As departure day approached, we said our goodbyes to family and wrapped up last minute details. Mom’s house was finally empty and sold (for the third time, with closing on May 22nd this time with an all cash offer), as was my car. It took us till almost 2pm to actually get on the road due to low tire pressure on the trailer and a faulty air compressor, but we were finally headed northeast.
Granny
Our first stop was Ft. Smith Arkansas, for a lovely dinner with my aunts, uncle and cousins and the opportunity to ride the Pig Trail (one of the top 10 motorcycle rides in the US) the next morning. It is a beautiful scenic byway that zigs and zags through the Ozark National Forest with lots of tree tunnels and farms blanketed in yellow wildflowers. It got its name not from being shaped like a pig’s tail, but because it is a route often used by Razorback fans traveling to and from Fayetteville. We only rode up to Huntsville (allowing us to focus on the best 19 miles of the trail) where we had lunch in Granny’s Kitchen. I ordered the brown beans and cornbread, then we had the fried pie, all very good. After enjoying the return trip, we loaded the bikes into the trailer and hit the road for Memphis.
Beale Street
Bill found us a campground right on the Mississippi River (naturally called Tom Sawyer’s). It was very cool to see the barges and riverboats sliding past our windows. On Friday night, we headed down to Beale Street to get our Blues on. They were having a “get into all bars for $10” deal, so we got our arm bands and popped into several bars. I couldn’t tell you who we were listening to, but it was all good. After an excellent BBQ brisket dinner at The Pig, we wandered into Silky O’Sullivan’s. Part way through one set, an older black man showed up and took over on drums. This created quite a stir with the rest of the crowd which we didn’t understand. Eventually we discovered that the man was Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, who claims to be the world’s most recorded drummer. (Travel tip – it turns out we wasted the $10 because no one was really checking for armbands or charging a cover until 10pm and we were headed back to the trailed by 10:30pm).
Neither of us had ever been to Memphis before, so we felt compelled to explore Graceland. When I checked the entrance fees online, I was shocked. The most basic package only allowed access to the mansion and cost $40 each. From there, package add-ons could push the price all the way to $160 per person. Even though I had been a huge Elvis fan when I was 10, we were tempted to skip it. We often skip these over-priced tourist traps but this time we wanted to be able to answer Yes to the inevitable question “Did you go to Graceland?”. We chose the $60 package which got each of us into the Mansion and the Elvis Experience, a fairly new set of museums dedicated to various phases of Elvis’s life.
Graceland
The tour started with the mansion, which was much smaller than I expected. The décor varied between opulent 60’s style glam (it was interesting to be reminded of what was considered state of the art technology back then) and a weird jungle style with green carpet even covering the walls. As I mentioned, the house was really not very big and the whole upstairs level was off limits. We were told that was because “it was the family’s private quarters”. What?? They are still using that space? (of course – Elvis lives). Why would they not include the whole house? Very odd and disappointing (disappointing is relative. I don’t think we would have gotten much more out of the tour by seeing the bedrooms but it would have made the tour longer and therefore we might have perceived more value for our $40). The exterior was nicely maintained and there were some outbuildings we toured, as well as his gravesite. That done, it was back on the bus and across the street to the “Experience”. This was a series of large buildings covering different memorabilia collections including his motorized vehicles, the army years, Vegas and other touring costumes, movies and the extensive wall of his gold and platinum records. There was even a recreation of his first recording studio and a large theater that showed non-stop Elvis movies. It was well done, but I was bored after an hour, I mean how much Elvis do you really need? If we had only booked the Mansion, we would have really felt ripped off. The museums helped, but we both felt the cost was exorbitant.
Bill found us a community Greek Festival, which was fun. He loves Gyros and Baklava and they also had a great selection of other pastries (and we all know how much Dessa loves her pastries). He also found a cool app called Big City Hunt (They bill it as a scavenger hunt but it is really more of a self-guided walking tour) which we did. It was a nice way to spend a few hours getting to know the city and it took us to some of the sites we would have probably missed, such as the Lorraine Motel where MLK was shot.
Bill’s New Tat
For reasons unknown, Bill decided he now wanted a Tattoo (it was actually more a case of finally deciding on something I wanted permanently etched on my body) so I found a place that was open before he could change his mind. It was actually pretty romantic, he tattooed part of a poem he had included in his wedding vows to me (the romance only marginally diminished by the poem being from The Lord of the Rings and the Tattoo being in Elvish).
Next stop was Nashville, where we discovered that Memphis is definitely the poor cousin. While Memphis was a little edgier (and dirtier), Nashville was much nicer. Thursday’s, they hold Street Eats where up to 20 food trucks show up to feed the down town lunch crowd on a blocked off street. We love a good food truck meal so off we went for tasty bites and to wander some sites. After a lot of walking, I wanted some Chick-Filet ice cream and when I looked up to place my order, I discovered the server was named Dessa. This is the first time I have ever met someone with my name.
Lower Broadway is the ‘Beale Street’ of downtown Nashville. It is several blocks lined with restaurants and Honky Tonks, and it was crowded. So many things going on, mobile bars (pedal powered and motorized), unique limos, multi-level clubs with packed balconies and roof top bars (and you couldn’t turn around without bumping into a bachelorette party). On Saturday morning, we went back downtown for a walking tour (our tour guide was informative but her ‘over the top’ energy level was a little annoying – I’d rather have done another Big City Hunt). She shared a lot of the history of Broadway, and ended the tour at the Goo Goo candy shop, where they gave out lots of samples. After lunch we hit several of the Honky Tonks where live music often starts as early as 10am and by early afternoon they were already filling up. Several of the clubs are icons that have been around for decades but more and more of the clubs are now owned by current C&W stars.
Broadway
The Grand Ole Opry is an obvious must do (even if it is also a tourist trap). I waited too long to get tickets to anybody I had heard of, but we went anyway for the experience. Apparently, we were there on Old-Timers Night, because most of the acts had been performing at the Opry for 50+ years. Although most of the music wasn’t to our taste, it was interesting. They broadcast the show live and have been doing so since 1925. Between acts the MC (who looked even older than most of the acts) read sponsored ads. Our favorite, which they repeated over and over was for “Kentucky Kernel”. It is a seasoned flour that allows you to make KFC-like fried chicken at home (they even have an old guy with a white goatee for their logo, but they have been around since 1810 so KFC may have copied them). Some of the acts told jokes, and the unknown newcomers were pretty good, and the final act was Larry Gatlin and friends.
Shelby Farms Park is one of the largest urban parks in the US. At 4500 acres, it is five times the size of Central Park in NYC and encompasses lakes, public pools and even has a resident Bison herd. It was perfect spot for a day off from sightseeing to enjoy some nature on our bicycles.
Based on the recommendation from our walking tour guide we tried a local food specialty in Nashville – hot chicken. Slow Burn Hot Chicken was near our RV resort and had 4.6 stars on Google so off we went for dinner one night. Hot Chicken as it turns out is fried chicken where the flour mix is very spicy. For Bill’s sake, we went with a medium spice. It was delicious and plenty hot (I actually preferred the Hot Shrimp and can’t imagine what the hottest flavor would be like – which was 3 spice levels above what we ordered). We both liked Nashville better than Memphis but enjoyed the music culture of both. Neither of us has ever been much of a C&W fan, but it’s starting to grow on us (the newer stuff not the plucking and twanging from the Opry).
Our next stop after Nashville was Deal’s Gap in the Smokey Mountains so we could ride the Tail of the Dragon (the #1 motorcycle ride in the US with 318 turns in only 11 miles) a destination we had both looked forward to for years. As we headed that way, we learned that my Mom needed surgery. She had been admitted to the hospital the day before we left Nashville for some tests but the gang of doctors had now decided she needed surgery. I bought a last-minute flight home from Knoxville and Bill stayed with the trailer.
Bill Riding the Dragon
Scenic and challenging, the Tail of the Dragon comes with lots of cautions and still has a history of accidents, many fatal. At the end of the ride there is actually a “Tree of Shame” where parts from all the crashed bikes are collected. Bill rode it twice, and said it was fantastic. I am still unhappy about missing it, so I have asked him not to mention it anymore. He’s promised to work Deal’s Gap into our itinerary on our way back home in October so I can ride it too.
On the bright side, my mom sailed through her surgery with flying colors and I was able to rejoin Bill a week later in Kansas City.
More on that next time…
See our pictures here https://www.flickr.com/photos/bill_and_dessa/albums/72157692754141110
5182 Tigua
Have fun! Brings back many of our travel memories.
Cousin, Joanna