Little Rock to Memphis, TN

Oct 17^th

Another gorgeous morning! Blue sky and warm temperatures. Wonderful!

Left? Right? Center?

The drive was uneventful until we got to Memphis and crossed the Mississippi. Making the transition from I-40 to I-55 required a series of merges and what is called the weave – where you move to the left to stay on your route then move to the right to merge hopefully ending up where you wanted to go. 

We only had one bad moment when we were in the left lane after a merge, on a left hand banked curve at 55 mph with a semi on our right side sliding down into our lane. With no place to go I had to stand on the brakes and get out of his way. Scary but we made it.

Welcome to Graceland RV Park

However, we actually missed our last “move right merge” and ended up heading east for a mile before we could exit and take to the surface streets to wind our way back through south Memphis and over to Elvis Presley Blvd. I managed to pull off into a parking lot so Tina could work the computer and get our location mapped. Five minutes later we were back on the road and after two miles and two street changes we pulled into the Graceland RV Park.

On the pad at Graceland RV Park

Once registered and in our site we took time to walk the dogs then fixed lunch. While we ate we took time to get our plans together for our stay. After lunch we walked over to the Graceland Ticket window and got information about tours and times. Walking back to the coach we decided to forgo dinner in favor of taking a shuttle to Beale St (http://www.bealestreet.com/wordpress/) and having dinner and catching some “Memphis Blues”.

So we walked over to the “Heartbreak Hotel” and bought tickets on the 6:00 PM Shuttle then returned to the coach to do more research. At 5:00 PM we fed the dogs and took them for a long walk then changed and headed for the shuttle pickup point. We were first on and grabbed the front seat next to the driver. After we started the drive downtown Tina asked about a good place for dinner and we were given the name of “Blues City Café.

Blues City Cafe is on the left

We got to Beale St and headed down the sidewalk to check out the shops and restaurants. A historic area of downtown Memphis, TN, Beale Street is lined with restaurants, clubs, and shops. Including the famous B.B. King's Blues Club. After walking most of the two block long are we went back to Blues City Café (www. http://bluescitycafe.com/) for dinner. I ordered a bowl of Gumbo and Tina ordered a full set of ribs for us to share. The Gumbo was excellent! A little too spicy (hot) for Tina but just right for me. And the ribs were incredible! They were cooked to perfection with the meat falling off the bone, yet not overly smokey and the sauce didn’t hide the flavor of the meat. Ummm, umm! Delicious!!

After dinner we walked around the district several times listening to different groups playing in the clubs. At one point we came to the Withers Collection Museum and Gallery where a new exhibit of Dr Ernest C. Withers, Sr. had gone on display (http://thewitherscollection.com/ernest_withers.html). 

Ernest Withers left behind one of the largest and most significant collections of photographs ever amassed becoming a living legend based on 60 years of photojournalism. He left behind over a million images, the vast majority of which, documents the history of African-Americans in Memphis and the Mid-South from the 1940 through 2007.

There were only a few others in the gallery and we were given a personal tour of some of his most important photographs depicting important points in the civil rights movement. Covering the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Integration of Little Rock High School, and the Memphis Sanitation Worker’s Strike, it was a stunning collection of historical photographs and we enjoyed seeing them.

Rum Boogie Blues Club

BB King's Blues Club

Leaving the gallery we continued stopping here and there to listen to the music. There must have been at least fifteen live performances going on at the same time, both on the street and in the clubs, and all competing for our attention. As we walked back to our pickup point, I took several photos of the neon signs adorning the shop fronts.

We arrived back home around 9:30 and took the dogs out before settling in for the night. Tomorrow we tour Graceland.

Didtance for today, 136 miles. Total miles for the trip so far, 3,379.

To see all our photos, go to:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski