Tao of Pauly

Home Sweet Tea

I woke up in Tennessee today after a second straight night of restless sleep. I flew into Nashville on American Airlines. After spending 80% of my flights on JetBlue over the past two years, I have been spoiled with excellent service. The flight was OK and actually early. My flight was around $300. So that leg from NYC-LaGuardia to Nashville was about $150. I got a warm can of Dr. Pepper and a bag of pretzels with eight stale tiny pretzels inside.

There was a woman in her early 20s sitting adjacent and two rows in front of me. She made one of the most stunning entrances I had ever seen on a plane. She walked down the aisle with a half-full cup of beer in a clear plastic cup. I guess she had been at the bar when the flight was called and got her drink to go.

I finished my Arthur Nersesian book and zoned out listening to my iPod for the two hour flight. Within 15 minutes of deplaning I was sitting in my rental car. I'm a "Fastbreak" member of Budget Rental Car which means a discount on rentals and no lines to wait in. I rented a Saturn SUV for one week for Bonnaroo. One catch is it has Pennsylvania plates and I'm in the South. Although I've driven an SUV before, I never rented them due to the high gas costs. The ride from Nashville to Spaceman's house in Ashland City was smooth. The car stereo is iPod friendly so I could hook it up without any problems.

On Sunday, Mrs. Spaceman's family had a family reunion with 40-50 members coming from all over Tennessee and the South. On Monday, they had BBQ leftover dinner for the remaining guests in town and I got invited. As the only Yankee in the room, I was the source of questions about New York City. Let me say that the leftovers were as good as any BBQ I've been to. The pulled pork with hot sauce blew me away. Plus I had fresh biscuits and homemade sweet tea. I was in heaven for a few hours eating one of the best meals I had this year.

I also saw a pig and a camel at the house where the BBQ was held. Spaceman and I watched Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals. Edmonton looked bad compared to Carolina.

I woke up this morning and wrote for two hours before Spaceman took me to WalMart to get supplies for Bonnaroo like water, bug spray, sunblock, a tarp, baby/hand wipes, lighters, and a small flashlight. I usually boycott that establishment due to their atrocious business practices, but it was the only store in the area that had what I needed. I also got an apple fritter and a box of Dibs for late night munchies. I spent $20 less than I estimated and got a wrestling DVD for $1.

We pick up Change100 at the airport in an hour, then I'm taking Spaceman and his wife out for dinner. I'm sad to report that the rooster they named Joaquin is no longer living. He ended up someone's dinner a few weeks ago. Sorry guys. No pics of little Joaquin.