Food Tours

I like food. I really like good food.

Jessica & I were in Charlotte for a concert, but we also wanted to sample some good NC BBQ. She's the food critic, so I'm sure she'll post her restaurant reviews, but while we were on our quest, it hit me....how cool would it be to go on a "food tour" in different cities?

My friend Anne is on a wine tour in the Hamptons. I'm not big on wine, but ever since I can remember, I've wanted to do a wine tour in Napa Valley, CA. Maybe I'll add that to my "bucked list".

Back to food...after a quick Google search, a lot of bigger cities have these blessed "food tours".

The first link to appear was a Foods of NY Tour, come to find out, there are several different cultural walking/food tours available. I would pick the Chinatown tour first, and it only costs $65 dollars. What an inexpensive way to tour a part of the city.

If Chinese food is not your cup of tea, this site also offers an Original Greenwich Village, Chelsea Market/Meatpacking District, Central Greenwich Village (and part of SoHo) or Sushi & Japanese Tapas tour.

Chicago is another city I've been dying to visit. I'm not surprised there are food tours there too. My buddy Joel has been there since our early college days & I'm ashamed to admit I haven't been up to visit. I've told him I want to come in the summer so I can go to a Cubs game, but I think we'll have to go on one of the Chicago Food Planet Tours too.

Washington DC is another top city that appeared on my Google list. It's also another city I love. I'm such a history nerd, I could spend a day in each of the Smithsonian's. But since Washington DC is such a cultural melting pot, I know they have some good food too.

Not only does the DC Metro Food Tour offer the standard cultural walking/food tour...they also offer a DC pub crawl.

Once I tour these US cities, maybe I'll extend my quest across the pond....Spain, Italy or Greece, anyone?

Seat Snob

Hello, my name is Nikki...and I might be a seat snob.

You're probably wondering, "what's a 'seat snob'"....my definition: "the best seats in the house for a concert/sporting event".

I wasn't always a seat snob, but I blame my age. Gone are the days when I could stand on my feet for hours and still enjoy a good show. I like having my own, individual seat near the action.

Thanks to some good friends, I've had the luxury of being on the floor for Tim McGraw & most recently, Brad Paisley shows. I fear this may spoil me for any future show.

Jessica & I noticed something rather interesting last night at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Charlotte...box seats with personalized attention. Come on, how cool is that? Granted the chairs didn't look very comfortable, but there were buckets of beers on each table & if you wanted another one, you just had to order it and a server would run and get it for you!!

Wonder how you get those seats?

H2O

Apparently 2010 was not only the year for travel, but the year for concerts as well. So far I've seen Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney and now, Brad Paisley.

Funny, Tim was the only concert I actually saw in the state of Tennessee...Jessica & I traveled to Charlotte, NC for this show.

It's no secret Kenny is my clear cut favorite, but I have to be honest, Mr. Paisley puts on one HECK of a live show. It's a whole different type of concert experience. Not only is his work on the guitar outstanding, his interaction with the crowd & video board add to the overall performance.

Hard to believe that this tour almost never got off the ground due to the Middle Tennessee flooding in early May. I'm so glad he's surrounded himself with hard working individuals who refused to rest till everything was show ready.

Justin Moore & Darius Rucker were the opening acts & put on an amazing show as well. I would travel out of state to see Paisley again...if only he, Keith Urban & Kenny would go on a massive summer tour, I'd be one happy camper!!

I really liked Moore's camo guitar

The only time I'll support a Gamecock...Darius Rucker

Well hello, Mr. Paisley

What a sense of humor...too bad we didn't get the "Single Ladies" dance

Yes, that's a bar for the final song, "Alcohol"

My Ideal Job...

I want to combine my true loves, travel, food & sports.

Imagine Todd Blackledge's "Taste of the Town" meets Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Inns & Dives" meets Samantha Brown's "Great Weekends".

Now, I just need to think of a name for my show and a way to make it all happen!!

My Arch Nemesis...

Bristol Motor Speedway's 100th Cup race did not go as I had hoped...out of the 43 possible drivers that could have won Saturday night's Irwin Tools 500, the biggest tool found his way to victory lane...Kyle Busch.

Kyle, or Shrub, as I like to call him is one of my least favorite drivers on the track.

I don't mind that he wins a lot, I can normally count on him to choke once The Chase starts, what really annoys me is his attitude. He's such a little punk! But he can drive the wheels off any vehicle, that I'm certain.

I think my hatred for Shrub started a few years ago when he wrecked Dale Jr in Richmond. Junior needed the win and was on the verge of victory, but Shrub clipped him and sent him into the fence. Drawing the wrath of Junior Nation is not something any driver wants to do, but Shrub never backed down...for that I applaud him.

It takes me a long time to forgive, thus I'll never root for him. But I love it when he mixes it up with other drivers. He and Brad Keselowski got into a mess during Friday's Nationwide race. Shrub flat out wrecked Keselowski, but Keselowski's already on probation for an on track incident with Carl Edwards, so there was nothing else he could do. Did I mention Shrub announced that he meant to dump Brad? That's when he should have used an "inside voice".

The stage was set for Saturday night's shoot out Cup race. Bristol Motor Speedway let the driver's pick their own intro music & gave them an open mic. I can't tell you what Shrub strutted out to, the booing was too loud. But I did hear him play to the crowd by saying, "Man, you all are sooooo loving!" And something to the effect of "are y'all ready for me to win this again?"

I don't like Keselowski either, but once he took the mic all I heard was, "Brad Keselowski, driver of the #12 Penske Dodge...Kyle Busch is an ass!" I've never hear BMS get that loud before! The crowd loved it and I dare say Brad had 150K+ fans for the night.

Sadly, Keselowski and the other 41 drivers had nothing for Shrub...he took home the trophy Saturday, after picking up the Nationwide win on Friday and win in the truck series on Wednesday.

It's Bristol, baby...

This is one of my favorite times of the year...it's Bristol race week! The night race at Bristol is one of my favorite races on the NASCAR schedule. I've flown to Las Vegas & driven to Charlotte for a race...the atmosphere doesn't come close to my beloved Bristol. I love this track so much, I named my dog after it.

My driver isn't doing well this season, but he normally pulls out a good finish at Thunder Valley. I'm praying that Dale Jr can find a way to actually win the race, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Will have a post race update...my sanity really, really needs a win from the #88 team!!

The starting grid

The card stunts are pretty cool

Guinn & Wells trying to win some Sharpies -- August 2009

I was shocked we got Jessica to a race!!

Mom & I stocking up on Jr swag -- March 2010

Too Hot!

I am over the heat of summer...if it snowed tomorrow, I might actually run outside in shorts & a t-shirt and build a snowman!!

Following the "keeping cool" theme...I found a new vacation spot...the ICEHOTEL. Yes, you read that correctly, a hotel made from ice and snow. I'd have to fly to Sweden, but I've been dying to use my passport...

#47

I'm a "numbers" kind of person...take the address of this blog...what number do you have to type? That's right "47" not "8, 16 18 or 88". What do all these #'s mean?

Well, Dale Earnhardt Jr is my favorite driver, hence the 8 & 88....growing up, Joe Montana was my favorite NFL QB, #16, which leads to my current favorite NFL QB...Peyton Manning, #16 UT/#18 Colts.

But it all comes back to the #47...this belongs to my all-time favorite Brave...former pitcher, Tom Glavine. I can't even remember when he became my favorite, but it's always stuck. My mom & my step-dad and I would spend several weeks a year in Atlanta at the ballpark. That's right, weeks, not weekends...we'd pick a couple of good home stands during the summer and make a vacation out of it. We even flew down to spring training for their last two years in West Palm Beach.

Glavine was drafted out of high school by the Braves & the NHL's LA Kings in 1984. He chose baseball and made his MLB debut in 1987. Oh man, those first few years were rough...but he never quit. He was the bend, but don't break guy...and it drove me nuts! He'd rather walk in a run with the bases loaded, instead of laying one right down the middle that could turn into a grand slam. Most of the time, after he walked in a run...he'd get the next batter to ground into a double play. Hum, give up 1 or 4 or more...I'll take that walk, thanks!

He took a lot of flack in during the players strike in '94. I think this is when I really started to become a fan...he was the player rep, a job no one wanted, but he took on the challenge. As a fan, did I agree with it all? Of course not, but all was forgiven the next fall when he took the mound for Game 6 of the World Series against the Cleveland Indians.

It was his time...no longer would he be the guy that "couldn't win the big game"...he pitched his heart out for his team and for the city of Atlanta. Thanks to a David Justice home run, Glavine went on to pitch 8 innings of 1 hit baseball...and earn himself the World Series MVP.

Glavine was a Brave from his debut in 1987-2002. I never thought he'd pitch for another team, except maybe his hometown Red Sox. But by 2003, he was pitching for the enemy...the New York Mets. But after the way he was treated by the Braves front office, I was ready to wash my hands of the Braves..how dare they throw my Tommy out like yesterday's trash.

Here's a guy who at that point was an 8 time All-Star, 2 time Cy Young Award winner, 4 time Silver Slugger & World Series MVP. But I guess Atlanta thought he was washed up. The fans thought he was greedy.

My family & I made it a point to go back to Atlanta the next time the Mets came to town...we got tickets behind home plate and all 3 of us were in Glavine shirts...he was booed every time he stepped on the field, "fans" threw money at him, since they thought that was his reason for leaving. I remember being interviewed by a NY & ATL newspaper. They kept asking "why do you still support him". My answer was simple...."I know a good pitcher when I see him."

Glavine went on to become an All-Star 2 more times and picked up win #300 in Wrigley Field as a Met. #300, I wasn't sure he'd get there, but that was my magic number...the number I knew would get him to Cooperstown. First ballot, 5 years from now...he'll be there...mark my words!

The Braves brought him home in 2008, and I made peace with them. I hate the Mets again. I even thought about driving down to Atlanta today for his jersey retirement ceremony, but couldn't get off work.

He'll go down in history as #47, one of the most accomplished left-handed pitchers of all time, but he'll always be #1 to me.

Some photos from this afternoon's luncheon courtesy of the Atlanta Braves

Every Vote Counts

I'm not very political...but ever since I turned 18, I've exercised my right to vote. I'm never going to tell you who to vote for, but I'm always going to ask that you do your civic duty.

My personal take on the matter is pretty simple...I don't want to hear you complain about this or that if you didn't take the time to cast your ballot.

That's probably the most serious blog post you'll ever see from me :)

Happy Birthday, Bristol Peyton!

That's right, my little beagle is 5 today! I'm told photos will follow after he opens his gifts and eats his cupcake & birthday cake.

Isn't he a cutie?

So Close...

Tomorrow, my blood pressure will rise...my focus will slip....and if it's not covered in orange & white, I'll want nothing to do with it...

That's right, the Vols open fall camp...then we're 31 days, 736 hours, 4581 minutes...from kick-off!!

The Boys of Fall

If you know me, you know I love 2 things more than life itself...football & Kenny Chesney.

For the first time since 1998, Kenny is singing about football again. "Touchdown Tennessee" is still near of top of my list....but "The Boys of Fall" is slowing moving into my Top 5.

Lots of Tennessee high school football teams are featured in the video...too bad my alma mater, Father Ryan, didn't make the cut. Maybe next time...

And the Hits Keep on Coming...

Guess I'll have to add another trip to "the list"....if everything works out, my friend & I should be heading to Charlotte, NC for Brad Paisley's H20 Tour.

I've always wanted to see Brad, but for some reason I've been unable to attend his Knoxville & Nashville shows.

Stay tuned for possible concert reviews :)