Day 43...Oct 27
I was up at what I thought was 5:00am. Feeling rested and
ready for the day I got dressed and headed downstairs. That was when I noticed
that it wasn't 5:00am...it was 3:00am! Lucky for me we don't have any
real important plans for the day. Kristin goes to work by 9:00am, she
takes Karis with her. The boys will be in school and of course, Nick leaves for
work by 5:00am. Kerry and I will have the day to ourselves.
If you have been following this BLOG you'll remember back on day
6 (Sept 20th) when an 18 wheeler spat a rock at us, chipping our windshield. We
decided to find a place in Prattville to have the chip pressure filled, to prevent
running cracks from developing. After speaking with the shop owner, we all
agreed that it would be best to wait until we got back home, just in case we
get dinged again. Nice guy...good advice...
Nick has an artisan well near his house so off we went to get his empty water bottles filled up.
We offered to make supper tonight...spaghetti is on the menu.
While Kerry cooked the sauce I spent my time packing up our things one last
time ...
Tomorrow morning we will leave for Memphis Tennessee. I have
to brush up on my Elvis impression.
Kerry got a call from her old friend Diane Diggs. This was the
girl who was with Kerry on the night we first met. Diane also hosted our wedding reception in her beautiful home. Fond memories. We will be
visiting her in Arkansas on our way west.
With laundry done and bags packed and supper almost ready, Kerry
and I got to spend a few quiet hours resting and contemplating this odyssey
thus far. Once the gang got home, Kerry tended to the meal preparation,
Nick
napped, Karis watched the Cat in the Hat, Kristin helped Jared with his
homework while I helped Landon with his. Landon did much better today compared
to last night. Out of 37 flash cards with assorted words on them, last night he
got 17 wrong...today he only missed 5...Way to go Little L Dude.
Day. 44...Oct 28
We were up at 4:00am and headed downstairs where Kerry and
I each had our own couch in the living room. We were sleeping peacefully while
waiting for Nick to stop in and say goodbye on his way out to start his work
day. It was a short wait. After we all kissed and hugged, he left and Kerry and
I went back to sleep, this time waiting for the rest of the clan to begin their
day. Soon enough the time came for us to pack the few remaining things we had
into the van and say our final goodbyes. After Jared and Landon were dropped
off at school, Kristin returned home just as we loaded up the last bag. It was a
bitter sweet loving departure as we all waved to each other as we slowly
pulled out of the driveway and onto the road ahead...Next stop, Memphis. We
were finally heading west...towards home.
We stopped at Costco in Birmingham to gas up. This was the cheapest
we pad for gas so far...$1.76 per gallon. We also picked up a few essentials as
well...crackers, wine, granola mix and of course, my frozen latte mocha freeze.
By noon I was feeling like I could use a rest stop...nature
calls! The GPS was saying that the next rest stop was 70 miles ahead...that
won't do. We took the next exit and drove a few miles along an old country
road. This is where we discovered Barbara Ann's Place. Not being the kind of
people who walk into a place, use the restroom and leave, we decided to split a
hamburger for lunch ... I asked her to put the veggies on the side to make it
easier to eat on the road and that is just what she did. A small bag with
sliced onion, a small bag with sliced tomato, a small bag with lettuce, a small
bag with sliced pickle and one hamburger on a bun, cut in half, wrapped up hot
in foil. It was good. On our way out I noticed a crock pot with a sign that
said BOILED PEANUTS...Really!
We continued on our way to our first stop of this phase of our
journey. By 2:45 we were pulled into an RV park just two blocks from
Graceland in Memphis.
Once the van was setup for the night we took Rosie and
walked over to the world famous Elvis attraction. All I can say is, "What
a dump!" This part of town is run down and looks like a place where one
wouldn't want to walk their miniature poodle at night.
After fact finding we
headed back to our campsite for some dinner and Internet
time. Tomorrow we return to Graceland by 8am to insure we
get on the first Graceland tour in the morning. Rosie will stay in the van, on
guard duty back at the campsite.
Day 45...Oct 29
The next day...Instead of my going to see Graceland, I came up
with a better idea...
At 8:00am I walked Kerry over to the Graceland ticket
booth. After purchasing her a single tour ticket we sat in an Elvis diner and
had a healthy breakfast of coffee and fries. We split the fries and the coffee
was terrible...but it filled the tummy void. Once Kerry's tour was about to
start I walked back through the hood, back to our campsite. My plan was to prep
the van for travel, shower and shave...and then surf the web for awhile while
waiting for Kerry's call telling me her tour was complete. Van prepped and
secured, check! Shave, check! Shower, check. Just as I was about to fire up my iPad
I got the call. She was done.
I drove to a prearranged spot just next to those famous
Graceland gates and waited. Once she boarded the van we headed over to
the Bass Pro Pyramid for a walk-a-bout and lunch. If you have never heard of
the Memphis Bass Pro Pyramid you should definitely Google it.
After lunch
we headed over to Beale St. and walked around checking out shops and atmosphere
at the same time. To me, it seemed like a worn down tired Bourbon Street. Sad
sad sad...
We had seen enough of Memphis. We jumped back onto the 40 West
and hunted for the perfect camping spot. We found one in Little Rock Arkansas.
Yes folks, we crossed yet another State line bringing our
States-Visited-This-Trip number up to 29... still plenty more to go before we're
done.
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