Southern Comfort

Day 24
Today was New Orleans day! We were both excited to visit this famous city even though we wouldn't be able to stay there (that stupid convention had overrun the city's entire supply of hotel rooms)! Unfortunately, we both found the place to be disappointing. It was a very dirty place, and it reminded me of Philadelphia. Even the historic homes and districts couldn't take that away. The bayous were amazing, though--take a look at the Alligator Crossing sign below:

We drove down Bourbon Street and saw all the nudie bars and clubs and row after row of frozen daquiri stands. We also soaked up the local "plight" on our historic route drive. Everything I'd heard about New Orleans was disappointing in some respect. Preservation Hall was smaller than I had expected. And the city was really crowded--the streets were small and people were packed on the sidewalks. Even the famous French Market didn't have much flair to it.

We decided that we'd seen enough and left after only a few hours. The roads to and from New Orleans are really cool, though. There are bridges built through the marshy bayous, and the scenery is great. We stopped to look down channels of the bayous and watched the small fishing boats troll back and forth along the weathered shacks of lone fishermen.

We drove up through Mississippi but we didn't stop to look at much. This was mainly a day of nonstop driving since there's not too much to see in MS. If you're traveling through the state, you should stop at the Welcome Centers--you get free Coke! On a hot day, that's an extremely welcome greeting! We finally stopped in Jackson for the night to get a good night's sleep before our journey to one of our favorite cities, Memphis, Tennessee.

Day 25
We started out early for Memphis because we wanted to spend a couple of days there. We got an awesome hotel room with a breathtaking view of the Mississippi River, the Pyramid, the bridge, and Mud Island right out of our window. It was great! We checked in early and drove over to Graceland to try to get some cool souvenirs (since this year marks the 20th anniversary of Elvis' death). The place was hopping, as usual, so we ducked into a couple of gift shops to buy some Presleyana goodies to take back home.

After shopping at Elvis' house, we drove to the Cooper-Young Historic District, one of the "revitalized" historic sections of Memphis. The CY district is filled with a bunch of funky, trendy shops and vintage clothing boutiques. The highlight of the place, though, is a tiny coffee house called "Java Cabana."

The Java Cabana doesn't look like much from the outside, but take a closer peek at their window display.....it's a mini-shrine called "The First Church of the Elvis Impersonator!" There are photos of impersonators, good AND bad ones, lots of Elvis memorabilia, and tons of sequins and glitter. Put a quarter in the slot and get a good show. Your coin makes lights flash, music play, disco balls shine, and a tiny Elvis begins to spin around for your viewing pleasure. Whoo, boy, if you miss this place, you're missing one of the best parts of Memphis!

Inside Java Cabana you can get some yummy coffee, buy a cookie, read your poetry and--no kidding--you can GET MARRIED! There's a Viva Memphis wedding chapel in the back room, but expect unruly caffeine-impaired coffee patrons to whoop and holler as you exchange vows. The Java Cabana is a must-see!

After laughing so hard it hurt, we headed back to the hotel to change for our night out on Beale Street. Since we were so close to downtown, we decided to walk a couple of blocks to Beale Street. A lot of people seemed to think that we were crazy, but Memphis is a nice city! I've always felt safe there, and I'm pretty overcautious about things like that. Memphis is clean and safe. We had no problems walking around after midnight.

We headed to the Blues City Cafe for dinner, which is a great place to eat. We both had Cajun shrimp, which made us sick a few hours later, but it didn't matter! The place is a dive, but the food is really good (and "authentic"). The chef, an old black guy wearing a dirty cook's apron and hat, makes your food to order. You can sit and watch him do it. It's not one of those fancy glass-enclosed kitchens--the kitchen is out in the middle of the restaurant! Just take your set at one of the old formica tables with mismatched chairs (which is not one of those cheezy intentional attempts by many places to give a restaurant "character") and order up a good dinner, complete with whole boiled potatoes and thick slices of toast. I can't describe the honest character this place has. It doesn't have to try--it's real. A really good blues band played in the adjacent "lounge," and the owners of the place just couldn't help dancing and singing. Now this is the flavor of Memphis--the "flavor" of the South. And, most importantly, this is real.

Day 26
We got up early and walked to the Peabody Hotel, a Memphis landmark. This five star historic hotel is the home of the world-famous Peabody Ducks. In case you don't know, the Peabody Ducks live high atop the Peabody Hotel. Every morning at 11 a.m. the ducks ride the elevator down to the lobby. While the "King Cotton March" plays, the ducks waddle out of the elevator on a red carpet and hop into the hotel's fountain (where the happily swim all day). At 5 p.m., the ducks get back on the elevator and ride up to their rooftop roost.

We secured a great viewing spot on the balcony overlooking the lobby fountain. At 11 a.m. on the nose, the music began to play and the elevator doors opened...and out waddled the Peabody Ducks! The walked in a line on the red carpet and hopped into the fountain! You should try to see this if you're in Memphis. It's fun and it's free.

In the lobby at the Peabody, we noticed a rack of tourism brochures. We went over to look for any good coupons, and I picked up a flier for Tunica, Mississippi. It looked like a cool place--lots of casinos and stuff. And, it was only a 30 minutes drive from Memphis. I showed it to Matt, and we considered going.

We walked back down to Beale Street and had lunch at B.B. King's Blues Club, Matt's favorite place for wings in the entire city. B.B.'s is sort of a "chain" place, but it's not. The place isn't clean and the food isn't "institutionalized." It's one of the charming little eateries on Beale. B.B.'s always has fresh vegetable specials, and I'd recommend the cabbage and mac and cheese. Mmmm! Everything is cooked like it's supposed to be: the Southern way--cook it long and cook it with fat. The barbecue sauce here is the best I've ever eaten. Be sure to ask for extra with your dinner.

After stuffing ourselves we went to A. Schwab's, my favorite shop in the city. Schwab's is the oldest family owned general store in Tennessee. Their motto is: "If you can't find it at A. Schwab's, you are better off without it!" This has got to be true. There's everything under the sun in this place. For example, on the first floor alone we found: backscratchers, Fiestaware, top hats, long johns, blues records, voodoo potions, candles, cast iron pans, bloomers, tambourines, harmonicas, a pair of men's overalls in size 74, old road signs, crystal balls, bow ties, garters, walking canes, Elvis water globes, suspenders, banjos....well, you get the idea!

We bought some "Fast Luck" voodoo potion and a metal Rt. 66 sign. Schwab's is a tourist attraction in its own right, but I'll bet that once you get inside, you'll find it hard to resist the urge to buy something!

We also decided to track down the Reverend Al Green's church. Yes, Al Green, the famous soul singer, has "seen the light" and now preaches and the Full Gospel Tabernacle. The modest brick church is very small and is tucked away in a small neighborhood in Memphis. And don't be shy about going inside for Sunday services. As the famous song goes, Reverend Green is glad to see you when you haven't got a prayer.

We got back to our hotel and Matt began calling the casino/hotels in Tunica, Mississippi. We decided that if we could get a cheap room, we'd go and stay for one night, just to see what it was like. Well, we got a good deal! At the Grand Hotel, we got a jacuzzi suite for--get this--$39.00!! Yes, a jacuzzi suite for less than 40 bucks! As you can see, it was too good of a deal to pass up. We were on our way to Tunica!

Day 27
We left early for Mississippi. Tunica was an interesting place. The casinos and the hotels are small, but it was a nice enough place to gamble. We checked in at the Grand Hotel and went up to our suite. It was very, very nice, especially for $39! There was a separate sitting area, kitchen with sink and fridge, a wet bar, a table, two couches, and a huge t.v. The bedroom was huge too, with modern furnishings and electronics. The bathroom was great! There was a giant jacuzzi tub (big enough for four people) with funky blue and red lights. And the separate shower had two shower heads so you could wash your front and back at the same time. It was a great deal. We went down to the casino but we didn't do much gambling.

By law, all of the gaming areas must "float" in order to exist. Most of the casinos put their places on a "moat" in water. You don't really move at all, but you'll notice this as you pass over bridge walkways to get into the casino. We checked out Bally's western-themed casino and the new Hollywood casino. The Hollywood Casino was filled with great movie memorabilia. It's almost like a movie lover's museum. We dropped a couple of quarters in a slot machine and headed back to our place. Tunica is okay, but I wouldn't go back there.

The casino buffets are nothing like the ones in Las Vegas. They are a bit pricey, and all of the food is cooked Southern Style. I mean, you will NOT find fried catfish on a buffet in Vegas! And the casinos seem so small in comparison.

The highlight of our journey, aside from the cheap room, was RIP TAYLOR! Okay, so we didn't actually SEE him, but we got an autographed picture! Rip wasn't out the day we were there, and we were sooo tempted to stay another night just to see him. Matt went up to the Casino Host and told her that I was a big Rip Taylor fan, so she gave me an autographed photo:

Matt asked her if Rip had been throwing crap around all over the casino, and she said, with a straight face: "Oh, he's been very quiet this week, but I'm sure he'll be really wound up tomorrow night!" We almost died laughing. Can you imagine what it would be like to see Rip Taylor "Wound Up?" I don't think we would have survived!

Days 28-30
We left Tunica around 11 and drove back through Tennessee. This was a particularly boring day, since we'd driven the route from Memphis to Nashville twice in three years! The traffic was really terrible too, so by the time we got to Seiverville, it was too late to rub the breasts on the Dolly Parton statue in town.

We drove and drove and drove through Tennessee and North Carolina. We wanted to stop by and visit my family in N.C. before heading back up to Maryland. We visited for a couple of days and made the boring trek up I-95.

Why is it that the last few days of a road trip are always the worst? I always get bummed out about having to leave the road. I mean, I'm tired because we've been driving forever, but I'm sad to have to re-enter the "real world." Can any of you fellow road-trippers out there understand this misery?

It's funny that our moving adventure didn't end in a move after all. We got back to MD and began unpacking our moving boxes. I guess Los Angeles will have to wait a while. But hey, I'll probably see you on the road next year!


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