...all in pictures, because I've been too busy to take the time to do this properly. And here goes our southern whirlwind:
In Washington, D.C., my friends were surprisingly accommodating of my ridiculous insistence on seeing all things aerospace-related.
We had a chance to stop by my favorite monument in D.C.
At Gravelly Point Park, you can watch (and feel!) the planes land at Reagan from very close range.
On our drive through Tennessee, we stopped briefly at Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
In Nashville, we witnessed the end of the Great Cicada Invasion of 2011.
Nashville also provided us with great entertainment. Here is the end of the Music City Roots, a weekly live radio show held at the Loveless Cafe barn.
In Memphis, we attended one of the Top 10 Rooftop Parties in the country at the Peabody Hotel.
In Louisiana, outside of Baton Rouge, we were able to see the beauty of the Rosedown Plantation.
Later, we joined in a crawfish boil at the house of the brother of a friend of the roommate of the former babysitter of Thomas (one of our road trip companions). Talk about southern hospitality!
In New Orleans, there was a band on practically every corner.
We were also invited to participate in a second line, the parade held to celebrate the life of someone who's died.
The culmination of our New Orleans experience was Bourbon Street, busy even on a Sunday night.
In Savannah, we ate every southern dish you can name (and a few more) at this former boarding house.
We were able to soak in some sun and play in the bathwater-warm Atlantic at Folly Beach, outside of Charleston.
When we camped on Ocracoke Island (part of the outer banks islands of North Carolina), we were just on the other side of the dunes from the ocean.
On our way back home, we stopped briefly at Kitty Hawk, where the first powered flights took place. The first flight took off from this large rock and came back down at the small rock in the distance.
It was a delightful trip, a great break before beginning our real lives as third-year medical students.
