DAY 6 MAY 23
Tupelo....Unless you are a die hard Elvis fan or a civil war buff, you can probably skip this stop. If you are one of those, you can probably get by with 3 hours, if you eat lunch while you are there. It does have a Starbucks and I had coffee with 2 gentlemen, traveling separately, from California. One actually has a office in Tupelo, and has a new Porsche he keeps there. Why, I have no idea.
After getting the pictures at Elvis's grownin' up house we hit the road for Memphis. Not a lot going on and I had not seen anything of interest except a Kudzo control project. I saw a survey GPS tripod and turned down under a bridge to see what was going on. I met Mike and he told me that they are actually going to replace this bridge, built around 1930. It has wood supports and some of them are original. We chatted and he asked if I had seen the blue house. I asked what that was. He said it is a house in Holly Springs where a guy has thousands of Elvis memorabilia. This was a place I was looking for and could not find. Years ago when I had done a little research on the Elvis phenomena, I had come across mention of this "museum" and had seen a tour and interview on TV with the owner.
only people from the south will understand this
We saddled up and raced off for Holly Springs. The house was easy to spot. Unfortunately, the doorbell was gone and I could not get anyone to come to the door. The building had been pink, but recently painted blue. It has barbed wire all around it to protect the treasures.
I rode around the courthouse in the square in Holly Springs, like most old towns have. I pulled over and got out my map when a guy came out of one the buildings to look at the Vespa. He has 2 1100cc Yamahas. He begin to explain how dangerous "those little wheels" are. They are real dangerous in the turns he told me. Since this conversation was getting stupider the more he talked, I asked him for directions to Hwy 178. He asked where I was going, and he said I should just go on down here and get on the interstate. No, I wanted rural. OK then, you should turn around and go back about 25 miles north, out of my way, and get on Hwy 72 and it will take you right on into Memphis on 4 lanes. No, I want Hwy 178. He gave me more ideas and when I was about to pull away, finally, he said go down 4 lights and turn left and said "that used be just 78 when I was growing up." I guess his age at 40. Well, it was 3 lights and I was on my way.
Near Memphis I joined US78. I was not aware that it went by a HUGE railroad yard, FedEx logistic center and lots of warehouses. It was the largest train freight yard with about a dozen overhead container cranes the size you see in shipyards. This meant there were lots and lots of BIG trucks. I have no pictures as I was more concerned about about not getting squashed than recording it for history. After a few miles they had all gone different directions and I cruised on into downtown Memphis.
DAY 7 MAY 24
Today was rib tasting and Elvis. I have been to Graceland too many times, so today was just a photo op.
grilled peanut butter and banana
want a bite
these engines are so small compared to modern day ones
This is Susan Hinsley's nicely painted Vespa. She and her husband rode to Key West on Vespas last year to get married.
my new best friend
I have listened to some blues in Mississippi and here in Memphis. By far the best was Jamie Isonhood.
Jamie lives in Yazoo City and I saw him playing in Vicksburg. He is one of thousands of musicians who are great, but never hit a home run. Jamie at least got on base a few times. He and I visited between sets and I got to know a lot about his musical career. jamie isnhood
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