If anyone asks you to Atlanta, Georgia, you should say no... and then you should punch them in the face. No seriously, that place is the worst place on earth. But I'm getting ahead of myself, the last time I wrote I was going 'gator hunting in the Everglades, and as you can see I survived it. Saw a couple of small alligators in the wild, then held a 3 foot one in captivity which was pretty cool, not exactly Steve Irwin style, but still felt like it could have done some serious damage.
Spent the last few days in Miami chilling by the pool, getting sunburnt and occasionally trekking around the South Beach or Downtown area. There was quite a predatory gay Colombian guy that seemed to take quite a shine to me in the hostel, his opening question was, "do you have a girlfriend?", followed up by "you no like?". It did lead to one unfortunate moment, when I slipt on the wet floor and literally fell into his arms. Not one of my manliest moments I'll admit.
From Miami I flew to spend a day in Atlanta as it was cheaper to do that than go straight to Nashville. All the reviews for my motel were pretty derogatory, warning of the homeless shelter next door, but I thought after a year with the Big Issue I would be alright with that. I was wrong. About three to four hundred people crowded around all day and night. That coupled with the rain didn't do much for my perception of Atlanta, but I think you could be there in glorious sunshine and it wouldn't hide the fact that the place is an absolute dump. How on earth it got the Olympics I will never know.
From there I got the coach to Nashville which is now my favourite place in the US. There's a street called Broadway with bars all the way down with live music constantly. I think I've had my fill of country music for life, but it was a really cool place. Stayed at a very music-based hostel as well and met a lot of fun people. Very bizarrely met up with my friend Jake who I haven't seen in about 6 months and didn't know he was in the country! After Nashville I got another Greyhound to Memphis to meet up with Paul and sleep on his sofa. As I'm not the biggest Elvis fan there wasn't a huge amount to do in the area, but I went to the Gibson guitar factory which was interesting. That evening we went to a house party and took on some Americans at beer pong, which led to Paul being forced to sit under the table for the duration of the next game for not making any shots! The following day was Saturday so Paul was free for an American adventure. We went to play 'disc-golf', which is essentially throwing frizbees on a golf course. I'm not going to say I was a natural, but I guess living by the beach for so long has honed my skills somewhat. That evening we went to a drive-in cinema which was an experience, I'm not entirely sure it added anything to watching films as it was hotter and harder to see the screen, but it seemed like the sort of thing to do whilst over here.
After Memphis I took an 11 hour coach down to New Orleans where I am currently sat inside because it is too warm to leave the hostel. There is a place called Bourbon Street where I went last night which is essentially a row of bars with very strong cocktails and a distinct smell of vomit. From here I will be off to Austin Texas, followed by a trip to California and finally Vegas for the 4th July. I'm off to find some shade and food before hitting Bourbon Street again tonight. For anyone interested I think I'm now up to 8 Man vs Food locations on the trip.
Peace out!
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