the modern gal's travelog

seems appropriate to kick off summer on a hot, sticky night on a...

Sun, 27 May 2012 12:07:00 -0400

seems appropriate to kick off summer on a hot, sticky night on a hot, sticky street.

may, 26, 2012, lower broadway, nashville, tenn.

this is gay street, a stretch of road that has served as a...

Mon, 21 May 2012 16:30:00 -0400

this is gay street, a stretch of road that has served as a cultural and commercial capital for the city for over 200 years. friday night was spent on an architecture tour of gay street with guru of knoxville history Jack Neely. his stories of knoxville paint the city as a sort of rebellious, rambunctious little town. i’ve decided while the memphises (memphii?) and atlantas and nashvilles and birminghams of the south get all the box office sales, knoxville proves to be a cult classic through and through.

may 18, 2012, gay street, knoxville, tenn.

we met an elderly couple at the Biscuit Breakfast this morning...

Sat, 19 May 2012 10:44:00 -0400

we met an elderly couple at the Biscuit Breakfast this morning who drove all the way from tampa to knoxville so that the gentleman could indulge his love of biscuits at Biscuit Fest. that’s 670 miles all for the love of food. i hope that’s what my retirement looks like.

may, 19, 2012, biscuit fest, knoxville, tenn.

this is about as irish as it gets june 27, 2011, kenmare, county...

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:56:00 -0400

this is about as irish as it gets

june 27, 2011, kenmare, county kerry, ireland

i love the instagram filter on this. the t-bar lift seems like a...

Mon, 14 May 2012 09:53:44 -0400

i love the instagram filter on this. the t-bar lift seems like a relic from another time. i rode it once. well, i successfully rode it once. i’ve attempted to ride it three or four times.

jan. 24, 2012, peak 8, breckenridge, co.

the confluence of kentucky and virginia sept. 25,...

Sat, 12 May 2012 09:51:00 -0400

the confluence of kentucky and virginia

sept. 25, 2011, cumberland gap, va.

purchasing

Fri, 11 May 2012 11:56:57 -0400

every single time i go to purchase a plane ticket, i freeze up. i am petrified that i will slip up and buy my ticket for the wrong day or wrong week. i check the form at least a dozen times before clicking ‘send’ or ‘confirm.’ and then i panic for about a day that i’ve still managed to screw it up.

that said, i’ve purchased a (cheap!) plane ticket to san francisco for june! the modern love machine and i are game-on for our west-coast summer extravaganza.

may 11, 2012, knoxville, tenn.

i think about this spot often. add it to my list of happy...

Thu, 10 May 2012 09:50:00 -0400

i think about this spot often. add it to my list of happy places. no, pure bliss places.

ballyferriter, county kerry, ireland, june 27, 2011

this is my original happy place. vail, co., jan. 23, 2012

Tue, 08 May 2012 21:03:34 -0400

this is my original happy place.

vail, co., jan. 23, 2012

every so often i see knoxville in a new light and i feel as if...

Tue, 08 May 2012 20:43:00 -0400

every so often i see knoxville in a new light and i feel as if i’m rediscovering it again.

knoxville, tenn., april 6, 2012

the harland sanders cafe & museum is located in the building...

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:01:00 -0400

the harland sanders cafe & museum is located in the building where the colonel first hawked his fried chicken. consider ‘cafe’ and ‘museum’ to be used liberally in this case, as all it really is is a working kfc with a few artifacts on the wall. and a really long line.

corbin, ky., sept. 2, 2011

in most of the south, Big Boy is known as Shoney’s and...

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:00:00 -0400

in most of the south, Big Boy is known as Shoney’s and doesn’t have the awesome mascot. venture a bit north and you get the real thing (as it turns out, it’s not very good).

richmond, ky., sept. 1, 2011

confederate

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:24:47 -0400

i noticed a few confederate battle flags on my drive through the backwoods of kentucky today. i realize the commonwealth was a slave state and a confederate sympathizer, but for pete’s sake, kentucky remained in the union.

sept. 25, 2011, middlesboro, ky.

june 23, 2011, from the sky bar atop the guinness storehouse,...

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:22:00 -0400

june 23, 2011, from the sky bar atop the guinness storehouse, dublin, ireland

june 22, 2011, trinity college, dublin, ireland

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:22:00 -0400

june 22, 2011, trinity college, dublin, ireland

country

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:29:00 -0400

whenever i’m on the road for work i stay in a hampton inn. the prices are decent, there’s free albeit crappy breakfast and each room in every hotel is furnished exactly the same, which means you know exactly what you’re going to get. as part of the standard room furnishings there’s a clock radio that has buttons labeled ‘talk,’ ‘rock,’ ‘oldies,’ and ‘pop’ that are programmed to the corresponding local radio station. last night in london, ky., i turned on the radio to ease the loneliness only to find every button led to a different country music station.

aug. 16, 2011, london, ky.

rocking chairs and free wifi make airport delays not so bad....

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 19:28:00 -0400

rocking chairs and free wifi make airport delays not so bad. kudos, mcghee-tyson.

july 15, 2011, knoxville, tenn., en route to chicago, ill.

americana

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:59:00 -0400

if a pub in ireland has american beer on tap - and the ones in the bigger towns always do - it’s bud heavy followed by coors light and miller genuine draft. the bar bands LOVE johnny cash too. we’ve heard ‘folsom prison blues’ at least three times.

june 27, 2011, dingle, county kerry, ireland

whenever my next really horrible day of work comes, or God...

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 16:04:00 -0400

whenever my next really horrible day of work comes, or God forbid, the hubby and i have a marital spat, i hope to remember just how peaceful and happy i am at this moment.

june 26, 2011, from our private balcony at the greenmount house, dingle, co. kerry, ireland

insomnia

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 04:58:00 -0400

the bartenders here in Ireland are masters of their trade. i appreciate and marvel at what they do until their drunken charges keep me awake into the wee hours of the morning with their chants and bar songs.

the clarence hotel, dublin, ireland, june 24, 2011