Where have you been?

[Ice Cream Man]

Just a few years ago, I had no interest in traveling. At bottom, I figured, every place was composed of some shopping malls, car dealerships and a McDonald's, so what was there to see, really?

In the past couple of years, though, I've been thinking I'd really love to get out and see this country before I get old.

You guys have probably been around and seen things, much more than me. Where are some places you've been that you thought were really interesting and what were your impressions?

I've been to:

Washington, D.C.: When I was in third grade this is where we went for summer vacation. It was amazing to be reading a book in the back seat and Mom to say, "Look! We're here!," and look up and see the Washington Monument in the distance, and the Jefferson Memorial. We went to the Treasury, where I got a raging headache from the smell of ink. The Smithsonian is as fun as Disney World. The Wright brothers' plane and Lindbergh's Spirt of St. Louis are just hanging there in front of your face. Atom smashers. Classic passenger locomotive engines. Drove by the White House at night, and went to the top of the Washington Monument. Saw the Capitol rotunda. I would probably appreciate that trip more now that I understand what Washington is really about.

Los Angeles, California: I've talked about this before. A guy I went to high school with had amazed us all by getting into the movie business, and when he said I could come sleep on his floor and check it out, I wasted no time getting a ticket. Flying in at 2 a.m., seeing those lights stretching to infinity, was one of the great thrills of my life. Couldn't believe going down the interstate and seeing a building that said "Geffen Records" on the side, and Frank Zappa's record company, and the Capitol Records building. The Whisky and Rainbow (only got to ride past). Got to go backstage at Nickelodeon on the Keenan & Kel show, and at the Icehouse comedy club in Pasadena. Venice Beach. Returned again the next year. Ate at a place called Yamashiro's in the Hollywood Hills where you could see the panorama of the whole city, like you were on the edge of the world.

Nashville, Tennessee: This was an 8th grade summer trip. We went to an amusement park called Opryland, which was just a Six Flags, pretty much, except it housed the Grand Ole Opry at the time. I don't recall us venturing anywhere but the amusement park and the Opry, which didn't have any big stars playing that day. I'd probably enjoy going back and going to the actual downtown and seeing Music Row and the Bluebird Cafe and some of the musical sites of note, and the WSM Radio studio.

Orlando, Florida (Disney World/EPCOT/Sea World): I frickin' love Florida. A state that's economy is based on having fun. We used to go to Disney World every couple of years when I was young. It amazes me how it's more populated yet cleaner and better-run than most American cities. I'd love to go there again, but if you're not there with kids of your own, I guess people would look at you funny. Also loved Sea World and the Shamu show, back before the whale ate the trainers.

Daytona Beach, Florida: Daytona seemed great until we discovered Panama City. The water is dark blue, the sand is brown, rough, and hard-packed because they let people drive on the beach, which is pretty lowbrow, in hindsight.

Panama City, Florida: Love this place. It looks like the cover of the Crazy from the Heat EP - the sand is white and soft as cotton, and the water is a clear green; you can see through to the bottom. If only I was 18, on spring break the Miracle Strip fills up with ultra-hot girls who seem willing to jump in a van or the back of a mini truck without much convincing. You can get a house down there for just $60,000 and live under the palm trees.

Chattanooga, Tennessee: Okay, outside of Florida, Washington D.C. and L.A., I haven't been many places, so I'm throwing this in. Family is from there. Used to be an uglier than hell milltown, and had the second-worst smog in the U.S. Now it's cleaned up and the Tennessee River is beautiful. The view at night from Signal Mountain is like a smaller L.A. More aesthetically interesting and feels much more like a real city than Atlanta, actually.

I want to see L.A. again, and Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, and tonight I've been seduced by YouTube videos of Miami. It looks like Heaven!

So where have you been?

[vhfanjack]

Great thread, ICM!

No plans to go overseas?

I've only been to a few places in the States, so far.

Dallas, Texas: Well, this is where I first landed. I got an aerial view of the city flying to and away from it. We had a jamboree there in October, so we drove through the city and got to go to a buffer in Plano. We played in Deron Williams's high school, which was school. Coming back here, I flew to Dallas in the night. I got to see the city at night time, and it looked awesome. I had a Zephead sitting next to me. He was 54, and was telling me about his son. He saw my Jimmy Page Light and Shade book on my lap, and told me about how he was getting the Led out the day earlier, and how he saw them when he finished high school in '77.

Shreveport/Bossie City, Louisiana: This is where I got to school/live. Nothing special. There's the Louisiana Boardwalk, which is okay, I guess.

Natchitoches, Louisiana: Got to go to NSU's campus twice. Saw a snake outside their stadium.

Houston, Texas: I haven't technically been to Houston, but we drove past it at day and night time on the way to and from Corpus Christi. Was cool driving past and seeing the Toyota Center and Minute Maid Arena. We have stayed in a couple of suburbs in the outskirts of Houston, too (Bay town and Port Arthur). We went to a good mall in Port Arthur, where I got suckered into getting a Zeppelin and Quest t shirt from Spencer's.

Corpus Christi, Texas: We stayed there overnight. It was nice. It reminded me of Port Melbourne, but compressed. It was nice to see the beach again; our hotel was on the beach. They had a twin story Whattaburger, but the service was awful. All the civilians I saw were Mexican. Nice place, though. Wouldn't mind living there.

Are we just posting about the US?

[Ice Cream Man]

Great thread, ICM!

We went to a good mall in Port Arthur,

Port Arthur is the hometown of Janis Joplin! If you get to travel in Port Arthur by yourself, you should look up the house she grew up in. I've got a couple of cousins and an aunt that live in Houston. I've only seen the airport there, though, but it's weird how even just being in an airport, you can tell you're somewhere different.

I've always thought I'd like to go to England with a map of places like where the Rolling Stones met up and where Led Zeppelin first rehearsed, and Headley Grange and Bron-Y-Aur. There was a little travelogue blog a few women did on Led Zeppelin sites a few years back, and they even found Robert Plant's house in Birmingham and actually walked up and knocked on his door, and crazily enough, he came outside and took pictures with them! I would've been freaked out as hell if I was him.

Now that I look up what plane tickets and hotels cost, though, I may have to stick with looking at a lot of these places on YouTube.

[JONEZY]

Been a lot of places, for business ie: Airport, hotel, back to the airport. 1 place that sticks out is Austin, TX. Drove by the tower where that prick C.Whitman killed those people. He definitely had a good view to kill.

Hawaii is great(once you get over the jet-lag), stayed there for a week on the Big Island. Wouldn't want to live there though.

[Nick AVH fan]

Just got back from Chile last week. Been there a few times.

Been to Florida, GA, Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, New York.

Chile: Mostly Santiago and down in San Javier where our vineyards are. Santiago is an immense city, and is a bit different than most U.S. cities I've been to. Small cars, lots of shops, not a lot of Americanized stuff. I think I saw maybe 3 McDonald's down there. Though the malls down there are HUGE. 3-7 levels on some of them. The division between poor and well off is huge. Favelas can be seen and every house, structure, building has a tall fence to protect from thieves. Any ways. The beer is great, the food is fantastic. It's not like Mexican where it's just corn based tortillas with salsa and stuff, but more like German and North European foods with potatos, beef, and such.

I think that's the only place where I didn't go for touristy type stuff. In Georgia, I went for the Coke factory. Beaches and Disney world in Florida. Went to see a show in Chicago. I have only been in the western part of Kentucky. Been to Dayton, Ohio for Airplane museum and Air Force One museum.

Though New York, I've only been to Rochester for a family reunion.

[Ice Cream Man]

These descriptions are so vivid, I feel like I've been these places myself.

[Nick AVH fan]

Sorry, I'll edit in descriptions. Was getting ready for practice.

[Ice Cream Man]

Now THAT'S the kind of thing I was looking for! I had to look up what a favela was. I thought it was a kind of food. I wound up reading about favelas for half an hour.

And your family has a vineyard in Chile?!

[vhfanjack]

Port Arthur is the hometown of Janis Joplin! If you get to travel in Port Arthur by yourself, you should look up the house she grew up in. I've got a couple of cousins and an aunt that live in Houston. I've only seen the airport there, though, but it's weird how even just being in an airport, you can tell you're somewhere different.

I've always thought I'd like to go to England with a map of places like where the Rolling Stones met up and where Led Zeppelin first rehearsed, and Headley Grange and Bron-Y-Aur. There was a little travelogue blog a few women did on Led Zeppelin sites a few years back, and they even found Robert Plant's house in Birmingham and actually walked up and knocked on his door, and crazily enough, he came outside and took pictures with them! I would've been freaked out as hell if I was him.

Now that I look up what plane tickets and hotels cost, though, I may have to stick with looking at a lot of these places on YouTube.

I didn't know that! Damn... I would have paid a bit more attention if I knew that. I don't think I'll go there alone though, since this was for a team roadtrip.

The plane tickets are very expensive, but the experience is worth it. I know that I feel much better now that I've been to another country.

I forgot to mention that I flew into LA on the way back home at night time. The lights really do extend out forever! I really need to get my ass there on spring break!

[Nick AVH fan]

Now THAT'S the kind of thing I was looking for! I had to look up what a favela was. I thought it was a kind of food. I wound up reading about favelas for half an hour.

And your family has a vineyard in Chile?!

They're not pretty with plywood sides, tin roofs, cement posts, etc.


Yeah, great wine too.