Walking in Memphis

I can now cross a couple of things off my bucket list! Today we drove to Beale Street and walked the block where Johnny Cash worked as a door-to-door salesman and Elvis recorded his first hits. We stood in the park next to W.C. Handy's house and savored the blues music roaring from the entrance of BB King's club. It was amazing. Porter helped me track down the Rendezvous restaurant, which Bobby Flay says has the best ribs he ever ate. It's in a basement down an alley off 2nd Street. When we walked in, we were told that they don't "technically" open until 4:30, but if we wanted to have some ribs, slaw and beans, we were welcome to stay. The place was hopping, with waiters yelling like Whitney yelled at Bobby..."hey bah-BEE! Gimme one half and two whole with extra slaw!" The guys working the rib pits had the orders out in under two minutes and the food was without a doubt the best barbeque we've ever had. The beer was cold, the atmosphere was remarkable and we really felt like we were experiencing the best that Memphis has to offer.

After lunch we walked a few blocks to the National Civil Rights Museum. We were really moved to be standing at the Lorraine Hotel below the balcony where Dr. King was assassinated. The museum is beautifully presented and very comprehensive in its depiction of the long, brutal struggle. I spent just a few minutes in Dr. King's room looking at the spot where he fell before I had to walk away and compose myself. Across the street is the boarding house where James Earl Ray carried out his insanity, and Porter and I both had mixed feelings about touring it and looking at his belongings displayed as evidence. One thing I took away from it was the disparity between the grace and intelligence of Dr. King and his coworkers, and the cowardice and sleaziness of Ray's life.

After touring the museum for several hours, we walked to the Mississippi River bank. Very impressive river! We then went back to Beale Street for a beer in a little blues/pool hall joint and conversation with some colorful locals.

It was a great day- I got to do some things that I have dreamed of doing for years. We still have to see Graceland and Sun Studio. Graceland will be interesting because it's "Elvis Week" in Memphis. He died on August 17th, and I think every Elvis fan in the world is here to commemorate it. We'll let you all know how it goes.

Grand Old Opry House and Incredible Hotel

We went to the new Grand Old Opry House yesterday, it's a big building where really famous people play music. The resort hotel next to it however, is incredible! Indoor river and water falls, HUGE fish and fantastic plants and scenery. Check out the photo of the atrium! We also toured Cooter's, the incredible collection of everything Hazzard County has to offer. The General Lee was a 383 car slightly modified.

We made a uneventful trip to Memphis today and are staying at EZ Daze Campground in Mississippi. We figure about a week here and then move toward Biloxi. Hello to all!

Typical Tourism and Animal Abuse

Well, we took a basic bus tour of Downtown Nashville, what a beautiful city! We got to wander through the Ryman Auditorium,(the original Grand Old Opry) it was really awe inspiring to think of the careers that were built there and the history. We also stopped in at Legend's Corner for a Corona while a live band was performing. The bar is amazing inside, a collection of music related items from all time periods and all types of music. The whole strip there is a collection of bars and unique shops and restuarants, most of which have live performers playing, so music is everywhere. Music row was interesting, with each studio posting congratulations outside for each recent hit song that an artist recorded there. Big hits, tiny studios. The Country Music Hall of Fame was very interesting and included everything from original lyrics written on napkins to cars and motorcycles that belonged to past and current stars. There is a huge park in Nashville that has a full size reproduction of the Parthenon... Go figure, they call Nashville the Athens of the South. We are right across the street from the new Grand Old Opry and our tour guide gave us some inside information on an entrance that avoids the $18.00 parking fee. We'll probably check that out today.

Notice how stressed out the dogs look in the photos, they are adapting well and always glad to see us come home. They certainly make for good company and supply us with nose smudges on every window in the RV, including the windshield...

Maintenance issues persist as always. The Mobile RV Repair guy was very friendly when he looked at our Gorilla taped in and disassembled door awning. His repair advice was "Take it to a Fleetwood dealer.", so I guess we're on our own for now. Of course the manufacturer of the awning had a factory fire and is not supplying parts at this time. Oh, I almost forgot, the Jeep broke another swaybar link. Luckily, I have a spare in the console, always fun in a gravel lot in 95 degree heat and 100% humidity... After what we've seen in the RV parks, Jeep should have been quite profitable, every other towed vehicle is a Jeep! Well, thanks for your interest and you can always e-mail me(Porter)@ portrsbks@aol.com By the way, thank you Brian, for showing Frank the blog and giving Keith and Matt the address. Keep in touch guys! Porter and Vicki

Zen and the Art of RV Maintenance

OK, enough with the maintenance issues while we are trying to leave campgrounds! Leaving West Virginia, Vicki did the light check on the Jeep and when we tried the turn signals, the four way flashers came on. It made for a careful drive to Pigeon Forge, knowing that every trucker was snickering at us at each lane change... Got to Pigeon Forge and found a disconnected ground wire in the harness (all four factory connections in the jumper harness were loose). Fixed that and got ready to leave Pigeon Forge for Nashville. As we were prepping to leave, I noticed the front door awning was still out after I know I put it in... Turns out, it broke. The awning is automatic and spring loaded to go out. The motor runs, but is not connected to the retraction mechanisim any longer. We got it to go in a couple of times, but when it was about to latch, it snapped back out. I ended up having to remove the end caps and the spring loaded arms, rolled it up manually and reinstalled the end caps that have the retainers in them. A little gorilla duct tape to insure it would stay in, and we were happily on our way. NOT! Not to mention the destruction of our porch lamp lens while working on the awning... We are typing this while sitting comfortably outside in Nashville watching the severe storm warning approaching with only a slight chance of a tornado or two. More likely, 70 mph straight line winds, whew, what a relief.

We pulled into a Cracker Barrel today due to our late start and slightly miscalculated a full lock turn... disconnected the Jeep and repositioned the motorhome. Had lunch and reconnected, third full lock turn today. We are getting better at this as we go, but it can be stressful... Well, we need to prep for the tornado, keep in touch.

Q-TIP HEAD

Porter without a haircut in two months and not shaved for a month.

Vicki met Elvis!

Dixie Stampede

The Dixie Stampede dinner show is an absolute riot! The wait staff is dressed in confederate or union uniforms and you are seated in either the north or south side of the arena according to where you are from. You are then pitted against each other and treated to a fantastic variety of entertainment including everything from trick horse riding to chicken races and mini musicals, all while you eat a huge meal with your fingers. If you are ever near a Dixie Stampede, (Pidgeon Forge, Branson, Myrtle Beach) don't miss it! Tuesday we leave for Nashville, and then Memphis. After that, we're going to head toward the gulf coast and get things set up in Texas.