A Night in the Smokeys

We say goodbye to Nashville today but not before raiding the local thrift stores for some bargains. After the last time camping we know that we can't share one sleeping bag so we're on the look out for an extra blanket so we don't freeze. We are distracted by all the shirts and shorts but we manage to find exactly what we need as well as numerous new outfits each, all for about $20...bargain! It's just as well we got a bigger car in New Orleans!

We have a lovely scenic drive to the Smokey Mountains National Park and enjoy watching the towns get smaller as we get closer. Suddenly, James slams on the brakes as a very happy looking dog sprints across the road in front of us. Christine has a look around and spots a dog washing business near to the road, that explains why: a) the dog was wet b) the dog was so happy to be running in the other direction!

When we get to the campground it's easy to find a spot to pitch up. The Park is beautifully green and as soon as we get the tent up we go off for a wander, finding a Nature Trail starting at the top of the campsite. We don't see many animals but its a lovely walk nonetheless and we enjoy the warmth of the Sun and the shade of the trees together.

 

It's a cosy evening together in front of our roaring fire as James drinks away the disappointment of losing at cards and 'Pick Up Pigs' (seriously - play it!) to Christine and she drinks to celebrate. We even get to use our Red Neck Firelighter from Wall Drug, although we're gutted that it doesn't explode.

Stetsons and Spurs at the Ready...It's Nashville

It made sense to stop in Nashville. It's on our route and it's bound to fun getting our Country on. We've got a nice cheap room in a house with two Russians who were so desperate to get out of their country they said they would have moved anywhere. Unfortunately for us, the house is quite far out of the city so we'll have to drive in.

We spend our first afternoon doing a bit of exploring. It really is Country music central here but not really the sort that we're keen on. We were hoping to stumble across some Johnny Cash-esque performers but it all seems a bit Taylor Swifty. Booo. We do see the Johnny Cash museum hidden down a side street so at least there'll be something we'll enjoy tomorrow.

A bit of research leads us to Printer's Alley, the historic nightlife district of the city. It was tiny! Surprisingly (or not) it did have an English pub amongst it's handful of bars. Time for a taste of home. Well, almost...American's can't make good chips, even in an English pub!

Day two and we make an early start (by our standards) to see what else we can find. There's free parking at the market so we start with a wander round the 'everything' market on our obligatory souvenir hunt before getting the shuttle bus down to the river. It's a gorgeously sunny Saturday and there's lots of people out enjoying it today, it even looks like we'll be treated to some live music as there's a stage set up in the middle of the street. We can hear and see the music just fine even though there's a wire fence around the street but still people are paying to go inside the area. Not us though, we're spending our (Johnny) Cash elsewhere...at the museum! The Cash Museum is great, full of really personal items that tell the story of his life and we learn a lot, especially about his film career which we didn't even realise existed! There's even a piece of his (now destroyed) lakeside house on display. After the museum we head back to Printer's Alley. The music in the street isn't so country but we miss 'N'Awleans' and Memphis so we head to a blues club in the Alley and spend a bit of time enjoying that and wishing we hadn't had to leave Memphis so soon!

The Million Dollar Quartet

School days for Master Cash

Who's that Man in Black down there?

Home comforts

Johnny Cash's choices for Greatest Hits vol 4

James has found that the State Capitol is free to have a wander round and is supposedly quite impressive inside so we head up a big hill for that only to find it's closed. We're not the only surprised ones as there's a family there too, walking round it looking confused. Well the Dad is, the rest of the family look a bit relieved! We replace it with a quick trip to the State Museum but it's not the most captivating of places and soon enough we're on the move again. We've been told that there's a replica of the Parthenon somewhere in the city so James wants to go and find it (well you have to, don't you?). It's a strange site seeing a piece of ancient Greece in Nashville, those Americans have some crazy ideas!

State Capitol Building

Greece? USA? Greece? USA?

There's a free music festival (not country!) on in same park as well as a craft fair so we have a bit of a wander, and soak up some evening sunshine then head back to the house via a trip to 'The Village Pub' for some delicious pretzel bread and cheese dip which makes us reminisce about Prague.

Memphis

Awww do we have to leave New Orleans? At least we’re heading to another musical place – Memphis!

We take the Natchez Trace Parkway (thanks to our advice in Miami) which is a nice drive with lots of greenery and upside down armadillos at the side of the road, poor things.

We stop to rest at Natchez which is a peaceful town on the banks of the Mississippi with pretty buildings and we follow the trail around the town reading about the history of the place. It's a town steeped in the history of blues music with various key historical markers for us to investigate. There's even a church with Tiffany windows but it's closed so we have to just guess which ones they might be. On our way to find some food we are stopped by a local lady who shouts across the street to James “HEY! I LIKE YOUR COOKIE MONSTER SHIRT!!!” we get chatting and when she realises that we’re from England she puts on an English accent and asks us if we like tea and crumpets. She’s very giggly and doesn’t seem to want us to leave. When we finally say goodbye she crosses the road in front of our car and says in her English accent “WHY THANK YOU KIND SIR!” while doing a mini bow, heehee funny lady.

On the banks of the M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I

Hehe - James' house!

A very grand synagogue - Natchez was home to a thriving Jewish community. Now they get 4 or 5 attendees on a good day

Historic Glen Auburn Mansion

A terrible event in blues history

We find a friendly Mexican restaurant called Fat Mama’s where we have Nachos and Tamales and a HUGE margarita for Christine, yum yum! James chooses Fat Mama's Gringo Pie...wouldn't you?

Back in the car we drive to Vicksburg and check into the motel ready to drive to Memphis tomorrow.

Arriving in Memphis we are greeted by our lovely host, Patty. Her house is huge and there a couple of other guests staying here as well. It soon becomes clear that Patty is an Elvis fan, especially when we spot the man himself standing in the corner of the living room.  We want to make the most of the rest of the day so we dump our stuff and get the trolley into town. At the Peabody hotel they have a family of ducks who spend their day swimming in the lobby fountain before waddling into the lift to go to their penthouse suite…we’ve got to see it! Unfortunately we’re 10 minutes late, maybe tomorrow duckies.

He Lives!

We walk up and down the famous Beale Street where there are lots of restaurants and bars, all blasting out blues music. We stop for a drink but we don’t stay for long as we have a very American night out planned – a drive in movie! Woohoo!

We buy a takeaway pizza and some other provisions and head to the movies where we pay $7 each for a double feature, Transcendence and Captain America 2. There are only two other cars there so there’s no chance of our view being blocked. We tune the radio in and settle down to watch the films. It’s nice to be able to eat pizza and chat while watching a film. The only problem is that the car keeps powering down and making the radio go off, doh! Time for the interval and Christine is very excited by the confectionery adverts, she’s always wanted to see the performing hotdog (*cough*loser*cough*) By the second film Christine is getting chilly so gets into her sleeping bag. She looks very comfy but obviously too comfy as she falls asleep during Captain America, whoops! Tonight was definitely an all American night. 

Today we planned to go to a ballgame but we’re running a bit late so we decide to tour Memphis instead. We aim for Sun Studio which is famous for starting the careers of Elvis, Johnny Cash and many other brilliant musicians. The tour is only short but we get to see the studio where the magic happens and James gets to breath all over Elvis’ microphone. As you'd expect for an American tour our guide is a bit of a keen bean, trying to get everyone to sing a long and finish her sentences. At least she's excited too.

Original Sun artist guitars (even Johnny Cash down at the end)

...And everyone else starts running

The actual Sun studios is just a small shop next door to the museum with a few neon signs on the windows

We still haven’t seen any live blues so we head towards Beale street again and find a band called Sonny Mack and the Mack II Band. We get a “Beale Big Ass Beer” and sit in the sun to soak up the atmosphere. The band are really good but we get a bit disturbed by the guitarist playing the guitar with his tongue. We know we should probably go to explore Memphis some more but we make friends with some other visitors, including another Brit wo is apparently in town for a secret royal wedding. Obviously a few people think we're in town for that too but we get no last minute invite. A few people get up dancing and we see an old man with a walking frame teeter into the beer garden. Thinking he is heading for the chairs at the front of the stage we’re surprised to see him dump his frame and boogie on down with the rest of the dancers, brilliant! Music really is the best tonic! We decide to join in with the dancing for a bit before saying goodbye to our new friends and going to find some food. Afterwards we watch a brilliant street band, the atmosphere is great. It's game night for the basketball team so the band is the Grizz Line drum band playing to get everyone excited for the game (obviously it didn't work on the team as they lost that game).

Sonny Mack (minus tongue)

Our new friends (and below)

How do you like your steak? Blue of course!

We go back to the house with the intention of changing and going back out but we make the mistake of lying down on the bed and falling asleep, we can’t hack it anymore. It's been a long, hot day but great fun!