Blue Suede Shoes

TOP: Dinner in Memphis...my first though when thinking of cullinary excellence

2nd: Clarence, Kay, Lumpy, and Kathy hanging with the rich folks at Erlang restaurant

3rd: A current police cruiser in Mississippi...really

4th: The highpoint of Kentucky

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Today we got an early start for our first big drive of the trip...Dayton O-H-I-O to Memphis, Tn. We're crossing half of O-H-I-O, katy-corner through all of Kentucky, and katy-corner through all of Tennessee. A long drive, but some beautiful countryside. Kathy went immediately into "deep space corpse mode"; about mid afternoon she finally awoke, and took a good drive for about 3 miles through Nashville.

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In Louisville we stopped for breakfast and drove over to Churchhill Downs, where they have the Kentucky Derby. Now, I'm not a big horse racing fan, but you have to appreciate something that has been a national athletic spectacle for over a hundred years. The track was far bigger than I imagined, sited astride the U of Louisville campus, and numerous cheap smoke shops.

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Nashville has grown substantially since we were last there some 15 years back (the year the STOLE my beloved Houston Oilers....). We also swung though Mississippi as Kathy had to get that state yet in our quest for "50 by 50". Mississippi was kinda sad, just endless cotton fields, RV stacked up at the local gambling joints, and very poor looking people. Probably won't be spending a lot of time hanging out there anytime soon.

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We made Memphis in time for dinner, and hooked up with old buddy Clarence and his lovely wife Kay. I had not met Kay before, and she was not only a lovely gal, but quite the entertainer. You have to love a wife who relentlessly breaks her husband's chops. For some reason, she and Kathy hit it off...wonder what THEY had in common????

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The restaurant (Erlanger?) was absolutely outstanding, certainly nothing that I expected from the BBQ capital of the nation. I had wild boar chops, and they were incredible. We spent probably 3-4 hours over dinner, catching up on lives, discussing the world at large, and listening to the wild boars being slaughtered out back. The boar-screams were quite something.

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We bedded down with our bellies full, and visions of Little Rock in our heads....how's that for a Yankee nightmare!

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"Love Me Tender: Lumpy out