The Experience - Day 6 - Quest ATX

Nap, nap, nap

Wakeboard, kneeboard, slide

The Experience - Day 5 - Houston & Austin, TX

The day started with an amazing view and gratitude that the sea did not swallow us overnight.

We said goodbye to this beautiful piece of Texas and headed towards Houston.

After a short drive through the city, we stopped at Las Vistas for some breakfast! Let's kick off the "taste as many tacos" part of the Texas experience!

Off to Courtney's in Austin!

The Experience - Day 4 - West LA & East TX

Started off the day with breakfast in Metairie with my college roommate Adam. It was very nice to catch up. I love that I'm getting a chance to do this with so many of my friends.

Then we hopped on I-10 and headed west to Lafayette, LA.  Our first stop was Camp Bow Wow Lafayette where Suzette welcomed us with open arms and showed us around. 

Then we had to deal with our hungry stomachs. First, pastries at Poupart Bakery.

Then, everyone's favorite boudin stop, The Best Spot.

The pepper jack cheese boudin balls were soooo good! So were the cracklins and the boudin sausage... only a picture can describe it.

We made our way to Cajun X Cables where Charlie got his first try at a cable park. The staff there were very friendly. The price to ride is the least expensive I've ever seen. The obstacles were fun and the line was non existent. Definitely recommend!

We drove a couple more hours so we could enter Texas. Grabbed a couple of Po Boys at Sam's Seafood in Port Arthur.

We are glad it was open, the service was outstanding and the food was delicious because... that town is scary! 

The campsite at Sea Rim State Park, however... breathtaking!

...and it cost us $16.

The Experience - Day 3 - NOLA on bikes

Kicked off the day with breakfast at the neighborhood cafe, Who Dat Coffee Cafe. Although I usually order a simple egg, toast bacon breakfast, something caught my eye... Not Ya Mama's Corn Cakes.

It was delicious. A bit much for one, but... I needed energy since we were about to embark on our bike ride around the city.

We departed from the Marigny towards the French Quarter. We rode on the river walk towards the Aquarium. From there, we found our way to St Charles Ave and followed the streetcar line until we hit Washington. Across from Commander's Palace, we found Lafayette Cemetery. 

We resumed our ride and headed to my alma mater, Tulane University. It brought back some really good memories. 

While the academic campus looks the same, McAllister Dr has changed drastically in 20 years. Damn... 20 yrs... I'm old.

I had to check out the houses I lived in junior and senior year near Hillary and Freret. Then, I had to show Charlie what America's Diviest Bar looks like from the outside. Nothing could prepare him for Snake and Jake's Christmas Bar.

From there, we rode to the Daiquiri Bar for refreshments. 

We cruised to the Levy to stare at the Mighty Mississippi. After, we did a few laps around Audubon Park and took in all of its beauty!

Rode past an old college bar and couldn't resist. The place hasn't changed much. 

We worked up an appetite and gave Taceaux Loceaux a try. Good non-traditional tacos.

The next stop was Lula Restaurant Distillery where the service was superb!

While Charlie took off to reconnect with a friend through the streets of the French Quarter, Christian and I waltzed over to St Roch Market. Surprisingly, we found a Malaysian restaurant and I introduced Christian to the deliciousness that is Nasi Lemak.

The Experience - Day 2 - Sticker Stops are born

The day started in Tallahassee with a delicious breakfast, but quickly after, we embarked on our drive through the Gulf Coast.

First stop was Mobile, AL despite two locals telling us to "F-Mobile".  We needed a refreshing excuse to put our Alabama sticker on our map and Ralph & Kacoo's did not disappoint.

Their Hurricane and Voodoo Juice were both delicious. We got a lovely view of the Causeway and their gators and their server was phenomenal. 

Next, we stopped at a Mexican joint in Biloxi. Food was good. Drinks were ok.

That drive on US-90 though... wow... through Biloxo and Gulfport... we're so glad we got off I-10.

One more at Steve's Marina. We needed to put the Mississippi sticker on. 

We finally arrived in New Orleans around 5pm and were greeted by my favorite (don't tell the others) monkey, Christian, our host for the next 2 nights. He took us to Butcher, a deli owned by the Chef of Couchon. Lucky for us, Christian had worked there and is good friends with the manager. We were treated like royalty and ate like pigs!

The Experience - 1st stop: Tallahassee, FL

Yesterday, June 18, 2019, we embarked on our road trip. My travel companion, Charlie, planned this trip and calls it "The Experience".

We left Naples, FL around 7:20am.

Headed northbound on I-75 and took a small detour into St Petersburg and installed our map of the US onto the car. We had not been this excited about stickers in a long time!

Continued our journey to Tallahassee, FL where my college friend, Jocelyne, opened their home to us. Her husband Jeremy and good friend (and Naples native), Vicky joined us for some tacos at The Iron Daisy.

We then headed to Proof, a gorgeous local brewery. We sampled some brews, played some skeeball and called it a night!

After a delicious breakfast at The Egg Cafe, we are off to New Orleans!

Happy to have given Mr. Tequila another shot!

It has become a tradition that when our Chicago friends Lily & Molly come to visit their friend Kerri in Naples every year, we always go to a Mexican Restaurant. Our Miami friends Greg & Charlie always make the drive to join us. The first year we all got together, we went to Iguana Mia in Bonita Springs and had a great time… after many margaritas of course!

The second year, we were going to try Mesón Olé, but it had closed down. Now called Mr. Tequila Restaurant, it is located at 3126 Tamiami Trl N in Naples. We all had a pleasant experience. Dominic and I revisited the restaurant several times after that, always having a great meal.


The flavor of their carnitas (my favorite childhood dish) is the closest to the flavor of the carnitas from the Mexican restaurants in Puerto Rico.

However, for our 3^rd reunion, my Tulane friends Jes, Christian, Damien & Cyrus were in town as well so I made reservations 1 week in advance at Flaco’s (4947 Tamiami Trl N # 110, Naples). A few hours before we were to meet, Kerri called Flaco’s to add 1 person to the reservation and they told her they did not have any reservation for us. I called, tried to work it out with them, but they did not make any attempt to accommodate us. There was no manager or owner to speak to, not that day, not the next day, or the next when I called back. Because of this incident, I have a hard time returning to Flaco's.

Scrambling, I called Mr. Tequilas and they were very happy to accommodate our large party at the last minute even though they were busy themselves. Unfortunately, that night, almost everyone was disappointed with their meal. This discouraged Dominic & I from returning.

Until recently, we found ourselves in the neighborhood and decided to give it another try. We’re so glad we did!  The restaurant was packed (and we were not even in season) so the service was a bit slow and I felt like I was interrupting the server’s concentration every time I had a request, but he took the time to give us his opinion on several dishes.

 I ordered the “Carnitas Platter” and asked if they could make it a little spicy. I am always VERY careful about asking for spicy at Mexican & Asian restaurants. My dish had a nice kick to it and was as good as I remembered.



Dominic was in the mood for fajitas so he ordered the Fajitas Mr. Tequilas (steak, chicken, shrimp & chorizo). He loved it!

 Their salsa is always good and plentiful. It is not spicy at all though. We’ve had their Shrimp Diablo and Chicken Enchiladas and they are both delicious. I had their “Alambre” on that fateful night so I do not plan on ordering that dish again, but I do plan on returning… especially for their XL Modelo Especial on tap!

Mr. Tequila Restaurant