DAY 8 & 9

DAY 8 MAY

I went down to Beale Street to get Big Red, where he had partied late last night. We took off around 6:30 to get out of town before all the traffic started. Took about an hour or so to get away from the urban area, but it would not be until late into the day before we really got on to rural roads with little traffic.

We stopped in Humbolt, TN for breakfast. The "table" must have had about 20 chairs at it and there were several tables with 8 or more people at it. I had to answer the "questions" about 6 or 7 times before I could get away. Very nice people, but too many retired people with nothing to do made it hard to get away. Finally, when Steve was half way through his life story I had to start up and just drive away.

If I stayed on this highway it would take me straight to where this trip ends next month.

I saw lots of tornado damage in Alabama and Mississippi where trees had been twisted off and roofs ripped off.  Here I saw lots of sporadic wind damage with the trees pushed over and roof damage from mainly shingles blown off.

Yesterday I went to a movie and left Big Red in the parking lot.  Today, he decided he wanted to go to the movie.  It took a bit to convince him we would have to wait about 10 hours before he would get to see Kungfu Panda 32.

We stopped to watch a train go by in Madison, a small town that was defunct.

Pretty well explains why Madison is out of business.

My only U turn today was get back to a Shaker village.  I had heard of Shakers but really knew nothing about them.  Shaker is a name given to them by outsiders because in their church they shook their hands in the air.  The religion was founded by women in England who moved to America in 1776 and founded their headquarters in New York state.  In the early 1800's they sent a  group to establish a "village" in Kentucky.  At its peak, it had 320 members and over 6000 acres.  They equated work with worship and the more you could work, you could produce, the more you worshiped.  They embraced all the new technologies and had the first indoor bathroom, first electricity with their own generator, and the first car in this part of Kentucky. You had to be celibate to be a member and the women slept on one side of the building and the men on the other. It is a very interesting study to me.  The average life span in the 1800's was 55, but for the Shakers was 75. Many things, from the civil war to the industrial revolution, ended this Shaker village.  It was disbanded and auctioned off in 1922.  The 22 members were offered to move to another Shaker village or $10,000, a princely sum back then. Seven of the nine members took the money.

 mike, the tour guide

next to the shaker village is the brothers of mercy monastery, not related to shakers

Our plan was to stay rural but under the threat of tornadoes we diverted to Bowling Green.  That was a mistake.  All the hotels are at an interstate and not very appealing.  Hopefully, they will come earlier than forecast tomorrow and we can move on.

View Larger Map

DAY 9 MAY

The storm blew through about 11:30 last night.  I stood in the window and watched Big Red, nervous that he might blow over.  The winds were strong but we were down in a hole and though rain beat against the window, Red stayed up.

This morning was a mix of blue skies and dark skies.  I decided that I could hit the road and stay dry. There are lots of big old houses in Bowling Green and it was a pretty clean city. We did a lot of riding on county roads today  and it was beautiful.  Perfect weather with perfect twisty roads.

 i was trying to get big red in front of this for a photo

 i did not get there but did come across this sign

 turtle save

 saved this one, but he did not like it at all

 but today is thursday

I had to get on US62 to head in the direction of Lexington.  It was OK, but nothing like the roads I had been on.  I stopped in Elizabethtown looking for a "Gucci" coffee.  I talked to Mr. Vanoy for awhile.  He is the town's "meter maid".  He retired from the banking business and was enjoying his second career. He recommended I try the Cobbler Cafe just around the corner. It was a find. Anna was the Barrister and Samantha was the other customer.  We talked weather, that they are ready for spring to be gone with all the storms, that their's is a dry county which Samantha was for but Anna wanted her beer.  Anna gave us the history of the building that dates from the 1800's when it had been the office and home of a doctor. When the present owner took it over in 2004 they found a closed off cellar that had lots of old doctor stuff. She explained that you could tell the brick layer by the way the bricks were laid. Each had his own signature in the way they laid the brick.

.

After having the "Gucci" coffee, bean soup and cornbread, I continue to Bradstown

too bad i am on the scooter

More rain moved through the area and there were tornado warnings, but by the time I was ready to go, the skies had cleared. My intent was to press on to Lexington, but I missed a turn and the road and country were so nice I just stayed on it.  Finally I did a U turn and made my way back to Bradstown Quality Inn.
There is nothing Quality about this damn place.  I got caught in the points trap and have been staying at Choice Hotels because if you stay 2 nights you get 1 night free. Well, that is not totally true. You know how they trick you. As soon as I get my free rooms, I am done with this chain. The quality of properties is just too inconsistent.

View Larger Map

DAY6 & 7

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 

View Larger Map

DAY 4 & 5

DAY 4 MAY 21

"Ken, why are you going to Vicksburg?" Got that question a lot. I rolled into Vicksburg last year after 7 hours of riding in 100+ heat.  The Corners Mansion was a oasis from the stifling heat.  Macy handing me a frozen margarita sure implanted pleasurable memories in my mind.  The history of the town, that Macy told me over the cooling drink, really peaked my interest.  It was a very important town in our history even before the Civil War. The battle of Vicksburg was really interesting to me.  I had never heard about the Yankees trying to divert the Mississippi river by digging a canal.  They were not successful, but mother nature was, about 10 year later. I am not a big war buff, but some things catch my interest.  So, to satisfy that interest, I am back and visiting the Vicksburg National Park and Cemetery.
The day started with breakfast prepared by Joe and served by John. If I would have known how much walking I was going to do in the park and having to lug the breakfast with me, I would not have indulged quite as much.

I spent several hours touring the park.  It is a beautiful setting and I recommend it to all. And not crowded today.

On the way to the park, we passed these 2 lovely ladies and before I knew what was happening, Big Red had done a U turn and was all soaped up.

In the afternoon Macy invited me to tag along for a boat ride on the Mississippi. She explained it as a "once in a lifetime opportunity.  How often do you get ride on the Mississippi when it is at record flood stage?"
The Sweet Olive's normal dock was tied to a tree to keep it from floating away downtown. To board, we had to go up the river, normally about a 5 minute ride, but due to flooding, turned into a 20 minute ride over the hill and through the dale and a walk down the railroad track. It was a fun ride, but now I have to come back to compare what the "normal" river looks like.

 this a 500 car parking area

 macy photoing her house

DAY 5 MAY 22

Today started with a detour due to flooding.  This whole day was great for riding.  I took a lot of county roads and there was almost no traffic.  It was so desolate, that I would go 20 miles or so and not see a car or a church or sign to a church.  That is almost unheard of in the south. The roads were paved, but some of the roughest I have been on with a washboard effect.

 built in 1929 and that may have been the last maintenance it saw

I stopped in Bentonia to see the Blue Front Cafe. This is one of the most famous Delta Blues places in Mississippi and the home of Johnny "Duck" Holmes who I had the great pleasure of seeing recently in St. Pete.

"Ken, why did you go to Yazoo City?"  Because I have always wanted to go there just because I like saying the name.  YAAAZOOOOO!!.  I decided to have breakfast while we were there and pulled into the Howell's restaurant. It was long on Jesus and friendly but real short on cooking.  It was the worst breakfast in memory.  The boys sitting under the cross were the local Harley riders talking of oil leaks, mods etc., when one said "I'd go on them long rides if I had a stereo and cruise control".  Me and Red chuckled at that.

I did my first turtle save today.

I hate it when your bridge is bad and you have take away it's toys.

The plan was to stay in Oxford, the home of Ole Miss U, but after riding around I found it interesting but not worth stopping at 2 pm.  If some of the little cabin B&B's just outside of town had been available, it would have been OK.  Instead, I pushed on to Tupelo and the birth place of the King....Elvis.

169 miles 9 hours

View Larger Map