What a fun day. Soon after I left the campground, it dawned on me that I could have a little side trip in Memphis on my way to Russellville, AR. About an hour out of Memphis I stopped at a rest stop to survey the map and get my directions to Graceland!!! I called my cousin Jeff to find out if he had been there and if it was worth spending a few hours there. He gave me a thumbs up and even called back a few minutes later to make sure I had detailed directions. I was primarily concerned [View Full Entry]

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After Washington we had planned to go to Chicago for a couple of days, but for a variety of reasons, including the horrendous cost of accomodation we decided to bypass Chicago and go straight to Memphis. We only intended to stay for 3 nights but ended up staying for 5, and we both agreed that Memphis was the highlight of our time in the USA. We visited Graceland of course, which we really enjoyed more so than either of us expected. It was great to see how Elvis had decorated his home (shagpile carpet not only on the floor but also [View Full Entry]

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Our Memphis location is at the Tom Sawyer RV Park, on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River across from Memphis. Our campsite is literally on the banks of the well-nick named 'Big Muddy." It's both! There is considerable commercial shipping traffic. The Park's promo is right on - we are 10 minutes from Downtown Memphis and Beale Street. Beale St. is like an on-going festival area and is closed to traffic. The atmosphere, music, food, people watching, and plain old fun exceeded expectations. On our first Beale St. night, we sampled three groups - two at clubs (one with [View Full Entry]

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We drive across Arkansas, passing by a town called Hope (where Bill Clinton is from) and zipping through Little Rock. Our destination is Memphis, Tennessee. We get in around 9:30 pm and find out the hotels near Graceland are all booked including the Heartbreak Hotel. Seems that Priscilla is in town with Thomas Kinkade, “Painter of Light,” to unveil a new painting to honor fifty years of Elvis purchasing Graceland. I shudder whenever I think of Kinkade and his insipid frou-frou paintings. The Days Inn sends us to a Holiday Inn Express several miles away. We check in and go [View Full Entry]

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MEMPHIS! I love this place so much--and this time it's not snowing (though I still brought inappropriate shoes with no option for safer wear)! We got into town and checked into our West Memphis, Arkansas, Days Inn hotel (a real classy place) and then went straight to Beale Street. After finding parking and an ATM, I was in dire straits to get some catfish in me so, naturally, we headed a few blocks down to Alfred's. The catfish was amazing, and I got to see the Same Ol' 2 Step Band w/Lil' Guyland for a half hour or so. Although the [View Full Entry]

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After Nashville we drove the short drive, (about 3 1/2 hours) to Memphis. We decided to take an offshoot highway instead of the main road so that we could get into the thick of the cotton pickin’ south. Talk about hillbilly country! There were shanty houses dotted among the trees complete with garbage and junk piled high in the front yards. Most of these houses looked like something out of the back streets of Vietnam, so dilapidated and run down. It was quite unnerving to be driving through these areas, if not for the weird hillbilly energy, but because of the [View Full Entry]

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Hello,Hello, Well we have been on the road for a few days - Bus that is !!!!! Two days in Washington, Three days in Nashville, and on our second day in Memphis. Then on the train tomorrow to New Orleans. These towns are so quiet compared to the previous. Nashiville was great - a main street just like Gawler but every pub (and there were lots of them) had a live Country band or Singer. Up until 6pm the kids were able to come in so we made a few stops,lots of fun. We went to the Country Hall of Fame, [View Full Entry]

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WEDNESDAY 1/3/07 NASHVILLE to MEMPHIS We visited the Parthenon in Nashville first thing this a.m. It is a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. Created with exacting attention to detail, the massive building was originally built in 1897 as the centerpiece for Tennessee’s Centennial Expo. Today it houses a permanent 20th century American art exhibit, gallery space for temporary exhibits and a massive 42-foot gold sculpture of Athena. Then off on Rt 40 W to Memphis. Great lunch at Cajun Catfish Company on the way into town. Memphis has a nice small trolley system [View Full Entry]

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Today we got up at 4:30 a.m. for final packing and routine grooming before we checked out of our hotel and headed to the airport at 5:30 a.m. Then we took a nine hour flight to the States. After shuffling through immigration, customs, and security, we had a couple of hours before our afternoon flight to Memphis. The last time we were in the States, June Bug was still in diapers, so she had never used an American toilet. I thought it was funny when she walked into the stall, looked at the toilet, and nervously yelled, “Why’s there so much [View Full Entry]

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Well, I'm glad to say that Russ and I are back on the road again. Woohoo! We spent 2 great weeks in Ohio, the time to rest and catch up on things as well as brain storm where our next pit stop would be was definitely appreciated. Our vehicle was returned to us on the 28th November so we went out that night with Jose's friends to celebrate which put our departure day back to the 30th after having too big a night. I think it was just part of Jose's plot to get us to stay a bit longer :) [View Full Entry]

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