2014 Trip - Day 21 - Fraudulent Jelly Beans.

May I please begin todays entry with a warning for all jelly bean lovers.    Jellybean lovers beware.  There are fraudulent jellybeans in the confectionery aisle at the local supermarkets.  I made the mistake of placing my trust in a well known name and found myself coming off second best.  I had a hankering for jellybeans after the Bear had purchased a cheap packet at a gas station days ago, to which I helped myself to.  After they had been sitting in the glove box in the cold for a few days, they had developed a chewiness that I just love.  Given that jellybeans are usually dramatically sweet, the extra chewy texture somehow enhanced this and created the best jellybeans that I have ever tasted.  I wanted to replicate this!  When visiting yet another Walmart I looked in the candy aisles for some jellybeans but they did not have any of the cheaper budget brand packets.  They did have the Lifesaver brand ones (since when do Lifesavers make jellybeans?) which were reasonably cheap in any case.  Given the brand name, I figure that these jellybeans were going to be out of this world! A couple of days of these sitting in a cold glove box could only improve these and the end result would be simply outstanding!

Last night as we sat waiting for our flight to San Francisco, I decided to crack open the packet.  When I did this, the scent coming from the packet was ridiculously sweet. It was just beautiful.....a bit like a bowl full of aromatic fruit at Christmas time. I popped a single jellybean into my mouth (it is sacrilege to put more than one in your mouth at the same time!) and waited for it to start dissolving so that I could get that awesome sugar hit.  The wait was brief as my eyeballs rolled backwards, popped out and bounced off the window in front of . I nearly swallowed the said jellybean whole and choked on it. I spat the jellybean back out asking what the hell?  I popped another one in, and the same thing happened.  It was just like chomping down on a slice of ridiculously tart lemon.    I reviewed the packet of jellybeans to see what I might have missed, but there was nothing.  It just simply said that it contained many flavours.  It did not say anything about containing jellybeans that were enough to sour milk.    Mind you, I ate the damned packet because I am a pig.  I was a glutton for punishment.  Time and time again, I would put one in my mouth and have my tongue try to escape via one of my ears.  Its a good thing I like sour lollies.  But I just wanted a jellybean.  A normal, sickly sweet, almost crystallised jellybean.   So people....if you too are a jellybean freak....be careful at what you purchase.  There are jellybean packets out there that promote being the real deal, where as in fact they are fraudulent jellybeans!

Anyway, today was an absolutely glorious day in San Francisco.  There were probably not enough trannies around for my liking, but that was ok.  I got a huge buzz last time out of trying to work out who was a lady, who was a boy, or finally more importantly, a lady-boy!   We took a walk down to Pier 39 which was as awesome as I remembered it.  There were some cheeky seals playing about, some of which had the locals very well trained.   We didn't need to do the Alcatraz thing again.  We did want to get closer to the Golden Gate Bridge, so managed to achieve that.  We also drove up to "Twin Peaks" which gives an almost 360 degree view of San Francisco.  The sky was an overwhelming view which complimented San Francisco Bay very well.  I love San Francisco. I am disappointed that we wont have more time to spend here.

2014 Trip - Day 20 - Ok so these toilets got me again!

Just when I thought I had American loo's all worked out....I found....that I don't.   I know that I have been asked not to discuss my toilet issues....but hey!  This is MY blog.  If you don't like it...don't read it.

Today we flew from New Orleans to San Francisco.  As the flight didn't leave until after 5pm, we had a few hours to wait given the check out times at the hotel.  As it had been raining heavily we figured it would be warm and dry at the airport.  We had a supply of snacks on us; I had magazines and the Bear had his book (on 9/11 of all things); and we had our phones.  We had no doubt that we would be able to fill the hours.

The Bear and I set up camp and I left everything with him whilst I visited the ladies room.  I walked in and waited for a stall to become available.  When it did, I marched on in however noticed that the lady (????) before me had left wet toilet paper or something similar all over the seat.  I stood for approximately .007 of a second trying to figure out how the hell she did that, before backing up really quick.  I waited again, and went into the next available stall.  Bloody hell!  The same thing had happened!  The dirty woman left stuff all over the toilet seat.  I did this another 3 times for different stalls before figuring I couldn't wait any longer.  As it would be 2 hours before we boarded, I could not wait that time for a tinkle.

I enter the 6th stall and yes...you guessed it....there was we tissue all over the toilet seat.  Or was it?  I went further into the stall and could just make out that there was some green writing on the wall behind the toilet. I squinted really hard because I did not take my glasses in with me.   It read "Before us:  wave hand in front of green wall mounted sensor OR press green button for sanitary seat cover.  Stops automatically".  I looked desperately for a green wall mounted sensor however couldn't find one.  I started waving my arms around madly trying to set off a sensor however this proved to be useless.  I resorted to its next instruction, and pressed the green button.  Well bugger me with a fish fork......I have no idea how this happened but its was like the whole toilet seat started rotating, and whirred its way around to present an apparent "clean" part of the toilet seat cover.    This fascinated me so much I actually let out a squeal!  The previous 5 ladies did not leave wet toilet paper on the seat.  It is just something akin to a condom for a toilet seat!

Happy that I now had this all worked out, I figured I could finally have a tinkle, and went to sit down.  Now there is absolutely no warning that I could see that indicated that you should sit down carefully, due to the said toilet seat protector being so damned slippery.  I promptly slid to the right.  Fortunately for me my very ample left cheek somehow caught on the toilet seat and saved me from slipping onto the floor.  Thanks heavens for small mercies.    However, my slip gave me the opportunity to view the floor at an acute angle, and found that the floor was wet.  I am guessing that is because it had been pouring all day and people would have been coming and going with wet shoes.

I automatically pulled up the legs of my jeans, as I did not want to spend 5 hours on a plane with the bottom of the jeans saturated.  However the minute I was holding them up, I no longer had to hands to help me to stop slipping off the loo!  The only reasonable action that I could take to free up my hands, was to stick my feet up on the walls on either side of the stall. I looked like a star fish in the mid stages of rigor mortis.   I cannot possibly describe the remaining stressful minutes spent in the toilet!

I went back to the Bear, collected my phone, and marched back in to take a photo of this all.  I felt that there would be no possible way that I could describe this accurately....so wanted to show you with a photo!

Next stop.....San Francisco!

2014 Trip - Day 19 - Lord our timing is bad!!!

So we have managed to time it wrong (or right) yet again.  In the past we have landed ourselves in New York smack bang in the middle of a Thanksgiving Parade, or right in time for a record breaking snow storm.  We have placed ourselves in Memphis when tornados have struck for the first time in a long time.  We have now arrived in New Orleans on the day that the famous Mardi Gras is beginning.  Every man and his voodoo doll have turned up for this event, and that is apparent on the roads and the side walks.

The New Orleans Mardi Gras has been celebrated since 1699 (so you would assume we might have known about this!) when French explorer Iberville and his men explored the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico.

Note:  "But Mardi Gras roots predate the French. Many see a relationship to the ancient tribal rituals of fertility that welcomed the arrival of Spring. A possible ancestor of the celebration was the Lupercalia, a circus-like orgy held in mid-February in Rome. The early Church fathers, realizing that it was impossible to divorce their new converts from their pagan customs, decided instead to direct them into Christian channels. Thus Carnival was created as a period of merriment that would serve as a prelude to the penitential season of Lent"

 New Orleans is a mass of purple, green and gold (the colours for Mardi Gras) which I would consider pretty under any other circumstance.  But because the Mardi Gras seems to provide people with the authority to stagger around drunk, drive like a lunatic, and behave badly in general, it certainly impedes on the whole "happiness and celebration" thing.  There are multiple cocks in frocks although in their defence they look far better in a dress than I do!

 

One of the dudes in a dress!

 

People have flocked to the city in their trillions (and yes....again I think this is something that we should have been aware of...so its our own silly fault) and seem intent on trying to out do each other for first prize in being the "loudest and most annoying person in the whole USA".  Now that is something that I would usually be in the running for, without even trying, but I tell you....these people are the masters. 

Its amazing how you can view a place the second time around, so differently than the first.  I am not sure whether my wide eyed stares during the 2012 trip stopped me from taking it all in, but I can guarantee this was like seeing it again for the first time....but differently.  We went in to the French Quarter - the oldest neighbourhood in the city.  It was established by the French in 1718 hence its name and centres around "Jackson Square".   It is historical....and haunted. 

Anyone that knows me is aware of my fascination with the paranormal, and my belief in what exists after death.  I firmly believe in the sixth sense, and believe I have also seen a genuine psychic at work.   I do not fear ghosts/souls/spirits unless they are evil. I believe in good and evil...and believe this is carried into the after life.   I firmly believe that the French Quarter is full of evil.  I felt it last time....I felt it this time....and it scares the shit out of me.    In the daytime, the French Quarter seems harmless enough although it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.  The stories about voodoo, black magic and spells that are cast, scared the daylights out of me.  Add to that, a zillion tourists being loud, crass and DRUNK....and I want to get the hell out of there.

 

One of the first things we saw when we walked around Jackson Square, was a dog in a very small cage.  Tears immediately sprang to my eyes.  As we walked further, I looked at the horses and carriages....and realised....the horses were in fact donkeys.  Very unhappy donkeys.  We went into a souvenir shop and I found key rings with genuine alligator feet attached.  What the hell is this place? As a true, blue animal lover, I felt sick.  And I was confused as to how I did not see these things when we were last here.

We decided this time to walk along the world famous "Bourbon Street" as we did not do that the first time we were here. We actually drove passed it on a horse (donkey rather) and carriage and  I remembered it not being anything to write home about, but thought we could give it another shot.  We bloody hell....the street (and all of those surrounding it) were absolutely putrid and offensive on the nose.  It absolutely stank.  The best description that I could come up with, was that it smelled like rotten ear wax and dirty nappies.  It smelled just awful.

 

Bourbon Street

Bourbon Street

 

As we drove away from the French Quarter my mood lifted.  It became easier to breathe again and I didn't have that strong feeling of evil.  The fact that we found ourselves on the Mardi Gras Parade route, was a bit of a bonus (or not) for the day.  Mind you, it was great given that we didn't have traffic to compete with!
 

 

Hmmm....no traffic?  And what are those barricades?  Did the Bear figure that he needed more than one piece of portable fencing to protect him from the crowds?

We decided to visit the Lafayette Cemetery which we failed to do last time.  The Bear thought that it might have freaked me out....but I told him that I was just fine.  The people in the mausoleums here were just regular folk (respectfully of course) and that I did not feel that there was any threat.  Do you think I am mad?  Of course I am!  The history in this cemetery was just astounding.  People here had been born before our own country had been "discovered".   They had died before my own great grand parents had been born.  It was sad to see that most of the mausoleums where in a very sad state of disrepair, although it was interesting to note that people were still being added to the family crypts as recently as last year.  Whilst I would not like to be in this place at night, I definitely found it to be amazingly interesting during the day!

 

 

 

Tomorrow we fly back to the west coast.  I am SO looking forward to that!  I read that another weather event will be occurring on the east coast and central districts.  Rain is headed for California, and that is ok.  That is neither snowstorm or tornado.  Knowing our luck on this trip, we will experience an earthquake!

2014 Trip - Day 18 - Driving Day

Nothing to really report today as we spent it in the car driving from Memphis to New Orleans.  This took us from Tennessee though Mississippi into Louisiana.    I still find it amazing that you can cross a state line and experience an immediate change in the roads, the culture, that overall look.

I would like to mention of something that I have noticed in Tennessee.  In every other state you have a Walgreens and/or CVS (to those that don't know...this is a pharmacy chain which also carries grocery lines) on every corner.  In Tennessee, and in particularly Memphis, there is a church on every corner.  And I don't mean little, quaint churches.  I am talking HUGE churches with the most impressive steeples.  I am not a Christian and am certainly not a church goer.  However, with steeples like that, I could almost (and I shall repeat....almost) enter a church to check it out, just because they have impressive pointy things coming out of it.  I can picture the American Negros, going to church in their very best clothes and singing loud and proud.  In fact, this morning we stopped to get fuel a little bit south of Memphis, and decided to get some breakfast at a McDonalds.  We went into the store as the drive through line was long.  Whilst we were waiting for our order, I stood back and listening to a bald, black man, who was sitting eating his McMuffin....and singing some sort of gospel song.  His voice was amazing....and despite my very non-Christian views, I found his singing to be just beautiful.

Crossing the state line from Tennessee into Mississippi the roads improved dramatically although there were a number of road works going on.   The scenery changed from the brown and "dead looking" trees, so green farmland and cattle.  Where there was not visible farmland, there were green fir trees and horses. 

The part of Memphis that was in Tennessee was almost embarrassingly dirty with rubbish strewn along the roads.   This was particularly noticeable along Elvis Presley Boulevard just up the road from Graceland where whole vacant lots and the streets were filled with garbage.    This was not evident in the parts of Memphis that were over the Mississippi side of the border although of course I cannot speak for the parts that I did not see.  The same could also be said for parts of Tennessee that I did not see.  There may very well be prettier parts.  Although I did like Jackson in Tennessee which is a nice, clean, modern town.  This is also the case for Jackson in Mississippi.

Mississippi

 

Crossing the next state line into Louisiana the roads took a little bit of a nose dive, and the landscape wasn't as quite as pretty as Mississippi, however the sky turned a deep blue somewhat like we might find in North Queensland.  Being as far south as we have become we have definitely got out of snow country, although the Bear believes it did snow in New Orleans this winter.  Being away from the snow and the tornados is a huge relief! 

 

We drove into New Orleans a little bit different to the road that we left by during our 2012 trip so I got to see things a little differently.  Today I saw what bayous looked like which I found very interesting.    I could almost imagine the "barking logs" (alligators) out there, as the Bear would call them and could picture the catfish being caught.  I was reminded of the pictures that Uncle Remus' s "Bre'r Rabbit" would bring to my mind.  Tar babies were exactly just that back in the day before learning about racism.

 

 A blue bayou? I have no idea what Linda Ronstadt was singing about.

 

        

Tomorrow we shall head into the French Quarter and visit the Lafayette Cemetery which we missed the last time we were here!

 

2014 Trip - Day 17 - Elvis and the Wizard of Oz?

We had one full day in Memphis and the weather was just crap. I know that I am a tiny bit immune to things that happen in the USA now given that this is my third trip over, however that doesn't mean for a single moment that I want new experiences.  Well I do.....just not bad ones.  Apparently I did not make that clear to my guardian angels today.

There was severe weather predicted for today.  We knew that a good 10 days ago although the weather alerts have been escalating dramatically over the past day or so.  Looking outside this morning, the sky was grey and heavy and it was ridiculously windy.  You cannot actually see the wind, because all of the leaves have fallen from the trees.  There is nothing really visual.    It is quite unsettling.

We went back to Graceland this morning.  When we went during the 2012 trip, I found it to be a little bit of an oasis.  Memphis, and actually Tennessee as a whole, does nothing for me.  It is brown and ugly.  Graceland is a beautiful spot away from all of this and is a place that actually feels like a home, albeit a sad one.   One would expect that Graceland is a large, spacious home, but its not.  It is actually tiny and very closed in.  It is warm and welcoming, although very garish.  It is a time capsule dated 1977 and not a single thing has moved on since then.  I do not think for a single moment that Elvis lost his life here, 16 August 1977.  I believe he gave his life away on that day and he chose to live the life of a recluse elsewhere.... away from the spotlight and away from those people who lived riding his coat tails. I truly believe that.   The walls of Graceland do still harbour such sadness though.

Graceland was more visible from the road this time given that the leaves were all off the trees.  Our first trip there was during Autumn and the leaves had changed but had not yet fallen.  This was like seeing it from the outside for the first time.

 

 

Going back to Graceland this time confirmed what I felt the first time. That the visitors are invading the privacy of a life allegedly cut short.  I am not sure whether it was the bad weather or not, but there was something about this time that made it seems so wrong to be there.  The Bear and I just wanted to apologise for the intrusion and leave as quietly as we came.  We chose not to take the audio tour this time, as we had done that in 2012.  We thought we wanted just to walk amid the property and take in what we may have missed previously.  Good lord.  I am not sure we had the chance.

We were the only couple NOT to be wearing earphones attached to a walkman.  As bus load after bus load of tourists arrived full of people wearing the earphones, we found ourselves in the midst of a human demolition derby.  Apparently putting on earphones and having the walkman turned up fully meant that people lost their sense of direction....and in fact lost their minds. Unfortunately as everyone is also travelling in the same direction, if you were run into by one crazy American, you were hit an additional 687 times by the same person.  And of course, if you heard them screech "SORRY YAWL!!!" loudly over the commentary once, it would only get louder and more unintelligible the next 687 times.

However, the loud and clumsy patrons were the least of my concern as we continued on our way.  My biggest problem was one very old, and very smelly old lady, that kept finding me no matter how hard I tried to lose her.    I tell you....this old bird stank bad. Really bad.  I think she had one foot in the grave, and her body had already entered a stage of decomposition. No matter how old this lady was though, she managed to keep up with us on the way around.  I think a lot of you know that I am night blind and cannot see at all in dark places.  It is very dark in Elvis's trophy rooms as this is where his outfits are displayed as well and the dark apparently helps to prevent them from deteriorating.  I am flat out seeing a thing in those parts.  As I stumbled around and felt my way along the hand rail and groped the Bear on the butt, I would know that this lady was keeping up because I could smell her.  I would attempt to flee whilst holding my breath until I thought my lungs would burst, but on at least two occasions I ran straight into her awaiting arms and walking stick.   My nose will never be the same again, even after the singed hairs regrow.

The weather outside continued to deteriorate and we decided after a bite to eat at the Rockabilly Café, that we would purchase some microwave dinners and retreat back to our hotel.  The storms that were headed towards Memphis were predicted to be severe, and it certainly felt like it.  I cannot quite explain how the atmosphere felt/smelled/looked different....but it did.  The sky was different to anything I had seen before, and the wind just felt odd.  The Bear said it was because a front was moving in, and whilst our Australian weather men have been known to say that a front was coming, we really never experience it in Queensland.  This however was a fair dinkum front moving in.

We did a quick stop at Walmart and bought some Microwave meals and salads before doing the bolt back to our hotel.  Turning on the TV every channel was displaying a radar and warnings were scrolling through at the bottom of the screen in red.  "Tornado Warnings in place until 5.15pm".   Hmph.  I had been hearing about tornado warnings for the last 24 hours, however I had not taken too much notice as they were things that only happened in the USA.  Hang on a second....we actually ARE in the USA!!!!   The Bear scrolled through the TV channels until he found something that was not a weather forecast, and I took a wander down to a lower floor to dry some clothes that we had washed. 

Once I got back to our room the Bear mentioned something about a siren that he had heard.  I told him that I couldn't hear it in the laundry, so he must have imagined it.  He was sure he had not. I looked out the window and the rain was pelting and the lightening was wicked.  It was just continuous unlike anything I had seen before.   Not a few minutes later, a siren sounded again.    This time there was no way that I could miss it.  I went and looked out the window and the howl of the siren became continuous, and was exactly like an air raid siren that you might have heard during the World Wars.  It kept getting louder and I started to worry.  I asked the Bear whether he thought this was a tornado warning/alert/siren and he felt that it was.  He switched the TV back over to one of the channels displaying the warnings, and they were becoming frantic.  There was a line of storms containing "rotations" stretching vertically along Tennessee right smack bang through Memphis. 

I think the horror on my face was apparent.  The fear was certainly genuine.  The Bear was prancing around in bright red heels and wasn't able to remember how many times he had to click his heels. He wanted to rename Schultz "Toto".   Well....ok....that wasn't true as much as I would like it to be.  In fact, he thought this was hysterical.  He also thought the fact that I wanted to know where the tornado shelters were, was an absolute scream.  He felt that the building that we were in was as safe as we could get despite being on the 5th floor and having large, plate glass windows beside the bed (the TV was advising to get down as low as possible and stay away from windows).  The tornado sirens screamed on as the storm raged on.  I lost count of how many twisters I saw barrelling towards the hotel.  As it turned out, they were not twisters.  They were a combination of my very over active imagination and the power of suggestion.  The closest tornado touched down about 50 miles away...which was still about 13,000 kilometres too close for my liking! In all seriousness, I cannot tell you how scary it is, being in the middle of a weather event when you cannot see what is out there.  The wail of the tornado sirens are haunting and I am fairly sure I never want to hear them again.  Mind you, I am very appreciative that the Americans are very practiced at this and are very prepared.  I had no doubt in my mind, should there be another line of tornados through the night, that the sirens would wake the dead to warn that you should evacuate.  And just for the record, the tornado shelter was in the basement of the building next door!

 

Tomorrow will be spent in the car driving to New Orleans.  There are no snow storms or tornados predicted there thank goodness!

2014 Trip - Day 16 - Nutbush City Limits....or not?

Off to Memphis today.  We will visit Graceland again and the apparent resting place of Elvis.  I say apparent because I have always believed in that conspiracy theory that suggests he did not die on 16 August 1977.  You already know that I am a nutcase so I wont need to justify that further.

On the way out of Nashville we decided to stop at Sonic for breakfast.  This is a chain restaurant that I mentioned in my blog during the first trip, where you order via intercom (just like at Maccas) but you park and the food is brought out to you, sometimes on roller skates.  We both had a tortilla but also tried some "French toast sticks".  I don't like most of the fast food in the USA but I did like these.  There was some weirdo after taste that curled your nostrils hairs, but it was so very brief and did not over-ride the initial taste of this food.   They were like deep fried toast soldiers with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.  Quite pleasant!

Heading for Nashville, I wanted to take a detour via Nutbush.  This is the birthplace of Tina Turner and is the place she sung about in "Nutbush City Limits".  (The song was actually written by Isaac Hayes who ironically was born in neighbouring Covington) Whilst most peoples bucket lists consist of sky diving and owning a Lamborghini, mine is to visit places that appear in song names, and owning 100 Miniature Longhaired Dachshunds at one time. 

It was my intention to do the Nutbush, in Nutbush although I didn't have Nutbush in my music list (sacrilege!).    If you can understand that, then hell.....give me some of that Moonshine to swig on too.   The Bear quickly established that he did have the song "Nutbush City Limits" on his own laptop which we are carrying with us so was able to transfer that to the music list on my phone.  Why did we not think of playing it off the laptop once we got to Nutbush?  Shut up.

So...off to Nutbush, to do the Nutbush in Nutbush, using the Nutbush on my phone. I am as sick as a dog with no voice (probably just as well as I am sure that NO town would be ready for my singing) and can barely breathe.....but hey.....this is the Nutbush in Nutbush.  

I wasn't sure what to expect.  Maybe Tina Turners name up in neon lights?  Maybe a restaurant in her honour?  Maybe a "Nutbush City Limits" sign illuminated with flashing lights?  Maybe a chorus line of dancing dogs and a talking goose?  I don't know but I should have taken heed of the actual lyrics of the song :

" A little old town in Tennessee,
That's called a quiet little old community,
A one-horse town you have to watch.
What you're putting down in old Nutbush".

Alarm bells should have been ringing as we drove along old Interstate 19 listening to Chuck Berry singing "My Dingaling" on the radio (and no.....I did not sing along to it.  Well....ok....maybe I did a little bit.  Fine then....a lot).   This is what we came across.....
 

 

No flashing lights...but its something I guess.  Maybe the bigger signs are ahead?

 

More of a country lane than an Interstate Highway...but that's ok!  The city lights must be ahead!

 

Or not...........

 

Ermm.......

 

Where the heck is the "Nutbush City Limits" sign????

 

Hmmmmmm.......

 

This is Nutbush?

 

No "Nutbush City Limits" sign (most towns and cities DO have city limits signs) so this will have to do!

 

I am guessing this is the gin house as mentioned in the song?

 

 

Nutbush City Limits

written by Isaac Hayes sung by Ike and Tina Turner.

 

A church house, gin house, a school house, outhouse
On highway number nineteen, the people keep the city clean
They call it Nutbush, oh Nutbush
They call it Nutbush city limits

Twenty-five was the speed limit, motorcycle not allowed in it
You go to store on Fridays, you go to church on Sundays
They call it Nutbush, little old town, oh Nutbush
They call it Nutbush city limits

You go to the fields on weekdays and have a picnic on Labor day
You go to town on Saturdays but go to church every Sunday
They call it Nutbush, oh Nutbush
They call it Nutbush city limits

No whiskey for sale, if you get caught, no bail
Salt pork and molasses is all you get in jail
They call it Nutbush, oh Nutbush
Yeah, they call it Nutbush, Nutbush city limits

A little old town in Tennessee,
That's called a quiet little community
A one-horse town, you have to watch what you're putting down
In old Nutbush, they call it Nutbush

 

 

Well there is another tick off my bucket list.  I am a little disappointed that there was not a city limits sign, but that's ok!

 

The southern parts of Tennessee are a little better than the north.  There is obvious cotton farming here. The landscape is still very brown but it doesn't quite appear as poverty stricken as the north.  The roads seem wider although that maybe just because the fields are open rather than there just being mile upon mile of dead bush on the side of the road.  I particularly liked Jackson which struck me as a clean and modern town.  We did come across a multi vehicle pile up there, all of which were semi-trailers.  If you saw the drivers here, you would understand why. 

 

We drove through Covington which is the birthplace of Isaac Hayes.  It is only a few minutes from Nutbush.  I am blown away by the talent that emerged from southern Tennessee. Covington is a reasonable sized town which reflects a lot of poverty despite the fact that it is surrounded by some very, very large factories which I am sure would generate employment.

 

I am also quite fascinated by some town names.  My favourite today was "Bucksnort".   Hmmm...Bucksnort.  Where do you live?  Bucksnort.  Bucksnoooorrrrrt.  Welcome to Bucksnort. Yawl come back to Bucksnort ya hear!    The Bear saw a town which was named "Humboldt" and decided that would make a good dogs name.  I told him that if we got a male dog I would promise to name it Humboldt!  You will understand my surprise when he said "no" to that.  *rolls eyes*

 

I am quite fascinated by the fact that the interstates (highways) in Tennessee are almost dead straight.  There is very little in the way of the road curving.  If it does, it is ever so slight.  From the top of the state, to the bottom, it is straight and is almost overwhelmingly covered with cops.  Its just not worth breaking any road rule here because the state troopers will get you!

 

Tonight we dined in the Rendezvous Restaurant which a couple told us about when we visited Las Vegas in 2012.  We had also seen this place on Man V Food and it looked pretty darned good!  They are apparently world famous for their ribs, so who can go past that!  Despite the fact that the Bear (who is now unwell too) and I are not feeling flash, we walked to the restaurant which is a few blocks away from our hotel.  We wanted to get in early just in case they were busy so decided we would go there as soon as they opened at 4.30pm.  We were almost too late!  They were already chockers!  There was still room for us though which was awesome. 

 

 

 

The ribs are slow baked in an oven with vinegar and dry rub and are meant to be finger licking good.  I found them to be quite dry where as the ribs we have at home are very moist.  They are served on paper plates with plastic "silver ware" and come lying in a layer of vinegar.  They also come with a serving of beans - which are a barbeque baked bean with something like a taco seasoning in them.  They were extraordinarily yummo although heaven help the toilet bowl in a few hours time.  The ribs also come with a "slaw".  They don't call it coleslaw for some reason although it does resemble it.  The "slaw" is finer, and lighter than coleslaw and has an orange colour to it.  I imagine the colour comes from the seasoning that they put in it...which also tastes like a taco seasoning.  Whatever the case, it was yummo too!  I think if I went back there, I would pass on the ribs and have double of the beans and slaw!

 

We finished the night off with a stroll along Beale Street and caught a tram back to where our hotel is.  Tomorrow we are headed back to Graceland!

2014 Trip - Day 15 - Say what?

Just when I think this country cannot surprise me any more, it somehow manages to do so.  This morning on the news whilst listening/watching intently to the tornado warnings, a headline flashes across the bottom of the screen:  "USA suffers National Clown Shortage".   What the?????    This breaking news disclosed that apparently the numbers are down on recruits to Clown School.  *insert a raised eyebrow here*    I am fairly tempted to contact the television station to suggest that they approach the Australian Parliament because there are ample suitors there. Good grief.

So we are out of the heavy snow now, but as I said above, we are now experiencing tornado warnings.  Interesting.  I am wondering what sort of weather event we can expect to hear of next.  The snow storms are still raging up north so I am really glad we got out of there.  I am not sure that I would be particularly keen on being somewhere where there is a tornado, despite the fact that I have a small fascination with them.  I am wondering if I should shoot out and buy some red glittered shoes (or in Nashville, red glittered boots) so that I can click my heels three times and say "There is no place like home" should the need arise.    This being said, I can honestly say that I know that there is no place like home.

Driving around Nashville today we were glad to see the sunshine.  Second Avenue in the city is the happening place here, which has the infamous saloons like Coyote Ugly and Dicks Last Resort.  We saw another number of strangely named places, such as a restaurant up the road called "Cock on the Walk".  Yep ....okey dokey.  I wonder how they answer the phone there?   Interestingly, ALL of the restaurants and saloons here display signs saying that "Guns are not permitted" and "no soliciting".  That really must put a dampener on their fun!  You can get shot in a Walmart....but not in a pub!  The scary thing here is that the signs are serious.  Guns play such a prominent part of life here, I guess the warnings have to be put in place.

Finally we are southern enough where I can have my grits.  I do LOVE grits although the locals look at me a bit funny because I have brown sugar on them.  Apparently the usual is to have cheese or butter on them.  What are grits you might ask?  It is basically ground corn (sort of small broken bits of corn) where the kernels are prepared in different ways. This is then is cooked like porridge and would have the consistency of porridge that has been set (like jelly).  They are typically not eaten sweet.  Just as their names suggests they are gritty but not in an unpleasant way.  They can be cooked in milk and butter, or can be sliced and cooked on the broiler.  I have not had them that way as yet, although I would love to try.  I might seek them out as we travel further south.

We are off to Memphis tomorrow.  Hopefully I am feeling somewhat better so that my blog can be a little more interesting!

                                       

 

 

 

2014 Trip - Day 14 - Gun control? What gun control?

I am feeling slightly better today although breathing is a little bit of a struggle.  I have come down with a heavy head cold which is fast moving to my chest.  I am not very well at all, so my writing will reflect that.  Sorry in advance.

This morning we stopped at a 24 hour Walmart in Chattanooga before driving to Nashville.  We figured we might have been taking our lives into our hands given that someone was shot and killed in a checkout line at another Chattanooga Walmart yesterday.   How does this happen one may ask?  Well that might be because everyone, who is everyone has some sort of weapon in Tennessee.

Whilst it is common knowledge that every redneck has a gun, I had never really stop to think about it.  In Tennessee it is plain as the nose on your face though.  Even at the local Walmart there is a gun counter, with shot guns lined up for sale.  Seriously, it is bizarre when you can go to one place and buy your underwear, a carton of eggs, and a shotgun.

 

 

 

It is only a 2 hour drive from Chattanooga to Nashville.  However I got so darned confused at the changes with time.   Halfway through Tennessee there is a change in the time zone.  You are driving down the road and all of a sudden the time zone drops back an hour.  You don't cross any border for this to happen.  But....to get to Nashville.....you also do a little bit of a loop out of Tennessee, into Georgia, back into Tennessee.  And then.....if you are some sort of lunatic such as myself, who believes that to legitimately obtain a fridge magnet you must actually VISIT a state or city.....and insists on taking a detour into a state so that a fridge magnet can be purchased just to show you have been there (backward I know.  You really need to be in my mind to get this....so just work with me)...so therefore popped into Alabama.....the time on my mobile phone and our GPS pretty much had a mind out.   We went in and out of Tennessee more times than we have had hot dinners!

 

Tennessee does not get any prettier.  It is brown and ugly.  I seriously do not want to feel this way as apparently I have kin folk in these parts however there is little that I find endearing about it, with the exception of the southern drawl.  My great, great grandfather was born here so I effectively have roots here! I find myself understanding most people in the USA (although most people cannot understand us) but the drawl that people have here prompts a "pardon" from me every time.   Everyone is known as "Sugar" or "Darlin'" which was sort of cute on the first day, but has been irritating ever since although the Bear was called "Babe" yesterday which sort of tickled me.

 

Tennessee is also a state which promotes fire works and in a big way.  Between guns, fire works and moonshine I feel that there would be a huge market here for artificial limbs.   I vaguely remember fire cracker night when I was a little girl although that was a loooooooong time ago.  The Bear said it was legal to have fireworks in Tasmania until about 1987 so he remembers setting them off a little better than I do.  We decided to stop in at a fireworks shop (ok....warehouse) on the Tennessee/Alabama border.  I would have LOVED to have bought some just to set them off.  When we walked in, I was smashed back into about 1970.  There was something that set off a very vivid memory although it was gone before I could figure out what it was.  What an awesome step back in time though.    I am tempted to ask whether we are able to just buy them and set them off outside the city limits.  There doesn't appear to be any law that prevents you from doing so.

 

 

 

 

 

The whole way between Chattanooga and Nashville there are reminders of the fact that guns play a large part here.  From about an hour out of Nashville, right through to the city limits, there is billboard after billboard promoting firearms.  There are billboards reminding us that "silencers are NOT illegal" although I am damned if I can work out why this needs to be pointed out.  I don't mean this is on a couple of billboards.  I mean this is on EVERY billboard. I shall put some examples below.

 

 

 

I cannot quite figure this state out.  The one thing I do know though, is that there are more places selling guns and fireworks than there are McDonalds.  Now in this country THAT is saying something!