My Travels, Rocking the Southeast hostels

[jltraveling]

Okay, Kellie suggested that I post my story here...this is going to be long, so feel free to skip over it. But if you want to know what I've been up to the past month, stay tuned.

I got work as a freelance writer a few months ago. I write for a Disney travel site and also for a web content company out of Canada. This means that I make decent though not great money, and no longer need to be tied to any particular location. Have laptop, will travel.

So...I wanted to see the Dancing with the Stars show in Atlanta Jan 26. That's how it all began. One thing led to another and Dad and I decided to take off on an adventure. For some reason, we had never tried staying in a hostel...but hey, a bed and a shower with a side of good friends, all for an average of 20 bucks a night? Why not try it?

We left Orlando on Jan 24 and drove to Ashburn, GA because I wanted to see a roadside attraction we had passed previously called the Crime and Punishment Museum. Turned out to be way better than we expected, and we ended up spending almost a whole day there. Spent that night in a cheap motel in Ashburn. Next day, headed out to Atlanta and our first hostel experience.

All I can say is wow! The hostel was a 150 year old building that was formerly a brothel. It was truly like living in a cross between a college dorm and a houseful of awesome roommates. The living room, kitchen and dining room were all shared, and we were in a room of bunk beds. Don't stay in a hostel if you value privacy, but if you love meeting interesting and intelligent people from around the world, it truly can't be beat. The location was perfect too, Midtown Atlanta just 4 blocks from the subway. Great local bar on the corner and one of Atlanta's most famous historic southern restaurants on the other corner.

We did the tourist thing by day and hung out drinking beer with our new friends at night. Got City Passes which gave us admission to all the major attractions at a huge discount. Hung out with people from Kosovo, Australia, Germany, Denmark, and the UK. Had an amazing adventure!! Also drove out one day to see the friends we had made at the campground where my mom died. They have become quite close to us, usually talk on the phone every single weekend. They happened to be at a campground just outside of Atlanta, so we met up for lunch and a bottle of wine the day of the concert. The show was great, but I can't really say it was the highlight, surprisingly enough.

After a week in Atlanta, we headed to Fairview, TN which is half an hour outside Nashville. My cousin just had a baby, so we went to stay with them for a week. Kind of weird living in a house with only three other people after the craziness in Atlanta, but it was a great place to rest up and recharge. It snowed a couple of days, so this Southern girl finally got to build a snowman and make snow angels. We also took a buggy ride through downtown Nashville in 19 degree weather! Brrr, but so much fun.
We also took my cousin and her husband and father to see the hostel in Nashville, since they had never seen one. What a surprise to run into our German friend from Atlanta, who was staying in that Nashville hostel!

After a week there, it was time to move on. I had never been to Graceland, so we decided to head over to Memphis. Sadly, we were not able to locate a hostel in Memphis, so we ended up paying for one night at an overpriced tourist motel on the Graceland strip. The first day, we went to Sun Studio where some girl in our tour group actually kissed the exact spot where Elvis used to stand when he was recording there. Crazy tourists! Hit up Beale Street that night for some awesome BBQ and a few drinks, and drove over the bridge to Arkansas. I've never seen a state line that crosses the middle of a bridge before. Yes, I'm easily amused.

Graceland was awesome!! There was an overnight ice storm, so both driving and walking were rather tricky, and it was so COLD walking around the grounds. But we braved the weather and ended up staying for about 6 hours.

After Graceland was done, it was time for the drive to New Orleans. I literally could not wait to get here. I've been gone for 2 whole years, not counting the brief visit right after the storm when the city was under a mandatory evacuation and all my stuff was covered in black mold. Felt like the drive took forever, but finally, at about midnight, here we were.

We didn't even bother to look around at the hostel. We checked in, dropped our stuff in our dorm, and headed out to the French Quarter. God it was good to be home. Since then, I've run around like a nutcase trying to re-visit all of my favorite spots. I've also spent a lot of time chilling at the hostel or going out drinking with my new friends.

This hostel is kind of amazing. It was owned by a guy who was staying in India and squatters took over the house. The owner returned unexpectedly and found the squatters. Rather than kicking them out he said they could stay for a small per night fee. Well, years later one of the original squatters is now the owner, and he's kept true to the spirit of the original idea. There are three houses in the complex with a large central courtyard and a swimming pool in between. We were in the blue house for 2 weeks, till we lost our room to a group of 50 law students, so were transferred to the brown house (which is now red) and a really kick butt party room. I'm not complaining lol The people here are terrific as well, and I've met some possible roommates for when we move back here permanently.

Mardi Gras was incredible. I was up for 45 hours straight--touring, partying, parades, more partying. Slept for about 8 hours then went out to party again. Tonight we're having a toga party here complete with tons of BBQ and alcohol.

So we leave on Wed. Dad's going back to Orlando and I'm going to Miami with some guys from here for spring break. Then Dad and I will spend a month or two in FL closing up shop and getting ready to leave permanently. We're probably going to travel to Alaska this summer, then head back here for the fall and winter, except for a Christmas tour of the Southeast.

So yeah, I'm more or less a permanent traveler now. I just love this life!! Will update more later!

[MandaBella]

Sounds like fun Lisa, and it was nice hearing from you. Glad you have a job that will allow you to do all the traveling you can handle!

[Kellie19891992]

Nice hearing from you Lisa!!!

[mamamia]

Lisa, it sounds great! What a wonderful opportunity! Keep us updated on all of your travels!

[Mrs. Claus]

Great trip report jltraveling! Anymore coming soon?