Louisiana-- 2 of 50

(01/23/2010)
tomorrow im going to New Orleans, LA and ... tomorrow is my 23rd birthday. I still haven't fully decided if im going. i feel bad about leaving my friends back here in Santa Barbara, but this is such a great opportunity to go out to New Orleans i just cant pass it up. US Airways only flies there from CLT and I really dont want to go all the way out to CLT so I'm taking a United flight from SBA to DEN to MSY (New Orleans). All together the flights out there will cost me around $53 dollars. Im going to be meeting my dear friend Avery D'Alessandro there and i know it will be a really fun time because we always have fun together.

NEW ORLEANS DAY 1 (01/24/2010) MY BIRTHDAY!!!

Today was a very long day of traveling! Woke up, packed, and pretty much got pushed on the

plane toe DEN from my dear United friends. The flight left at 6 am and I didnt get to the hotel

til about 4 pm. On the way to the hotel I got to see the craziness called Saints fans. Today just so happened to be the day that the Saints were playing the Vikings to ma

ke it to the Super Bowl for the first time ever! As soon as I got to the room I changed and we headed out to the streets to see the party in action. People were everywhere wearing Saints great and saying "Who dat!?"

Avery took me to an oyster bar where we had crawfish cakes and gumbo. I wanted to try the blackened alligator, but they ran out! I had Abita beer (beer from LA) and it

was pretty good. A little dark for my taste, but i tried it. Avery and I went to a number of places to watch the game. We tried to hit up a new place every quarter. Every single place had the game on.

We ended up watching the final quarter of the game at NOLA. A really good restaurant owned by Emeril. Here i got my birthday cake and it w

as so goood. It was some sort of molten chocolate with coconut and marshmallows. YUMMM.

Incase you didnt watch this game ill give you a recap: Very stressful 4th quarter for the Saints. It went into overtime and the Saints kicked the final field goal to win it. At that point it was a party in the streets. Everyone was going crazy. Everyone left the bars and were dancing in the streets. People were throwing beads off their balconies. Marching bands were playing "When the Saints Go Marching In". The people from the game slowly made their way to the French Quarters and then it was even more of a party. People were partying in the streets til 4 am!

NEW ORLEANS DAY 2 (01/25/2010)

Today i took nearly 100 photos. Avery I got up and walked about 4 miles on Magazine Street to the Whole Foods. It was really neat and a great way to see the city. We had great conversation and i really

enjoyed the surroundings. New Orleans is such an interesting city with so much history. It amazing how they have recovered from Hurricane Katrina. When we were at the Whole Foods we incountered so many happy people. They have been waiting for the Saints to get to the Super Bowl since they were children. The guy who pulled the pork for Avery sandwich was actually at the game. He said it was the most emotional game he had ever been to. When were at the salad bar these older women were talking about the game. We asked them what they should about it and they said in their deepest southern twang, "Oh child, it was like Jesus opened up the heavens and shined down is lights." These people have such great passion and it really is true about the attitude and positivity of people form the South.

Today really showed me a lot about the city of New Orleans. There was such incredible architecture and all the buildings felt artistic. The people are genuine and did everything they could to give you a smile.

That night we walked around the French Quarter some more and got beignets from Cafe Du Monde. Very good but very fattening.

NEW ORLEANS DAY 3 (01/26/2010)

Today we got our usual morning coffee and took the bus to the same place we were yesterday

I didnt really realize how long of a walk it was until i took it on the bus! WoW. Avery had his heart set on getting a bike in New Orleans simply because it is so much cheaper here than in CA. We stopped by the bike place and he took it for a ride to test it out. After we walked a bit more passed the Whole Foods. Stopped at a great Wingery, went to the park, layed in the grass. On the way back he bought his bike that he later named Breesus after Drew Breese on the Saints.

He loves his new bike so much.

After some rest we asked the concierge were we could get some deep southern food for dinner.

We were pointed in the direction of Praline Connection. Let me tell you, it was soooo good and soooo southern.

We walked there

and the people on the streets were a bit... grungy. As soon as we got there were were greeted by their host all dressed in his swagger. Our waitress was the sweetest southern girl with a twang. I ordered the fried chicken and I was warned "the fryin takes about fifteen minutes". I ordered beans with it and she went on to list about 7 different bean options. Geez! never had so many options! She told me that if I had never been to the south before i needed to get the red beans. On our way back to the hotel we heard jazz bands playing in bars. The sounds, smells, and people are what i will remember most about New Orleans.

NEW ORLEANS DAY 4 (01/27/2010)

New Orleans was one of my favorite trips I've ever taken. Being there almost feels like being in a different country. It is so full of culture. Unlike any city I have ever been to. It was great to spend this time with Avery. Our friendship has always been such an adventure and I'm looking forward to our next adventure together.

Once again I didnt want to have to fly all the way to CLT to get to PHX from MSY so I did a zed fare from MSY straight to PHX on Southwest Airlines. I think it came out to be about 38 dollars. From PHX i took US Air back home to Santa Barbara. It worked out great too because the US Air employees in MSY checked my bags for me through to SBA so i wouldnt have to deal with them in PHX. You see, if you fly southwest to any other airline you have to re check your bags because they dont have any baggage agreements with anyone.

Thank you Avery for such an amazing trip.

2 states down. 48 to go!

Hawaii-- 1 of 50

(01/17/2010)

tomorrow I'm going to Hawaii. I've been there so many times before, but this time will be so fun because I'm going with Rachel, my very best friend, and I'm going to a new island, Maui. Im excited to get out of the rain and I'm excited to see a new part of the most interesting, and only, island in the United States. Ideally I would fly US Air to Maui from SBA to PHX to OGG (Maui), but I will be flying AA on a zed fare for 37 dollars from SBA to LAX. I would be flying UA out of SBA, but they are booked full and i cannot jeopardize missing the best connection to OGG. And its in FIRST CLASS!

MAUI DAY 1 (01/18/2010)

Hawaii flight was amazing! Rachel and I had a great time with our FABulous flight attendant. She was us in about 40 years older than us but still kickin!!! As soon as we landed we went to the rental car facility. We used a code for US Airways and got a pretty good deal. When we were there Rachel saw one of her old bosses and that was a little... small word, and awkward. It was exciting getting my first rental car, but I was a little nervous at first that I was going to crash it! haha. We drove to our awesome hotel and fell asleep. Something Rachel l and I usually do when we are together!

MAUI DAY 2 (01/19/2010)

Wow! so tired, but still woke up early. That 5 am shift back home is really throwing off my sleeping schedule. I went up to the lobby (out door lobby) to use their internet. Ran into some other people from Santa Barbara. They recognized me from my Reality Sticker on my computer (my church). Once we were up and moving, Rachel and I got some snorkel gear and Snorkel Bobs (about 11 doors for 24 hrs) and drove to the furthest point and snorkeled. We drove through lava and narrow roads. Our car had a tough time making it, but we pulled it off. It was beautiful and worth every minute on the

bumpy road.

After the "lava road beach" Rachel and I were determined to find the black sand beach on the west side of the island. It was in a location that we never expected and were, honestly, a little scared to take in our litter car but it was worth it and so beautiful. From this little beach we could see the little island on moloka'i

At night we drove into Kahulu

i to see the town. We just drove around looking for a place to do our thing, sing Karaoke. Had a hard time, since it was Tuesday, but it was fun and a beautiful sunset over the mountains. We went to the Maui Mall and window shopped.

The most exciting part of the night was........

MAUI DAY 3 (01/20/2010)

The last day in Hawaii. For today we just decided to drive around and see as much of the island that we could. We took funny pictures. ...

Rachel really really wanted to see a waterfall so we drove up to Twin Falls. We missed the turn off and took a different road around some neighborhood. The houses were amazing and it felt like we were going on a jungle safari. We got back on the road and park at Twin Falls. Its a bit

difficult of a parking lot, but i managed. We hiked back to the water fall. It is really cool because on the way back we saw some sort of ruins that seemed like a mill or something. At the water fall we met our new friends, Russ, Garrett and Drew. They just so happen to also be from Santa Barbara! What a small world we live in!

These three guys were so fun and the cherry on top of our trip. We only wished we met them before the last day. After, we drove to Paia and got some lunch. Great fun! The boys then decided to show us their hotel (Four Seasons at Wailea). It was amazing. Right on the ocean. Amazing pool. Great hot tub. Fabulous showers. After we went out to eat and get some hawaii beers. it was great fun and I am looking forward to hanging out with all of them again.

Hawaii was amazing! And like always we took a red eye home. Oh, US Airways and your flights from Hawaii to PHX. Tried to guzzle some left over wine before we went through security, but I was too dehydrated. On the flight we got our own row and it was actually the best red eye I've ever had!

02/21/2010

We landed in PHX and like zombies we walked over to the Southwest gates for Rachels flights. We kept hearing announcements about flights being canceled cus of the storm in the PHX area. I grabbed some lunch at Paradise Cafe for Rachel and I. Her flight left on time and she was on her way. I made mine and was very thankful I didnt have to be stuck in PHX. Good to be home!

1 State down, 49 to go.

The Beginning

2010 is the start of my Great American Adventure. I decided to go to ever single state in the United States the year 2010. I fully understand that this will mean going to states that i have already been to and, in some cases, wouldn't otherwise go back to but this is a task i have decided to embark on. I know that it will be fun, exciting, overwhelming, draining, financially difficult, scary..... but I am excited to take on the challenge. This will be a good year and I intend on using this blog to highlight my trips. oh yeah, I work for an airline so the majority of all these flights to all theses states will be free so this is also a blog for non revers. Our jobs may not be the best in the country, the most appreciated, or the most sought after, but our benefits are rewarding and for most, the sole reason why we keep our job. This is a helpful place to find at least a little bit of what you should know about every state in the USA