Definitely NOT Blues in Memphis

A quick post on Memphis, as I got a bit carried away writing Mississippi post....

We pulled into Lisa's sister's driveway on Wednesday evening, after our big drive up the Great River Road/Blues Highway in Mississippi. Lots of blues joints sure looked tempting, but we forged ahead. Here we are in the driveway. I'm quite sure we're the first RV to park in that spot ;-)


Had a great visit with the family over a yummy homecooked meal, then we spent Thursday getting a local's tour of Memphis: the Sun Records studio, the Gibson guitar factory, the record store where Elvis bought his LPs, and of course the National Civil Rights Museum, which was one of the most well-done museums we've seen. They turned the Lorraine Motel where MLK was assassinated plus the boarding house across the street where James Earl Ray fired the shots into the actual museum. It was fascinating to see how all the towns we had just visited (Selma; Albany, GA; Montgomery, et al) fit into the whole scope of the Civil Rights movement.







We capped off the visit with a hot game of Hearts.


We sure enjoyed the 2-day break from the RV, staying in the guest house and taking the world's longest showers. Nick sure made himself at home and loved having the backyard to play in.



We did manage to get back in the swing of things once we GOT in the RV, but we were reluctant to leave....

Sweet Home Alabama?

Today took us from Albany, Georgia and a unique RV park (which was part of a collection of parks, including a wild animal park) to downtown Albany and the Ray Charles Plaza (his music was piped in through strategically placed rocks all around the park--very cool!):







Many famous folk are from Albany, apparently, including Paula Dean and a number of Super Bowl champions.

Then we took US 82 (which goes all the way from St. Simon's Island, GA to White Sands, NM) through VERY rural Georgia and Alabama, including the lovely antebellum town of Eufala, Alabama--great driving tour of beautiful homes. Since I was driving and there weren't any places to pull over that weren't under low trees, no photos. But a neat little town.

When we switched drivers after Eufala (and after blessedly finally finding OUR diesel), Lisa turned on the regular radio (Julie had been listening to Prairie Home Companion on Sirius Public Radio) and we got the SQUAWK..SQUAWK..SQUAWK of a National Weather Service Bulletin. Whoa. Never heard that kind of warning: 70mph winds, hail, "constant" cloud-to-ground lightning, and TAKE COVER in a building and stay away from windows. We were in the boondocks, but like a mirage, a gas station appeared and the wall opposite the oncoming storm was empty. We pulled in as close to that wall as possible (as we had been advised to do by master RVers), Lisa walked the dog before the storm hit, and Julie went inside to buy something because her grandmother said you always should do that....

We ended up staying 50 minutes in that parking lot--along with a rumble of motorcyclists and other smart drivers. The wind howled through, then the rain poured down, then the lightning struck and shook the ground. No hail. The nincompoops who kept driving on the highway were treated to a parking lot of southbound cars (we were heading north) as there was a terrible accident. We were safe and sound and enjoyed a bit of lunch from the deli inside. We were SO grateful to hear the warning and then so grateful again that the one bar on Julie's phone allowed us to track Doppler radar to see when it was safe to leave. Technology is very helpful in these cases.

So, we made it to Montgomery and saw a few sites--only from the outside as this state observes its blue laws. NOTHING was open on Sunday and we had the entire city to ourselves, which was good, as these folks down south (GA and AL so far) don't post signs very far in advance of a turn or in obvious spots. (Who puts signs for highway turns over the oncoming lanes of traffic?)

At any rate, we did get to see Maya Lin's gorgeous sculpture at the Civil Rights Memorial. (Maya Lin was also the architect of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in DC.) Here, the wall has Dr. King's words (the memorial is across the street from one of the churches where he preached) and the granite table has a timeline of key events in the struggle for civil rights. I didn't get a good photo of the table, only the wall:




Very moving. A huge clap of thunder had the guard laughing as we ran back to the RV. Nothing came of it, but we weren't taking chances. Here's the view as we raced back to our vehicle. Those are not happy skies.



Tonight we're in a gorgeous Corps of Engineers park. You have to love the juxtaposition of bug spray and Citronella candles (we have been getting eaten alive the past week) with the splurge on nice wine to anesthetize us from the bug bites ;-)



For those of you who lean libertarian or are part of the angry white Republican crowd, I challenge you to consider the good that government does via the COE and National and State Parks. If you say you hate government and that it's "no good" as those vitriolic talking heads on TV and radio constantly expound, I dare you to travel this nation on its interstate highways (thank you, Ike), stay at its national parks (thank you, Teddy) and CCC parks (thanks, Franklin), and revisit the country's history via the Civil War and Civil Rights sites (thanks Abe and Lyndon), and then curse government. (Don't even get me started on the Louisiana Purchase--thanks, Thomas--or the Marshall Plan and GI bill--thanks, Harry--or on and on and on.)

Government certainly can be wasteful and there's plenty in ANY administration that we can all criticize, but it ain't ALL bad. So stop asserting that and be more thoughtful. I'm sick and tired of the Pillsbury dough boys (not my term, but I admire the collective name for Gingrich, Limbaugh, and Cheney) spouting bile and hatred without factual accuracy or any kind of thoughtful, persuasive reason. Read Peggy Noonan's column from the Wall Street Journal "The Case for Getting Off Base" from 6/13; she's a dyed-in-the-wool conservative (and a writer and thinker I greatly admire) and she basically says the same thing. It's time for the return of balance and reason, folks.

KCK and KCMO--A Happenin' Town!

Beginning our third day in KC, and we just love this city. Of course, having gorgeous weather doesn't hurt, but we are so impressed by the culture, architecture, and general ambiance of this area.

Our visit has run the gamat of high to low culture.

Nelson-Adkins Museum
Part traditional museum, part contemporary museum. We got to see our favorite kind of art: photography and sculpture. We were inspired to go by the giant shuttlecocks on the lawn, which the artists saw as "scattered about" by giants, with the traditional art museum itself as the "net." These puppies are 18' tall and 5500 pounds each. Of course, when they were first installed in the 1990s, they were "an abomination." Now, of course, they are symbols of the city, shown on national sports broadcasts, for instance. The display inside, commemorating their 15-year anniversary, was fascinating. It included many napkin sketches by the artists. So interesting to get a glimpse of how the creative process works.







Don't touch!


KC "Q" and Local Treats
On our last trip, we ate out a grand total of 3 times in 36 meals--less than 10% of the time. On THIS trip, we are batting the opposite. In one of the meccas of BBQ, we must simply sample the pleasures. (Gotta do that again later in the trip when we're in Memphis.)

We tried Rosedales on Sunday, based on the recommendation of one of my brother's friends. Quite good, but the burnt ends weren't crispy. Lisa's "long end" (ribs) were very tasty. We made 3 meals out of the one restaurant meal.

As a Q-break, we tried Tim's Pizza last night, based on a Roadfood.com recommendation. The crust was outrageously good--thin, but sturdy and crispy (with those nice yeasty air pockets). Sturdy enough to hold a heapin' mass of toppings and stay crispy throughout the entire meal. We have at least 2 more lunches of that to come. Yay!

But we simply must try the two top places on the Roadfood list: Arthur Bryant's and LC's. So, today we're going to stop at each on our way out of town (after visiting the Hallmark Visitor Center to pay homage to Hoops and YoYo and our other favorite Hallmark characters) and get one sandwich for the road.

We also made one impromptu stop at Sheridan's for some "concrete," since we'd read about that local concoction. What it is is custard, which doesn't have to be frozen at as low a temp as ice cream. Allows it to be sort of slushy-thick, like wet concrete. Then they mix-in things to give it a grainy texture. We split a minty Grasshopper on the way to a matinee. Very unusual.



And our movie (the latest Star Trek) was quite an adventure. We felt "normal" (i.e., not tied to the RV) going to a movie.


Presidential Tour: Part 1
Last summer's big trip revolved around Lewis and Clark and all of the westward migration trails. We nod to that trip on this one, since Kansas City was the terminus of the Oregon and California trails.

But, on this trip, it seems we have a presidential theme shaping up. Independence, MO: Harry Truman. After we go through Hot Springs National Park, we have to go through Hope, Arkansas. And, at the View/Navion rally in Texas, one of the events is a trip to the LBJ Ranch.

We also have a civil rights era theme emerging, since Truman integrated the Army, LBJ signed all the civil rights legislation, and Clinton, well, they did used to say he was the first black president.... And we're planning on going through some civil rights sites in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee later on this trip.

The Buck Stops Here: my favorite Truman saying.


A re-creation of Truman's Oval Office (complete with a million ashtrays)


The TV (with corn cob on top) from Truman's Oval Office


As we looked at all of the very difficult decisions that Truman had to make, I'd say his were just as challenging as the ones we face (if not more): dropping the A bomb on Japan, rebuilding Europe via the Marshall Plan, founding NATO and the UN, stopping the spread of Communism, the Berlin airlift, a postwar glut of unemployed folks and inflation, rampant racism and KKK, etc., etc.

It's so easy to forget the past and think that now is THE WORST EVER! Every era has its own immense challenges, and I'd wager than none of us would ever truly want the awesome responsibility of the presidency.... Truman reportedly said that he'd rather be right than be president and then, under his breath, say he'd rather be anything else than president. I can get that.

The best part is that Truman and Bess came home from the White House to Independence and lived in the same house they'd had since they were married in 1919. He was famous for walking around town every day with his cane. Was there Secret Service back then? Sometimes I think we've deified former presidents and ought to just let them become regular citizens again after their service.... We certainly shouldn't keep calling them "President So and So", but rather "former President So and So." (It's a pet peeve of mine that governors, senators, and presidents who have left office still get their title.)

At any rate, the library was fascinating and very well done. We plan to visit more of these as we we can, esp. Nixon and Reagan out in CA when we get back there.