Day 2

None of my thoughts on the road seem nearly as relevant as when I’m first thinking them on the road. By the time I get to this point, I’ve forgotten most of them. However, a few things caught my eye that I do remember. Somewhere between Nashville and Memphis (not a fabulous drive, although not terrible), I came across a state park sign in the official brown and white that read “Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park”…yes, Nathan Bedford Forrest. I’m ashamed to say that I recognized the name from Forrest Gump. I believe that’s who he’s named after. In the history of Gump’s name, his namesake is the first grand wizard of the kkk. Which I will not even capitalize because it’s not worth capitalization. But in any case, I was shocked that the state of Tennessee would memorialize such a son of a bitch. Ugh. Minus 50 points, Tennessee.

I had high hopes for Memphis. I wanted to see Graceland. Not because I really care much about Elvis, but I thought it’d be cool. Turns out it’s a total tourist trap for which I am too cheap. I paid $8 for parking, went in, and it was about $28 for the cheapest tour. Bullshit. Minus some more points. Like I said, I don’t care that much about Elvis. So I went to the giftshop instead and bought some tacky Graceland shit and then went on my merry way.

So then I had a second mission in Memphis: BBQ. I’ve heard of Memphis Style. Bobby Flay and the Food Network’s BBQ week have alerted me. So I set off to find some. I settled on Jim Nealy’s Famous Interstate BBQ. Plugged it into the GPS and located that delicious restaurant. I got a chopped BBQ sandwich and a sweet tea. Seemed appropriate. And perfect. It was both. It’s more like Western NC BBQ than Eastern, b/c it’s definitely ketchup based. Having grown up in western NC, I almost feel like a traitor saying I enjoy vinegar based BBQ better. But there it is: I like vinegar based BBQ better. In any case, this was not that. But it was super good. I forgot to ask for no slaw, because if you have grown up around BBQ you know that slaw automatically comes on BBQ sandwiches. But I forgot. And even though it may disqualify me from being a true “southern girl,” I don’t like anything cabbage related, thus, coleslaw = gross. However, the BBQ at this place was more than good enough to account for the (thankfully small) amount of coleslaw. So wow, that’s a lot about BBQ, but dammit. I love BBQ. 10 points, Tennessee.

After my BBQ excursion, I hopped back on 40 to head across the Mississippi. I had no idea how close Memphis and the Mississippi are to one another. I really wanted to get out at the River and take a picture, because, wow! , it’s the biggest river in the country. But, alas, that was not to be. I crossed it, but the bridge’s walls were too high and I was on a big interstate (I-40) so no place to get out before or after. Next time I cross the Ole Miss, I’ll find a small bridge and take pictures. August, I suppose. In any case, here's a super fantastic exciting picture of the bridge over the river since it was all I could get.

As soon as I got into Arkansas, I realized it was beautiful. There were some pretty flat lands around the river, but as you got further inland, there were more rolling hills and just fields and trees. This picture is near the river and I did not intentionally take a picture with a truck in it, much less a Wal-Mart truck...but there it is: Pretty land w/ Wal-Mart mucking up the scenery -- Arkansas in a nutshell. I also saw some of the Ozarks and I really just can’t do them justice in trying to describe them. They are small mountains. Way smaller than the Apps, but they are so pretty. I like that they aren’t completely covered by trees like the Apps are. It actually reminded me of Ireland. So very green and beautiful. So I rode 40 all the way through AK except for the last bit where I hopped in 540 N to Fayetteville.

There are two parts of Fayetteville, Arkansas. First of all, I should say that Bentonville, which is the headquarters of Wal-Mart is directly north (about 30 min) of Fayetteville. So the northern side of Fayetteville is ugly. Full of chain restaurants/stores/fastfood. Boring. It could be any town in the US. However, the redeeming factor is southern Fayetteville. It reminded me of Asheville or Carrboro. Very socially aware and environmentally friendly. Full of hippies and cool kids. Lots of trees and bikes and people actually walk. It’s amazing. If it weren’t for its geographical location in the US, I’d love to live there. No close cities worth going to.

It was wonderful to see Liz again. We have known each other for 10 years now and that’s a LooooooooNG time. Her and I caught up on all the people we know in common, which considering involves all of hickory and UNC, we get a little busy. We traded fun stories about our lives in the 2 years since we’ve lived with one another and generally caught up on life. I didn’t realize how much I missed her until I got there. I really wish I had a few more days there to see everything that there is to see. I did get to go Sonic for the first time though. I had a strawberry real fruit slush and loved it. We vowed to go the next morning for breakfast. Afterwards, we went to a really good pizza place (Tiny Tim’s) within walking distance of her apartment. And I got to see the University of Arkansas campus. We drove through and walked around. I was pretty impressed with how pretty it was. Although at that point, it didn’t surprise me b/c I’d seen how gorgeous Arkansas is. One notable thing is that the Razorback Football team’s stadium is ridiculous. Liz explained that there’s no other huge university, no pro teams of any sport, and nothing nearby, so it’s only natural that everyone freaks out about college football. I can’t in good conscience say “Go Razorbacks,” but as long as they’re not playing UNC, I guess I could cheer for them, but I'm not calling the pigs. That's for sure.

After campus and dinner, we went to a nearby bar w/a patio. Some of Liz’s friends happened to be there, so we hung out and I eventually got to meet her boyfriend. It was a good time and beautiful weather…as it had been the whole time. Then Liz and I went to this dive bar across the street—Maxine’s-- b/c she wanted me to have the true Fayetteville experience. It looked like a nightmare from the outside. It was just this brick building w/ a crappy sign and a pink light emanating from the door that had metal crisscrosses on it which led to stairs and down into the bar. It wasn't actually as creepy as it looked from the outside and it has a cool story. She told me that it was founded in the 50s of 60s, but had burnt down a few years before. Maxine was the owner and bartender and she had a certain stool which was the only thing to survive the fire. Apparently Maxine is no longer on earth, but her stool remains and it took several years for the town of Fayetteville to scour the country’s antique shops for the old memorabilia that bedecked it’s bar. We’re talking old Budweiser handing lamps and very 60s diner type stools. I still think it’s weird that Maxine’s stool was the only thing that survived. It looks worse for the wear, but I suppose you could sit on it. I didn’t dare. I feel unworthy.

After Max’s, we headed home and hung out for a bit longer and then went to sleep with her crazy cat (only a year old) careening throughout the room like a mad man. Also, I woke up at one point with her sitting on me and think I scared her to death. I don’t feel bad…the feeling was mutual.