Just got back from New York City. Some Friends from college, my wife to be and I all went up to experience New Years in Times Square. This has always been something on my bucket list and I was glad to complete it with such great people.
I really love the energy of New York and, since 911, have always been impressed with the friendliness, helpfulness and humility of the people who call Manhattan home. We went to a lot of touristy sights I had seen before, but I got to take some good pictures of them this time for the portfolio.
This trip to new york was also the first time I have ever been to a Broadway musical. We went to see The Phantom Of The Opera at The Majestic Theater. It was awesome!

I was so impressed by everything about the performance, and especially enjoyed trying to figure out how the stage pieces and special effects worked. If you are like me and have been putting off anything associated with word musical, I urge you to take a chance and go see a Broadway musical the next time you are in new york. Most likely you will find a new form of art/entertainment that you will enjoy time and time again.
I look forward to visiting the city that never sleeps again soon. There is always something new to see, do and experience there and the energy is contagious.

Labels: Bucket List, New Years, New York, Road Trip, Times Square, Travel

I have just visited Washington D.C. for the sixth time in my life. One of the things I really like about visiting our nations capital is that no matter how many times you visit, there is always something new to see, discover, or, in some cases, re-discover. I spent a day in D.C. this time, so didn't have any time for the museums I usually enjoy, but saw and re-capture a lot of my favorite sites and saw some new ones.
Seeing the Pentagon Memorial for 9-11 was a very sobering sight to see in representative form, the number of those who died on the ground and in the plane on that day.
Next I went to see The Air Force Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery where I saw the changing of the guard ceremony, then the White House, The Mall, The Washington Monument and The Lincoln Memorial. Here are some highlight pictures from the day.

Labels: Road Trip, Travel, Washington D.C.

I recently took a road trip with some friends up to New York and on the way we saw this beautiful building on off the highway while driving through Virginia to Washington D.C. We decided to stop and see what the building was and take some pictures of it. We soon found out the building is the recently completed National Museum of the Marine Corps and Heritage Center. We arrived after closing time, but just in time for some great twilight shots with the moon and stars in the background. I really enjoyed studying the light that came out of, through and bounced around this very well designed architectural sculpture. If you are heading to D.C. from the South, I recommend stopping by this unique place with great design and so much history inside. You can check out the official website by clicking here.

Labels: Road Trip, Travel, USA, Virginia

Every time I visit New York I like it more and more. The city is vibrant, diverse, and always moving. I don't think I could live there for more than six months, but it is a great city to visit. I got to visit walk around and see a lot of the city on foot. One of the highlight was seeing the new Apple store on 5th Avenue. The entrance is a solid glass cube about twenty feet high with glass stairs leading down into the store below. You can view a Quicktime VR of it here and here.
We had our eleventh and final event on the southeast side of the city, and had a lot of fun. There was the largest crowd yet, and all the finalist we had met at the previous events were there. I had a great time on the tour and got to see a lot of new and exciting places and have some new experiences. I am really glad for the opportunity I was afforded in working on this tour, and look forward to the posibility of doing similar promotional work in the future.

Labels: New York, PAM Grilling Tour, Road Trip, Travel

I got to visit a good friend, and see the largest mall in America with a theme park in it! Mineanapolis was a realy nice city. It feels welcoming and neither too small or too big. The weather was perfect, the city was fun, and the people were friendly.

Labels: Minnesota, PAM Grilling Tour, Road Trip, Travel

Des Moines is just as boring of a city as you would think, but the Iowa State Fair is probably the best thing to do see in Des Moines. We had our event at the fair on Friday, and the street was packed with thousands of people by the time we left. If you plan on visiting, I suggest you visit during the state fair if you must visit at all.

Labels: Iowa, PAM Grilling Tour, Road Trip, Travel

Chicago is a great city in the summer. We got to visit for four days, and really enjoyed the cities architecture, museums, gardens, fountains, and parks. It is a beautiful city, and the weather was perfect, but I would not want to be there in the winter. While there I went to the Field museum were I got to see a King Tut exhibit and the man-eating lions from Tsavo, that the movie The Ghost and The Darkness is based on, among other things. I also went to the top floor of the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Buildings. I also went to Millennium Park, The Chicago aquarium and the Da Vinci Exhibit in The Museum of Science and Industry.

Labels: Illinois, PAM Grilling Tour, Road Trip, Travel

In Ohio I got to go to my first state fair. It was fun, with lots of things to see, do, and all the junk food you could ever want. We got to watch a great fireworks display both nights, once when we set up the stage, and the next night as we took the stage down. Our event was fun as well and we had a good crowd come to watch. I didn't get to see downtown Columbus, but plan to visit it sometime in the future.

Labels: Ohio, PAM Grilling Tour, Road Trip, Travel

Home sweet home! While in Atlanta, I got to visit the fam, lot's of friends, and host an event at Turner Field. Unfortunately I was unable to go to the game because we had to set up and tear down the stage in one day. It was a good time to relax, recharge, and re-unite with loved ones. I will miss my family and friends when I move overseas, or out west in December, but I know the Lord will provide new ones, and hope to stay in touch with my currents as friendships have no distance boudaries.

Labels: Atlanta, PAM Grilling Tour, Road Trip, Travel

Home to the University of Texas, and over 47,000 bats. The video can be viewed by clicking here. The bats come out from under the bridge at sun down ever night, and it is an amazing site to behold. Just when you think that there could be no more bat's living under the bridge, thousands and thousands more come out and head south to feast on on insects all night.

Labels: PAM Grilling Tour, Road Trip, Texas, Travel

We didn't get to stay in Jacksonville very long, because we opted to go to New Orleans, and Panama City on the way to Jacksonville. New Orleans was strange to see after Katrina and Rita. I had been there before the hurricanes, and it was terrible to see the devastation and ghost town looking neighborhoods surrounding the city. The French Quarter looked exactly as it had been before, ands was by far in the best shape. After New Orleans we went to PC, and relaxed for a couple days on the beach. Next it was time to head to Jacksonville, FL for the Kingfish tournament. Jacksonville seems like a great city. I was able to see My Uncle Steve and his family, and had a good time at the Tournament event over all.

Labels: Florida, PAM Grilling Tour, Road Trip, Travel

Charlotte Is a very beautiful clean, and relatively young city. I really enjoyed visiting, and would not mind living there if the snow skiing was better. I got to do the giant swing drop ride at Carowinds theme park, which is similar to Six Flags. It was so fun, and makes me want to go ski diving ASAP. I got to visit my friend Kight and see his really cool loft apartment right next to his office. It was a lot of fun, and I look forward to possibly going back to visit in the future.

Labels: North Carolina, PAM Grilling Tour, Road Trip, Travel

We had an event in front of the Florida Aquarium which was fun because we got to go into the Aquarium for free and were able to have their kitchen clean our dishes, a process that usually takes about 3 hours and usually clogs up our hotel room tub. I got to spend a couple hours catching up with my Grandparents, and got a small tour of the Tampa and the beautiful campus of Tampa college. Florida is really hot!

Labels: Florida, PAM Grilling Tour, Road Trip, Travel

After a relaxing time in Knoxville, we headed out to the redneck tourism capital of the world -- Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. If you ever have a lot of money you want to waste, I highly recommend the innumerable attractions and useless gifts that can be found in Pigeon Forge. On another note, I was very impressed with the size and amount of unique shops and rides that Dollywood had to offer. The best coaster in the park was Thunderhead; a wooden coaster that wraps over and under itself thirty-one times! This was the most fun wooden roller coaster I have ever ridden, and would highly recommend it.

Labels: PAM Grilling Tour, Road Trip, Tennessee, Travel

Charleston is a city full of history, old buildings, and beautiful churches. While there we hosted an event at an old plantation with a beautiful oak tree lined entrance. Every corner of the city seems to have had some important role in our nations history at one point or another. One night we went to a rooftop restaurant and bar. From the roof you can look around the city and see all the church steeples in the city.

Labels: PAM Grilling Tour, Road Trip, South Carolina, Travel

Stopped in Philadelphia for a day, and visited the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, China Town, a cool Market under a building, and of course grabbed a cheese steak.

Labels: PAM Grilling Tour, Philadelphia, Road Trip, Travel

Boston is a very unique city full of history, old buildings, and tradition. While there, I visited Harvard, M.I.T., Cheers, and explored many of the old part of the city including the Church where Paul Revere signaled from the steeple to warn that the "Red Coat's are coming!" I really enjoyed the mix of historic and modern throughout the city and suburbs.

Labels: PAM Grilling Tour, Road Trip, Travel

After a week of training, me and my three other team members headed out from Atlanta on Saturday morning. We drove through the day and arrived in Arlington, VA at midnight. The next day we woke up , hopped on the Metro, and headed to DC. We went to see the Museum of Natural History, a couple art museums, as well as the Lincoln, Vietnam, World War II and Washington memorials.

Labels: PAM Grilling Tour, Road Trip, Travel, Washington D.C.

This summer I will be going on a mobile marketing tour to promote PAM cooking spray. Me and a team of three others will be traveling to eleven major cities, setting up "cook-off" competitions, and enjoying our great country. Bellow are the dates and location we will be.

1. June 17th .................................................... Boston
2. June 24th .................................................... Charleston
3. July 1st ........................................................ Dollywood
4. July 4th ........................................................ Tampa
5. July 8th ........................................................ Charlotte
6. July 16th ...................................................... San Antonio
7. July 22nd ..................................................... Jacksonville
8. July 29th ...................................................... Atlanta
9. August 5th ................................................... Columbus
10. August 11th ................................................. Des Moines
11. August 19th ................................................. New York
    

Labels: PAM Grilling Tour, Road Trip, Travel