Hot Springs, Arkansas

We stayed a little longer in Memphis than we had intended, in order to escape the 30 mph winds and thunder storms west of there. We were just leaving the grocery store in Memphis when the tornado sirens started wailing. No one seemed the least concerned. Stacy stopped a fire fighter in the parking lot and asked "what do those sirens mean?" His first response was "What sirens?". Then he cocked his head to listen and said, "Oh, that's just a tornado warning. We usually just ignore them"  So we did.

We did check at the RV park though. If a tornado had actually appeared we would have evacuated Irv and taken sanctuary in the Heartbreak Hotel.  Fortunately it didn't happen, and an hour later everything was calm again.

On our drive from Memphis to Hot Springs we stopped in Little Rock to go to the William Clinton Presidential Library. It is a beautiful, modern, environmentally "green" structure reaching out over the Arkansas River. The Cabinet room and the Oval Office are replicated there exactly as they were in the White House during Clinton's tenure. Stacy sat in the Defense Secretary's seat, Jack in Al Gore's. Way cool. Clinton's history, and the history of his presidency, are presented beautifully. It was very impressive.

Hot Springs, Arkansas. We loved it! The town is in the Oachita Mountains surrounded by woods, lakes and rivers. It has natural mineral hot springs (143 degrees out of the ground) and was quite a destination in the early 1900's. "Bath House Row" consists of a series of about six different bath houses, each beautifully preserved. Some are still offering mineral baths, while others are closed or operating as museums or restaurants. Naturally, we decided to "take the waters" and squeezed in a massage as well. It was lovely.

Wooded area overlooking Hot Springs

In the 1920s, Hot Springs was a haven for gangsters. The unwritten rule was that gangster differences were laid aside here, and everyone had to get along. Al Capone had a suite at the Arlington Hotel, a massive Art Deco hotel in the middle of town. If the "Feds" were on their way, Capone's pal the Governor would alert him, and he would disappear down a secret staircase in his closet, through a secret tunnel, and surface across the street in a speak easy that is now a Wax Museum.

The old Grand Hotel, now a Rehabilitation Center

The lobby of the Arlington, home of the Al Capone Suite

Before we left, we went to see Maxwell Blade's Magic Show. Maxwell is in his 50s, but had played keyboard in a rock band in his younger days. Some years ago he opened this little theater in Hot Springs where he "raised his daughters right". His theater is a small storefront, done in classic "Magician" motif. When buying our tickets Jack asked Maxwell if the show was any good. He guaranteed it, saying if we didn't like it he'd refund our tickets and buy us dinner. The show was great!

Maxwell Blade, magician extrordinare

The Real King of Memphis

Yesterday was a day of both somber reflection, and of basking in the absurd. Both in Memphis.

First, we visited The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel. On April 4, 1968, while in Memphis to lend solidarity to striking sanitation workers, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel by James Earl Ray. Ray fired the shot from the bathroom window of a boarding house across the street from the hotel.

The original sign and motel, outside the museum

The Lorraine Motel and the boarding house across the street have been preserved and converted into a deeply moving memorial to Dr. King, and to the Civil Rights movement as a whole.

A perpetual memorial wreath, outside room 306, where Dr. King was killed

The boarding house. The smaller window is partially open as it was when James Earl Ray fired the bullet that killed King

On April 3, King, in speaking to the striking workers, said "We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. And He's allowed me to see the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land."  Prophetic words.

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On an entirely different note, we are staying in the Graceland RV Campground, directly behind the Heartbreak Hotel, which is actually "down at the end of Lonely Street". Our trailer is at the corner of Hound Dog Way and Teddy Bear Lane. The lobby of the hotel is replete with leopard-print lounge chaises, red velvet sofas, gaudy light fixtures... and populated by middle-aged couples visiting from Iowa. (My apology to any Iowan's who happen to be reading this.)

I (Stacy) am a little young to appreciate the heyday of Elvis, but it has always been easy to see him as a sort of mindless, pretty-boy pop idol. In reading about him during this stay in Memphis, he comes across as a good man, very charitable, surrounded by sycophants and yes-men who, in the end, didn't do much to help Elvis deal with all the pressures of his superstardom.

We are staying an extra day in Memphis, because of 30 MPH winds and thunder storm warnings. Driving to Arkansas today just doesn't seem advisable. Tomorrow though we're off to Hot Springs!

"Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it aint' going away"  Elvis Presley

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."     Martin Luther King Jr.

The REAL Duck Dynasty

Yesterday we visited the famous Peabody Hotel in Memphis where a tradition has taken place twice a day every day for the past 80-plus years.

It seems that one day in the 1930s the owner of the hotel and his friends came back, still toting their group of live ducks, that in those days hunters used as decoys. They brought their ducks into the lobby bar and let them swim in the hotel's ornate travertine fountain, while the men had just a little too much Jack Daniels. The ducks were such a hit with guests that they were made a permanent feature of the hotel lobby. At night they lived in a "Duck Palace" created for them on the roof of the hotel.

Edward Pembroke, the bellman at the time, was a former animal trainer for Barnum and Bailey. He trained the ducks to march down a red carpet from the elevator to the fountain in the morning, and back to the elevator again in the afternoon. Pembroke continued the daily processions precisely at 11:00 am and 5:00 pm for the next 50 years. Since Pembroke, there have been a total of nine "Duck Masters".

Anyway, we went to the Peabody and were in place next to the elevator at precisely 11:00 am. There was a huge crowd assembled alongside the red carpet in the lobby. Right on time, the elevator doors opened and out marched five ducks, one drake followed by four jennies. Pretty cool. Our pics are below, and you can read more at www.peabodymemphis.com

The Duck Master himself

The march

The ducks in their beautiful daytime playground

The ducks are an integral part of the hotel's identity, as seen here on one of the towels in the rest rooms. 

"Be like a duck: Calm on the surface, but paddling like hell under water...."

We're goin' to Graceland, Graceland, Memphis Tennessee...

Well, this morning we drove over from Trezvant to Memphis, and are staying at...wait for it... the Graceland RV Park. Not a bad little place, and literally right across the street from the Graceland Mansion. There is an Elvis center right through a gate at the side of the RV park, so we walked over and took the tour.

The mansion itself was relatively modest by the standards of today's billionaires. Not surprisingly, the decor was a bit garish, and totally 60s.

Nice digs. Elvis bought the place when he was 22 for $100,000, and lived here his entire life.

Living room and music room in background.

His final resting place, along with his parents and stillborn brother.

We both felt it was a little shallow, just a clips of his life and concerts, with some memorabilia and old photos. There wasn't a single image of old Elvis, nothing about friends, relationships, or anything remotely personal. Sad that there wasn't more to him than his public persona. Still, it was fun and interesting.

There was a museum of his car collection, and his two personal jets.

Pink '56 Caddy given to his mother.

Elvis' private jet, a Boeing 707. Nicer inside that JFK's Air Force One.

Trezevant, Tennessee

Yesterday, Sunday, we left Nashville, heading toward Memphis. We passed Loretta Lynn's Ranch and Kitchen, and stopped at the Patsy Cline rest area.

We stopped in Trezevant, population 800, surrounded by beautiful wooded hills. We are visiting the Belew family who have lived in Trezevant for a long time. Stacy's daughter, Evan, has a grandmother (Mamaw), an aunt and uncle, and 3 older cousins who live there, and we wanted to visit with them for a while. They are such wonderful people. We are SO glad we were able to visit.

Stacy, Mamaw, Aunt Pat and Uncle Danny

Stacy has been to Trezevant  before (last time was probably 10 years ago), but it was Jack's first time.   Jack and Danny are both Air Force veterans, and about the same age, so they hit it off right away. Everyone welcomed us into their circle and we had a wonderful visit.

Now on to Graceland...

Back to Nashville

It's been a while since we've blogged. It is just that, with this #$*^@%$ cold weather, we simply are not doing as much each day. Our main goal has been to stay warm. With temperatures below freezing, that has been a challenge. But we are snug and warm inside our little rolling abode.

We flew back from Oakland to Nashville last Wednesday, 2/12. Both Bessie our Ford F 150, and Irv our faithful home, were retrieved in good shape. Well, except for an inoperable hot water heater, but that got taken care of.

On Thursday, we did a lot of housekeeping tasks that people on the road have to do. Shopping, laundry, haircuts, etc. We ate lunch at the famous (we're told) Loveless Cafe. Jack had fried chicken and I had ribs, both accompanied by fried green tomatoes, baked beans, and carrot pudding....and topped off with homemade jam and LOTS of hot biscuits.  When you see us again, we will both be 15 pounds heavier, simply from all the food we've eaten in the South. But, hey, when in Rome...

On Friday, we went into Nashville and the Country Music Hall of Fame. If you get to Nashville, you must tour this museum. It chronicles country music back to the hill people and their homemade instruments. We also walked down to Ryman's Auditorium, which is the original home of the Grand Ole Opry.

The original "Smokey and the Bandit" Firebird

A young Dolly and her mentor/partner Porter Wagoner (aka "The Wagonmaster")

Dolly's very first stage dress

Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl in the Ryman Auditorium foyer

Saturday we actually went to the Grand Ole Opry where we saw a lot of musicians we had never heard of, including Hall of Famer Connie Smith, and 93-year-old "Little Jimmy Dickins", all 4'11" of him. Some of the music was Blue Grass, much of it performed by really old people (like Little Jimmy) who have been singing with the Opry for 50-60 years.

The Opry isn't held at the Ryman's Auditorium any longer, but at a massive auditorium a little outside of town. The Opry itself is the longest running live radio show... since the 1920's. 

Nashville truly is Music City. At each crosswalk, there is music playing. Along Broadway, which leads down to the river, there are guitarists, and people playing harmonica, banjo...you name it.   In the airport, there was music playing everywhere and a live performer. It's a very nice place to visit.

Back to sunny California....

Except that, after nearly a year, it has started raining. They sure need it here.

The first parts of our respective trips went well.  Jack spent time in Portland, with business meetings and catching up with family and friends. Stacy had a great unhurried visit with her mom, Patty, in Walnut Creek (Bay Area).

The SuperBowl went our way. (Sorry, Denver. Well, not really.) Jack watched with friends in Portland, Stacy watched with her mom, and our Seahawks fanatic, Evan, was in Seattle and hysterical. She ventured downtown on Wednesday to be at the Welcome Home parade, which wound from the Space Needle to the Seahawks Stadium. We will NEVER get her out of Seattle now!

Victory party in Seattle!

On Monday, we all merged at Sacramento airport and drove up to Grass Valley, a small town in the foothills between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. Stacy has owned a house up there for about 12 years, a rental for the past five. Her tenants recently moved out, so we went up there to prepare it for new renters. The house itself was left in pretty good shape, but the yard was a jungle (see below). You'll notice they had put their Christmas lights up "early".

The more we spoke to different professional people, the  more we were convinced that now was a good time to sell the house. Suddenly, we needed more time, so we are staying an extra week in order to get it started toward marketability. This entailed changing flight reservations and car rental dates, getting Patty back to the Bay area, checking on our 5th wheel and truck (which are still in Nashville), finding lodging in California, and pushing all our travel plans out one week. Our dear friend, Kim, is opening her home to us, which is a real blessing.

Miraculously, we were able to get people to come in right away to start cleaning up the yard. We got the chimney cleaned and inspected. We found a great handy man to make the minor repairs and start putting new coat of paint throughout the interior. Then, we found a great guy to refinish the hardwood floors... tout suite! I think we are ready to go!

Anyone want a cute little house in the foothills? We have a great real estate agent!

So our relaxing trip out west has morphed into something quite different and unexpected, but we are lucky to have the time available to do this now. It's too cold in Nashville anyway.