Wil Says:
9/05/2016
We turned east. After an hour we turned right, once again
leaving the Interstate for backroads.
Farmland gradually gave way to more and more trees as we
approached the Ouachita National Forest. The roads were more hilly and windy as
we weaved in and out of the National Forest.
We came across small towns and even one bigger town called
Mena. At every small place with a filling station and general store I expected
to see a banjo player on the porch.
Some roads were quiet and others more busy as we followed
Google maps to traverse Arkansas. Close to Little Rock we popped out of the
forest and back on the Interstate. We stopped to fill up with gas, not at Shell
or Exxon but at a “Kum and Go”.
At the end of Arkansas, we came to the Mississippi, and we
crossed over into Tennessee and pulled into Memphis. Anita navigated us to
Beale street which is partly a pedestrian mall.
There were several bars with
loud music
and apparently no restriction on drinking beer in public. Of
course I did not indulge since I don’t drink beer . . .
Walking down to the river was hot work the temperature into
the 90’s [35+ Celsius]. Our hotel was 10 miles out of downtown and after
check-in we found the local Pizza store.
That’s it for today.
Anita Says:
Out of Oklahoma City we headed east, through Arkansas to
Tennessee – it was long drive again, yes again – the USA is a huge country.
Each of the States feels like a country of its own, has a life and culture of
its own.
Oklahoma was seeded with Indian Casinos right and left of
the I-40 and the Indian Nation Turnpike. Yip, we run into or maybe unto
“turnpikes and pikes” instead of parkways, freeways or high ways.
Navigation was hard today, since Wil chose the most
interesting route through the Ouachita National Forest.
We lunched in Mena, “a
bigger town” in the National Forest. Frankly I was too scared to stopped at the
smaller towns.
I enjoyed the dense foresty roads, but did not like the more
than 20 possums with a skunk in between road kills.
Sometimes I doubted if Google navigated us on the right
road, but as soon as we reached Little Rock, Arkansas, I knew we are moving in
the right direction.
12 Years ago when we decided to emigrate to the USA, I
invested in Bill Clinton’s biography (please bear with me, I did not know
better J -
I thought it was a suitable way to understand the politics of the USA) and
well, he came from Little Rock, Arkansas.
On our way to our hotel in Memphis which is known as the home city of Elvis Presley
we decided to explore
Beale Street. Mmmm, every place has its own street artists and aroma too.
Beale street was busy,
we stumbled onto Memphis “walk of fame”.
On our way to the banks of the Mississippi
Happy days until we speak again.
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