May 12, 2013 - Memphis

Travel is always a combination of luck and very careful planning! Or maybe somewhere in the middle.... I arranged to meet my friend Terry in Memphis. Terry and I had both lived in Shanghai and had all sorts of adventures....this is one more! Now she lives in Scottsdale, Arizona so I suggested she meet me for a little road trip. Tennessee has a rich heritage of music.....soul, blues, country, folk.....and the Civil War and Civil Rights! Union (northern) soldiers occupied Memphis during the Civil War, yellow fever epidemics after the war...

May 9, 2013 - Walkin' with my feet 10 feet off of Beale...

Hell yea, Memphis...what a great city for some excitement and good times. Checked in our RV camp at the Navy base here in Millington, just a short drive from downtown. Great park with everything you could ask for, plus a commissary and Navy Exchange for restocking. Ventured out early to Graceland and all the expectations of lines and crowds must be media hype or we hit the off season perfectly. What wasn't hype is how impressive Graceland is in bringing back memories of the King when he was just a pup, and showing off his life in all the...

Apr 11, 2013 - Memphis,TN

We left St Louis at 10am and it started to rain almost immediately. The drive was mostly uneventful except for the constant rain and the fact the Stephens filling fell out :( We checked into the Hyatt hotel (beautiful) and the first thing we did was search for a dentist. We were lucky enough to find a wonderful clinic that took him in right away and fixed it up so we didn't have to worry about him being in pain for the next 2 weeks! After that we headed to Beale St and did some shopping and then went for supper. All I can say is it is a...

Apr 7, 2013 - Fort Smith to Memphis

I visited Fort Smith National Historic Site first thing this morning. The Fort was , among other things, the Federal Court for Western Arkansas and home to "the hanging judge" Isaac Parker ( made famous in books and in western movies). The courtroom has been preserved with all of the original furnishings . Judge Parker heard over 1200 cases, sentenced 160 people to hang but only 79 actually went to the gallows. He has been quoted as saying " I never hung a man - it was the law". Fort Smith was a raucous western town at the turn of the...

Mar 26, 2013 - Memphis, TN

We are staying just south of Memphis (actually in Hernando, Mississippi) at another Army Corps of Engineers campground called Hernando Point. We have the place almost to ourselves and it is gorgeous! Our site is right on a lake without another camper in sight. We have 50 amp electric and water hookups and it is $18.00 per night! We stayed last night and toured Memphis today. We will stay tonight and move on tomorrow. While we were in the area, Mike had to have some authentic Memphis BBQ. I researched the best spots to eat and made a list...

Feb 2, 2013 - Hallelujah!

We stopped at the Graceland Campgrounds Friday night in downtown Memphis. What a welcome relief from being on the road. We were still flushing with recycled dish rinse water, but I managed to get a full HOT shower this am. God is watching over me, Hallelujah! I also had time on my hands after we stopped so I tried the Delicious Bar Recipe in the convection oven. I had to kind of wing it on the timing but Gary says they are just as good as in the oven. And I agree! In the past I avoided the corner pieces because they were drier than the rest...

Feb 1, 2013 - Yeee haw!!

Yesterday we woke up to a few challenges. Snow on the ground, a very cold Gary, because of a window cracked open above his head, and a motorhome that wouldn't start. The motorhome was my fault because I left my computer plugged in the 12 volt outlet overnight but the rest of it was just typical Ohio January. _____________________________________ Thank goodness we were soon able to leave that all behind. The dead battery didn't even give us pause. Gary had brought along jumper cables, but after the fact we found an option on the dashboard...

Feb 1, 2013 - Jan 31, 2013

We were at the lobby having the free breakfast at 8:00 and getting some info from a tanned trucker as to things to do. Very friendly people, but there is starting to be a bit of a language barrier because they dont talk Canadian here. We got to Graceland with no problems and were lined up for the shuttle by 10:00. You park across the street and after paying the admit you are given a head phone set and are told or signs tell you what number to push and you get a guided tour. The house is awesome. I wasnt expecting it to be huge but is would...

Jan 30, 2013 - Jan 30, 2013

Yesterday the temp was up to 54 F but when we got up it was 32. They had some sleet but by the time we got ready and had the continental breakfast it was a drizzle and the roads weren't icy. We ran out of the rain by 11:00 and it was good driving after that. It was a very scenic drive to Branson lots of high hills and red rock on the sides. We toured through the town and it is very much a tourist trap. Makes Deadwood look mild. We checked out a few, including the Ripley's Believe it or not museum. A lot of the attractions are closed and so...

Nov 12, 2012 - Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas

Hi Everyone! All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray, California Dreaming! The fall colors could not stand up to Super Storm Sandy and all the cold rainy weather that followed. But the good news is Prester and I were able to see two of our nieces and one nephew who live in Pittsburgh, PA. We spent a few days visiting and having fun with them, while Charlene and Kelly visited friends in Ohio. The weather was too cold! We decided to move south to warmer weather, but that really doesn't seem to be available this winter. In West Virginia,...

Nov 10, 2012 - Back to Memphis

Had a relaxed morning and good breafast of eggs with Mom since Dad had more Scottish Rites stuff. She and Angie took me to the airport at 1pm and check-in was non-eventful. Much to my surprise, I was upgraded to First class because of my military ID and Veteran's weekend. Took me awhile to figure out why, but a nice perk. Had a gin and tonic on the plane before we took off and another before I got to Atlanta. I walked out of the plane in Atlanta in a fog and decided I better stick to water the rest of the day. After a sub and diet coke, I...

Nov 9, 2012 - Beale Street la naissance du Blues

Hier nous avons pris chacun un passe journalière pour les Trolleys qui se promènent en ville. Ce fut un gros investissement de $3.50 chaque. Nous avons descendu sur Beale street qui est la rue à visiter à Memphis, il y a beaucoup de resto avec musique « live ». On a donc dîné à la barbote frite et hush puppies, beans et frites le tout accompagné d’une bonne bière. C’était un peu cher mais le « catfish » était excellent. La musique était acoustique donc pas trop forte, le guitariste nous a joué du Clapton, Otis Redding, du Cream etc. En...