The Move to Texas...Done.

Well, we finally made it! As of Monday July 20th, Ricky and I are official residents of Texas. According to the mileage listed in the Passat, we drove a mere 1,400 miles to get here! Starting in Lexington, we drove south to Nashville where we planned to have some delicious pancakes from the infamous Pancake Pantry. Despite my neatly typed, well planned itinerary, we arrived in Nashville 2 hours behind schedule. On the highway, we experienced the only traffic jam of the trip which had us tied up for 30 minutes.
Traffic Jam...UGH.

Unfortunately we arrived too late in Nashville to enjoy Pancake Pantry. It was pretty depressing, especially for Ricky who has never had the yummy confections before. Mmm...pecan pancakes. Instead, at the recommendation of Mary Jacqueline and Garrett (former Nashville natives) we went to Jackson's which was on the opposite side of the street. I had Caesar salad and some amazing crab cakes. Ricky had the ahi tuna wasabi Caesar salad and French Onion soup. For dessert, we had the Jackson's special: Cookie Dough Egg Rolls with homemade vanilla ice cream.



Cookie Dough Egg Rolls...odd combination, great taste!

Our first overnight stay of the trip was in Memphis, Tennessee, about three hours away from Nashville. We got a great deal on a very nice Marriott hotel room via Priceline and eagerly checked into our room around 10PM Saturday night. We heard great things from several friends about Rendezvous--a restaurant in Memphis known for their ribs. They have been featured several times on the travel channel and have visitors from all over the world. Ricky and I both enjoyed their ribs (I got the half rack, Ricky got the full rack), baked beans, spicy coleslaw and sweet tea. We now understand why so many of our friends recommended rendezvous! It was great and we got to experience a little of the downtown Memphis night life.

Before, mmm....
The aftermath. YUM.


Sunday morning we set off on the road again. From Memphis we drove three hours to Jackson, Mississippi. I must say, despite the delicious Raising Canes we had in Jackson, Mississippi was pretty boring. The landscape is very similar to Kentucky and Tennessee, the radio stations were pretty dull and there were no cool sights to see along the way. *Yawn* The most exciting part of our trip was driving into New Orleans. Louisiana is a pretty cool state to look at through the window of your car. There are swamps in just about every city approaching New Orleans meaning there are a wide variety of bugs that can smash against your windshield. I was hoping to see an alligator peek though the bogs but it didn't happen:(.

The streets of New Orleans are narrow and packed with people---even on a random Sunday afternoon. Parking is a nightmare anywhere near Bourbon Street which is where we happened to be having dinner. We had dinner at Coop's Place, listed as one of the ten best places to have a meal in New Orleans due to it's casual down home cuisine. We both enjoyed the taste plate that contained: a bowl of seafood gumbo, seafood jambalaya, red beans and rice and rabbit and chicken etoufee. As expected, it was delicious and we washed it all down with some Louisiana only beer: Abita. Ricky had the Restoration Ale whereas I enjoyed the Amber which was amazing. For dessert we headed to Cafe du Monde for their world famous beignets! If you've never had one, it's the French version of a donut. It's very tasty and covered in powdered sugar. They suggest you have it with their Cafe au Lait but I had mine with some 2% Lait instead. Ricky had the cafe and it was great too! There was a great street band outside Cafe du Monde that played covers of many popular songs. I hope Ricky will post their version of Viva la Vida because it's really, really good. Before we left we took a quick walk down Bourbon Street. Ricky remembered the name of a great Cajun restaurant in Lexington called Bourbon and Toulousse and it occurred to him that that was probably an intersection in New Orleans. Sure enough, it was and he got a picture with the street signs that we'll be mailing to the restaurant in Lexington.

Ironically there was a Massey Road in Memphis, I just forgot to get a picture.
Cool houses in New Orleans.



Five hours and ten minutes after leaving New Orleans, we arrived at the Atkinson's home to spend the night in Houston. Mary Jacqueline and Garrett, having moved from Tennessee to Houston, understood why we arrived at 1AM. Their house is on the outskirts of the beautiful Houston Heights area of town. Baby Samara gladly gave up her room so that Ricky and I could enjoy the comfy guest bed. On Monday morning we had brunch at Backstreet Cafe in Houston before taking off for San Antonio. Mary Jacqueline and I enjoyed the shrimp and grits while Ricky had the lobster sandwich. I had a wild berry mimosa which was highly recommended. MJ and Ricky had the white sangria which was some of the best I've ever had. For dessert we shared the shortcake with berries and ice cream. MMMmmm....All of it was great and we thank MJ and Garrett for their hospitality!

Backstreet Cafe. Very quaint and tasty!


Samara peeking out of her baby seat and the cute Atkinson house.

When we rolled into San Antonio after a three hour drive from Houston, it was still hard to believe that this is now our home. Despite the recent drought in the area, the warm sun and palm trees made our apartment complex look more like a vacation hotel than a permanent residence. (www.whiterockapts.com) We are slowly digging our way though the massive amount of boxes delivered by our moving company Tuesday morning. The apartment is slowly coming together and when it's up to my standards, I'll certainly post pictures:)