Category Archives: Trip Reports

Happy New Years From Nashville

Trip Reports, ,
a man and woman standing in front of a stage with a baby

Kim, Lucas and I want to wish everyone a Happy & Healthy New Year!

Hopefully 2013 will bring great mileage earning opportunities and plenty of travel for all.
We already have flights booked for three trips with more to come. I’ll be mentioning where we’re going in future posts. We’re planning our trips early this year!
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This year we got to spend the last days of 2012 in Louisville & Nashville. Check out my posts about Day 1 and Day 2. I’ll be posting about Days 3 & 4 very soon.

Nashville hosts a big event called Music City New Year’s Eve Bash On Broadway. The event features performances by some bands and they countdown to midnight with the Music Note Drop. Streets are closed all over the downtown area and vendors are out selling food, drinks and souvenirs.

I had hoped to check out the Bash on Broadway but it wasn’t the best idea due to my little man Lucas. The weather has been chilly in Nashville and it’s been drizzling/ raining on and off all day. (Lucas also needs his beauty sleep way before midnight!)

a man jumping in the air
My last jump of 2012

We decided to walk to the end of Broadway to get a closer look at the New Years Stage & Music Note.

During our stop near the stage, we figured it was a great time to take some photos. The area had lots of activity going on. Last minute preparations were being made and many others seemed to have the same idea as us- get some photos before the crowds showed up.

a city street with people walking on it
Nashville’s Broadway

Once again, I want to wish everybody a Happy New Year from the Michael W Travels Family!

Louisville & Nashville- Day 2 Recap

Trip Reports,
a map of a route
Image edited from mapquest

The second day of our Louisville & Nashville trip was a very long and busy one due to a good amount of driving. Driving from Louisville to Nashville directly would take around 2 hours and 45 minutes but we decided to break up the drive with a stop at Mammoth Cave National Park. This added a little under an hour onto our drive with traffic.

Regardless of the time we spent on the road, we ended up having a pretty productive day. We got to visit some interesting sites, Lucas had a lot of fun playing in a museum and we got stuck waiting (for what seemed like) forever for a famous chicken dish created in Nashville.

Here is a recap of some of the things we did.

Day 2: Louisville to Nashville Continue reading Louisville & Nashville- Day 2 Recap →

Louisville and Nashville- Day 1 Recap

Trip Reports,
a map with a blue line

We’re half way through our final trip of 2012- Louisville & Nashville.

The trip has been pretty interesting so far and it’s been a busy first couple of days. We’ve visited a couple of interesting museums, toured part of the world’s longest cave, visited a few odd sites and tried out some tasty, local food.

Here is a quick recap of some of the things we did so far on our first day. Continue reading Louisville and Nashville- Day 1 Recap →

The Oddest Checked Luggage I’ve Ever Seen

Travel News, Trip Reports, , ,
a cash register at a checkout

While checking our one piece of luggage (Kim, Lucas and I shared one bag) and getting Lucas’ boarding pass for our current trip to Louisville & Nashville, I was amazed at what I saw at the counter to my left. One man was trying to check some of the oddest items I’ve ever seen.

We were at New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA), about to fly for the first time with Southwest Airlines.

Southwest might have one of the most generous checked baggage policies out there. They allow two checked pieces of baggage per ticketed customer. The maximum weight is 50 pounds and maximum size is 62 inches.

I think we all expect to see people checking various kinds of luggage, an oddly taped shut box or even a surf board on occasion.
However, the gentleman to my left was trying to check two 50 pound dumbbells!

two weights on a metal surface

Continue reading The Oddest Checked Luggage I’ve Ever Seen →

A Visit to the Vienna Beef Factory Store

Food, Jumping, Trip Reports, , ,
a sign in front of a building

While planning my trip to Chicago this past October, I came across a tour that I really wanted to take. However, there were a couple of problems.

  1. The tours are only given on Wednesday mornings and we were arriving Thursday night
  2. The tour was booked up through winter 2014

The tour that would elude me was a visit to the manufacturing facility of Vienna Beef.
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If I couldn’t get to learn about how hot dogs were made at VB, I decided to do the next best thing- visit the Vienna Beef Factory Store & Cafe.

An Odd Site: The Easter Island NASA Facility

Trip Reports, , ,
a green dome in a field

While planning our trip to Easter Island I picked up a copy of “A Companion To Easter Island” by James Grant Peterkin. I had been in touch with James and ordered the book from him directly. (James would also end up being our guide for two of our days on EI)

The companion guide had information about sites all over Easter Island. The information was written in an easy to digest manner making for a quick read. I also enjoyed the photos inside.

One of My Favorite Hats- Thailand

Trip Reports, World Hats,
a black hat with multicolored pom poms

On our trip to Thailand a few years back, Kim and I took a day trip from Chiang Mai to visit the hill tribes. Along the way we stopped at a butterfly sanctuary, an underground temple and another temple or two.

The trip was a long day and the highlight was our visit to see the hill tribes. The visit wasn’t the most authentic feeling but it was still interesting. The area we  visited was basically a crafts village with members of various hill tribes selling their goods and posing for photos.

Jumping By The Elephant Cave- Bali, Indonesia

Jumping, Trip Reports, ,
a man and child running in front of a carved stone structure with Goa Gajah in the background

While in Bali over the summer Kim, Lucas and I visited many interesting sites.
(Check out my SE Asia trip recap HERE.)

There was one site that I wanted to check out- mainly due to it’s name. (Definitely not the best reason to go out of your way to visit a site!)
When I first heard of the Elephant Cave, I immediately added it to my list of places to visit. I did a little more reading about the site and decided it was worth a stop. I wasn’t really going to visit just based on it’s name!

a sign on a building

The Elephant Cave (Goa Gajah) is a short drive from Ubud. From what I read, it dates to the 11th century. It’s name comes from people believing the face at the cave entrance resembles an elephant. In my opinion the face looks nothing like an elephant. According to Lonely Planet the entrance to the cave is actually the mouth of a demon.

a man holding a baby in a carrier
Inside the cave- statue of Ganesha

After paying the entry fee we were given sarongs to wear while visiting the Elephant Cave. To reach the entrance to the cave we had to walk down a bunch of steps and then pass by some bathing pools which had some interesting carvings.

a group of black statues with red cloths
Lingam

The Elephant Cave wasn’t a busy site which was really nice. However, we still had to wait to get photos at the entrance without other visitors in them.

Inside the cave there wasn’t much to see. We did a quick walk inside and saw a few small statues. According to my Lonely Planet guide-one was of Ganesha and another of lingam- ” the phallic symbol of the Hindu god Shiva.

a person walking through a stone tunnel
Exiting the cave
a man holding a baby
a woman jumping in front of a carved stone structure with Goa Gajah in the background
Nice Form!
The main purpose of our visit to the Elephant Cave was to get to jump by the entrance.
I wasn’t disappointed stopping by to check out the cave and get some fun photos! I felt that visiting the site was well worth it to see such an old and amazing carving. I’ve seen many old sites but this one was pretty unique and it was pretty cool that we could go inside the cave.
a man and woman holding a baby in front of a carved rock structure
The Michael W Travels Team

Heavy Metal Burgers at Kuma’s Corner

Food, Trip Reports, ,
a plate of food with fries and cheese on it

I first heard about Kuma’s Corner when it was on food- television show Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives a few years back. Since then, they have been on a bunch of other shows.

I’m a huge fan of burgers so eating one at Kuma’s Corner was at the top of my list on my recent trip to Chicago. It was actually the first thing we did after checking in to our hotel!

I remembered that many of the burgers were named after heavy metal bands but forgot how huge they were. Some of the burger names are: Iron Maiden, Lair of Minotaur, Led Zeppelin, Megadeath, Metallica, Pantera and Slayer. Continue reading Heavy Metal Burgers at Kuma’s Corner →

The Shit Fountain- Chicago

Trip Reports, , ,
a stone fountain with a snake on top

I mentioned in my post about The Doughnut Vault that prior to heading to Chicago I was looking to find some places that seemed a bit more off the beaten path.

When I came across the Shit Fountain I knew that I had found possibly one of the oddest sites.

The fountain is located outside of a private home at 1005 N. Wolcott Avenue. It was created by Chicago artist Jerzy S. Kenar due to being pissed about locals not cleaning up after their dogs.

Continue reading The Shit Fountain- Chicago →