Days 16 &17- Memphis

 Day 16- Driving Mississippi- No really I spent 10 hours driving from New Orleans to Memphis via the nearly the entire state of Mississippi.  If I'd done it just on the HW, I could have kept it to 6 hours and 400 miles.  But straight through and fast aren't really the POINT of this road trip, so clearly that's not what I did.  Instead my route was 10 hours (including stops) and over 500 miles. 

Confederate Camel

Stop 1: Douglas the Confederate Camel Bet you didn't know the confederate army had a camel.  Well they did.  His name was Douglas and he is buried in Vicksburg, MS along with a whole slew of other members of the CSA (Confederate States of America) 

Stop 2: Blue Front Cafe-  I know they have an annual blues fest, that's probably worth the stop, but the cafe isn't.  It's filled with photos but no information or reference and looks like a strong wind could blow it over.  They look to sell t-shirts and soda pop and everyone inside is smoking- so not a pleasant place to spend much time. 

Stop 3: Little Zion Mission Baptist Church: Final Resting spot of Robert Johnson. I was the only person here and the place really made my skin crawl and the hair on the back of my neck stand up.   The 2 individuals present at his funeral- the man who dug his grave and the grave digger's wife, have identified this as the location of his grave. 

Robert Johnson Collage

    Dockery Farms, MS

Stop 4: Dockery Farms- Birthplace of Blues Music - Eerie place, just a bunch of buildings and a sign with a button that if you press it will pipe out blues music through hidden speakers. 

Stop 5: The Crossroads- The "proclaimed" spot where legend has it Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil to become a famous blues musician. 

Stop 6: Stovall Farms- Birth place of Muddy Waters (Please note the actual home is no loner on the property it is now in a museum) 

Dinner with my Cousin V- at Central BBQ.  YUMMY. I am excited to be in the neck of the woods where I can get my fill of BBQ. 

Staying with Family in Memphis Area

Day 17- Memphis with Meemaw --That's grandmother for those of you not from the south- she is Jon's grandma

Peabody Ducks, Peabody Hotel, Memphis, TN
    

Stop 1: Peabody hotel for the March of the Ducks.  On the list of things my father told me I should do.  It was cute.  Things you should do once and check off as done. 

Lunch: Huey's for a burger.  

Stop 2: National Civil Rights Museum @ The Lorraine Motel.  Meemaw is from Memphis and was working downtown the day Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed.  She shared some stories of her experiences with segregation in the south growing up. It was really nice to have some 1:1 dedicated time with just here. She had never done the museum before so it was nice to share that experience with her as well. 

National Civil Rights Museum Memphis, TN

The museum is very well done.  We took almost 3 hours to do it, and honestly I could have spent the whole day there. There was so much information and history not only of events but personal stories of the people who lived them.  The back ground provided on many of the foundational people in the civil rights movement really helped the stories come alive. It was extremely sobering to see the place where Dr. King spent his last few hours. If you are ever in the Memphis area I highly recommend a visit to the museum. 

Dinner: The Beauty Shop- Cute place use to be a beauty parlor, it still has hair dryers above some of the chairs.  Dinner was okay- mostly cared about the company (My wonderful extended in-laws on my husbands- mother's side).  Looks like a really cute brunch spot though if you're in the area.  

Photos with V at the I love Memphis sign

Stop 3: photos at the I 💓 Memphis sign with V.  So silly so much fun! 

Stop 4: DONUTS - From Gibsons.  We got ours for free, because V know's a girl. You don't have to do fancy stuff to be good, tonight I had a great raised chocolate donut. Not too sweet, super fluffy. Yum!

Gibson's Donuts

I have hit the "Wall" of my road trip.  That 500 mile/10 hour day on Sunday really wore me out.  I just want to curl up in a ball and rest. Thankfully that's what I get to do tomorrow- bad news I'll still have to drive 4 hours to get there.  I am so thankful to the family members that made this stop so much fun.  

Accommodation Review:  Okay I said I would not be reviewing family, but she asked for it, so here it is V. 

Pros: FREE, wifi included, Comfy (firm Bed), On suite bathroom, Free parking, Clean sheets, good (real bed) pillows, great tour guide, Neat private space, space in the fridge for beer, 

Cons: Steps to apt., Rest of apartment needed a good "Once over"   (I can't talk though my cleaning habits aren't great). 

But in all honesty it was so nice to spend time with J's family. I feel like I now know V and Meemaw much better now and it was so nice to get to really spend time with family.  

Signing off for now

-C