Today we must
say farewell to the bright lights of Redneck Disney as we head West to the home
of Elvis, Memphis, TN. The picture to the right is another view of the
wonder of the place we leave. As soon as we hit the interstate again we
were once again treated to the delights of CB chatter, the voices seem to have
dropped 3 octaves and the normal 'ppreciate it driver was supplemented with the
classic Tennessee Uh huh. Classic conversation of the day is transcribed
below:
Driver1: What ya got back there?
Driver2: Chickens.
Driver1: Chiiickeeens?
Driver2: Yup, I'm a chicken hauler
Driver1: REAALLY!!! I'm a chicken hauler wannabe
Hence today will be pronounced "chicken hauler wannabe" day.
We stopped for lunch at a "Waffle House" which could best be
described as a fast food diner who's specialties include Waffles, Pancakes
etc. Given yesterday's pseudo healthy lunch this was a real shock to the
system, but listening to conversations and taking in the atmosphere was a real
taste of what we were expecting on our trip.
The countryside was heavily wooded with little to report upon. We took it fairly easy today as being the last couple of days of the month Smokey is always looking for donations. We gained an hour today as we crossed into central time. This meant we arrived in Memphis fairly early in the afternoon.
Tonight's accommodation was absolute luxury in the Peabody hotel. This
is an historic hotel and rates as the best hotel in Memphis with old fashioned
southern 
hospitality and service. We were also fortunate enough to get a
room upgrade too!! Car was valet parked, bags brought to rooms etc.
Chris spent the first part of the afternoon fighting with the laptop to get
internet connectivity such as to update the website and also to check work
email. During this time Jef went down to experience the march of the ducks
from the fountain in the lobby to the lift and then up to their penthouse
apartment. Jef commented that he has now seen everything.
For dinner we visited an interesting restaurant called Automatic Slims which
served Caribbean influenced food, all in all it's probably Chris's second
favourite restaurant in Memphis. Evening entertainment took us for a walk
down Beale Street which wasn't too lively so we ventured into the Flying Saucer
pub for a few beers. The last beer of the evening was a "La Fin Du
Monde" a sumptuous French Canadian beer tipping the scales at 9% abv.
In 
the end, however, we made this a fairly early
night as the drive tomorrow is long and we were both completely knackered.