Miles today: 320
Miles to date: 2018
Where are we again? Just outside Memphis, Tennessee
Fun fact: Tennessee has more firework warehouses than anywhere else in the world. No, we can't fathom why either.
The Day’s Events: Today has mostly been about travel. Either because we were in a new time zone, or because we found that last night we were in a ‘dry’ county and so couldn’t get a drink; we woke up early and zipped up the I 24 towards Nashville, past their Parthenon (!?), and onto the I 40 West towards Memphis, which is where we are now at – in a Knights Inn motel, opposite the airport.
So, today, we have replicated much of the manifest destiny of the American people i.e. we struggled to climb up the mountains of the Appalachian chain, out of the original 13 colonies, but eventually, just like the early settlers, we found a gap (sadly not the Cumberland Gap, but quite close). This also meant that we were on the most sharply curving Interstate in the US, but also one of the most scenic – all wooded mountains and dammed sections of the Tennessee River. Once we had descended, we were in the start of the farming country and, now, we have temporarily stopped at the banks of the Mississippi, and are wondering whether to ‘light out for the territories’.
We were a bit tired when we got here so Vikki took a nap while Malcolm tried to look ahead for hotels in St Louis, where we abandon the car; Denver, where we have to catch an 08.05 train; and Salt lake City, where we arrive at 11.00 at night.
So, not the most eventful of days, but we are adding to our collection of American motel chains, and we finally ate lunch at an American KFC – which is much nicer than an English KFC: you get a quarter of chicken, a bowl of coleslaw, mashed potatoes and gravy, and what they call variously milk or butter biscuits, which turn out to be scones- all for $4.59. Needless to say, we couldn’t eat it all.
Tonight we popped out, looking for an eatery that served alcohol, and, after three or four false starts, we lucked upon a nearby Holiday Inn ‘Select’ where we had a few drinks (see photo, above) – Jack Daniels (Vikki), Southern Comfort (also Vikki), Heineken (Malcolm) and Bud (both) – and some classic southern nosh – a southwestern grilled chicken cobb salad (Malcolm), and a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich (Vikki), that latter widely acknowledged to be a favourite of the King himself.
Speaking of the King, we’re excited to tell you that we’re booked on the 10.18am tour of Graceland tomorrow morning (all together now: Ah-huh-huh, hu, whoa yeah!), before we motor on to St Louis. Tell you all about it tomorrow.
Ted’s Photo Blog
A picture of me, Ted, a bit worse for wear after one too many Jack Daniels.
Miles to date: 2018
Where are we again? Just outside Memphis, Tennessee
Fun fact: Tennessee has more firework warehouses than anywhere else in the world. No, we can't fathom why either.
The Day’s Events: Today has mostly been about travel. Either because we were in a new time zone, or because we found that last night we were in a ‘dry’ county and so couldn’t get a drink; we woke up early and zipped up the I 24 towards Nashville, past their Parthenon (!?), and onto the I 40 West towards Memphis, which is where we are now at – in a Knights Inn motel, opposite the airport.
So, today, we have replicated much of the manifest destiny of the American people i.e. we struggled to climb up the mountains of the Appalachian chain, out of the original 13 colonies, but eventually, just like the early settlers, we found a gap (sadly not the Cumberland Gap, but quite close). This also meant that we were on the most sharply curving Interstate in the US, but also one of the most scenic – all wooded mountains and dammed sections of the Tennessee River. Once we had descended, we were in the start of the farming country and, now, we have temporarily stopped at the banks of the Mississippi, and are wondering whether to ‘light out for the territories’.
We were a bit tired when we got here so Vikki took a nap while Malcolm tried to look ahead for hotels in St Louis, where we abandon the car; Denver, where we have to catch an 08.05 train; and Salt lake City, where we arrive at 11.00 at night.
So, not the most eventful of days, but we are adding to our collection of American motel chains, and we finally ate lunch at an American KFC – which is much nicer than an English KFC: you get a quarter of chicken, a bowl of coleslaw, mashed potatoes and gravy, and what they call variously milk or butter biscuits, which turn out to be scones- all for $4.59. Needless to say, we couldn’t eat it all.
Tonight we popped out, looking for an eatery that served alcohol, and, after three or four false starts, we lucked upon a nearby Holiday Inn ‘Select’ where we had a few drinks (see photo, above) – Jack Daniels (Vikki), Southern Comfort (also Vikki), Heineken (Malcolm) and Bud (both) – and some classic southern nosh – a southwestern grilled chicken cobb salad (Malcolm), and a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich (Vikki), that latter widely acknowledged to be a favourite of the King himself.
Speaking of the King, we’re excited to tell you that we’re booked on the 10.18am tour of Graceland tomorrow morning (all together now: Ah-huh-huh, hu, whoa yeah!), before we motor on to St Louis. Tell you all about it tomorrow.
Ted’s Photo Blog
A picture of me, Ted, a bit worse for wear after one too many Jack Daniels.
7 comments:
Songs: obviously Graceland-Paul Simon, and Galway To Graceland-Richard Thompson (a very good tune).
Meant to mention about Jefferson and Monticello and the slaves; he had the intelligence to realise that considering what he had been involved in, freedom, independance etc, having slaves was a contradictory thing to do. However, rather like Virginia Woolf with domestic servants, he couldn't see a way round the problem, and changing the way he lived was of course not an option. There is a very good book about this, unfortunately I've forgotten the author, but the title was something like A Wolf By The Ears, maybe.
Why was changing the way he lived not an option? Tolstoy freed the serfs on his family estate in Russia, I believe.
10:18 is a very precise time - do they shuttle the fans through Graceland at strict 3-minute intervals?
And why do so many of your photos show you eating &/or drinking?
Tolstoy was sui generis, tortured, and later in life not a little mad. Jefferson was a man of his times, so the thinking was not, "how can I change my life so that I no longer need slaves?", but rather "how can I maintain my lifestyle without slaves", and the latter was impossible, for him, so he had slaves, and a guilty conscience.
The book about Jefferson is called The Wolf By The Ears by John Chester Miller, yours for a very cheap £1.50 on Alibris. Its good, or seemed so when I read it 25 years ago.
Anyway I'm going to report you (Malcolm and Vikki that is) to Social Services, I don't think you're fit guardians for that poor bear. At the very least I hope you send him to rehab when you get home.
I just discovered you've picked a momentous week to visit Graceland. it's Elvis Week in Memphis, this year marking the 30th anniversary of his premature demise. See http://boogiewoogieflu.blogspot.com/2007/08/walk-mile-in-my-shoes.html for more.
I stopped eating at KFC after learning how their chickens are treated. Look at www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com or just Google "kfc cruelty to chickens" for numerous horror stories.
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