The furniture movers arrived promptly Friday morning and by 1 pm we were loaded up and on the road back east. Friday night we camped at Palo Duro Canyon State Park just south of Amarillo. Known as the “Grand Canyon” of Texas, it really was beautiful. We camped at the bottom of the canyon in one of several camp grounds. Colored canyon walls rose on either side and the bottom was intersected by small arroyos with lots of signs warning about flash floods.
Saturday we sped across Oklahoma’s back roads and into western Arkansas. In Oklahoma we stopped for a picnic lunch at Ft. Cobb Wildlife Management area. There is a large lake there surrounded by forests and homes. A friendly bulldog accompanied us on a walk on the red dirt roads that follow the lake shore. In Arkansas, the rivers were in flood stage and the first park we stopped at hoping to camp near Alma, AR, was closed. So we went to a nearby KOA instead. KOAs are always neat and clean with great restrooms. This one had lots of odd looking ducks that came around looking for handouts (see photo of nesting duck). We went out for dinner, and got very average Italian food. Unfortunately the Catfish Hole had a long line. It rained that night, but we were warm and dry in our tent.
It stayed cloudy as we kept mainly to Rt. 40 through AR. We decided to visit Graceland since we were going to pass right by it. The ticket pavilion is across a 4 lane street from the house and they ferry people over on small buses. You get an audio tour with your admission. The house looks like a modest southern mansion from the front, but is fairly small really. On the tour you visit the first floor, the finished basement and the outbuildings. The décor is extreme 70s. Green shag carpeting in the “living room”, called the Jungle room because of the color and heavy carved wood furniture (see photo). A mirrored rec room in the basement and another room covered in pleated boldly patterned fabric on the walls and ceiling. Other buildings contained Elvis’ dad’s office and an enormous trophy collection. From that collection you see the overwhelming influence Elvis must have had on the musical world.
Keeping with our musical theme, we made our way to Nashville, home of country music! We found a hotel near downtown and made our way over to the bars and restaurants in “The District”. After strolling around a few blocks, we had dinner at Ichiban, a very good Japanese restaurant. We were desperate for some good food and this was very satisfying. Afterwards we picked out a bar with a band. At most of the bars, the bands are visible and audible through a glass window facing the street. So you can walk along and choose where you want to go based on what music appeals. We ended up at the “Second Fiddle” and got a beer at the bar. The band was quite good and played a wide range of classic and contemporary covers. One band member’s fiancée was there with her sister, and the sister also sang a few LeAnn Rimes songs quite well.
The next day we drove to Knoxville where my high school friend Mary now lives. She took us to a good local chain restaurant for lunch and then we went for a short walk at a local waterfront park. Knoxville seems to be surrounded by rivers and lakes. Apparently boating is a big thing to do there. Fortified with goodies she’d made, we continued on to Abingdon, VA to visit my friend Quinn. Quinn is an artist, actress, and “cat wrangler” for a cat rescue organization. She and her current two cats greeted us (or at least one cat did, we never did see the other one). We went for a walk around the incredibly cute town of Abingdon. It would be a great place for a long weekend of theatre and hiking. Quinn fixed us a salad made with locally collected branch lettuce and pasta with homemade pesto.
Finally, on Tuesday we drove from Abingdon to Oxford, MD! We did detour off the interstate for a while and stopped for lunch in Sperryville, VA at a café in an old renovated church building. Arriving in Oxford around 4:30, we were warmly welcomed by my mom and dad and by Calla! Calla seemed to forgive me for having left her for a year, although I’m sure it wasn’t hard for her given all the attention she got while I was gone!
No comments:
Post a Comment