I’m writing about banjo players because they are the definition of what pursuing a passion is all about. They are risk takers. They understand that they are making lifestyle sacrifices to pursue their dream. And they love what they do more than anyone.

I’ve met more banjo players in the last five days than I have met in my whole twenty-three years of existence. In fact, as I write this at the kitchen table of Emilee Warner, who is our delightful Nashville host and voice of CMT radio, there is a banjo resting on the floor to the right of me.

One of the banjo players I met graduated from Dartmouth, which is a private, four-year liberal arts institution that has been at the forefront of American higher education since 1769. Graduates from Dartmouth become investment bankers, not banjo players. But this guy who I met, Chris, went against the grain and moved to Nashville to play in a bluegrass band.

Two years after making the decision to play professionally, Chris and his group of Infamous Stringdusters took home three IBMA awards (the Grammy’s of Bluegrass) this week, one for emerging artist, two for best song, and third for best album. Chris’s story is full of sacrifice, risk, and going against expectations, and is one interview that we hope to get today during our final day in Nashville.

Yesterday Zach and I found ourselves eating breakfast with two girls who play the banjo. One does it for fun, the other professionally. The professional, Grace, had driven down from Asheville, NC with a caravan of other bluegrass musicians for the festive IBMA week. Contrary to Chris, who rose to unexpected stardom in two years, Grace had been at the banjo with her bluegrass band for a little longer, supporting herself by serving “yuppies cappuccino” in addition to taking paying gigs on the side.

Then there is Todd, a convivial, bearded Dobro player who didn’t start playing the instrument until he was twenty-five. Now thirty-three, he has found a host that is willing to put him with a free room while he plays music gigs all over the country, like the one he did this weekend in San Francisco.

Nashville is a melting pot of ambitious, open minded people who are passionate about music. It’s heartbeat is the upright bass. And it’s the best place to be if you play the banjo.

Our time in Atlanta was a great introduction to the south. Skeet shooting was the obvious highlight, while our host Will, with his fine, distinguished laugh, was a big bright spot in our Georgia stay.

We are now gathered in the RV, ready to roll on out of Georgia and into Nashville, where we will be staying with Zach’s friend’s ex-girlfriend’s friend. Should be interesting.

Here is a video CBS filmed as soon as we stepped foot in Atlanta. We were tired and haggard from a six hour drive from Greensboro, NC, so take it easy on us.

This is a recap of our week-long trip to New York City, which began on September 11th. This video post is in response to the votes counted from our “Vote for Video” post from Monday. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did New York!

You know when you receive an out of the blue birthday gift from that aunt you haven’t talked to in a few years? That’s what Madison, Wisconsin was to us.

We had little expectations when we rolled into Madison on late Thursday night. We were going to stay with Noah’s nephew who he hadn’t seen in seven years. Noah didn’t even know his nephew lived in Madison until twenty-four hours prior, when Noah’s elder half brother submitted a story and recommended we stop by his son’s new college apartment.

On Friday we had our first official campus visit, where we were all set to stop by the University Research Park at four o’clock. At three fifty-five, with dark clouds in every direction you looked, it began to rain. It rained hard. As we pulled into our designated parking lot, we saw people scampering and sprinting to safety, hardly noticing our often conspicuous RV. Determined to make the most of the event, I braved the rains and bolted to the University building, where I checked in with our contact person.

We ended up talking with three women who were all incredibly intelligent scientists who recently turned bio-tech entrepreneur. One of their companies was in the fourth year of research on how to create skin for burn victims. With Madison’s reputation for being a bio-tech hotbed, it was a cool stop for us because we got an inside look at what was really going on besides cheese production.

Penelope Trunk, a brazen careerist, met us at a happening breakfast spot called Lazy Jane’s to talk with us about everything career related. I felt like the interview was something like Kahlil Gibran’s well known book The Prophet, where a prophet was asked by a group of ordinary community members of what his thoughts were on topics like love, time, and wealth. Instead of asking about ultimate life questions, I asked of topics like networking, the importance of the city you live in, fear in careers, uncertainty…and Penelope handled each question beautifully. It was a genuine interview, and it was great to get some candid answers to some honest questions.

We interviewed Kim & Jason, founders of the disease “adultitis,” which essentially affects all adults (ages 21-121) who take themselves too seriously. Over chocolate milk and cookies, we heard about how this energetic and ambitious couple has started a business based around the concept that as adults, we need to stop taking ourselves so seriously and get back in touch with the inner child in us. Kim, a former kindergarten teacher, and Jason a cartoonist had great things to say, and it translated very well to the camera.

Then there was State Street, the famous University of Wisconsin hangout that attracts everyone from beautiful college girls to local Madisonians. Ian’s Pizza put my favorite pizza spot to shame (No Anchovies in Tucson). Monday’s was a bar that was poppin’ on a Friday. The farmer’s market exposed us to Wisconsin’s main claim to fame, “the cheese” (after hearing about this so called “squeaky cheese,” we bought a bag from a guy with a beard that called himself Farmer John. The cheese squeaked in your mouth, hence the name). We went into the second largest state capital in the U.S. (next to D.C.’s capital). I bought a red shirt with the word “WISCONSIN” imprinted across the chest in bold white lettering for $10.99. And I rocked it hard when we went out on Saturday night.

Now we are in Chicago, two and a half hours away from the city that was a pleasant surprise. Thanks Madison for the memories.