Wednesday, 8th July 2009 – Arkansas to Jackson MS via Memphis TN. About 200 miles.

We left our hotel around 10am and headed across the Mississippi into Memphis, Tennessee, population 670,000. Something I found interesting about America is that it has towns and cities of every size, from 100 people to 20 million people and so much in between, whereas Australia doesn’t really have any towns between 400,000 people and 1.2 million, and nothing over 5 million. Not that I can think of anyway. I just thought that was interesting. Moving on. Hello Tennessee!

We arrived at the visitors centre and the lady behind the desk said “You gahtta go suee the Peabaahdy Ducks. They’re aaahn in twenny-faaaahv minutes.” Lady, if you’re going to talk to me in that gorgeous southern accent, I’m going to do whatever you say. So we covered ourselves in sun cream (it was hot already at 10:45am), left our car at the visitor’s centre and set out on foot in search of these Peabody Ducks. I can’t say it was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, (or hardly saw – the place was packed by the time we got there!) but apparently it’s the thing to do in Memphis so I’m glad we went. The photos on the link are probably better but here’s what we were looking at:

We left the little duckies and headed towards Sun Studio. I was feeling pretty uneasy by this stage as there were no other people walking down the streets. Seriously – it felt like a ghost town. This was one of the main streets to Sun Studio. Where is everyone???

We arrived and I was happy to get into the air con and out of the heat.

We paid for our Sun Studio tour and headed upstairs with our tour guide, Eldorado. It was a really worthwhile tour to do and I can highly recommend it. He told us about the history of the place and then we headed back downstairs to the actual studio – the studio where all the big names of Rock ‘n Roll cut their first records. As we were standing in the studio, Eldorado (I couldn’t take him very seriously) would play music that was actually recorded there, including the Million Dollar Quartet.

Here’s what we were listening to. Very cool.

And some more groovy photos taken by Hubs. (Yes. I just said groovy.)

This is the office where all the bookings for the studio would have been made.

Even though the tour was pretty cool, I was pretty unimpressed by the people who ran the place – a bunch of young, obnoxious musos with no customer service (Hubs overheard one of them saying that he hated Aussie tourist. You’re in the tourism industry. Perhaps a change of career might be in order?) and they stupidly discussed, quite loudly, a shooting that occurred just around the corner from them on the 4th of July. Seriously? Is that meant to make me like Memphis more?? Cos you’re really not selling it to me love.

We left and walked to Beale st to find somewhere to have lunch. Again, the streets were pretty deserted, but excitingly enough, we came across the nightclub where the shooting had taken place. Oh joy!

(Wifey through clenched teeth “hurry up and take the damn photo before we get shot too!!!!!”)

We had some very delicious and HUGE ribs – we shared this plate – and enjoyed excellent atmosphere and service at the Superior Hotel.

We then just strolled back to the car along the river

and headed out of town via

We drove past Graceland but didn’t have any great desire to stop in so we just drove the 200 miles to Jackson, Mississippi. I was going to go into a whole spiel about how awful that evening was, but it’s already a long post so I’ll leave it at that. Let’s just say we stayed at a Motel 6 that was rubbish, we were warned that we were near a “dodgy part of town”, we got lost looking for some dinner and I felt like we were on the “wrong side of the tracks”, had a rubbish fast-food dinner, but thankfully we found some booze to calm the nerves. It was also here that I started noticing a bit of anxiety creeping in, with what felt like my heart skipping a beat whenver I was nervous. We couldn’t leave soon enough…

Tuesday, 7th July 2009 – Ozarks, MO to just outside of Memphis in AR – 334 miles

We left Big Dick’s for the last time at 11:30am which was very sad. But we were taking memories with us that we knew would last a lifetime. Thank you so much Kimberley and BJ for such an amazing week!!

On our way out along Cup Tree Drive, we took a photo of the cup tree and were on our way.

We stopped in on our way through Lebanon to visit Colleen’s Mum (we visited Colleen’s brother and family in Springfield earlier on our trip) who was even wearing an AUSTRALIA t-shirt for us! But unfortunately she had hurt her back so it was just a quick visit. It was lovely to meet you Kate! Hope you’re all better now.

Today was our favourite day of driving thus far. We were on smaller, more secluded highways, with gorgeous scenery and no trucks trying to run us over. And Woody-Woodpecker was watching over us from above, so what more could we ask for!?

I took this shot as the sun was getting lower in the sky…

And it was a beautiful sunset.

It really was such a great relaxed day. The days were still really long so we were watching the sun set around 8:30pm. We were going to camp overnight but all the tent spots were full at the campground we passed, so we found a super budget motel (a non-smoking room that clearly people smoke in – yeuch) and grabbed Burger King for dinner. FYI the Whopper tasted the same as in Australia. We had a quiet night in with our burgers, some duty free vodka and Roseanne on cable. Oh, and I also learnt that Arkansas isn’t pronounce phoenetically. Funny!

Another great day.

Monday, 6th July 2009 – A few miles driving around town 1 last time.

Today was a little bit sad as it was our last full day in town so we made the most of it by lounging around at home and doing the washing. Oh, and then we decided we needed to go out and find another lakeside bar to drink at! We ended up at Coconuts which was huge and pretty cool but the service was a little rubbish and they had a “dive in bar” and a bikini contest (not at the time thankfully!) and I find both of those things a little dodgy.

Anyway, here’s a plethora of photos from our last full day at the Lake of the Ozarks, including another timed shot at Big Dick’s Docks where Hubs is running back for the photo. There were more s’mores that evening, as well as more firworks and a stunning full moon. I’ll just let the photos paint the pictures.

Sunday, 5th July 2009 – 50 feet driving on the wrong side of the road.

Today we set out to do some bush walking at Ha Ha Tonka State Park which was about a half hour drive from Kimberley and BJ’s. We left around 9am armed with fruit, sandwiches, water, hats and sunscreen. We stopped in at the visitors centre to pick up a map and decided on a couple of different walks. It was a perfect day for it – overcast and a bit cooler than that previous few days.

And here’s some photos of the Natural Bridge (I’m so strong), a Cardinal, us following the blue path, and the ruins of the Ha Ha Tonka Mansion (and Hubs running back for the timed shot! So cute.)

Now, if you look carefully at the things I listed to bring earlier in the post, you’ll notice the absence of aeroguard. This proved to be quite an oversight…

I actually felt really really bad that I forgot the aeroguard. The thing is, the mozzies were ANNOYING me, but they weren’t actually BITING me. They thought Hubs’ blood was much juicier than mine, so they just went to town on him. Poor poor Hubs. 🙁

The video didn’t turn out so good but it’s worth a look anyway!

It was a lovely day spent outdoors and we decided to stop in at the Walmart Supercentre on the way home to pick up a few things. 2 hours later we were on our way home! (Did I mention we LOVE Walmart!?) That night we had a cocktail and dinner at the bar (Hubs had a Reuben sandwich – one of our favourites and I had a grilled fish roll – so good!) and then we headed back “home” to make s’mores:

Gather your ingredients – A Hershey’s Bar, Graham Crackers, Marshmallows

Break the Graham Cracker in 2

Place 2 pieces Hershey’s chocolate on 1 cracker

Roast a marshmallow or 2

Place roasted marshmallow on chocolate, put the lid on (the other Graham Cracker) and enjoy with a good friend!

Damn they were good. We had our first one and then we wanted s’more! The second one made us feel a bit ill but we still wanted s’more!! I think we went halvsies. There were still some fireworks leftover from the 4th of July Celebrations, so we enjoyed watching them explode over the lake. Ah the serenity.

Saturday, 4th July 2009 – on the lake

Another cruisey day with little other than walks along the lake, and lunch at the bar to kick off the 4th of July for us.

It’s the biggest day/weekend on the lake so by about midday we could already hear the sounds of fireworks being set off. Yeah. In broad daylight. But you know, when they’re only a couple bucks each, who cares if you can’t see them!? BJ’s Dad took us for a cruise in his cruiser up the lake for an hour or so and it was great fun. Very relaxing indeed…

Kimberley contemplating life. What else can you do when you’re so relaxed!?

The pretty pretty clouds and sunset.

Just as the sun was setting, a storm was rolling in but we were undeterred. We grabbed our margaritas (well, everyone else did. I still can’t go NEAR tequila) and deck chairs and set up on the water’s edge. The darker it got, the more ominous the storm clouds looked, and by the time the fireworks had started, so had the thunder, lightning, and downpour! We took refuge in the car, but not before Hubs got some very tricky shots of the fireworks and the full moon.

Friday 3rd July, 2009 – On the lake

Our next day on the lake started out much the same as the first with a sleep in and some relaxing. Kimberley had arranged for her “Missouri Mom and Dad” to take us out for a boat ride on their pontoon, so once the rain cleared they picked us up and we were away. Jim and Mona had invited their good friends Jeanette and Ron as well and we started cruising around the lake as they pointed out hot spots along the way. They offered us drinks and gave us the menu – G & T, Rum & Coke, Beer… Well okay. Since we’re on holiday! They also had lunch on board for us which was tuna salad, devilled eggs (Hubs’ fave!!) and breadrolls and potato chips and some sandwiches. So we ate and drank and took “pit stops” when needed.

Mona & Jeanette

Jim & Ron

One of our “pit stops”

The weather started to get a bit ugly so we got dropped off and we decided to take it inside the bar.

The night was full of eats and drinks and shennanigans. And another Minnow shot! We decided at about 8pm that it would be fun to go for a ride with a couple of guys from the bar down the lake. They let Hubs have a turn at driving too! The classic line for the night when Hubs gave it a bit too much gas “Duuuuuuuude it’s 25 miiiile an hour after darrrrrk.” Yee-haw!

Thursday, 2nd July 2009 – On the lake, being chauffeured!

We started off slowly this morning so we really felt like we were on holidays! Kimberley took us to Docknockers which is a bar she used to work at, and she treated us to a bucket of crabs legs for lunch. It was so much fun and SO yummy. There were crab bits flying everywhere!

Docknockers outside

Some other bar we went to on the lake!

We stopped in at Walmart on the way home for some supplies, then headed back to Big Dick’s. When you go to Big Dick’s Halfway Inn, you have to shoot the minnow. You choose your shot (I chose Lake Water – I can’t remember what was in it but it was blue and delish, and Hubs had a Jager), you get given your minnow, you pop it in your shot, and down the hatch it goes! Well, that’s the theory anyway! Here’s a vid of us doing it. Check out my minnow jumping into my shot for me!!

Food and drink in one! Ha ha. We did a couple of minnow shots in our week on the Lake, cos, you know, when in Rome!

We spent the night in, cooking up pork chops, drinking wine and just taking in our surrounds. We watched some practice fireworks for the upcoming 4th of July celebrations and took it all in.

Wednesday, 1st July 2009 – Sprinfield, MO, to Lake of the Ozarks, MO. About 120 miles.

Our first mission for the day was to drive to Bass Pro – the biggest outdoors hobby shop I’ve ever ever seen – to try and get a reel for Dad for his fly fishing. They are a lot cheaper to buy direct from the US as there’s less tax, so in we went. It was like Bunnings for the outdoor adventurers. Dad would have spent all day (and maybe all night) there if he could! They didn’t have what we wanted on-site but there was one at the warehouse so after picking that up, we set off for The Lake of the Ozarks.

After another beautiful, scenic drive, and getting just a little bit lost, we arrived at Kimberley and BJ’s Bar, Big Dick’s;

Yes, that’s the name of the Bar. It’s at the half-way point of the Lake of the Ozarks and it was established by a truck driver named Dick who was, well, BIG! BJ’s family have been running the bar for about 10 years. There are no words to express the feelings we had when we turned that little corner on that secluded road to find Kimberley and BJ running a VERY cool bar, right on the lake, and living 2 doors down. We were to spend 6 amazing, fun-filled, relaxing, fabulous, 6-of-the-best-days-of-our-lives here, and we couldn’t wait to get the relaxing started. We pulled up some chairs at the outside bar, ordered a pain in the ass and a couple of burgers, and so began our week on “the lake”.

The water was within stone’s throw. Literally. There are so many more photos to come – we didn’t get too many the first day as we knew we’d be there a while. But here’s an idea of what we were looking at, just across the road:

And a view of the bar from the lake!

We didn’t do a whole lot that day – just lots of catching up and drinking and eating and more catching up. We went out for dinner around 9pm to Paradise Bar and Restaurant – another lakeside bar. Everyone knows everyone on the lake, especially if you run a bar, so we were treated to a great feast of crab cakes, fried clams and salmon. Oh, and cocktails. Lots of cocktails! Luckily for us, BJ was driving so we could just chill-out and relax. It was an awesome start to our week on the lake.

Tuesday, 30 June 2009 – Amarillo, TX, to Springfield, MO. 540 miles.

We left our hotel around 8:30am, after a bagel for me and a Texas-shaped-waffle for Hubs! 🙂 We decided to take Route 66 as much as we could for the next leg of our journey. It was a very hot, very sunny day – just over 40 degrees – so having the top down and only going about 50mph was pretty exhausting. But we HAD to do it, cos, you know, WE WERE ON ROUTE 66!!

It’s days like these that’ll make us happy…

Being just before the 4th of July, we saw a lot of these:

i.e. temporarily places where you could buy FIREWORKS!! LEGALLY!! But the 4th of July story is yet to come. Back onto Route 66.

It was another lovely day to be on the road and we just really enjoyed the scenic route we took. Here’s one of those casinos in the middle of nowhere I mentioned earlier:

We really took our time driving, and we didn’t arrive at Springfield until 8:30pm, but it was still light!! Before we left, I decided that we HAD to visit at least 1 Springfield in the States, and I had emailed my gal-pal Colleen, who’s originally from Kentuky, to see if she had any rellies who would LOVE to have a couple of young, hip Aussies stay with them. (Did I actually just use the word “hip”??) And she told us that her brother and his family live in Springfield Missouri! And of COURSE they were happy to have us stay! We had a great time chatting with them into the night and we really appreciate them having us stay!

We couldn’t stay up too late though, as we had an early morning coming up. (Okay, 7:15am is early for us!!) but not a big driving day, so we were excited. We were almost at our first long-stay destination! Hooray!

Monday, 29 June 2009 – Williams, AZ, to Amarillo, TX. 666 miles.

This was our first really big driving day and we were well prepared after a good night sleep (mostly – it was pretty cold!), some great sunshine, pumping tunes and snacks; you know, like Beef Jerky!

It took me a few pieces to really get into it, but after that I was hooked! We even bought some at Woollies the other day!

We left around 8am and the weather started out lovely, but when we were stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch, it absolutely poured with rain. Lucky we didn’t get caught on the road with our top down! (That happened later!) I decided to broaden my horizons and try gritz. I had it with some eggs and it was okay. At least I could tick jerky and gritz of the list! We also popped in to WALMART (we love Walmart) for some better road maps and another cool t-shirt (Hubs bought 5 in total – $7.50 each… BARGAIN!) and then we were back on the road.

The lanscapes were just gorgeous!

But the weather was a bit temperamental so we didn’t have the top down much that day. We decided it was our duty to introduce the USA to some good Aussie music so we had a bit of Hilltop Hoods, The Cat Empire and Missy Higgins pumping through the speakers. I also found that I don’t get car sick when riding in a convertible with the top down (except on long, winding roads – more stories later) so I’ve determined that from now on, it has to be a convertible all the way. The kombi needs some work 🙂

It was a pretty long day of driving, just over 1000km, and it was made even longer by the fact that we had to cross 2 time zones, losing an hour each time. However, the speed limits were up to 75mph (120km/h – weeeeeeeeeeeee!) so we did it quite comfortably. Driving around sunset was particularly beautiful.

And everything is BIG in the US of A!

We arrived in Amarillo, Texas, around 9:30pm which meant it was still twilight, and decided just to order in pizza and chill out, as we had another substantial driving day ahead of us!