Road Trip Pre 04-12-09

This email is coming to you now that Dixie and I do not own Dixies Dockside and we are now able to travel again.
To those of you that have not been on my Road Trip email list before, what I do is send a mostly daily blog about where we are traveling and what we do and what we EAT. We will be traveling the USA, east of the Mississippi during this trip. I hope you enjoy my rantings and descriptions of areas we are visiting. If You wish to not receive the Road Trip emails let me know and I will tell everyone that you are a queer and eat your boogers.
03-05-09
Getting ready to go to Bike week In Daytona, have a place for the Coach in Beverly Beach, should be a fun 3 days before we head to Fayetteville to see Tara after she has her baby, she is due on the 12th. All the plans made when Tara calls at 9 and says her water broke. I told her to call a plumber, apparently different kind of water. Well change of plans so we get packed up for the 604 mile trip to the campground that we will be staying. Start out at exactly 12 noon and arrive, with one stop for fuel and two P breaks, at 9:30 P.M.. 604 miles divided by 9.5 hours = 63.57 miles per hour. For a house that weighs 28,000 lbs and pulling a jeep that's hauling ass. OK so we get to the hospital at 10:15, perfect timing as Tara delivered at 8:45 and by that time everything was cleaned up the, baby had been fed for the first time and they let everyone in to see the new delivery. A lot of you know me as really not "the baby type" well seeing Emmalyn made me change my mind. Bear in mind I have NEVER held a baby before, Never. When I held her, you know, well what can I say I'm now "Papa Brian", When I saw her little feet, hands, arms and legs I wondered how humans walk upright. I guess after being in a ball for 9 months makes your arms and legs a little curved to say the least, a little cone head but not much. The nurse says she is perfectly normal. She is a beautiful baby. We left them and went to waffle house, it was the only place open at 12:30. Had a wonderful fat waitress that took our order with a snear, did not refill our drinks even once, luckily the cook did. She was too busy yacking with her other fat friend smoking a cigarette when an even fatter friend came in wearing flip flops and a mu mu type dress. Her legs could not even lift her legs as she had to shuffle her flip flops instead flip flopping she sloshed sloshed along the floor. Luckilly she had a cigarette to help her keep moving, she was like the train I think I can I think I can. Fayetteville after dark will never make it as a TV show. That's all for today. I promise I will only send one picture as I know that to other people every baby looks the same. See Ya. Brian
03-06-09
Today was catchin up on sleep, woke at 8:30 and walked the peanut boy, he seems to have found a new love with any tree that he comes across. The RV park is OK, nice big pool,closed till warm weather arrives, and a stocked lake for fishing. Just 45 spaces with mostly live aboards for half the spaces. America is becoming the land of the fifth wheelers. As all good RV parks are, and this one is no different, it is in the airports flight path, this one is so close that the i.l.s. landing lights are actually on the property. No alarm clock necessary when this is the case I broke down this week and bought a bottle of Grand Marnier, screw France but America does not make anything close, and it sure goes down good after a long day of, has the baby pooped yet?,has the baby smiled yet?, is that a rash on the baby's bottom. I'm beginning to think it may not "be just about Brian" what's up with that shit. Visited Tara and Chris 2X today. Oh yeah every time, that's right every time you go into the Base your car gets searched, Open the trunk, open the HOOD, open the glove box, open the console. Still no hidden atom bombs so you can pass. Every time, I can not tell you how much safer everyone feels with this security in place at our military bases. Tara and Chris and Emmalyn should be leaving the hospital tomorrow . They are all ready to get home. Emmalyn is now attracted to breasts almost as much as I am. We went to dinner at a place sort of like "Hops", local brewery that serves only their own beer. Had a great home brewed hefeweizen beer "blue moon,shock top" type beer, really good at special price of $2.50. Had a FEW before and after dinner. Dixie drove home. Dixies Filet was perfect, pittsburg rare with just the right amount of crust and I had the best meat loaded thin crust pizza I have ever had, there was so much that we both have the other half for lunch tomorrow, who knew they knew how to make killer pizza in North Carolina. Did I say Dixie drove home. I'm having a G.M. now and everything is SMOOOOTH. Looks like I will be leaving Sunday morning to go home, I am really looking forward to driving the Jeep wrangler 600 miles, did I mention no cruise control so I guess i'll be the idiot that's ahead of you that can't seem to hold the speed limit.. One of these days I am going to kick myself in the ass for cheaping out on some things. I'll be home for about 4 weeks by myself while Dixie stays here to help Tara out with the baby, so make sure that you invite me over or out for dinner. One thing that the front page of the local paper is complaining about is that the house prices are RISING. They are also complaining about the increase in taxes due to this fact. I guess nobody is happy about their housing crisis. Well that's all for now, See Ya. Brian
03-30-09
To catch you up. I went home on the 8th and Dixie stayed in North Carolina to help out with the baby and Tara. It was a 604 mile trip with the wind blowing the Jeep all over the road and no cruise control. At home I have been doing spring cleaning at our house, pressure washing, cleaning outdoor furniture etc. Today Monday the 30th, I packed up my stuff and drove back to North Carolina to be with Dixie. Sounds easy. This morning I was putting the bike carrier on the Jeep to bring the two bikes with me, It is a bike rack that goes into the Jeeps trailer receiver. I hooked it up and had the two bikes secured when I put the lock to secure the hitch I lightly pulled down on the bracket and it broke, thereby rendering the rack useless. I had to unload the bikes and the broken hitch. I dropped a small part and reached down to get it and when I got up, the car door had opened without my knowledge, I hit the bottom of the door on the way up. I saw stars like you see in the cartoons. I am now sporting a gash on my head. We won't have bikes on this leg of the trip.The trip back in the Jeep was not as bad as the return trip. I hooked up my "Redneck Remote Cruise Control" a stick that I could put between the gas pedal and the seat. It worked great just like in 1971 when I traveled from Tampa to Staten Island during my College days. I was cruising around 80 most of the way and making great time, the GPS said I would get there at 5:20 P.M. Just a little after entering N.C. on I95 they had a sign saying to expect an hour delay. I quickly took a detour to 301 and bipassed the delay. On 301 which used to be the main artery North and South. I passed dozens of old Motels that we all used to stop at when traveling, They had all deteriated and were abandoned after I95 opened up. I passed through a town lost in time with an actual Main Street and no Mall, I think the name of the town was Latta, it could just as easily have been Mayberry. I wished I had time to stop and check out the town but Dixie did not know I was coming and I wanted to get to the Motorhome before dark. Well I made it about 7 P.M. and I knock on the door and Dixie did not recognize me, she had not seen me with my head shaved or my new glasses, she asked herself what the hell is Evan doing here? I had not had anything to eat all day so we stoped off at Wendys and I got two of their 99 cent special cheeseburger with bacon and tomato and lettuce. 99cents, how can you beat that?, and we went back to eat the burgers and have some wine. It was great to see Dixie again, you know what "they" say, absence make the heart grow fonder. It is true. We have been visiting Tara Chris and the baby for a few days but now it is time for the traveling to begin. We will be leaving Fayetteville on Friday for areas still not known to even us. Let the games begin. See Ya Brian
04-04-09
Well we left Fayetteville for Columbia S.C. it is only 170 miles away but the wind was blowing 30 mph and gusting to 50.. The shoe box we were driving was pushed all over the road. Got to the downtown Walmart, we were going to stay in the parking lot since it was cool during the day 60 degrees. The gps showed the Walmart, unfortunately it did not know it was closed and that it had moved, so after driving through dowtown rush hour traffic and every road also under construction we went to the RV park with 1,100 spaces. They were filled up, so we just dry camped on their grass area. We went to downtown in the jeep and rode around, nice town, really a just college town for young kids even if it is the State Capital. Went to the Vistas converted railroad area, lots of bars and restaurants. 1st bar we had blue moon and bud light and then found out from Ann our waitress that mich was on special for $1.50 for 16 oz draft. At the 2nd bar, MacDougalls, we had GREAT crab cakes and $3.75 PITCHERS of Bud Light. Now we're home. Had 2 pitchers and talked with Hillary about where to eat. Just had to walk across the street to the Liberty Tap Room And Grill for the best Filet Mignon that Dixie has had in a while, it came with homemade sweet mashed potatoes(Bill where were you?), we split the meal. Miller light was the only Beer that I knew on tap, they had 50 different types. Got back to the Motorhome and got to bed early because we were going to get on the road early. Well it was 36 degrees when we got up, Time to head SOUTH. We are now in New Orleans, 650 miles in one day but it is now in the 70s as I am writing this column. Gereral Sherman was not the only person to move quickly through the South. Wind was calm so we were able to haul ass. We are staying at The French Quarter RV Park. We can walk to everywhere, at night time we will get a taxi as it is, as all RV parks in town ,in the hood. Dixie is done showering so it is now my turn. I'll let you know tomorrow if New Orleans has regained its Pre Katrina Food, Fun, And Drinking. I'm hungry and thirsty. See Ya Brian
04-05-09
Looks like we made the right decision to go south, we were going to head to Memphis and just found out that they now have SNOW in the forecast. I'm glad that we're in New Orleans, The Cresent City, The Big Easy, I guess they couldn't decide on just one nickname. It's 8 AM and we do have heavy fog and a 50 % chance of rain but at least it is going to be in the 80s. Last night we walked to town at 9 P.M. The Police station is mid way so we figured we were safe, then again the cops have guns. We were hungry so Food was on the front burner. We went to the Gumbo Shop but the line was out the door so we went around the corner to The Chartres House. I had the Gumbo which was far superior than The Gumbo Shops Creole version, It was a spicy BROWN/ BLACK Cajun sauce mixed with chicken and andouille sausage cut in small 1/2 inch pieces. Really good and served with a loaf of French bread cut longwise. Dixie had the jambalaya which was just plain plain. We got the local beer Abita, Dixie had the sweet amber and I had the IPA, 20 oz drafts. They also had something I have not seen before. Vodka, Bourbon, and specialty liquor on TAP. The Taps are Frozen so when they pour the shots it is ICE cold, no watered down drinks here. We had to maintain so we passed on the shots. We walked around, and as anyone who has been to the FQ knows, it has it's own aroma to say the least. It was only around 11 and the stinky garbage cans, horse crap, urine and barf truly mixes and makes for a unique New Orleans experience. We have been to New Orleans FQ many times before since 1992 and have seen the place change. Earlier on, the live music blues and jazz was in most bars, there was the 711 club where our favorite Lenny "LaFever" McDaniels played, The Abseinthe House with Local great bands playing every night every week. The Al Hirt, Louis Armstrongs and Jazz Blues Bands do not seem to command the atttention of the current clientel. The bars usually did not charge a cover but you had to buy 2 high priced drinks per set. Then we saw Karaoke take over the bars. Now it's DJ rappin that seems to have taken over. There are still some places that have live local music. Naturally the sex shops and Larry Flint peep shows are still there, even Chris Owens is still there, hard to believe she is still alive. I hope that the evolution of Bourbon Street proves that life is a circle and "once again the old is the now the new new. You can walk around with booze on the streets so naturally they sell it on the streets, how convenient. We bought a couple of beers on the street and walked Bourbon to plan tomorrows plan of attack of late night fare. A lot of our regular haunts have closed so we'll be checking out new ones. We did walk back to the park with not a mugger in site. We are going to drive around and see what is left of the Katrina mess. Driving down we did pass at mm 50 on I59 in Mississippi, about 100 miles from NewOrleans, thousands upon thousands of stored FEMA trailers, hopefully people are in their new houses and apartments, since the trailers are not being used. Bye for now. Just found out that B.B. King is playing tonight at The House of Blues, we will see if we can get tickets, I would love to hear him and "Lucille". Shit! just went on line and BB was cancelled. OK so we go out for breakfast to Cafe Atchafalya (just like it sounds) in the Garden District, this place is mixed in the residential area and a little off the beaten path. We find a parking spot and go inside. Chris the bartender/waiter got us started wiith a minosa and a Screwdriver, just to take the edge off of last night. I should have taken a picture of the food as it was unbelievably delicio. I got the "Eggs Atchafalya" - here we go- Poached eggs on top of perfectly fried green tomatoes with LUMP crab meat with hollandaise sauce to top it off. Dixie got the Bananas Foster French Toast with sauteed bananas in a Rum sauce. We split it up evenly. OMG screw the diet this is worth it, this is worth your first born child. After that we checked out several other restaurant locations we will be eating at during this trip, they were closed since it was Sunday. The town had a Ironman contest today and there were athletes from all over the country, so traffic was screwed up to say the least, funny part was we watched the people coming in after completing the 1.5 mile swim, 100 mile bike ride and 26 mile run, none of them were even sweating. If I was in it I would be gasping for air and have paramedics following right behind me, hell i'm tired from just walking around today. I guess in my next life I'll take better care. They also had a Pirate Day and now they are hand rolling cigars, sounds like Tampa if I ever heard, They are trying to steal "Our" tourist thunder. OK, we had to check out the damage done by Katrina. Dude it is almost 4 years later and this place is still a mess. We drove through neighborhoods that only 1 in 3 houses were being lived in, and almost all are still in some stage of repair, there are still FEMA trailers on houses that people were working on fixing up. There a plenty of "for rent" signs on the fixed up houses so I guess a lot of people never returned. In some places it is hard to figure out what Katrina did and what years of neglect did to some of the houses. One thing for sure is that the Lower Ninth Ward took a catostropic hit. The houses are at least 15 feet below the dike that overflowed. There was not a chance of saving any of those houses, even miles away houses had 6 to 8 feet of water in them. The residents should have heeded the warning to evacuate, however looking at the dike and its height I never would have guessed it to overflow, then again I wouldn't build any house 15' below the water level in Tampa. I sent a picture of a new house in the 9th ward with a picture of the dike behind to put in perspective the height differences. If we get an order to evacuate in Tampa, I'm out of there.They are just now building new houses in the Ninth Ward, hope they got the dike fixed right this time. After driving around we found out that 95% of New Orleans is in the hood so we feel really safe at our campground and every other place, it's just different being the minority. We walked around some more, had a beer here and there, and then we wanted a snack so we went to the Cresent City Brewing House. Like a Hops they make their own beer, we had baked Brie with fresh roasted garlic, grapes and fresh hot french bread. Everything was great but a little expensive for the beers, $15 for 2 beers, they must be using very expensive hops. Have to feed Peanut and take a nap and get ready for tonight. We are now outside the motorhome chilling out, there was no rain today, the skies cleared and it was 82 degrees, life is Good. We might even wussie out and just hang by the RV all night, we've got nothing but time. See Ya Brian
04-06-09
We wussied out and did not hit town last night. This is the first time we have been to New Orleans with a vehicle to drive around so we planned on checking out more places outside of the French Quarter. It is 40 degrees this morning with a freeze warning for tonight, I guess the only place that's hot all the time is Hell. We went to go supply shopping at Wallyworld this morning and the Jeep decided it was cold and that it would be needing a AAA infusion of 12 volts to get started. We are waiting for them to show up. The nice guy shows up in 15 minutes and determines that the battery will start if jumped but needs to be replaced, he has the battery $179. I told him I was headed to Walmart and he told me about Autozone 3 blocks away and got the battery for half price same warranty. Well after the delay it was lunch time, we decided to eat. We went to "Willie Mae's", they are famous for fried chicken, every foodie has done a story on the place. There was a restaurant full of people, you could see that they just opened as almost everyone was waiting on their food. We were put on a waiting list and told to wait outside and that they would call our name when it was our turn, after 35 minutes we were seated. We both ordered the Chicken dinner, and waited another half hour for the food to show up, mine came 5 minutes before Dixies. I like chicken but come on chicken is chicken. The meals were expensive for the clean little restaurant, $10 for 3 pieces and one side, watered down ice tea with no refills $2 each, so so potato salad a mediocre side at best, total bill with tax $26 plus $6 tip and Cash ONLY. Eating Fried chicken at Willie Mae's PRICELESS. It might have sounded like I did not like it, but the chicken alone was worth the $32. I NEVER, NEVER, eat chicken skin, but the chicken after being cooked at Willie Mae's is juicy, tender and, this is the most important part, the skin magically morphs into something between heaven and the carmelized top on a creme brulee. It is not like any chicken skin I have ever tasted. This Chicken is indeed the best that money can buy. I will always eat there whenever I return. Once again I focused on eating the food and forgot to focus and take a picture for you see. We spent the rest of the afternoon at Wallyworld. Peanut is fed and we're off to feed ourselves. We fixed our first drink of the day and are just walking around trying to figure out where and what we wanted for dinner we are still stuffed from lunch so we figure we would go light and cheap. Our plans changed when we found Bon Tons, sometimes plans are meant to be changed. We are seated at 7:30 right before the place fills up. They are only open for lunch from 11 to 2 and dinner from 5 till 9:30 Monday through Friday. As unheard of for any restaurant they are CLOSED on Saturday and Sunday. The owners that are running the place now have only had it since 1952, but they got it from the original owner who opened it in 1900. Not a lot of turnover in the staff, judging by the age and proficiency of the wait staff. We order their specialty drink the "Rum Ramsey Cocktail" the recipe for this is kept secret and was passed down to the current owners from the original owner. The smoothest and easiest drinking rum cocktail on the planet. Not too sweet not too tart, this one is just right. It was so good we ordered another one along with a bottle of sangiovese cab mix wine. I start off with turtle soup, sherry is brought to you to top off as you like in the soup. Dixie orders the shrimp okra gumbo. For our meals I order red fish in butter sauce covered with lump crab meat and topped with two onion rings, my side was creamed cauliflower. Dixie has medium shrimp in a creole sauce. For desert we split a bread pudding in a butter run sauce. If you notice this time I did not use any adjectives in describing the meal, it is because I could not think of any that would not do this food justice. The pictures are worth a thousand words. We are still smiling over this meal. We walk to Bourbon Street and since it is Monday the place is much less crowded, we like. We are looking for live music and find Fat Catz and Bourbon Street Blues Company, they are across the street from each other. Fat Catz has a 10 piece band with a singer that looks like a cross between Gary Coleman and Stevie Wonder and can belt out the oldie songs. The BSBC has a rock band with a drummer with extreme talent. Finally it's 1:30, the time must have changed on us because last time I looked it was 10:30. We drag our sorry full drunk asses to bed. The end. The pictures, the pictures, look at the pictures, you might gain weight just by looking at them but it's worth it. See ya Brian
04-07-09
We decide to stay yet another day in New Orleans at the FQRV. It is 43 degrees when we wake up, it is supposed to warm up. This is one of the RV parks that charge more than we normally pay however it does not require us to drive after drinking, so it is worth it. The usual rate is between $20 and $35 this park is $69 PLUS tax =$83 per day. When the prices are this high you usually see mostly high end Motor coaches, however this park has mostly lower end trailers and motorhomes. These are people ready to go out and party not stay in their motorhome. We are running at half speed today after last night but that doesn't mean we're not looking for a place for lunch. We found out that 2 of the 3 possible spots for lunch had closed down so we went to "Mother's Restaurant". We've been there before for breakfast but this is the first time for lunch. We split a"Ralph" Poboy and a shrimp creole. You wait in line to order what you want and then find a table to eat at and then they bring it to you. The Ralph is a combo roast beef and their "world's best ham" swiss cheese on french bread and is supposed to be covered with gravy but ours came out with the standard mustard and mayo and pickle instead. The food was standard fare, why the lines are out the door is beyond me. We won't be back. We have been tyrying to walk off our meals but I don't think there are enough hours in the day for that. We walk through the Riverwalk and Jax Brewery, half the stores in both places are still closed down from Katrina. We walk through the park in front of St Louis Cathederal in Jackson Square and we decide that we are both still hung over and need a nap. Dinner is at Jacques-Imos Cafe recommended by my sister Karen. It's in the garden district, we luck into a parking spot right in front of the joint. It's a shot gun type building with a Key Westy, Bohemian, Fishing Shack kind of a theme. Their motto is "Be Nice Or Leave". We start with a mojito while we are waiting for our table. We split an appetizer. The alligator, shrimp, sausage, cheese cake; sort of like a quiche, with creole mustard sauce on it (absolutely fabulous!!). We also split a fresh blackened redfish with a shrimp chili horseradish sauce on top, dinner also came with a salad that they split for us and each one came with a fresh fried oyster on the plate. two sides came with the meal we got the mashed swet potato and a creole corn. Then we finished with bread pudding, that was even better than last night, less the rum sauce. Total bill with 2 beers with dinner without tip $45. Not bad for great food. We have decided that if we are going to continue eating like this we need to cut down on the portions so we will now be splitting an appetizer and a meal. We are back at the coach chilling out tonight. The weather is getting warmer tomorrow so we'll be here one more day and then moving out on Thursday. See ya Brian
04-08-09
It's a very comfortable 57 degrees today going to 75, perfect weather. Our electric motor that opens and closes the automatic stairs takes a dump so I order a new one on line from the manufacturer and I have had it shipped to the Memphis Campground where we will be on Friday. We are leaving for Jackson Mississippi tomorrow. We are going to check out the kinder gentler side of New Orleans today. We went to the Faubourg Marigny side of the French Quarter, Just East of where everybody else usually hangs out. This is a more residential side and the bars cater more to the locals and the visitor that likes the "off the beaten path" areas. We first cruised the area in the jeep and then parked. For lunch we ventured into "Coop's Place". Laurie the bartender got Dixie a strawberry Abita and a me a Purple Haze Abita (a Raspberry Wheat Brew) we wanted something different, both were very drinkable beers. The place has the bartender getting beers, cooking rolls, serving meals; and what meals they were. I know we said we were going to split meals but I guess I'm a liar. Dixie got a pork chop with red beans and rice, a flavorful fresh chop with great homecooked beans. I got the Chicken Tchoupitoulas ( the T is silent) the flavor is screaming at you. It's a perfectly grilled chicken breast over a bed of white rice with shrimp and tasso(heavily seasoned spiced smoked ham) all smothered in a delightful butter cream sauce and fresh cajun green beans. Both served with roll of the day. Too good. There's a bunch of locals and two big boned black girls from SanFransisco sitting next to us ordering everything on the menu. We talked with them during the meal and had a great time. Total bill, 2 meals and 3 beers $35. We had to walk it off, so we're just walking around until "Harry's Corner Bar" starts calling our name. Ronnie the bartender gets Dixie an Ultra and I order a Jim Beam and Gingerale. I hit the head and they have a "trough" to P in, with ice in it instead of a urinal. I get Dixie to take a picture of me P'n in the trough. Any girl that wants a picture reply to this email and I'll send it to you. We head back to the Jeep and back to the Coach to chill and feed Peanut. Dixie wasn't crazy about Harry's but I thought it was the perfect seedy bar without getting shot. So we are walking around as usual trying to figure out where to eat, go cheap? go classy? Last night go classy. We are debating between Antoine's, K pauls, and NOLA. we walk back and forth looking at each one's menu. We decide on NOLA (Emeril owns NOLA which stands for New Orleans Louisana). We don't have reservations so we go to the bar and order mojitos, 5 minutes later we have a table. The nicest biggest black guys you have ever seen are our waiters. Adrian and John decide that they like us and are going to tell us the good stuff to order. We split a Nola regular salad consisting of mixed aruluga greens, goat cheese encrusted with pecans, blackberries, bacon and raspberry vinegerette. You know that did NOT suck. We order a red wine a "ARBIOS" from Alexander Valley, California, a 2003 Cabernet, we now call this the working man's Opus One, just as good at a 1/5 the price. We split an appetizer consisting of killer crab cake topped with roasted eggplant with spices and hot sauce mixed in (kind of like a tomatillo sauce) and kalamata olives and feta cheese, You know that did NOT suck. For our meal we got shrimp in grits. Now for people that have never had shrimp and grits you do not know what you are missing. From the time I first had them at Tara and Chris's engagement party in South Carolina I have been hooked on them. I have had them many times since. However I have not ever had them as good as tonight. The cheddar grits melted in your mouth, the bacon debris was evenly mixed in, the shrimp was not overcooked and perfectly spiced. You would think that, that was enough for any normal human being, and it was, however Adrian said that we needed to have the chocolate encircled brownie pecan cake and home made cinnamon SWEET POTATO ice cream with two pieces of a dark chocolate encrusted pecan candy, who were we to argue?, he has not been wrong yet. I suggested to perfect the night that he also bring a Grand Mariner as well. We finish off dinner and I was thinking about asking for the bill when it appears without me having to ask, I check over the bill and put my credit card in for it to be picked up just when I thought it was about time for Adrian to pick it up he was bringing it back already. It was spooky, it was New Orelans Vodoo. No it was just GREAT SERVICE. Oh yeah total bill with tip $150.You think it and it was done. Needless to say that was all for us tonight. I hope that you have enjoyed New Orleans with us. The places we went to are just a sampling, however the ones we liked you have read about. Make sure you get your ass in gear and see for yourself. We're headed out for Mississippi in the morning, and then to Memphis. I am sending this out tonight because I am not sure if we'll have internet tomorrow. Hope you like the pictures. See Ya Brian
04-09-09
We arrive at Jackson Mississippi 1PM. We go to the RV park and it is really a mobile home park and we go to check in and the office is closed because the person in charge is at lunch. I unhook the Jeep and Dixie says that she found another park even closer to where we wanted to be, so we book it back to "Lefleur State Park campground". It is about a mile trip over a well graded road of rocks to the campsite, there is a ton of dust since they have not had rain for a while. I'll probably have to buy new air filters for the coach and Jeep. It cost $16 and we have a beautiful lake around us, only 30 spots and no one to bother us, we walked peanut around the camp and we have no idea where everone is because there are campers but no people, very strange. We get set up and go out for lunch. Dixie found a little restaurant called "Walker's Drive In" it is not a Drive in, it is an upscale chic mini Mise en Place. We get there and they just closed lunch, they will reopen for dinner at 5:30. It's around the College so there are a lot of other little places. We eat at a place called "Que Sera Sera standard food nothing special. The girl next to us suggest a local Missississippi beer called "Southern Pecan" a little too heavy for me but if you are only having one it's nice. When have you ever heard of us only having one. We find a small ART shop, took a few pictures, sort of like Mardi Gras theme everything they have. We go back to Walker's and find out that their dinner menu prices are double what they are for lunch. We get a bottle of wine and two appetizers. $58 with tip. The wine "Redtree" 2007 a very mild cab that grows on you with every sip, we split a breadless jumbo crab cake and tamales. Dixie especially liked the tomales and I love the crabcake. Between trips to Walkers we checked out downtown, and it is a lot like Tampa, lots of people with no place to go. Conclusion: Jackson is a town that time forgot. Nothing going on. Big capital building, a couple of museums, subburbs just developing so it is time to move on. Memphis here we come. See Ya Brian.
04-10-09
Left out 9:30, no shower. Cloudy skies wind howling at 30 gusting to 45mph, seemed like a 100. A good trip but could only go 55 due to wind. Got to the "Mississippi River RV Park" only a mile from downtown Memphis and only $26. We get to the park at 1 PM and it has a sign saying that she will return at 4:15, Dixie calls and she tells us which spot is ours. (All of the reviews on this park say that it sucks, it's just a parking lot and that there is nothing for kids to do.) We find the place secure, clean with quite a few friendly live ins, close to everything and cheap, Well that's the place for us. We went to the Arcade Restaurant for lunch. The Arcade is the oldest cafe in Memphis, everyone form Elvis to Jerry Lee has eaten there along with countless movies filmed in and outside the place. It's 2 in the afternoon and the place is packed on both sides. Nicole our waitress gets Dixie her unsweetened Ice tea and me a diet coke, we have got to cut down on calories somewhere. So Dixies orders "The Main Street" it's real ham, brie cheese, pear, with creole mustard. I needed some basic food, so I order country fried steak with gravy, mashed potatoes with gravy, baby lima beans, with gravy and a corn muffin, with gravy. So much for calorie cutting. It was great and we are headed back to the RV to get cleaned up. Dixie goes to the office to check in she tells the lady that we do not know how long that we will be staying so she says to just pay her, when we leave, how about that for trust. Also UPS has delivered the motor to the office for the electric stairs so I know I have a job for in the morning. We're in town now and stop off for a beer at "The Flying Saucer" They have like a gazillin beers from all over the world. Jeremiah our bartender is friendly and knowledgeable about all the beers, so Dixie orders a Southern Pecan and I order a local beer, a Ghost River Pale Ale. It's happy hour until 7,you get 20oz for the price of 16oz, these are potent beers. We split a nachos with queso and chili and salza, absolutely the worst chips come with the great queso. We barely touch them since the chips were so bad. I had Jeremiah let me sample a "Woodchuck Pear Cider" made in Vermont, it is super sweet and it does not even taste of alcohol so I knew you could end up with a hangover real easy. I decide on a "Seadog Blueberry" beer made in Maine and Dixie gets an Abita Amber so I have a pretty good beer buzz going on. Tell Eddie I had Booberry. We decide to walk off the buzz and we check out town, a lot of the places that we knew have closed with new ones in their place. We go by the Peabody Hotel, we wanted a current map and tourist guide so I ask the concierge for one(I had an old one from 2 years ago, and showed it to him), he said that the hotel did not have those but he had a copy for himself that he gave to me. Pretty nice guy. We have a drink at their bar and plan our attack. We are hungry and want a place that has live music and food so we find "Ground Zero Blues Club". Two guys are singing and another larger band is setting up to play when they got done, the lead guitarist looks like Joe Melnick, the famous race car driver but with a mustach. I order a bud lite also a pork bbq sandwich with cole slaw on the bbq with beans and mac and cheese, can't go wrong with the basics. Dixie gets a miller lite and Mississippi caviar (black eyed peas, tomatoes, spices, garlic, onion) with chips, yummy. We finish our meal and another round and decide to move on. Lots of carriages hauling lovers around with lights all over them. We find "Automatic Slims" a sort of martini bar with food. The 3 man band drew us in, they played the classic oldies from the 70s and 80. Dixie decides on a snickers martini and then a butterfinger martini and nobody had better try to take that butterfinger. I'm sticking with beer. Bob the bartender was busy but found time to talk with us, nice guy. I ordered a snack of ravioli, 4 cheese raviloi covered in a pesto sauce, I loved them Dixie thought that the pasta was a little thick. It's now getting close to the other 12 oclock, so we call it a day. Our internet is not working so I do not know when this will go out. See Ya Brian 2009 Road Trip 89 80 69 65 64 53 54 55 56
04-10-09
I got the date wrong on yesterday's blog in the subject area. Today it is going to the mid 70s and clear skies, the wind still makes it feel cold. Dragged out the tools to change the stair motor, the guy that I ordered it from told me it was an easy job, and by golly he was right. Half an hour later I'm done, I like to think it is because of my knowledge, dexterity and skill, but I think they made it so that any monkey could do the job. A guy comes by that lives in the park and says hi and to see if I needed any help, I told him I had it under control but thanks anyway. We are in the coach planning our day. Before we go out we stop by the office and tell Huguette the owner that we will be staying for a week so it is only $160 for the week. We also find out that she has internet that we should be able to use for free. We decide to go to Neely's (The Neeley's on the Food channel) Bar B Que. We order the Neely's Pulled Pork Platter. The menu says heaping amounts of hickory smoked pork cooked to tender perfection and drenched in barbeque sauce. They will never be sued for false advertising, it is as stated. I will add, delieriously delicious and the most moist pulled pork I have ever tasted. We got baked beans and coleslaw and a basket of soft dinner rolls. We got the large $10.50. We also tried the barbeque spaghetti. It's a mix of regular spaghetti sauce and their barbeque sauce poured over pasta with lots of pork mixed in. We got the large $3.79. Bobby K you will be proud of me I ordered a Dr. Pepper, not even diet. Dixie an unsweetened tea. Katrina our waitress took great care to be courteous and efficient. We took home more than we could eat at the restaurant. Good Bar B Que cheap, that's how you get on TV. We found out that they are having a crawfish festival at Overton Square. We drive over and there are a few venders and it's in the parking lot of Bayou Bar and Grill. They are selling crawfish and beer. We get a beer. We both thought when it said "Overton Square" that there would be like a park with grass to sit down on, there was not anywhere to sit and chill. They have a decent band set up on stage and we listen for an hour or so and then go back to the coach. I wash the coach and the jeep and Dixie cleans the inside, that takes care of 3 hours and the got to do things for a while. We are starting to get hungry again, imagine that, so we're off to town. We walk the whole district and can't figure out what to eat so we go to a hamburger place "Hueys", it was after 9 so at least it isn't loaded with kids like it was yesterday. They claim the best hamburger in town award since 1984. I order a burger and beer Dixie gets a salad and beer. The burger arrives and the sour dough roll is old and soggy and Dixie's salad is just OK. I don't know who does the voting but I've had better burgers almost everywhere. We finish up and decide to just get a huge beer and hang out on Beale and listen to the bands without paying a cover. We quickly realize that it is colder than we thought and decide to leave and check out The Blue Monkey a couple of miles away on Front Street, we drive by and nothing is happening, it's an omen for us to go home. See Ya Brian 2009 Road Trip 88 87 86 85 57