Sunday, July 31, 2011

Jul 30 - Sexy Sax Man

Last night, we had our July Yelp Elite event at the Hard Rock Cafe on the strip. Accordingly, we had to find our inner rockstar and dress up for the occasion. He may not be a rockstar per se, but I think the Sexy Sax Man counts. At the very least, it's funny as hell. If you haven't seen the video, head here now!

This is my homage to the internet saxophone sensation, Sergio Flores. The background is a photo I took somewhere in Tampa Bay a few years ago.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Jul 18 - Printer's Alley

We hung out in Nashville for a few hours before my flight back to Vegas. Despite flying into Nashville, this was my only time spent in the city. These two photos are from a colorful spot downtown called Printer's Alley. A night club district dating back to the 40s, it was originally home to some publishing companies.





Thus ends my sojourn into the south. Although rain was forecast for much of my stay, I got lucky. Apart from a sprinkle at the Jack Daniel's Distillery and a subsequent downpour on the way to Chatt, it really didn't rain until I got back to Nashville airport, which of course delayed my flight a little. Overall, it was a fun and memorable trip.

Jul 17 - Battle Above The Clouds

Last day in Chatt. We made a quick visit to Lookout Mountain before lunch with Laura's Dad, a few random errands, and then the 2-hour drive back to Lebanon. I love how you can really take in the bend in the Tennessee River from up here. Lookout Mountain played an integral role in the so-called "Battle Above The Clouds" during the Civil War.





Jul 16 - Freshwater Hunter

On our only full day in Chatt, Laura and I decided to go back downtown and do a couple of touristy things—we visited the Tennessee Aquarium and the Hunter Museum of American Art.

The aquarium is fairly unique in that it showcases freshwater aquatic life. In fact, its "River Journey" building is the largest freshwater aquarium in the world.





The museum was a nice diversion. There were a few pieces I really enjoyed, but they aren't pictured here. I thought it would be lame to just show photos of other people's artwork in this blog.



Thursday, July 28, 2011

Jul 15 - Under The Bridge Downtown

Our first night in Chattanooga, we walked across the Walnut Street Bridge (now a walking bridge only) and checked out the downtown area. With the humidity in the air, the breeze coming off the Tennessee River felt fantastic. The following photos are just some of the sights we saw along the way.









Jul 15 - Jack On The Rocks

When Laura said we'd be going to Chattanooga for a couple of days, I figured a trip to the Jack Daniel's Distillery was a possibility (Lynchburg is off the highway between Nashville and Chatt). As it turns out, I didn't even have to bring it up. She suggested it!

This is Jack on the rocks. Get it? The statue stands in front of the cave spring—the famous source of iron-free water with which they make the whiskey.



Good slogan. This sign is inside Jack's original office building.



The black coating on the trees is interesting. It's related to the alcohol fumes coming from the distillery (I forgot the specifics).



The visitor building



Finally, I like to call this the "Anthony M" photo. This is actually back from the start of our tour. As Laura said, it's too bad we weren't tour #7. And in case you're interested, here's my Yelp review.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Jul 14 - Sunset By The Lake

I really liked how the sun was filtering through the leaves.


The lake behind the house is just a couple hundred feet away. Thankfully, there were no brain eating amoebas. I think. During this trip, we went for a swim a couple of times, took the boat out for some wakeboarding, and swung off a rope swing into the water (something I've always wanted to do - it's the kind of thing I used to only see in movies).

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Jul 14 - Fowl Photoshoot

I went on a last minute vacation to Tennessee to visit Laura. I stayed at her family's house in Lebanon (just outside of Nashville). On my first full day, I decided to get up semi-early and shoot some birds. No, not that kind of shooting.

In this first photo, I caught the rooster crowing. I also seem to have caught a hummingbird? Or a gigantic bug.







Harvesting free range chicken eggs from the hen house. They're delicious!



They're keeping some baby turkeys in their garden - letting them loose on any bugs that might get to their veggies. A few turkeys got out a couple of times, so we had to catch them and get them back into the garden. Fun times!







These two ducks were given to the family at some point. Apparently, they like to hang out with the hens instead of swimming in the lake behind the house, like they should be doing.

Jul 8 - Slap And Tickle

This post actually came about from the Fremont Street Photo Walk I organized, but the Slap & Tickle sandwich from The Beat Coffeehouse was so surprisingly good - and it has such a great name - I had to use it for the title.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Jul 4 - America, Fuku Yeah!

Had a pretty laid back Independence Day, but ended it by celebrating Fukuburger's first birthday, complete with some more Korabo Taiko action.







They do a bit where they invite audience members to play some drums. This is a girl from Matsuri (they performed later on, but I didn't stick around).



Afterward, I hung out with friends and family to do the obligatory "light stuff on fire" thing.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Jul 2 - Ancient Raintree

I decided to escape the Vegas heat - it happened to reach 111 - and hike to the oldest living thing in the Spring Mountains. The Raintree is supposedly about 3,000 years old. This thing has been around since before the Roman Empire. I've been fascinated with Bristlecone Pines since I watched the BBC documentary, Life (the Plants episode in particular).

And of course, being the crazy Yelper I am, I added the hike to Yelp and reviewed it.