So we're in Niles, Ohio right now. Did not plan it. I swear.
Things were most stellar today. Woke up at 5a.m. to get a jump on traffic, which we did. And we made it to Ann Arbor in record time. We had some time to kill, so we walked around the U of M area for a bit (which is where Name Brand Tattoo is located). Ann Harbor reminds me of Berkeley a lot. And not just because of their school colors. But the vibes. Meet up with Jeff Zuck at 1p.m. He had a drawing ready to go, but wanted some input about the flowers. It's an incredible tattoo. The man is a genius when it comes to the gun. And he's an absolute sweetheart: he likes making people feel real comfortable in his shop, e.g. introducing new folks to old folks, small talk, jokes, singing along to Leon Redbone. He's a dope dude. Small world: I was sitting there waiting for Jeff to finalize some things with the drawing and a familiar face walked in the door. His name is Stephen, and he's from Flint (which is about an hour north of Ann Arbor). He plays in a band called Empty Orchestra (good good good), which is a band my old bandmate Chris Thibs played for when he moved back to Flint. So I introduced myself and tried not to be a creep, but he was as blown away as I was (Chris had played Stephen some of the material we recorded together, blah blah blah). He's a sweet dude, and so is his wife Pam. They were both getting tattooed by Dawn Cooke; Pam getting some of her chest done and Stephen some of his left arm. AND to top off the tattoo day, Chris Thibs came down from Flint to hang out. It was so nice seeing that dude. It's been close to 3 years since I've seen him. Good hearted dude, that Chris Thibs.
After getting tattooed we went to this amazing deli, Zingerman's. Amazing. Smoked-applewood BLT. That's right. And man, did it remind me of Berkeley. And I missed Oakland/Berkeley a lot while we sat outside in the beautiful evening enjoying our sandwiches.
We said our goodbyes, and off towards Pittsburgh we went. Smooth sailing the majority of the way. Bad news struck from Willy, who we were suppose to be staying with tonight. A water line busted in his house and flooded the place out while he had been gone most of the day. So now we're crashed out in a Super 8. We didn't know anybody else in this area. So my plans to stray away from hotels from foiled. It's alright, I can't be mad. This has been a most amazing trip so far, and it's only going to get better.
Amazingness of the day:
1) Buddy Joe & Agnes Marie
2) Zingerman's Deli
3) Organic Orange pop
4) Journey, Phil Collins, and Eddie Money as passangers
Next up: NYC
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
.Chicago.
Woke up this morning at 0630. I wanted to make breakfast for Jared and his roommate, but they insisted that I not (not in an insulting way though). So last night I said my goodbyes so I didn't have to wake anyone this morning. And my heart goes out to Jared and his roommate Matt for taking me in last night.
So I set out for Chicago after grabbing a cup of coffee and one last view of Nashville. It's a pretty rad looking town in the early morning. And I've come to the conclusion that Tennessee is a beautiful looking state, in general.
No storms this go round, and no construction until I got near Chicago. Mapquest is a piece of shit. They don't give you alternate routes when there's construction. So I ran into three snags, and had to fight my way through. So Mapquest can fuck off.
Indiana, lots of corn fields. Louisville seems like it'd be a cool city to stop in for a day. From the interstate I could see lots of old buildings, and old buildings are pretty fascinating. Gary, Indiana is an industrial hub-and-a-half. Gary Works, which is owned by U.S. Steel, calls Gary, Indiana its home.
Chicago...Chi-Town. What a dope city. I got into town around 3, and walked around for a couple hours. It was really nice walking around a big city. Cities like NYC, Chicago, and San Francisco have a certain feel to them. Anyway, I knew I was going to be going out to dinner later that night, but I HAD to have some Chicago deep-dish pie. AND IT WAS DELICIOUS. Tons of sausage, cheese, and tomatoes. After walking around and snapping a few photos I headed down to Navy Pier to meet up with Justin at the tattoo convention. Tattoo conventions are...interesting. But anyway, it was way dope kickin' at the booth with my boy, Baba, Rick Walters, and some kids from St. Louis who were super cool kids. Let me tell you about Rick: he's a tattoo legend. He's been in the business for over 50 years. And when you talk to him, it's like taking a ride in a time machine. And he's a fucking crack up. After the convention we went out to eat at some cowboy steak house where the waiter had the mouth of a sailor. You could tell he enjoyed our company: when we left he thanked us for not being stuck-up bluehaired assholes.
Awesomeness of the day:
1) Rick Walters
2) The Piano Bar
3) The Chicago sky line
4) A wicked case of drivers arm from yesterday
Next up: Ann Arbor to see Mr. Jeff Zuck and to get tattooed, then on to Pittsburgh for the night.
So I set out for Chicago after grabbing a cup of coffee and one last view of Nashville. It's a pretty rad looking town in the early morning. And I've come to the conclusion that Tennessee is a beautiful looking state, in general.
No storms this go round, and no construction until I got near Chicago. Mapquest is a piece of shit. They don't give you alternate routes when there's construction. So I ran into three snags, and had to fight my way through. So Mapquest can fuck off.
Indiana, lots of corn fields. Louisville seems like it'd be a cool city to stop in for a day. From the interstate I could see lots of old buildings, and old buildings are pretty fascinating. Gary, Indiana is an industrial hub-and-a-half. Gary Works, which is owned by U.S. Steel, calls Gary, Indiana its home.
Chicago...Chi-Town. What a dope city. I got into town around 3, and walked around for a couple hours. It was really nice walking around a big city. Cities like NYC, Chicago, and San Francisco have a certain feel to them. Anyway, I knew I was going to be going out to dinner later that night, but I HAD to have some Chicago deep-dish pie. AND IT WAS DELICIOUS. Tons of sausage, cheese, and tomatoes. After walking around and snapping a few photos I headed down to Navy Pier to meet up with Justin at the tattoo convention. Tattoo conventions are...interesting. But anyway, it was way dope kickin' at the booth with my boy, Baba, Rick Walters, and some kids from St. Louis who were super cool kids. Let me tell you about Rick: he's a tattoo legend. He's been in the business for over 50 years. And when you talk to him, it's like taking a ride in a time machine. And he's a fucking crack up. After the convention we went out to eat at some cowboy steak house where the waiter had the mouth of a sailor. You could tell he enjoyed our company: when we left he thanked us for not being stuck-up bluehaired assholes.
Awesomeness of the day:
1) Rick Walters
2) The Piano Bar
3) The Chicago sky line
4) A wicked case of drivers arm from yesterday
Next up: Ann Arbor to see Mr. Jeff Zuck and to get tattooed, then on to Pittsburgh for the night.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
.Nashville.
I spent pretty much all day today driving from Orlando to Nashville. I planned on waking up at the butt crack of dawn to get an early start, but my bed was feeling way too good to do that. So instead, I woke up at 7a.m. (which I know is still the butt crack of dawn for most of you out there...) and hit the road at 9a.m.
Smooooooth sailing through Central and Northern Florida. Saw signs for Silver Springs (I've been wanting to go BIG TIME) up near Ocala and wanted to pull off, but forced myself to hold steady.
As of right now Georgia and I aren't the best of friends. Well, Southern and Central Georgia that is. Northern Georgia, I love you. There was massive amounts of construction on I-75, especially near downtown Atlanta. It took me a little over 2 hours to get from Macon to Northern Atlanta, which should have only taken me an hour. MASSIVE storms as well. One in particular, the whole interstate was shut down for a half hour because you couldn't see past the nose of your car. Scary shite. At least people were smart about the situation.
Driving through Northern Georgia and into Tennessee was absolutely gorgeous, especially Chattanooga.
Now I sit here in Nashville. And I'll tell you, I pulled one of THE ballsiest moves I've ever pulled. I didn't have a place to stay here, and getting a room at a hotel was my last resort. So I'm walking through the downtown area and there's an Irish pub, so I go in and sit down at the bar (real quick, downtown Nashville seems like a super rad place: waterfront, ball parks, TONS of music). There's a group of "younger" folk sitting next to me, tattooed, bearded. So I turned to the dude directly next to me, whose name is Jared, and said "You look like a guy who appreciates Jameson, let me buy you a shot", and he replied "What's the occassion?". I replied "It's my first time in Nashville", and his response (which was absolutely hilarious) "Fuck, first time in Nashville? I've got the next round!". Jared introduced me to his friends who were way chill and seemed like good folks. I ended up telling him about the road trip and not really having any place to stay for night, so he offered me his couch (what a dope dude, right? holmes doesn't even know me and totally took me in).
So here I am resting my head in Nashville, TN. Tomorrow, Chicago, IL.
Thoughts at this very moment:
1) Lucero
2) How stoked I am on getting to see the Ryman Auditorium
3) The mix of hardcore, soul, and 80's in my RoadWarriors playlist is crucial right now
4) Need to get some wiffle balls and wiffle ball bat before getting to Chicago
Hope everyone is well.
Cheers.
Sincerely Yours,
Niles C. Anderson
p.s. The battery in my digital camera is completely dead, and I really don't feel like buying a new one, so no pictures for now. I have my 35mm, so all remaining pictures will be taken on good old fashion film. That's right. Remember that stuff? Be patient, and after a week or so of me being back from the road trip I'll have pictures posted.
Smooooooth sailing through Central and Northern Florida. Saw signs for Silver Springs (I've been wanting to go BIG TIME) up near Ocala and wanted to pull off, but forced myself to hold steady.
As of right now Georgia and I aren't the best of friends. Well, Southern and Central Georgia that is. Northern Georgia, I love you. There was massive amounts of construction on I-75, especially near downtown Atlanta. It took me a little over 2 hours to get from Macon to Northern Atlanta, which should have only taken me an hour. MASSIVE storms as well. One in particular, the whole interstate was shut down for a half hour because you couldn't see past the nose of your car. Scary shite. At least people were smart about the situation.
Driving through Northern Georgia and into Tennessee was absolutely gorgeous, especially Chattanooga.
Now I sit here in Nashville. And I'll tell you, I pulled one of THE ballsiest moves I've ever pulled. I didn't have a place to stay here, and getting a room at a hotel was my last resort. So I'm walking through the downtown area and there's an Irish pub, so I go in and sit down at the bar (real quick, downtown Nashville seems like a super rad place: waterfront, ball parks, TONS of music). There's a group of "younger" folk sitting next to me, tattooed, bearded. So I turned to the dude directly next to me, whose name is Jared, and said "You look like a guy who appreciates Jameson, let me buy you a shot", and he replied "What's the occassion?". I replied "It's my first time in Nashville", and his response (which was absolutely hilarious) "Fuck, first time in Nashville? I've got the next round!". Jared introduced me to his friends who were way chill and seemed like good folks. I ended up telling him about the road trip and not really having any place to stay for night, so he offered me his couch (what a dope dude, right? holmes doesn't even know me and totally took me in).
So here I am resting my head in Nashville, TN. Tomorrow, Chicago, IL.
Thoughts at this very moment:
1) Lucero
2) How stoked I am on getting to see the Ryman Auditorium
3) The mix of hardcore, soul, and 80's in my RoadWarriors playlist is crucial right now
4) Need to get some wiffle balls and wiffle ball bat before getting to Chicago
Hope everyone is well.
Cheers.
Sincerely Yours,
Niles C. Anderson
p.s. The battery in my digital camera is completely dead, and I really don't feel like buying a new one, so no pictures for now. I have my 35mm, so all remaining pictures will be taken on good old fashion film. That's right. Remember that stuff? Be patient, and after a week or so of me being back from the road trip I'll have pictures posted.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
