On our drive from Fort Worth to Santa Fe yesterday, we just had to stop at the Cadillac Ranch along the old Route 66 in Amarillo, TX. I wish I were a kid again. Guilt-free graffiti is so much fun…
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Day 4 — Memphis here we come…
Sunday, June 14th — Checked out and drove around to the back to sit in the car and use the hotel’s wireless to book a hotel in Memphis. Ended up deciding to skip Nashville and head straight to Memphis as looked like it was going to be the best bet out of the two cities. I think we chose wisely. Besides, we didn’t want to get too behind on schedule.
Our drive through Tennessee was beautiful. Was very surprised at how green the whole state was. Long rolling hills through the last of the Appalachian Mountains. As we got closer to Memphis the terrain flattened out a lot—and the temperature a bit hotter.
After our long day of driving, we checked into a hotel near Graceland. The top lock on the hotel door was broken and looked like someone had knocked the door in. And on the far side walls there appeared to be several patched up bullet holes (or whatever they were), a fresh coat of paint, and bits of sanded plaster on the floor. Not a good sign, but we chose to pretend as if we didn’t notice. Emma was better at this than I was. Felt a bit anxious after realizing we weren’t in a nice part of the city—but after jumping in the car to head down to Beale Street it turns out that there really aren’t many nice parts of the city. But hey, we were in Memphis!
Beale Street was awesome. I guess it’s like a mini Bourbon Street—pedestrians only and lined with blues bars, clubs, and drinking in the streets—even on a Sunday night. Grabbed dinner at Rum Boogie and soon discovered that our table near the front of the stage was the perfect location for when the band came on.
They played a bit of blues, but ended up turning into what can only be described as a wedding band. Looking around the place, it was tourist central. Older couples from out of town, and drunk couples in their 40s pretending to dance. But it was great. Asked for the “local beer” and all they had was Blue Moon. Technically, it is their only local beer, even though it’s no longer brewed in Memphis. Had a black and tan instead—then two more.
By the time we left, Beale Street was a lot quieter than when we started. Went back to the hotel to wake up early for our visit to see Elvis at Graceland.
Day 5 — Graceland!
M
onday, June 15th — It’s always been Emma’s dream to visit Graceland, and I was told by several friends before the trip that it’s well worth the visit—even for those of us who aren’t big Elvis fans. It didn’t disappoint.
At every turn there was a gift shop (at the attractions across the street from the mansion), and I almost bought a kitchen magnet with an Elvis recipe for peanut butter and banana sandwiches—almost. Emma bought pink Cadillac earrings. Appropriate, of course.
Memphis was so hot and humid that we just about melted, so after Graceland we headed back to the hotel for a nap before heading back down to Beale Street. Ended up at B. B. King’s club for more music and food. Band was much better than the night before. Had a blast.
Walked down along the Mississippi before dinner to grab a few photos before sunset. Neither of us had ever seen the river before. Didn’t realize how huge it really was until seeing it in person. Lots of mud too. And boats. The sunset was gorgeous.
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Saturday, June 13th — We packed the car and headed for the Wegmans in Fairfax to load the cooler with food to save some money on the trip.
Back in the car, we headed South toward the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was a little hesitant to do this because the parkway is nearly 500 miles long and winds down through the mountains, but Emma’s guidebook said it was absolutely gorgeous…and it certainly was.
I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was to drive through the mountains at over 4,000 feet at times.
The mountains are long and skinny, and the parkway takes you up and down over the crest many, many times for some of the best views I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t believe it.
After 100 miles on the 45 mph parkway, we cut west back to I-81 by driving down the western side of the mountains on a roller-coaster ride of a road—scary, but fun. I swear we ended up going in circles a few times. The “Not Recommended for RVs” sign was put there for a reason.
On I-81 we drove South toward Nashville, which cuts through Virginia diagonally. Didn’t think we’d ever get out of that state—it went on forever.
By about 9pm I figured we’d try to just make it over the Tennessee border and find a hotel for the night. About 30 minutes into the state we found a hotel halfway before hitting Knoxvile.
We couldn’t decide whether to hit both Nashville and Memphis on the next leg of our journey, but we were too tired to think about it. Sleeping was more important…
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Well, I meant to write a post every day, but the trip has been so crazy fun that I’m a bit behind—we’ve already driven over 2,500 miles and are in Santa Fe, New Mexico at this point.
So anyway, here’s the first post of my wrap-up of our amazing cross-country road trip! More (much more) to come later…
Day 1 — Here we go…
Thursday, June 11th — A few months ago my friend Emma from London wanted to take a trip to the States. She’s been over to visit before, but this time it was to do something different other than just roaming around NY.
Los Angeles was her top choice, so we came up with the grand idea of a road trip across America. I’ve never seen the “inner” part of the US and only the East and West coasts, so the decision was made and the planning began. I needed a nice long break from my life as a PhD student. By far, it definitely was the right choice to make…
She arrived in NYC on Tuesday, June 9th and wanted to get some shopping out of her system, so I figured I’d let her go at it for a couple days before driving the rental car down from Syracuse to pick her up en route to Washington, DC.
Thursday morning I packed up the car with Ian—who was going to get a ride back to Harrisburg from the city the next day—and made it to New York just in time for her hotel checkout time at 11am. Threw her things in the car and drove to Washington, DC—finally arriving by late afternoon.
Checked into our hotel in College Park, Maryland and then jumped back in the car for quick night tour of the National Mall to see the monuments and buildings, which was beautiful. She was exhausted by then—and so was I—so we headed back to the hotel.
Day 2 — Washington, DC
Friday, June 12th — We woke up early…kind of (in time for the free breakfast). Walked to the DC Metro, which got us into the city to walk the National Mall during the day. Bright blue skies and sunny!
Got a bit burned, but I haven’t seen sun like that in awhile so didn’t mind at all. Oh, and thank you, DC Metro, for your A/C trains—much appreciated.
We ran around inside the National Air and Space Museum, which I’ve seen probably 5 or 6 times before, but it’s better every time—it’s my favorite. Seeing Space Ship One was worth it.
Many new exhibits and less construction than the last time I was there two years ago. As we headed out, we found a street creature walking on the manhole-moon. Highly appropriate. My apologies for the cars trying to drive over me while I took the photo.
We walked the full length of the Mall to the Washington Monument and down to the Lincoln Memorial with a quick stop at the WWII Memorial. Had a rest on the Lincoln Memorial steps and enjoyed the view. Couldn’t have asked for better weather either. Did a run around the Korean Memorial and Vietnam Wall too. Then the sun started to wear us down…
Unfortunately, we realized we were miles from the nearest Metro station. Ugh. Walked down Constitution Avenue on the North side of the Mall toward a station—according to my iPhone—but they had everything blocked off near The White House for some reason.
Had to take a long detour around the front side, but this put us at the perfect spot for photos. No complaints. My iPhone GPS kept saying we were on different streets—the buildings were blocking a good signal I think—and we ended up walking in multiple directions before finally stumbling upon the Metro Center station where we jumped on a train and was greeted by the oh-so-nice A/C once again. Yes, we were drained from the sun and certain death was upon us. Okay, that’s a lie. We just wanted a few adult beverages.
Found a restaurant near the hotel for dinner and drinks and had another good sleep before leaving the city in the morning.
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