Amazingly, we were all able to finish with about 5 minutes to spare. We checked out and left our belongings in the car and set out for Central Park for a few more pics, since it was one of Tiff’s goals to make a wish at the large fountain there.

Today was one of those days when you could really feel the hustle and bustle of New York life. It seemed as if everyone and their mama’s was out and about to enjoy the day. Sun shining, the air was crisp and cool, perfect for a day at the park. Only thing was, everyone else had the same idea! It was nearly impossible to get a taxi and once we did, we were blocked halfway by a festival and parade. We made a decision to walk the rest of the way and just enjoy the sun.

On the way to the park, we ran into Raul once more who was on his way to work. Ironically, we were just thinking about going into the Apple store where he worked to see what he was up to. We said our last goodbyes, and made our way into the crowd of people gathering in the skyscraper enclosed meadow.

As I mentioned earlier, EVERYONE was out on this Sunday morning. What made it even more difficult was that there was a kids’ convention also going on with literally at least a couple thousand in attendance. I joked with everyone, saying that if I had a kid, I would probably have had to use that little toddler leash even though I’m such a strong opponent to its use! Nevertheless, we made out way through the sea of children to the fountain where we snapped a few last pics and made wishes.

Central Park

Tiff x Nino = MAGNUM

Stroll in the Park

Before we left the concrete jungle of New York, we decided to meet up with some of our relatives who lived in the area, Grandpa Tony and his son, Largent. Remember when I mentioned that our family had a weird spread in ages? Well Grandpa Tony was more of our uncle and Largent, who was actually our uncle, was more like our cousin since he was younger than we were! Since they lived in Queens and we were going to head in the opposite direction, we decided to meet halfway and had a late lunch at a pizza joint in the East Village called Motorino’s. Although it was a brief reunion, we were able to catch up with Grandpa Tony and Largent and share a meal with them. Next time, we planned, we would try to spend more time together, be it if they came out to the West Coast or whenever we returned again to the East.

Another long day in the books and we were finally heading west. New York had been great and we couldn’t wait to come back again. For now, we were due west to finally start the long drive home. Next stop? Cleveland.

Ridin off into the sunset.

ROAD TRIP DAY 3 pt 2 - An Empire State of Mind

So, with Philadelphia in the books, it was off to The Big Apple to take a chomp out of all its delectable eats. Jojo had been planning for weeks with one of his fellow Kinerds, Joey, about all the hotspots they were gonna hit up. Now, if you’re wondering what a Kinerd is, they are avid supporters of Kina Grannis’ music. I know, I know, this begs the question; who is Kina Grannis? Well, simply put, she is a very talented musician with a large online fan base, mainly through YouTube. If you want to know more about her, you can check out her website at www.kinagrannis.com

So, right when we got to the city to check into our hotel in K-Town, Joe bounced to meet up with his eating buddies. While they ate at Ippudo, a popular ramen spot and Momofuku to grab some cereal milk ice cream and pork buns, Tiff, Jay-R, and I took a short afternoon siesta. Once we got up, we headed over to SoHo to do some quick shopping. Actually, Tiff, went shopping, while Jay-R and I sulked because our stomachs were growling from hunger. When Tiff finally scratched her shopping itch, we took a stroll down Broadway to Madison Square Park to meet up with Jojo and grub on some Shake Shack burgers!

I’ve been to NYC a couple times before, and each time I’ve been denied Shake Shack because the line had always been ridiculously long. Most times, the wait can stretch out to over 2 hours! Luckily, today the wait was only about 30 minutes, so I guess my taste buds were to finally be treated with this guilty pleasure. My New York buddies and their friends swear by these burgers and always compare them to In N Out, so I was expecting a lot. I ordered a Shack Stack, a ShackMeister, and a Shack Attack and calmly waited for my meal. The Shake Stack was basically a cheeseburger with a fried portabella mushroom, the ShackMeister was their house beer, and the Shack Attack was chocolate frozen custard with chocolate chips, chocolate brownies, and chocolate chunks. An attack indeed. Not surprisingly, Shake Shack exceeded my expectations. Now, was it better than In N Out? I don’t know about that. I would probably need to do a side by side test to make a final decision. My heart still votes for In N Out, but right now my stomach begs for Shake Shack. Hmm…

After our meal, the crew took a nice stroll through the city to shake off our food coma and just enjoy the ambiance of New York. At the hotel, everyone took naps again and got ready for dinner with more friends.

The plan for the evening was to go feast on bon chon chicken at Mad for Chicken with some of my friends that lived in the city. If you have never had bon chon, simply put, it is like taking a bite of fried air. Just writing about it is already making my mouth water! If you ever hit up NYC, try to make it a point to have your folks take you out for some. Ironically, the restaurant was on the same block as our hotel so we simply went downstairs to meet up with everyone. Having dinner with us were Jill, a good friend of mine from high school, and her boyfriend, Karl along with their friends Vin and Trish. Also joining in on the fun was Raul, an old buddy I had know since grade school, and his girlfriend Val. Dinner was as expected, delicious. Afterwards, we hit up a couple bars for a few cocktails and some laughs.

Fast forward a couple hours and we were all hungry again. Let me mention that a night out on the town is not complete in New York without visiting the Halal cart on 53rd and 6th. I repeat; if you ever visit New York, go to the Halal cart on 53rd and 6th for some chicken and/or lamb and rice. You will not regret it. That is a LareDevil and Guinto Bros guarantee. Anyhow, once we had stuffed ourselves silly, it was time to retire and say our goodbyes. It was good to see everyone and hang out even if it was only for a short while. So far, Day 3 had been tiring, expensive, and overwhelming, but in the end, the juice was well worth the squeeze.

ROAD TRIP DAY 3 pt 1 – Fresh Princes of Philly

Wow, day 3 was certainly eventful. We got some awesome news, had fun times, and had some great food. To kick off the day though, I woke up at 630am to hit the hotel gym while the rest of the crew lay snoring soundly in their beds. Shoulder day today, so the hotel gym was sufficient for my lifts. Normally hotel gyms are neglected, but the one at aLOFT rivaled our 24 Hour Fitness back at home. What impressed me the most were the cardio machines! They were the newest lifefitness treadmills with the virtual training regimens. Each machine had a computer screen that you could plug your iPod to and simulate a hill climb, track or even a 5K course, all with a bird’s eye view. Pretty cool. Check it out:

Virtual Treadmill

After the workout, I went upstairs to find everyone awake and ecstatic. Tiff had just checked her NCLEX results, and it turns out, she’s gonna be a nurse! Whooo!!! All the countless hours of studying and hard work finally paid off. Good stuff Tiff, you deserve it. Since I wasn’t present for the initial celebration, here’s a little reenactment of what went down:



Once all our shouts of glee had subsided and we had gathered ourselves, we packed the car and bid farewell to our comfy hotel. We headed over to Independence Hall, to check out where most of the stuff they talk about in high school history books took place. It was very interesting, almost like teleporting in time. We checked out the old buildings, horse carriage rides, and the Liberty Bell.

At the Libery Bell

As a turista, one gets very adept at taking pictures. You have to wait for the perfect moment when no one else is around that would side bust your pic and ruin the moment. But, the one thing that most find difficult to do is getting everyone included in the pic. Here’s a valuable tip, look for another group or couple that’s taking photos. Notice that they are usually only taking solos or someone is always missing? What to do? Offer to take a photo for them and let them do the same. Good way to meet other folks traveling and getting your memories intact. One caveat though. Make sure that the person you ask has a camera that is at least similar to yours! You don't wanna be giving a stranger a crash course on how to use an slr. Also, don't hand over your camera to anyone wearing dodgers, padres, or phillies gear too lol.

While stepping back into the 1700’s was educational and all, our bellies were growling for some real grub, so we headed over to Reading Terminal Market in downtown Philly. Reading Terminal is a fully enclosed market where you can pick up everything from produce to fresh meats and poultry. However, what attracted us here today was the fact that over 50 food vendors are located in the multiple stalls! Every direction you turned was different type of food being sold, ranging from Chinese, Greek, American, Italian, French, Mediterranean, you name it they probably sold it. Everywhere you turned was a different vendor. We could have probably stayed there for hours sampling all the goodies, but instead we hit up DeNic’s, another featured joint on Man v. Food.

 There we picked up some Italian roast pork sandwiches with broccoli rabe. The sandwich was pretty good in general. The juicy pork was counter balanced well with the bitterness of the broccoli. If you don’t like vegetables, you can probably pass on the broccoli and just get the pork by itself, but it won’t be as authentic. With our meal, Jojo got some southern fried chicken and Tiff picked up a Gyro, both also very tasty.

Authentic Italian Roast Pork

With our time in Philly dwindling, we headed over to the Philadelphia Museum of Modern art to check out the Rocky Balboa Statue. The park and pavilion were both very appealing to the eye and had a great backdrop with the city skyline. We parked and snapped a couple shots of the museum, statues, art and water fountains to add to our albums. Before leaving, Jay-R and I were feeling foolish so we also took a couple funny shots and video. Check em out:

Playing with the wildlife

Eye of the Tiger

Before I close, I gotta mention the fact that there were a substantial number of Giants fans out here on the east coast! Joe, Jay-R and I were rockin Giants gear all day and random people would come up and give us some sort of praise and recognition. We were truly feeling the love and respect. Good lookin out Philly. Fun times in the city of brotherly love, but don’t get it wrong…we’ll see y’all in couple of weeks for the pennant! For now, we’re out. Here we come NYC!