Walking in Memphis : 👍

Driving in Tennessee : 👎

Well, I’ve certainly fallen behind again! As you may be able to tell from my current location, this happened… geeze, I guess it’s only been a few days really, but it feels much longer than that.

In any case, sad as I was to leave Hot Springs behind, I was excited to see Memphis. It was a Thursday, so I wasn’t expecting there to be a lot going on, but boy was I wrong! Seems like every block I went down had live music of some sort. I spent a good portion of the morning walking down Beale Street, stopped in to listen to a band playing a mix of covers and originals in this little covered outdoor venue sandwiched between two buildings. If this is what a random Thursday has to offer, I would LOVE to come back here on a weekend someday, and spend the whole time just listening to music. Lots of blues as you might expect, and a healthy mix of rock as well. Stopped in for lunch at what turned out to be a place famous for their gumbo, and I can see why! Some of the best food I’ve had on this trip for sure, I was sad I didn’t have room for more!

Properly fed, I continued strolling around, and after a quick check of the map, discovered I was pretty close to the Civil Rights Museum. I didn’t stay long but it was definitely an experience, it’s built right alongside the Lorraine Motel, where a permanent memorial still stands. There have been a few places on this trip where I felt compelled not to take pictures, and this was one of them. It’s a hard feeling to describe, but places, more than things, have always been capable of affecting me pretty strongly.

Thought that was going to be the last stop in town for me, but as I was leaving, I passed the Sun Studios, which rang a bell that got clearer as pulled over and made my way inside. Birthplace of Rock n Roll as some would say. Cool place, they do tours, but I settled on looking around and getting coffee (good coffee too! Didn’t expect that from a tourist spot).

I’m glad I had such a good first half of the day, it helped give me the mental energy to carry me through what was probably the worst part of the trip so far. I REALLY don’t want to complain on this blog, and I’ve been having such a grand time, that doing so feels almost petty, but some of the worst road experiences I’ve had in my life were on the stretch between Memphis and Nashville. The worst was getting literally pushed off the road by a Semi truck. Pulled up alongside me and pulled right into me, tapped my mirror while I was laying on the horn, but kept coming, so I ended up in the grass alongside the road, hyperventilating and a little shaken. Gave myself a good twenty minutes to collect myself and check the car, which was luckily alright, but it definitely spooked me. I was alright though, all told, it could have been much worse, so pressed on. A few more close shaves occurred, but I really would rather not dwell on this stuff, as part of the reason for this trip is to get over some of the fear of driving I’ve built up over the last year.

Pulled into my motel on the edge of Nashville, and was greeted by possibly the best balm for my shaken spirits that I could ask for:

The little one came right up to me when I stooped down to say hello. Warmed my heart right up! Got me missing my own cat, I hope she’s doing okay.

And that about covers it! Might try another post soon to catch up a bit closer to the present. And for anyone worried about my driving experience, I’m alright, it was scary, but that’s about the worst of it, and like I said, so many good things and good luck, that I can’t complain!