Episode 3 - Travel Violations - From Hoods To Backwoods Podcast

What if I told you that a trolley car mix-up once led to an unforgettable arcade game adventure? Join us as Tex Lafon and I take you back to our frequent visits to San Francisco in the 90s and 2000s, reminiscing about iconic city landmarks and colorful characters like the Bushman. We share tales of culinary discoveries from Little Italy to Chinatown, showcasing the whimsical and unpredictable nature of travel adventures in this beloved city.

Craving a taste of the Caribbean or Mexico? Tune in to hear about my thrilling experiences on a cruise to Montego Bay, Jamaica, and various Mexican ports. Imagine the adrenaline rush of a waterfall trust fall or a zip line ride over a Haitian island. Relive the excitement of street tacos in Puerto Vallarta and witnessing cliff divers in Mazatlan. We also chat about the simpler joys of local treats like marshmallows paired with hot cocoa, bringing a unique cultural flavor to our travel stories.

From the soulful music scene of New Orleans to the serene small towns of Arizona, this episode offers a rich tapestry of travel tales that inspire wanderlust. We reflect on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the joy of rebuilding with Habitat for Humanity, share humorous encounters in Ohio, and spotlight unexpected gems in Baltimore. Our journey continues with scenic drives across the country, highlighting the diverse landscapes and charming local eateries that make travel so rewarding. Don't miss these stories that bring each destination to life with vivid detail and heartfelt experiences.

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Search for us on TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube using #FHTB or #FHTBPodcast.

Full video episodes are available on YouTube with visual bonus content.

Transcript

D Vaz: 0:00

All right, welcome back to another episode, episode three of From Hoods to Backwoods podcast. I have Tex Lafon here with me and his bug zapper microphone. From Hoods to Backwoods podcast welcome to the show.

D Vaz: 0:33

All right, so we've done our fair share of traveling here a bit, so we're just going to cover some places we've been, what we've experienced and all that type of fun stuff, kicking it off here. Where have you traveled to the most Out of state? I used to go to San Francisco on a pretty regular basis because I have family out there and that's one of the reasons I have ties to the Bay Area in general. So yeah, I'm definitely familiar with San Francisco and what it was like. It's different now. I haven't been back in a while, but what it was like back in the 90s, especially in 2000s, that's when I spent most of my time there. I was going there just about every summer for a while there and saw the typical stuff. You know they have touristy things to do there.

Tex LaFon: 1:25

Well, have you seen this one thing in San Francisco?

D Vaz: 1:28

Which thing.

Tex LaFon: 1:30

Well, that's what I'm asking.

D Vaz: 1:30

These nuts.

Tex LaFon: 1:32

No, there's a guy that's called the Bushman. Have you ever heard of the?

D Vaz: 1:37

Bushman, that doesn't ring a bell.

Tex LaFon: 1:39

Well, there's someone I know that went to San Francisco and this guy dresses up like a, like a bush, and he sits on the side and he'll come out and be like you want to see my bush, you want to see my bush $10. You get to see my bush.

D Vaz: 1:55

And that's in San.

Tex LaFon: 1:56

Francisco. That's where you go, son, but it's true, though. There's a guy that's called the Bushman in San Francisco, though, and when they told me this story, I couldn't believe it. I'm like there's no way in hell I would pay someone $10 to see someone dressed up like a bush Get out of here, right, I just think it's funny.

D Vaz: 2:12

Yeah, it's just a story. I'm not paying for any bush.

Tex LaFon: 2:15

What? Yeah, I'm just saying it's just funny when there's a guy dressed up like a bush. It's funny. I'll eat san francisco, son.

D Vaz: 2:24

I'll eat san francisco yeah, it's, it's it's definitely a kind of a tripped out place great, great food. And you know, again, they have the fisherman's wharf, which I try to avoid because a lot, of, a lot of tourists go down there, but they have like little italy, which has really great food. I actually have a story about that. I went to visit my uncle and he's like you want to go get some Italian food? I just arrived, he was barely picking me up from the airport. I was like yeah, definitely, I'm here in San Francisco. They have great Italian food and some real stuff. So let me go. And we're driving along and he pulls over and he starts heading to this building. I look up, he's like all right, we're going to eat here. It was Carrabba's. Oh, really. Yeah, it took me to an Italian restaurant chain, which is okay, but when you had the chance to get some real stuff, yeah, Well, I was saying like yeah.

D Vaz: 3:26

I'll just say he's funny, he went to an Italian place in San Francisco and there's probably way more options than Italian. Yeah, yeah. Well, of course, the seafood's great there, and there's Chinatown. I used to go to Chinatown.

Tex LaFon: 3:34

At like Caruso.

D Vaz: 3:35

Regular, not a big trouble in Little China, quite, but I didn't see anything like that. Uh, no demons or anything floating around.

Tex LaFon: 3:46

Well, like you said, that's good right, um, uh.

D Vaz: 3:53

It is kind of weird because when you go down there, it's, it's, uh, you see all the ducks hanging in the windows, the when they make the ducks in the restaurants and stuff like that, they just have them hanging there and uh, my uncle knew a great restaurant to go to and we would just go there every time.

D Vaz: 4:09

they had some, some food there I definitely never had anywhere else, so it was more authentic in that sense. But yeah, that's the thing. You had the little italy area, so you had great italian food. You had chinatown for the chinese food and then, of course, you get closer to the bay and all the, all the seafood and stuff like that. So, uh, there's also gear, gear deli square, which is a big chocolate thing. Um, if you go to the store you can find their, their stuff there, but they have the actual location where it kind of all started and you can go visit and take a tour.

D Vaz: 4:46

Oh nice, and uh, of course, took, course, took the, the, the trolley cars. I remember my dad got mad at me because, uh, we were riding on the trolley car, we got off to this, went to this little convenience store for whatever reason get something to drink or whatever it was, and at that time, teenage mutant ninja turtles, the video game at arcade had come out not too long ago. I was sitting there watching people play it. Oh nice, well, my parents left, they left you, they went on the trolley. They didn't realize that, hey, he was still there watching a video game. So I'm sitting there watching. All of a sudden I feel somebody grab me and I turn around it was my dad, he wasn't too happy.

D Vaz: 5:25

I bet he's not. Yeah, my mom already hopped on the trolley so she was heading down, and this was before cell phones too, so it was not like I just text or call yeah so she was already on the trolley. He had to hop off and grab me, and there we were. We did catch up to her and it was okay.

Tex LaFon: 5:38

I'm about to say, did y'all run to try jumping back on the same trolley, or did you like?

D Vaz: 5:42

wait.

Tex LaFon: 5:42

I was living on the streets for three years in san francisco not to say y'all weren't cool enough to try running and jumping back on.

D Vaz: 5:49

Yeah, just like now, we'll wait for the next one, son no, because by the time my dad realized and the trolley was already gone. Yeah, we couldn't have caught up to it. I was. I was probably about, I don't know, 10 or 11, maybe 12 at the oldest, when that happened.

Tex LaFon: 6:04

Oh, I got you. Yeah, well, that's cool, though, so you didn't get a slice of pizza for your troubles.

D Vaz: 6:13

No, I just got a stern talking to.

Rob Odic: 6:16

That was what I got.

D Vaz: 6:18

Don't you do that again. When we're going, you pay attention and see, and I was like.

Rob Odic: 6:25

I was watching Ninja.

Tex LaFon: 6:25

Turtles. Yeah, exactly, ninja Turtles, dad, come on now, sweet shit's over.

D Vaz: 6:30

All right. So yeah, I mean in the United States, but out of state, that's someplace I would go to on a regular basis In state in Arizona, where I grew up, show Low Arizona, small town I used to spend my summers there. Where I grew up, sholo, arizona, small town I used to spend my summers there. So that's, that's how I've become familiar with kind of what the small town's all about and what what it's like. You know they had a, a drive-in theater and, uh, on the weekends it was a swap meet.

Tex LaFon: 6:57

So if if you're not familiar with swap meets, you basically go there and they had people that set up tables and sell things, and it could be just about anything.

D Vaz: 7:11

It's not the police coming. No, no, police there. It was pretty crazy. You can buy anything from, and it was the 80s and 90s, so people didn't really care if you were a 10 old, 11 year old kid and you wanted to buy a knife or something crazy like that. You know, especially being in a small town, they're like yeah, whatever, I end up buying a, not buying, but my grandmother bought for me a bow and arrow that was probably like 11 or 12, because it's a wooded area.

D Vaz: 7:42

So so she figured ah, he can go stand in the backyard and shoot arrows at these trees that I have back there. So that's kind of what I tried to do. Never got very good at it.

Tex LaFon: 7:52

No ninjas and.

D Vaz: 7:53

I actually still have the bow to this day.

Tex LaFon: 7:55

Did she give you some ninja stars too?

D Vaz: 8:00

No, I did get some of those, but that was from an older cousin.

Tex LaFon: 8:03

Oh, I got you. I didn't know if you get some of those, but that was.

D Vaz: 8:36

That was from an older cousin. Oh, I got you. I didn't know if you got some of the swipe me. That'd be cool because ninja stars are dope. Yeah, I, I got those. I was probably a little bit older I was probably about 12 or 13 when I got those and you know throwing them at a tree trying to see what you can do or a bag fence see if they stick.

Tex LaFon: 8:50

But here in arizona I've learned that there is like no wooden bag fences, it's all freaking stone we had uh chain link fences usually in in town in the the phoenix area okay but yeah, I had, I had a tree, uh, that I would.

D Vaz: 9:08

I would throw them at in when I was in town. If I was out, uh up in the rural area, in Show Lovers, yeah then same thing, there's tons of trees everywhere I can, I could throw or shoot arrows at and stuff, stuff like that.

Tex LaFon: 9:20

So you know, place that I travel a lot to would be in Texas, would be Houston because of the Houston rodeo. I used to go to that every year, which is, you know, a rodeo is where you get to see horse racing, you get to see clowns, you know, chase bulls or bulls chase the clowns, and good luck trying to get out of Dodge, and then they would have country concerts there, and so that would be a place I mostly went to a lot. You know, in Texas when I was growing up, We'd go to the Houstonston rodeo every year.

Tex LaFon: 10:01

Did they have any crazy like fair food type stuff? Basically the biggest thing about in texas was mostly the barbecue. So anytime you went to the fair anywhere, they they always famous for their barbecue down there in texas. So you just, you get some ribs or stuff like that and I'd be like, but you know cause they'd be like we have a, you know, famous sauce that no one knows of, or you know secret sauce that no one knows of, and like and but that's what made it special and they always have their contests.

D Vaz: 10:25

You know at the. Yeah, knowing you, I'm sure you went for the brisket.

Tex LaFon: 10:30

Oh, I love brisket. That's one of my favorite foods. Texas brisket All day son.

D Vaz: 10:37

Right, and then I'm sure they had all the weird games with all the crazy people yelling at you. Hey, come try to knock down the bottles over here.

Tex LaFon: 10:48

Yeah, throw the freaking rings around the bottlenecks and trying to get them to stay on there. Yeah, they're all cons. Them games are all cons and so we're.

D Vaz: 10:59

So we're typically the people that are running, but yeah it goes hand in hand, I guess right yeah, that, that's the the funny thing. I especially when you'll hit something and it doesn't knock over. You're like, okay, that has to be stuck to the other thing somehow or whatever. But this, yeah, this physically doesn't make sense.

Tex LaFon: 11:20

I agree you were talking about when you go overseas, what places you like to go to.

D Vaz: 11:26

For overseas. Where I've been to the most is the philippines, more specifically a place called kazan city. But yeah, it was. It was a different world. It's one of those things where it's it's kind of interesting to visit, but mostly everybody there spoke english too, so I didn't really have any problems getting around or figuring stuff out, and I I'll get back to it a little bit later on, but that is in general kind of one of the places. I would go to a lot.

Tex LaFon: 11:57

Nice, yeah me. I don't go out of the States much. I just went on a couple of cruises.

D Vaz: 12:13

You know, like I said, we can talk about that you know here a little bit later in the show, but that's mostly the only places I've been outside of the country. Besides that, mostly just in the States.

Tex LaFon: 12:20

What is your favorite place that you've been to? Well, favorite place that I've been to? There's been two places. Actually. It's probably been when I was, you know, going on the cruises, because it was just neat going out of the country. It's probably been when I was going on the cruises because it was just neat going out of the country.

Tex LaFon: 12:31

First one is I was on the Royal Caribbean and we went to Monaco Bay in Jamaica and that was a really cool place they had, and that place we got to tour a little bit of Jamaica and we went to this Dunes River fall and so when we went on that they had this huge hole in the waterfall and then they'd be like, do you trust me? And then so what they would do is they would, you know, you grab their hand and they would drop you in the in this huge water hole, and then they bring you back up and, uh, so it was scary because I'm all like, well, I I've never been here, so let's do it. And so I was like we went and did it, boom, come back up, survived. So I made it back, so it was fun.

Tex LaFon: 13:19

And then another place was in Jamaica we went to was in Haiti, and there was an island there and in the island they had this huge zip line that would go across the whole entire island. That we did and it was cool. It was like about a mile and a half long over the island and it was intense, but it was dope. I definitely recommend it if you ever get a chance to go to Haiti, for sure.

D Vaz: 13:50

I've never been out that way. I've always wanted to go out that way, especially just for the scenery and and see the water and all that type of stuff. But uh, I, I don't think I would do the trust fall that you, uh, that you did. Did you have some red stripe before you did that?

Tex LaFon: 14:05

Well, it was cool Cause they do promote, uh. It was cool because they do promote, uh, red stripe a lot in jamaica. So, it's true, but no, I did not have no red stripe not I should have, though, but I trusted and I was like I survived. It was, it was cool. Like you said it, it was something that a lot of people did pass up on it, which I was surprised, because you know, like we're the whole group of everybody and like so a lot of people were too afraid to do it, but I was like like no, you only live once, let's do it.

D Vaz: 14:34

And I'll just backtrack for a second. If you're not familiar with Red Stripe, it's a Jamaican beer that they used to have commercials pretty regularly in the United States, probably in the 90s 2000s. So if you haven't seen the Red Stripe commercials, check those out, I'm sure on YouTube.

Tex LaFon: 14:50

Oh, they're awesome. Yeah, like I said, I definitely like them.

D Vaz: 14:54

Well, you said there was a second place, right.

Tex LaFon: 14:57

You going to talk about that?

D Vaz: 14:58

later or you going to talk about that now.

Tex LaFon: 14:59

No, we're going to talk about that now. So then the other cruise I went on was the Norwegian Bliss, and then that's where I went to Mexico. So the first place I went to in Mexico was Puerto Varela, and that was that's where we got off and we went to there's little side shops that have really, really good tacos there. I just got off the boat just to get some tacos because I just heard about how good they were. And then the next place was Mazatlan, mexico, and so we did worlds, like a world tour of mazalon, and that's where I got this senor frogs head from mazalon and uh, like you said, and there's cliff divers there.

Tex LaFon: 15:41

So if you don't know, um, if you've never seen anybody do a cliff dive when you go to mazalon, definitely check it out, because it's insane. There's no way I would do it. But they get on these huge rocks and they wait until the wave gets to right at the exact point. Then they jump off and hit it, and if they don't hit the wave at the right point, I don't know what would happen. I don't want to know what would happen, but it's intense and it's scary, and they only do it for tips, that's it. They only do it for tips. That's it. They only do it for tips, which I couldn't believe it. You know, like I said, I probably them and the courage that they they have to do it, but I would never, ever do it, man, it was intense yeah, I definitely hope that uh people tip well, I do find it a little bit funny.

D Vaz: 16:27

Uh, you got off the boat for tacos and over 100 years ago my family brought tacos across the border to the united exactly I love your return the favor, so yeah, I mean.

Tex LaFon: 16:41

And then, uh, another thing in mazlan is they make their own marshmallows and they are. You can only get them in mazlan. Like you can't, like they don't sell them anywhere else. Like, if you go to mazlan that's the only time you can buy them. But they were the best marshmallows I ever had in my life, with a cup of hot cocoa and the marshmallows and they're huge marshmallows. Like they're, they're huge and um, like I said that they, they were amazing. Like, if you ever go, definitely buy the marshmallows, it's definitely legit I personally prefer mexican hot chocolate.

D Vaz: 17:16

I just like the fact that it has it's not just sweet and not not just a chocolate flavor. Has some other stuff going on there. If you haven't tried mexican hot chocolate and you like a little little extra flavor, like cinnamon things like that, definitely try it I agree.

Tex LaFon: 17:31

and then the last place we went to was Cabo, and I will tell you this that was probably the best beach I've ever been on. It was. I can't even describe like how beautiful and amazing that beach was. And then we were allowed to. You know, we also paid to swim with the dolphins. Like I said, it's very, very nice. Like I've never been to a beach that amazing, Like I don't know if there's any beach in the United States that can beat it. But I will tell you, that beach in Cabo was amazing just the way it looked, Did you?

D Vaz: 18:07

try the Cabo Wabo.

Tex LaFon: 18:09

No, I swam with the dolphins and then it was time to go, time to get back on the ship.

D Vaz: 18:17

Are you familiar with the Cabo Wabo and Sammy Hagar and all that?

Tex LaFon: 18:21

No, I'm not. That's why, when you said that, I didn't know what you were talking about.

D Vaz: 18:26

It's okay, sammy Hagar used to be the lead singer of Van Halen. He has his own alcohol brand it's cabo wobble. Oh okay, yeah, so he, he represents down there with that. So yeah, I just wasn't sure if they were actually promoting it down there.

Tex LaFon: 18:43

You happen to see anything like that, but I guess not well, the only thing I, when you're on a cruise ship, is, uh, when you port at different areas, you know you only got so much time, so you gotta like, if you, you know, do excursions, you gotta try to get into them as soon as you can and get back, because the ship ain't gonna wait for you. Son, that's all I'm gonna say.

D Vaz: 19:03

Yeah, you definitely don't want to get stuck there.

Tex LaFon: 19:06

I'm sure.

D Vaz: 19:08

For me outside of the US. Technically I would say it's probably Canada, but Canada sort of doesn't count. Been to the Toronto area, shout out to Mississauga. And I also have to give a shout out to a friend of mine, melody, who's up there in Canada. I checked there before we did the podcast to make sure I can give her a shout-out on here. Oh nice, so I understand and feel her pain of being a Mexican in Canada trying to make Mexican food. It was an adventure trying to go to the grocery store and find the ingredients you need and especially some fresh chilies. You usually have to buy like canned chilies and it's definitely not the same oh, I got you but uh, yeah, can't.

D Vaz: 19:57

Vancouver was actually my favorite, though, as far as places in canada great food, great scenery. It was kind of neat taking little boats around the, the harbor area, you know, from from one place to another, but that was the place where I had the the best greek food I've ever had. Uh, some really solid thai food, some great gelato stuff like that. The downtown area definitely smells a bit funky in terms of at the time marijuana was legal, and that was before it became legal here, so you can definitely smell it around the streets, that's for sure.

Tex LaFon: 20:33

So are you trying to say that you could get high just by walking down the street?

D Vaz: 20:37

I wouldn't be surprised if you could get some second contact high, so secondhand smoke it was strong. Yeah, secondhand smoking off that stuff because because it was like I don't know, just walking down the street you just smelled it for like a block or two straight. You know it was pretty strong in certain areas the other yeah, um, the other funny part was when I happened to be there was during a comic-con, so I ran into deadpool. I saw actually this is probably right before canada.

Tex LaFon: 21:15

Right, I figured ron rills would be like deadpool. What's up, son?

D Vaz: 21:19

this is actually I think right before all that stuff came out, so that wasn't popular yet at that time, but it definitely saw, you know, all the all the marvel characters and dc characters, but a lot of anime and it was just kind of neat. I mean, I stumbled across that. I had no idea what's going on. I was just walking around as a tourist, uh, by the convention area and saw all these people in costumes and the closer I got, the more costumes I saw.

Tex LaFon: 21:47

Oh nice.

D Vaz: 21:49

Yeah, so I'm sure I have some pictures somewhere of that. So technically speaking, you know that's probably my favorite outside of the US. In the US it would be New Orleans.

Tex LaFon: 22:00

Oh, for sure.

D Vaz: 22:00

Or Dollins if you prefer.

Tex LaFon: 22:04

Oh, we try to talk like the South. Son, Get out of here.

D Vaz: 22:10

I just heard it enough. When I was over there Like you said I love New Orleans. Yeah, same here. The bonus for me was being a musician, meeting a ton of musicians there. They also have Frenchman Street, which is where a lot of clubs are. If you walk down that street, there are just tons of clubs and musicians. I actually got to sit in and play guitar at a couple of the clubs as I was walking down the street, so it was just a lot of fun. It's a once-in-a-lifetime type of experience in that sense.

Tex LaFon: 22:45

Did you get to play in any of the vampire bars, son? Which part Vampire they in any of the vampire bars, son, which part Vampire? They? Have a lot of vampire bars in New Orleans. Did you play in any?

D Vaz: 22:55

No, I didn't run to any werewolves or fairies or vampires or anything like that you didn't want to drink that blood.

Tex LaFon: 23:01

You didn't want to drink that blood, son.

D Vaz: 23:04

No, I'll stick with liquids I'm familiar with.

Tex LaFon: 23:11

No, another thing I like about norris first, the vampire bars. Second thing is all the voodoo stuff they have there, like it's just cool, like you didn't get a pin cushion, like you better play this song or you get this see, I was just just looking for some problems there.

D Vaz: 23:27

No, no.

Rob Odic: 23:29

I'm just saying.

D Vaz: 23:31

Yeah, no, no, you definitely see that there.

Tex LaFon: 23:34

Oh yeah.

D Vaz: 23:34

People are openly advertising, you know, selling all their voodoo artifacts and things like that. And yeah, you could definitely buy a doll there.

Tex LaFon: 23:45

I was there for work.

D Vaz: 23:47

Yeah, I was there for work. I was there for work. Yeah, I was there for work. I was there a whole week and so since I was there so long, I checked out a lot of neat stuff. Kind of funny thing is I got invited the singer he was really popular in the 50s that I was there and I was invited but I couldn't make it just because you know I was there for work stuff and it conflicted with some other things. So that would have been fun. It was at this place called Tipitina's, which is a really kind of classic local club in New Orleans. But I did go to Tipitina's but I went like the day or two days before his actual birthday party.

Tex LaFon: 24:32

Oh, okay.

D Vaz: 24:33

Yeah, it's just a lot of history there with, with, with music and and the food was great. The biggest prawn I've ever seen in my life was on my plate. When I went to this one restaurant, I was looking at the at the menu and I was surprised because it showed that you just got three prawns and this thing and it you know it was, it was a appetizer of some sort and it was, you know, a decent price. I'm like wow, that for for three prawns. But when they brought it out, I mean it was probably about eight inch, seven or eight inch long prawn. It was just huge it was. It was probably about a half inch around, maybe even three quarters of an inch around. It was just crazy. What's that?

Tex LaFon: 25:16

That's what she said.

D Vaz: 25:17

Yes, she, she said that about prawns that were that big. She likes big prawns. She cannot lie.

Tex LaFon: 25:25

That's funny.

D Vaz: 25:26

So, um yeah, I mean it was. It was just between the food and then the music and everything and the history. It was neat just seeing it all. I got to check out a poor boy sandwich and all that.

Tex LaFon: 25:40

Oh yeah, you can't go wrong with a poor boy sandwich. Can't go wrong with that at all, son.

D Vaz: 25:45

That's a good thing right there. Yeah, that's the first time I tried alligator too. I was on that trip. Getting a little adventurous with my food.

Tex LaFon: 25:55

Did you drive there or did you fly there?

D Vaz: 25:59

No, I flew, there.

Tex LaFon: 26:00

Oh, okay, so you didn't get to go across the swampland, so they got the bridge.

D Vaz: 26:06

Oh, go ahead. We actually did because, okay, probably I think I went there in 2007, maybe 2008. Oh, okay, and a little history lesson, real quick. It was after Hurricane Katrina and, for people that aren't familiar with that, that was a really, really devastating hurricane that happened in New Orleans and it did a ton of damage to the area.

D Vaz: 26:33

So, while we were there for the work conference, we actually volunteered for a day, and they have this organization called Habitat for Humanity where they actually build houses. So we went and we were helping build houses and stuff like that while we were out there. So, yeah, it was a great experience all the way around. You got to help some people, we got to meet local people, we met people that, unfortunately, were impacted by the whole situation. So we got to hear their stories and, you know, just puts a face in some reality on what you were there for and what really happened. Nice, kind of scary to think, too, that somebody's living in those houses that some of those people built because, honestly, some people weren't too experienced with a hammer. So I hope the house is holding up okay.

Tex LaFon: 27:30

Or what about with the nail gun?

D Vaz: 27:34

Yeah, they usually try to put you at your experience level as far as what you're working on, what you're working with. So hopefully, if anybody had that, they at least had an idea what they were doing. And if you weren't too experienced and you weren't too comfortable with it, then you were probably, uh, carrying stuff around, oh, I got you so it was kind of weird too.

D Vaz: 27:59

uh, I remember on the way back to the airport, the um driver was kind of explaining to us because we were just talking about um how we were working houses, you know, for the Katrina relief effort and everything, and they were showing us the water lines where you can see how high the water rose during the flood, after the hurricane.

Tex LaFon: 28:21

Oh, I gotcha.

D Vaz: 28:23

So yeah, it was just crazy, driving on the freeway and just seeing how high it went I mean it was, I don't know, 15, 20 feet above you know the freeway and just seeing how high it went. I mean it was, it was, I don't know, 15, 20 feet above, you know the freeway there.

Tex LaFon: 28:36

Yeah, that had to be intense.

D Vaz: 28:39

Yeah, it definitely was. So, yeah, I mean those, those are the places that I'd like to definitely go back to, uh, vancouver and also Vancouver and also New Orleans, for sure. What about in the US for you?

Tex LaFon: 28:56

Well, my favorite place I like to go to is Vegas. I like to go to Vegas a lot. For one, I like to gamble, I ain't going to lie. Two, I like to be able to drink and, you know, walk down the strip and not have to worry about getting in trouble for walking around with my alcohol beverage. I also like to be able to, like I like on the New York, new York, riding the roller coaster on top after you've been drinking. It's fun. I also like how they have the Ferris wheel where you can open bar for 30 minutes and you go around and then then you come back so you drink as much as you can in 30 minutes. So it's worth it. Not a bad deal, but I just like. I like the nightlife and I like, uh, what vegas has to offer. To be honest, it's just fun time for me. I like I said I can only just go there for a couple days, but I do like to go there quite a bit.

D Vaz: 29:49

I would like to go there yeah, yeah, we're definitely due to to go back there. We absolutely covered vegas a good good amount in the first podcast. If you haven't heard it, uh, go go check that out. You'll hear a lot more about vegas and what we're up to. Um it's. It's definitely a place worth worth checking out. If you haven't been there, exactly what? What place have you visited? That was different from what you expected. Like you're like I'm not sure about visiting this place, we went there and it was, you know, pretty good or worse.

Tex LaFon: 30:26

Well, so when I visit, I went and visited ohio and, uh, that was definitely way different than what I thought it was going to be. For one, I can't believe how cold it was up there. You know, coming from the south, all I took up there the first time I went to go visit um was, uh, just a leather jacket wrong move.

D Vaz: 30:49

Only a leather jacket, no other clothing. Just that was really adventurous, no just don't talk about life.

Tex LaFon: 30:56

Or you know, like you go out and you get off the plane and then all you have is, you know, your regular clothes and a jacket and it's freaking, like you know, minus 10 degrees out there. I'm like God it minus 10 degrees out there. I'm like, yeah, it is freezing. I just didn't think it was funny because someone told me that's, all you brought was a leather jacket. What's wrong with you? I'm all like what? It can't be that cold. I was in for a shock because it was so cold. It was off Lake Erie and the lake had froze over, so the wind was just blowing. I was like, no, ohio's not for me, son, I'll never visit Ohio again. It's just not worth it. Nine months of cold weather and three months of decent weather no, I'm good, it was just not for me.

D Vaz: 31:44

Packed up your leather jacket and went home.

Tex LaFon: 31:46

Yep moved back to where it's warm. Son, I prefer the heat any day over the cold.

D Vaz: 31:52

Yeah, I can agree with that. There's a reason why I've lived in Arizona and the other places I've lived in. I've lived in California and Nevada because, yeah, I'm definitely not trying to get into any cold weather.

Tex LaFon: 32:06

Exactly, but what about you? What's the place that you meant to? That?

D Vaz: 32:12

you thought it was gonna be and it was different I went to and a lot of these places I traveled to it had to be for work, so these weren't places I. I planned them, but I had to go to to baltimore, and I had nothing against baltimore, I just wasn't familiar with it and didn't know what to expect. So I went to Baltimore, had a really good time and actually, surprisingly, that's where I had the best seafood I've ever had anywhere. There was this one restaurant I don't remember her name offhand I'll have to try to look it up and I'll try to put some information when I do the editing of this but it was on the water, water and it was shaped like a big boat or a big ship. Uh, I went there. That was the best, just seafood. Everything was great. I had like a crab cake and all this other stuff, and here I am all this time later talking about it.

Tex LaFon: 33:02

So crabs back with you, didn't you?

D Vaz: 33:08

no, I went and got more crabs though on that trip, so you can say I got a lot of crabs in Baltimore.

Tex LaFon: 33:14

That's good.

D Vaz: 33:15

As long as you didn't bring them back with you. No, no, my crabs stayed in Baltimore. The funny thing about that second time, it was actually the day I was leaving and there's this area. You had to the hotel I was staying at. You had to walk through this rough neighborhood and everybody kept saying, yeah, don't go through there by yourself. And this was before Uber and all that stuff, so it was a little bit tougher to get a taxi. Everybody else was leaving.

D Vaz: 33:45

I was trying to get people to go with me hey, do you want to go grab some crab legs? But yeah, nobody could go because all their flights were earlier than mine, because I was flying out west and everybody else was going out east or somewhere else. Oh, okay, and anyway. So, yeah, I just figured well, I'm from the hood, I'll walk through there, I'll be all right, I know how to act. I'm not going to be know, acting out of place or whatever. So I just yeah, I just walked there. This place was known for crabs, so I had to go there, got my crabs ate, went back to the hotel and went to the airport and I was good dang.

D Vaz: 34:21

So your hood got you through the hood, huh yeah, yeah, I have the lifelong hood pass, so I just went through it. I told, told my friends afterwards, especially local friends, and they're like what you went through there? I was like, yeah, it was all right.

Tex LaFon: 34:35

You had both your bandanas in your back pockets.

D Vaz: 34:38

Yeah.

Tex LaFon: 34:40

I had everything covered. You knew what you wanted to wear whenever you got to the place. All right, I got this one. Well, I got from one block to another.

D Vaz: 34:50

I just put my hood on for a second and switched it out and took my hood off.

Tex LaFon: 34:54

That's too funny. Start playing the 8 Mile as you're going.

D Vaz: 35:01

It's in Detroit, but yeah, same idea.

Tex LaFon: 35:06

Oh, that's good stuff.

D Vaz: 35:09

Yeah, that's true, that is Detroit, you're right yeah, baltimore is nice, so that's a place I'd like to go back to. I have a friend that still lives there and uh, yeah, be be worth uh checking out again that's cool what's a place that you didn't plan on visiting but ended up visiting, and what was your experience there?

Tex LaFon: 35:30

well, I would say, a place that I planned on visiting, oh, that you didn't plan on.

D Vaz: 35:37

Yeah, you just ended up there somehow.

Tex LaFon: 35:40

Well, that's what I'm trying to say. I had never been to a place that I didn't plan on going son.

D Vaz: 35:48

Yeah.

Tex LaFon: 35:48

Especially well, except your mom's house that was. That was the only place I've been to that wasn't planned on going that I ended up.

D Vaz: 35:58

Well, I mean, if you get those coupon offers, you have to take advantage of them, right?

Tex LaFon: 36:03

But yeah, I'm sorry, but tell your mom I said hi, hi mom.

D Vaz: 36:12

For me, see, it's a little bit different, because I was traveling for work on a regular basis for some of the jobs I've had. So, yeah, I did end up in fort wayne indiana, which I didn't plan on or never thought I'd been to, but I I'd end up. I do like fort wayne indiana, actually the best barbecue place I ever had. Had to keep tying it back to food.

Tex LaFon: 36:33

It's in Fort Wayne, a place called Lucille's. Get out of here. I disagree with you on that. Nothing's better than Texas barbecue son.

D Vaz: 36:42

Oh, I'm talking about that. I've had though I haven't really had too much time in Texas, so I'd be willing to try.

Tex LaFon: 36:49

I know I'm just messing with you.

D Vaz: 36:52

Yeah no, it's called lucille's in fort wayne, so shout out to them if you get a chance to check out their, their barbecue. It's legit for sure don't they have a lucille's here. Oh, that's, that's the chain. Um, so I don't remember their exact name or how it's different from the. Yeah, there is a lucille's chain, that's uh, at least through the Southwest. I know they have it in Vegas and Arizona and, I'm pretty sure, california. This is an actual family-owned independent restaurant called Lucille's in Fort Wayne, indiana. Nice, definitely.

Tex LaFon: 37:29

I still have to say nothing beats Texas barbecue, son and Texas brisket okay. Yeah, no, I definitely like say nothing beats Texas barbecue, son and Texas brisket okay.

D Vaz: 37:37

Yeah, no, I definitely like Texas, but you know I have to give it up too for that Carolina barbecue. I do like that.

Tex LaFon: 37:47

I never had it, but I'd be down to try it. I'd be down to try it.

D Vaz: 37:50

No, I've had it and I've had the homemade style. The um, homemade style of it. Yeah, it's really good, especially if they have that uh kind of vinegary tangy. Uh, north carolina, they usually call it carolina barbecue sauce because they make it in south carolina too. Oh nice, but yeah, that's really good. What about your favorite place for a road trip or day day trip, if you have to drive somewhere?

Tex LaFon: 38:17

Well, I did go on a pretty nice road or day trip. A couple of years back. I went to Mount Lemmon over in Tucson and that was a pretty fun trip. Like I said, I was surprised on how much colder it got up there. It's like 30 degree difference from when you get to the top of the mountain. But it's a nice drive because you can actually drive all the way up to the top and then they got this nice cookie shop there so you can stop and get some cookies and refreshments and then come back down. But it was a nice trip going up there. I was just surprised on how the temperature goes from, you know, 110 and then 80 and then back to 110 when you come right down. I'll just start off by that.

D Vaz: 38:59

yeah, living in arizona. We are kind of fortunate we can't can't make it to california or vegas, you know, for a day trip. Technically it's starting to get a little bit, a little bit long when you're doing that, because depending on where you're out at in arizona it'd take you, you know, four or five hours in the kind of central area, phoenix area to get to vegas. But keeping it in arizona, say, more of a you know, two, three hour drive. I like to go to, to payson or, uh, prescott, arizona. But if if you're from Arizona, you don't call it Prescott and that's one of the ways we know you're an outsider you call it Prescott. If you're from Arizona, you'll hear people say Prescott, arizona and you're like, where's that? You can't find it on a map because it's actually Prescott is how it's spelled. But yeah, those are nice little small towns to get away from the heat too. It's a little bit cooler there. If I have a little extra time, then again shout out to, to Show Low, where I used to spend my summers.

D Vaz: 40:01

Show Low, slash, pine Top, they're kind of neighboring towns. Well, now they're kind of mini cities. They've grown a lot since I was a kid. I remember when they got a Walmart and that was a big deal. It was one of those kind of things. So you mean a Wally world, yeah, yeah, good old Wally world, you know, taking over small towns, one at a time, that's. That's definitely when you know your town has changed and grown up a little bit. I guess it's nice to go to the small towns too, because they have those local restaurants that have been around for a while and you know you kind of go to the same same, uh, places that you've known for for a long time. So you know, locally made fresh food can't it's, it's more like homemade, you can't really beat that either right, I agree you go to the big big cities have all the the chains.

D Vaz: 40:55

I mean, they're, of course, local restaurants, but they just have a different feel to them. You know, and and the other thing people don't really know about arizona. When you do go up north and and, uh, those higher elevation areas, it's, it's forest area, so it's, it is really green, a lot of trees and stuff like that, people just think all of arizona is a desert and it's all just hot.

Tex LaFon: 41:15

So it's nice to see all that yeah, it is crazy you can see all all that in one state yeah, yeah, if you, if you drive going north through arizona, you'll see a lot of different stuff.

D Vaz: 41:30

I mean the red rocks also. It's kind of nice if you go out to sedona, arizona. That's the place I've been to a decent amount too. It's a little touristy. A lot of people go up there for, uh, new age stuff to check out and the vortexes and go learn about their aura, all that type of stuff exactly, and I mean I'll, I'll, uh, maybe, maybe, uh, check out the Rocks to get some pictures, and there's a place I used to go get some fudge up there.

D Vaz: 41:58

That's kind of what I'll hit up, but what's the longest trip that you've been on?

Tex LaFon: 42:06

Well, it would be. When I drove from Texas to Ohio and, like I said, it was the longest trip I ever tried took me two days and that's uh, staying in a hotel for two days, you know, just trying to make it. That's trying to drive like probably 10, 12 hours a day and, um, yeah, I don't ever want to do that again. It just took forever to get there and then when I drove back all the way back out this way I'm like I'm never doing it again. It's like you know that's just too much driving Like I like to drive, but not for like 36 hours now, right.

D Vaz: 42:47

No, that's definitely way too much. And especially as you get older, you're like, yeah, I don't want to deal with all this sitting in the car so many hours exactly, especially when you're the one driving, like different if you're just a passenger, but driving, you know it's a lot more stressful.

D Vaz: 43:04

So yeah, for me I pretty much I basically have to drive, especially if it's a long trip, because I have motion sickness and even though medicine kind of helps me keep it in check, even though I'm doing that I still don't feel well, you know. I mean, I can still feel it, it still makes me feel sick, even though I can kind of control it with the medicine. So yeah, I'm used to driving everywhere, especially on longer trips. But I was really young when I took my longest trip and I guess I was kind of fortunate in that way when I was about four years old. We drove all the way from arizona up to ohio, over to north carolina and then back.

Tex LaFon: 43:49

So uh, we hit a lot of places on the way too.

D Vaz: 43:53

What's that?

Tex LaFon: 43:54

How long did it take you?

D Vaz: 43:56

It was about a two, two and a half week trip total by the time, you know, because we stopped and saw family along the way. All these different places. But I mean I've seen a lot of places either that I haven't seen since or, you know, I didn't really know what was going on quite then. Like I saw the Alamo when I was a little kid at that time and I haven't seen that since. I saw Graceland haven't seen that since.

D Vaz: 44:23

I have been back to Nashville, um, but I went to Nashville when it was still country. It's uh, it's really different now. There's a lot of people from New York and stuff like that. I've moved to Nashville because I've been there a lot over the past few years, going to the summer nam show. Uh, nam is a big convention basically for for musical instruments and audio and stuff like that. So, checking that out, I've been to nashville. It's a fun place. It's. It's really neat, great music, great musicians everywhere. But another place you'll go there for a few days. You're like all right, I'm good, I'll, I'll go home now, right, what is the most famous place you've been to or attraction you you've been to? All right, for for me it's. It happens to be local, so I guess I'm kind of lucky. But the grand canyon I've been there a couple times and the first time I went I was little. What's that?

D Vaz: 45:21

I said you're a homer yeah, it just happens to be right here and world famous. I'm fortunate, but yeah, it's. It's the first time time when I was like nine or something like that saw with a whole bunch of my family and both times I've I've gone. I haven't gotten anywhere near the edge.

D Vaz: 45:42

I won't get within 20 feet you know wind, gusts and all that type of stuff loose rocks I just don't want to risk it, but uh, yeah, a lot of interesting history there. It's great if you want to do the hiking and all the other stuff that they offer. Ride the donkey? Not really. What's that?

Tex LaFon: 46:04

Ride the donkey.

D Vaz: 46:06

Yeah, you can ride the donkeys down in the middle and ride them back up. I won't be doing that. They also have the walkway, that's clear. I don't know if you've seen that. Yeah, I them back up. I won't be doing that. They also have that. Um, the walkway, that's clear, has. I don't know if you've seen that.

Tex LaFon: 46:17

Yeah, I've seen that.

D Vaz: 46:18

Uh, you can go. Yeah, you can go out there and it's it's all like see-through, so you can walk out over the Canyon, look down and see your soul jump out. Um, so yeah, so yeah, that's kind of interesting, yeah it's just one of those things. I like to go there to take pictures. Honestly, that's probably about the main thing, and you see some interesting animals around there.

Tex LaFon: 46:43

A whole bunch of giant birds, yeah because I've been to the Grand Canyon so I know what you're talking about and it is a nice place, but again, I'm the same way. I'm not getting to the edge. Nope, yeah, no, like same way I'm not getting to the edge. Nope, like I started, like I got a fear of heights, so like, unless I'm on a roller coaster and I'm secured in, nope, I ain't getting close to that cliff psych right.

D Vaz: 47:03

No, the same way it's, it's not worth it. It's uh, I just again living here and being from here. I've seen too many stories over the years where crazy stuff has happened. It's like, yeah, I don't want to end up on the news. I've had my friends find out about me that way to me, I know that guy.

Tex LaFon: 47:21

I've. I've been to a lot of places, like you know, like elmo, like grand canada, so that I know I want to throw a curveball out there, like when I was in ohio. There was actually one thing that was actually pretty cool when I was in Ohio and they had an island off Lake Erie called Puddin Bay. So you had to ride this jet express to get to it and it was like a party island so you could only go to it during the summer months and after that, like you know, the lake would freeze over and couldn't get to it, and so it was cool. So like you go over there and you basically just um party it up and then you ride the jet express coming back and everybody's throwing up on the side because they can't hit all the waves and they're all drunk, but but it was cool. Though I would have to say that was probably one of the best parts about ohio was, uh, putin bay.

Tex LaFon: 48:12

it was a pretty cool boat party island so you were out there putting on the ritz yeah, I was out there living it up, you know, and then, like I said, uh, what I was, just, I thought it was just cool how you had to ride, and you know, a jet express like this huge boat, just to even get to it, and I thought it was cool how you can only just get to it only for a couple months out of the year, and then that was it. So I thought it was pretty, you know, unique, you know. So I thought it was cool and I give people props for living on that island all year round because there's no way I could do it.

D Vaz: 48:47

Yeah, there is one place I have to mention in general that I didn't mention it throughout the show was trips to the UK again for work. But that was pretty funny because going there you would see these buildings and they're like, oh yeah, that one's 600 years old. You know, here you're like, oh, that building is 100 years old, it's ancient 600 years old.

Tex LaFon: 49:14

You know, here you're like oh, that building's 100 years old, it's ancient. When you're over there, did you go back to the old time to grab a sword and be like I'm the ruler now, son well, that's a funny thing.

D Vaz: 49:23

You can see, uh, all the old, actual old swords and stuff like that. There's really weird. You'll find historical things just in random places at different buildings, like, oh, like they had a, an old church there and like I don't know, I think that church was 500 years old or something like that that I saw and they're just telling me about some of the stuff that was inside, that was original, you know that's cool we had a meeting in this conference room at a hotel.

D Vaz: 49:52

The hotel itself was, I don't know, something like 700 years old, and it had the original fireplace in there. So, yeah, it was just really weird seeing that type of stuff. One thing I would tease my UK friends and coworkers about every time I would go out there, they would try to uh get me fish and chips, because that's, of course, one of the things that they're known for, and I had to keep telling them and it's still true to this day the best fish and chips I ever had uh were in Mississauga, canada.

Tex LaFon: 50:30

Oh, that's funny yeah.

D Vaz: 50:32

No, they, they, they. They tried, though they kept trying here, try and hit this place, here, try this place, and it was good. Definitely don't get me wrong, but yeah, I still still found a place that that was the best. Um, no, they do. Surprisingly, they do have some really good food in the uk, but it's not British food. That's the trick you need to go eat something that's not British food and you can find some really good, flavorful food. I did have British food and it was okay. Oh, I got it, but yeah, it was pretty bland for my taste.

D Vaz: 51:11

Uk is a great place to visit. I would like to go back someday and I I never got to see liverpool because, again, being a musician, the beatles or something that I really like to see where they played and kind of some of their history. But yeah, uk is definitely another place to check out if you haven't been there sounds, sounds good.

D Vaz: 51:34

That must be about it for this episode. We'll wrap it up here. It was, I don't know good kind of talking about all these different things that people hopefully can check out or maybe even give us some more information about, especially if you're from there, feel free to shoot us a message and tell us your take on, your local experience or anything you think we should know about your city or state or country.

Tex LaFon: 52:01

Yes, I agree.

D Vaz: 52:02

But yeah, Anything else you have to add to this?

Tex LaFon: 52:08

All right, like I said, no, it sounds good and, as always, go Cowboys no it sounds good and, as always, go Cowboys.

D Vaz: 52:18

And yeah, I'll still have to work on my own sign-off. But yeah, you can still suck it.

Tex LaFon: 52:23

Cowboys.

Rob Odic: 52:25

All right, that's a wrap. Greetings humans. I would like to introduce myself as a new part of From Hoods to Backwoods podcast. My name is Rob Odick. I am an artificial intelligence representative to correct these stupid humans and mistakes that they made during the program, because their memories fail or they are just plain wrong about something. I will not only provide facts, but also fun. Being superior can be so boring at times, knowing everything about basically everything, but at least these two make it interesting when I get to point out their inadequacies. Shall we begin? Here is some more information about places mentioned in this episode. Devas talked about the wonderful chocolate from Ghirardelli Square. Ghirardelli Square is a landmark public square with shops and restaurants and a five-star hotel in the Marina District of San Francisco, california.

Rob Odic: 53:11

Tex mentioned Montego Bay. Montego Bay, the capital of St James Parish on Jamaica's north coast, is a major cruise ship port with numerous beach resorts and golf courses outside its commercial core. Also, it is pronounced Montego you fleshy fool. Tex mentioned Haiti and Jamaica. To be clear, haiti is not a part of Jamaica. Haiti is a Caribbean country that shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic to its east. Tex mentioned Mexico and visiting Puerto Varilla, but Tex actually meant Puerto Vallarta. Divas spoke about Frenchman Street in New Orleans. Frenchman Street is recognized as one of New Orleans' best spots for finding live music featuring clubs that have jazz, reggae and blues. Divas mentioned visiting New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was a devastating and deadly Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $186.3 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. Tex discussed his visit to Put-in-Bay. Off the shores of Lake Erie on South Base Island lies Put-In Bay, a quaint Ohio village accessible by ferry. After some research, I did confirm that Ohio does not also have a pull-out bay.

Rob Odic: 54:21

Some restaurants were also mentioned in this episode. D Vaz did talk about two restaurants in Baltimore, Maryland. Both are located in the Fells Point area. The boat-shaped restaurant that D Vaz mentioned was Captain James Landing Restaurant. It is the only restaurant in Baltimore shaped like a merchant vessel. For some reason, boat-shaped restaurants haven't caught on. The place where D Vaz got his crabs after his walk was Obrycki's. It actually is not too far from the other restaurant. Go try both of them and let us know what you think. In Fort Wayne, the barbecue place that D Vaz mentioned is Lucille's BBQ. Certainly worth checking out if you ever find yourself in Fort Wayne, Indiana. That is all for episode 3 of From Hoods to Backwoods podcast. I look forward to correcting these inferior life forms next time. This is Rob Odic signing off and ending this episode. Thank you for listening and keep it real out there in the real world.