Holidays, New Year, All About Family & Friends!
2016 Holiday Road trip and fast food crawl with pops!
It all started with my father tracking black snow through my home and ended with me 20 lbs heavier! Always his fault! The holidays should be spent enjoying time with family and friends, my father and I go on an annual road trip! No radio, 2000 miles and plenty of good times to remember for the year to come, reflecting on the year that was!
From Chicago, we headed south to Memphis for a night of cold air, blues and Yuengling. The agreement was set to offer him protection on Beale Street in exchange for my protection on Bourbon Street (I had been mugged on a recent trip in July). We have visited Memphis twice before and have great memories at The Blue Note, Rum Boogie Cafe, BB King and many more that all have great music.
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Our ride to Beale Street was eventful as my father met a fellow JMH (John Michael Hughes to my father’s John Mosher Holdeman) who gave us a free ride on the Memphis trolley and dropped us off safely on Beale Street. We enjoyed several places on December 22nd playing traditional blues to Blue Grass and even some Mo Town! The walk home was brisk but we made it out of Beale Street alive!
The next day we traveled 6 hours to Baton Rouge where we stayed at a nice hotel named Watermark, enjoyed their hotel bar and walked up and down 3rd Street for some nice music as well as along the Mississippi River as the sun set! We enjoyed a nice sushi dinner at Tsunami right on the water and hit the town for what ended up being a very late night for me and an abrupt exit from my father as the clock struck midnight!
On our way to a two day trip to NOLA we enjoyed the sites of Louisiana, not only the swamp lands, and elevated bridges but the beautiful rows of trees lining the highway. We arrived on Christmas Eve and checked into the Four Points on Bourbon Street, with my father insisting a balcony right on Bourbon Street was the best way to enjoy this trip! I had been to NOLA twice this year alone but the many stages of Bourbon Street as people partake in its festivities all day long, was a sight to see.
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The oysters as always were great, the street entertainers talented, the beggars creative and the shoe shiners tricksters. We enjoyed Bourbon, Royal, Frenchman and Decatur Streets and it is true the city sure does not sleep, even on Christmas! There were actually more people on Christmas Day than the eve of!
We visited some of my favorites Erin Rose (frozen coffee), Absinthe House (Absinthe Frappe) and of course a variety of music venues on Bourbon and Frenchman, where you can hear some very talented musicians in the bars as well as some very talented brass bands on the corners! Christmas was a day of basketball, football and food with a stop at The Carousel Bar in Monteleone (Sazerac) and a last stroll down Bourbon before people watching above the crowds in our hotel room!
Heading back to Chicago after 4 days on the road seemed brief as we clocked over 2000 miles on this trip! We stopped in Memphis one last time, enjoying Central BBQ before enjoying Monday Night Football, music and a warm 70 degree night. Being from Chicago we do not get to enjoy such luxuries this late in the year!
To avoid Chicago traffic we woke early and for the first time on the trip caught the horizon as we drove through Arkansas to some very beautiful purples and blues.
The trip would not be complete without one more fast food stop, where I made it a point to “evaluate” the current menus of Wendy’s, Culver’s, Taco Bell, random gas station for hot dogs and Ben & Jerry’s, Sonic, McDonald’s, Burger King and Arby’s. I have to say, if you are going to do a fast food crawl, make sure you get your stops in…or do not do one at all! See all my photos, videos and postings here!
Home sweet home and ready for a successful New Year where we pride ourselves in the concepts we create, memories we provide and bringing the team together for a healthy end to 2016 and start of 2017; looking forward to a few last memories with friends and family in 2016!
Not everyone may have a chance to break away like my father and I have done for the last several years and who knows how much longer we will be able to, but the idea of the holidays should be love and happiness with the ones you love. Take the time, make the time and enjoy the time. For another year, the time has gone by just all too fast! Signing off and ready for New Heights in 2017 with a belly full of….well you know! Happy Holidays and New Year from our friends and family to yours!
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Cheers!
William Holdeman
CEO & Co-Founder
Social Scene & My Drink On
My Drink On (MyDrinkOn.com) - An online marketplace in 10 cities hosting over 200 concepts each year to connect party goers, venues, and brands!
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