music blog

Man, I used to love taking long road trips to see some of my favorite bands. most of the time it was the results of seeing an awesome show near where I live and wanting to see the show again but in the next town or city. other times, it’s just simply because the band isn’t playing in town. of course, now that I’ve got my little boys, the priority of seeing a great band five or six hours away, isn’t as high on the list anymore. but one of my goals this summer is to take a little trip to Atlanta with my ten year old and see some shows.

You know, to have some sort of bonding experience with my son. and as you know, a road trip can do wonders for any sort of relationship whether it be father and son or among friends or even as a family. and Atlanta is a great city that I like to visit every now and again. I remember some great times visiting there back in my college days. some buddies of mine and I would drive overnight to meet some of our Georgia Tech friends to catch an Atlanta Braves ball game. and one time after a game, we were hanging out at a bar near the ballpark trying to think of things to do in Atlanta, when all of a sudden a close friend of mine, Mike, got bored sitting around and just striped down to his boxers and ran down the street cheering for the Braves just for the heck of it. kinda gives you a glimpse of the kind of guy Mike was, right? but anyway, the look on some of the innocent bystanders on the street was absolutely priceless. heh. now, I don’t think I’ll need to run down the streets of Atlanta in my boxers to bond with my son but I’m sure he’ll love seeing the recently built Georgia Aquarium while we’re there. and since I love drinking Coke, we’ll definitely stop by the World of Coca-Cola exhibit.

I’ll be using a website by Trusted Tours & Attractions to set up some guided tours of the city for my little son and I to enjoy. you know, whether you’re in San Francisco wanting an Alcatraz tour or just in need of some new family vacation ideas, the Trusted Tours & Attractions website is a great online tool to use when planning for your next trip. it’s something you may want to check out and see for yourself. Oh and while you’re online, be sure to sign up for their Travel Newsletter. one lucky person on their email list will win a new IPOD Nano. and sign up soon because the offer ends March 31st.

I’m not totally convinced there’s a need for yet another social networking site but I thought I’d give this new site a mention since it’s focused around the 70’s and 80’s. the site is called Get Back and it’s primarily for people over 35 that enjoy movies, music and TV shows from their youth. sorta like VH1’s I love the 80’s but in web form. it seems the content is being pulled from various sources like Hulu, All Media Guide and from record companies like Universal and Warner Music Group. I signed up this morning and already I’ve noticed some bugs and some features that are still under construction. hhhmmmmm. well, they’re still in Beta so it’s a work in progress I guess. I’ll continue to check it out over the next couple months to see if the site catches on…

My uncle had a big bash for his 70th birthday so there was this huge family gathering out on a friend’s farm somewhere in the deep dark of New Jersey. I had this crazy notion that I could take the kids to see some of the sights in New York City after the big bash. Well, as with most family gatherings, we ended up staying much longer than we had planned with my uncle and his family which sorta put a damper on our visit to the big apple. We still went into the city but we only had a day left before I had to get back to work. So we essentially did a speed tour of a portion of Manhattan. It was pretty stressful especially with the heavy traffic congestion and getting lost countless of times. but I think my kids still got a kick out of seeing what a REAL CITY is like.

It’s such a huge difference compared to living in our “small town”-like area. we made it a point to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art since my oldest son has a developing interest in art and historic paintings. we then speed walked through central park taking tons of pictures along the way. we were pressed for time so we check out Rockerfeller Center and of course the iconic, Times Square. it was a shame that we didn’t get to spend more time in New York but it was still a nice introduction for the kids. in fact, the kids can’t wait to do a proper visit to “the City that never sleeps” and I’m planning on using Trusted Tours & Attractions to help maximize our time there.

The Trusted Tours & Attractions website is a great tool to help plan your next visit to New York or any other major destination in the United States. The site is full of family vacation ideas and even lists the top things to do in New York. Oh and check this out - they’re currently offering a new IPOD Nanoto a lucky person that signs up for their Travel Newsletter. not only do you get the latest news and travel tips right in your inbox, you also get a chance to win a great prize. cool stuff. head on over to Trusted Tours & Attractions for more information.