Scenes From Giza

They say that in life it's not the things you've done you regret. It is the things you haven't done. The chances you didn't take. Clearly Russian photographer Vitaliy Raskallv plans on living a life with no regrets. Here he, along with some friends, traveled to the ancient Egyptian pyramids and snuck to the top risking a prison sentence had they been caught. Mr. Raskalov managed to shoot these amazing pictures that capture a view of Giza many of us never see.















































While I don't condone trespassing to get a good shot I do give him credit for taking a chance and snapping some amazing pictures.

Old Town Slidell Soda Shop

In 1988, a 1960s replica soda shop opened in Slidell, Louisiana. The Old Town Slidell Soda Shop
Hurricane Katrina closed it in 2005 however a few years later it was rebuilt and reopened. While stopping in Slidell we explored this quaint town where one of my best friends grew up we found this shop and stopped in. It looked like it holds a lot of memories of times past and continues to be a favorite hang out for those who can't get into the bar across the street. Despite that this place will always be a popular attraction in Slidell for locals and outsiders like me who drop in.

The Handy Way

Don't you wish you could drive the highway and find gas for this price? I did. Too bad this station off Hwy 36 in Brazoria County is abandoned. I don't have any information about this place so from the pictures it shouldn't be too hard to guess.

Stopping For Cracklins

After visiting my Louisiana relatives I asked my girlfriend if she'd ever had Cracklins. With this being her first exposure to Cajun country she had never heard of Cracklins. Time to introduce this girl from California to one of Louisiana's staples. For the first time in a few years I stopped into Don's Specialty Meats which sits just outside Lafayette (in Scott, LA). It was fairly busy for a Sunday morning. After a five minute wait in line we got our bag of Cracklins for the road to Lake Charles. Nothing like yummy, fried, cholesterol goodness while on the Louisiana highway.

Hotel Review-Ambassador Inn

Our Room








The Lobby



The Continental Breakfast Station


On our way back from New Orleans we made an overnight stop in Lafayette, Louisiana. The place I originally wanted was way too pricey so we kept looking. I found The Ambassador Inn off IH-10 and Ambassador Caffery. This was the exit we took to visit my grandparents. The price (in the neighborhood of $60) and the reviews were good so we decided to stay here. We checked in and decided to "check in" on foursquare as well. We were surprised when a user uploaded this picture.





The picture offered no other information other than the user handle of the girl who took this picture and the July date it was taken. Fortunately we didn't have this issue. The hotel's website says they offer free Internet. However we could only get a connection in either the parking lot or in a dime sized spot in the corner of the room. We spent that evening with my Louisiana relatives and left in the morning. I'd recommend this as a decent, overnight place however if I were staying for a longer length of time I'd go elsewhere.

Vacherie Methodist Church

While vacationing in Louisiana we went out tour a plantation. While driving down LA 18 I noticed a rather small church standing by its lonesome. I pulled over to snap these pictures. The sign reads Vacherie United Methodist Church. From what I later learned it was established in 1948 and services were held once a month. In 1965 Betsy came along and wiped out the church. It was rebuilt in 1967.

Whata-Aggravating Wait For Food

Every Sunday we stop into a local Whataburger for about half an hour for breakfast while working. Today we arrived and were surprised at the crowd. Typically there are only a few people on a Sunday morning. We placed our orders as an aggravated woman stood shaking in place demanding her food of a refund. She said she had been waiting 20 minutes. We thought nothing else of it. At least until 20 minutes later when about a dozen other people had come in from outside demanding their food or a refund. It was nearly time for us to return to our posts yet we haven't received our food yet. Usually we're done eating by now. We asked to get ours to go when a man came in and said "9:45 for just a biscuit (it was then 10:25!)" The staff didn't seem to be in a big hurry to appease the angry customers and instead kept taking orders from people not knowing they were in for a wait. Finally we got ours to go and hurried back to work. I sure hope they resolved it.