I am swapping out my sweetner to Truvia for 30 days. To learn more about this, click here!
Going To Alabama VIII
Today was a resting day. We slept late, then went out to breakfast. On the way home, we stopped in to the local independently owned grocery store. Going to the grocery store in a new location is one of my favorite things to do–you never know what you’ll see in there in there. While the basics are the same in every part of the country because everyone eats eggs, bacon, bread, and tomatoes, it’s the local or regional things I like to see. They had chicken feet and pigs feet in this one, as well as fresh catfish and buffalo, a local fish.
In Utah, I couldn’t find turnip greens of any description–not frozen, canned, or fresh. And okra? In Flagstaff, they had some but it was $6.99 a pound, and the produce guy told me it was a “gourmet item”! When I asked for pimento cheese spread in Kanab, they looked at me like I was crazy. When I went it the Gene Stimson’s Big Star in West Memphis, Arkansas today, I found all of these, plus some in store made pork sausage, and some mustard greens. I was in Southern Girl heaven!
I brought my purchases home and cooked up a big pot of greens. I put in the turnip greens, mustard greens, the lacinato kale that I bought in Flagstaff, a bunch of fresh parsley, a bunch of green onions, a jalapeno pepper, two yellow onions, and some garlic salt and pepper. A big hunk of salt pork for seasoning, then let it simmer all afternoon. With fried okra and a pan of cornbread, it was a most tasty meal to eat on the banks of the Mississippi River.
Going To Alabama VII
We got up this morning and headed out to Memphis. We have passed through several times, but have never taken the time to go and actually see Memphis until today. The first stop was at the Arcade Restaurant. It is the oldest restaurant in Memphis, being in business since 1919.
It was jam packed on a Sunday morning. There were lots of Japanese tourists there–apparently the Japanese are big fans of blues and Elvis. Scenes from “The Mystery Train”, one of my favorite movies, were filmed here!
Breakfast was the ususal two eggs over medium, hash browns, and bacon with coffee, but the atmosphere was great! Loved it! And of course, we sat at the counter. For some reason I just love sitting at the counter for breakfast.
We had a great time, a good breakfast, and lots of the spirit of Memphis by eating here.
And doesn’t he look soooo happy? That is priceless!
After breakfast, we drove over to Beale Street. That area is best experienced at night, but we were too tired last night to go. Our first real date was at the Blues Harbor Cafe in Underground Atlanta. That club is no longer there, but we had such a wonderful time there. And we discovered that we both enjoy blues music there. Being on Beale street like going back in time (sort of).
We walked from one end to the other, enjoying every moment of it. There is no way to tell you about all the smells and sights we saw. There were lots of restaurants, serving up soul food, seafood, barbecue, steaks, tamales–you could find just about anything you want to eat on that one street! And someone singing or playing the blues in every restaruant.
Loved this sign: “First Chance For a Drink–next chance 25 feet”
OK, so we only had a little bit of time, so about 2 and a half hours after breakfast, we ate again at The King’s Palace Cafe. We both ordered the King’s Specialty Shrimp–shrimp stuffed with jack cheese, wrapped in bacon, and baked. It came with sauteed squash and rice pilaf. And it was delicious!
This was so delicious, it tasted like heaven on a plate. I may have to recreate it at home. What’s not to love about shrimp and bacon?
Love the lobby of the Daisy Theater–just look at that gorgeous red and gold domed ceiling!
The Walk of Fame on Beale Street–this one is for Sam and Dave! How many times did I dance to their tunes when I was a young girl??
Find all your old tunes on CD here–it was a trip back in time to walk in there!
The King of Blues! BB King’s Blues Club on Beale Street. We went in there and stayed a couple of hours. It was great! We were treated to some blues music by Morris Moore. A Japanese woman sitting next to me told me she was here on a tour, and was so happy to see him playing here, because he is very famous in Japan. Here’s your RV minute for today:
FabGrandpa bought one of their CD’s, and the band all signed it for him.
After a couple of sets, we had to go, but not before we ordered a rack of barbecued ribs to go, to take home for dinner. And I have to tell you, that even though we pigged out today, those ribs were finger licking good!
Going To Alabama VI
While we were getting ready to leave the KOA in Sallisaw this morning, our neighbor on the next sit struck up a conversation with FabGrandpa. The guy asked where we were headed, and FG said “Memphis.” The neighbor guy told us about a campground right on the river in West Memphis, saying it was a very nice park and he recommended it. So, I called Tom Sawyer RV Park and made a reservation. I was excited about it all day! Imagine having the Mississippi River in your back yard!
The scenery changed again as we crossed into Arkansas. From the gently rolling hills of Oklahoma, it transitioned into hazy mountains off in the distance.
In some places the vegetation looked more like our home state of Georgia, with oaks and pines along the sides of the highway.
No more wind farms here–they use steam power to generate their electricity here.
That’s probably because there is a lot more water here than we have seen in days. The farther east you go, the more water there is. We crossed several lakes and rivers today.
Little Rock was nothing like Oklahoma City! This is the extent of the traffic we saw there today.
Part of my job in the truck is to keep the driver entertained, comfortable, and happy. Looks like I accomplished that today!
Once we got past Little Rock, the landscape became mostly flat farm land again. Looks like they grow a lot of corn, soybeans, cotton, and sorghum around here.
After days in the truck, you do get a little bored from time to time. Here, I was messing with different settings on the camera to come up with this interesting photo of the road ahead.
Those people passed up flying! The trailer was swaying side to side like crazy. I know they must have been going about 85 miles an hour. We try to keep it under 65. That trailer is just like ours.
We got off I-40 at exit 271, and took US 70 east to S 8th Street in West Memphis. This is the entrance road to Tom Sawyer RV Park.
They aren’t kidding about being right on the river! this is looking out my kitchen window! This is so great!
The sites along the river have level concrete pads–full hook ups and free laundry facilities for $33 per night. We’re staying 3 nights here.They do Good Sam discounts, too.
I took my camera and tri-pod to the river bank and sat on the bench there. This is view of where I-40 crossed over the Mississippi about 12 miles away. While this is not a very clear shot, I think it is pretty dang good for the cheap camera I have.
And here is our trailer, all set up, on the Mississippi River in Arkansas. I love this life!
Going To Alabama Day V
As you can see from the photo of this beautiful SUNRISE, that mean old FabGrandpa made me get up before the sun came up today. What the heck is up with THAT? I’m on vacation, I think! We left the West 40 RV Park in Shamrock right after 8:00 a.m. so we could go to town and buy a tire to replace the one that blew out yesterday. C & H Supply was right off of Hwy 66 in downtown Shamrock. They sell tires, feed, and some sort of deterrent for horn flies.
The guys at C & H got our tire mounted and put one in about 30 minutes. $125 later, we were on our way. We went about three blocks down the road to 66 Shop, a diesel repair shop the guy at C & H recommended to FabGrandpa. Although we had the fuel hoses changed and a new fuel pump installed in Kanab less than a month ago, we still had a fuel leak on the truck. Butch at 66 Shop came out to the truck, which we had to park on the street, and fixed it for us. The top of the fuel filter was loose, he tightened it up, and did it for no charge. What a guy!
Gotta love small town America! Shamrock, Texas, on I-40 & Route 66, population 2029.
And so, we finally got out of town at 9:17 a.m., new tire, fuel leak fixed, headed into Oklahoma.
And I know you can’t see this much, but that is the Welcome To Oklahoma sign. The sun was shining right behind it, so the photo didn’t turn out very good, but trust me, that is it.
This is Oklahoma, just across the line. It looks a lot greener than Texas, that we just left. Also, Oklahoma has some rolling hills. I always thought Oklahoma was flat as a pancake. I guess I was wrong about that.
Just some scenery in Oklahoma:
And suddenly, we were in Oklahoma City. Lots of cars. Big buildings, Too much traffic. Ahhhhhhh! I have forgotten what it was like to be in so much traffic.
But we made it through, and out the other side intact. The next big city we encounter will be Memphis, on Monday. Not looking forward to that at all. Here’s some more of Oklahoma City:
We ate lunch at Cracker Barrel somewhere east of Oklahoma City. When we got back on the highway, it was under construction for several miles. They had closed one whole side of I-40, and routed the traffic onto the lane next to us, going the other way. That always scares me because it looks like those big trucks are coming right at us!
We decided to call it a day in Sallisaw, Oklahoma instead of going all the way in to Ft. Smith. It was only another 38 miles, but it was getting late and we just wanted to get off the road. The KOA here is pretty nice–the spot we got was really level, too.
I was surprised that as late as it is in the season, the leaves haven’t fully changed here. This maple is about half way.
Caught the sunset here in Sallisaw. Yep, before sun-up, til after sun-down. That FabGrandpa is a slave driver!
I had a great video of a wind farm but I couldn’t get it uploaded to You Tube. If I can get it up there tomorrow, I will post it later.
Going To Alabama IV
We started out the day climbing up those Sandia Mountians at Albuquerque. After less than half an hour, we were on flat land again. And it stayed flat most of the day.
Evidently, New Mexico does not have any laws against having billboards on the side of the highway. There seemed to be groves of them:
We saw several wind farms off in the distance. This modern windmill is in Tucumcari, New Mexico:
After we filled up the truck at Flying J in Tucumcari, FabGrandpa decided to drive over the scales. Ooops, maybe I DO have a tad too much fabric after all. Hmmm, I’ll toss groceries first if push comes to shove. We’re still under, but can’t buy anything else!
So, we officially left New Mexico and crossed over into Texas. New Mexico is one of the only states I have been in that has a sign telling you you are leaving:
It’s a good thing they told us, because west Texas was more of the same flat landscape, for miles and miles.Here is your RV minute for today, showing just how flat and lonely it is out here. This is I-40, going east, west of Amarillo, Texas:
There were more wind farms closer to Amarillo. I especially like this photo of an old fashioned windmill with the wind farm in the background:
We made it through Amarillo before the five o’clock rush, which is great!
Because a few miles outside of town, we heard a POP! The rear driver’s side tire on the trailer blew out! We had to stop on the side of I-40 and change the tire! It was pretty scary out there with all those trucks whizzing by! This was the same tire that blew out the first time we were going to Arizona in April of 2008 (well, not the same tire, but in the same position on the trailer) Wonder what is up with that?
We made into Shamrock, Texas to the West 40 RV park just at sunset:
I made us a “Road Trip Seafood Platter” for dinner: Tuna salad with avocado, smoked oysters, pear salad, and crackers. I had Glutino gluten free, he had Ritz. Yummy!
My, Ahem, Skin Condition
I know that some of you will see this and think, OMG, this is TMI. But I am writing this to give a heads up to other women like me who are having a, ahem, little problem with a rash that won’t go away.
This rash started back in November, 2009, when we went to Alabama last year. I thought at first that I had gotten into some chiggers (Look it up, if you aren’t from the south. They are little red bugs that live in tall grass and weeds, and if they get into your clothing, they will bite you and make you itch like crazy). So, I doctored myself with some triple antibiotic cream,and rubbing alcohol, and nail polish and the rash and the itch did not go away.
I went to the Doctor in January, and while I was there, I told him about the rash and the itch, and he prescribed an ointment for me to use. I used the whole tube up, and it did not help. I was still itching, and itching in more places. So, when we got to Flagstaff in April, I went to the doctor again. I had to take my pants off and show myself to a strange male doctor. He prescribed yet another ointment, one that cost me $56 for a teeny tiny tube of it. Again, I used THAT all up, and I still itched. By this time, I was itching in more places, like under my arms, and under my breasts–it felt like just everywhere. I have been miserable all summer. I have not been sleeping well, either due to this constant itch.
Yesterday when we were in Flagstaff, I went to the amedics clinic. I told them I was considering jumping from a moving truck on I-40 if I did not get some relief from the itching. I was joking of course, but just barely. This time I had a woman doctor, who seemed to be more attentive than the other doctors I had been to. She prescribed yet another ointment and a round of Diflucan tablets, one a day for ten days.
This skin condition I have, is a form of yeast infection. I have had those “other” yeast infections before, but I never had a clue that you could get a yeast infection of the skin. But that is exactly what I have. I am happy to say that for today, it is the first time in almost a year that I have not itched. The treatment that the doctor in Flagstaff prescribed is working. No jumping out of trucks for me!
Going To Alabama III
We got started late today, after a bite to eat at our favorite breakfast spot in Flagstaff, Miz Zip’s on Route 66. They really do have the best breakfast in town. Didn’t leave the KOA until about 10:00 a.m
This is one of my favorite signs in Flagstaff–either way you go, you’ll get to the Grand Canyon. Which way do you go??? We were headed east on I-40 towards Albuquerque, New Mexico, about 325 miles away. This is what we saw for the first three or so hours on the road:
Seriously, the scenery didn’t vary much from that. Occasionally there was a little hill, or some scrubby looking trees, but if you blinked, or even slept for an hour, you wouldn’t miss much. Things began to change as we got closer to New Mexico.
This is the Rio Puerco, or Pig River, in western New Mexico. There was actually a little water in it today because they had some rain yesterday.
I always love to see these old lava flows along the side of I-40 in Lavaland, New Mexico. Read more about them here.
Come and ride down the highway with us for a minute in New Mexico. I know you’ll enjoy the scenery: (the conversation in the truck at that time was about a guy at the fuel stop. I was looking at “authentic” Navajo blankets that all had labels on them that said “Made in India”. The guy said, I have some more that I haven’t put out yet if you want to see them, I’ll get them. I told him I was not interested in “Made in India” blankets. He replied “If they were real Navajo blankets you wouldn’t be able to afford them. I wanted to ask him, “How do you know if I could afford them or not?”)
WE finally got into Albuquerque around 6:30 p.m as the sun was going down. It was a long day, so we were glad to see the campground when we got here. This isn’t a very good picture, but the best one that I had of the mountains in Albuquerque as the sun was going down–just gorgeous!
So, the third day is over with, and we are only 550 miles down the road. We have about 1200 or so more to go. See ya tomorrow.
