Blues, Beer and Beale Street

I finally found the blues that made this area of the country famous. On Beale Street you are surrounded with music, from the lone guy who's playing his guitar on the corner, to the band who set up in the open pavillion to the three piece group who's playing in the bar.

I first found a piece of curb and watched this band jam away outside. All the players were black except for this scrawny white guy who made his guitar sing.



Then I walked up and down Beale, stopping in another bar for a beer and the best BBQ ribs that just melted off the bone.

When the sun went down is when the place really got lively. The streets were closed off to traffic so I was able to wander from bar to bar with a beer, getting a taste of each musical style along the way.

The best find of the night was at the Blues City Cafe where this amazing three piece band blew me away. If anyone had sold their soul to the devil at the crossroads, it was these people. The guitarist had fingers like lightning, the stand-up base player had a face like plastic that he contorted into ridiculous expressions and even played that monster base riding it like a mechanical bull.



The Dempseys were true entertainers and had command of the crows with the first strum of the guitar. But the most amazing feet was when the guitarist AND the bass player played a double neck guitar at the same time.



Memphis has it going on here. This is a must visit for anyone who travels out this way. I had such a great time here, I didn't want to leave, but I knew if I didn't then I would have had to get a room downtown and I needed to be back on the road to outrun Hurricane Dennis.



Next stop, Nashville.

Elvis has left the building

Total Miles: 1,536
States Visited: 7

The stretch of driving through Missouri and Arkansas was boring. More farms, more silos, but I had some crazy country music to amuse me. One of the songs proclaimed "I love drunk chicks, because drunk chicks love me."

Soon I reached Memphis and drove straight to Graceland. You get corraled at a visitors center right across the street and take a shuttle to the house. It was weird to see the neighbors homes from the side and back yards. I wonder what they think about all these tourists.



The home itself was a lot smaller than what you might imagine, but it's presence far outweighs its size. I walked through with a perpetual grin because the decoration was so kitch, gaudy, funny. I loved it.

The crowd here is very diverse: rednecks, white trash, future murders and there's even a family of 'little people'. If you were couting mullets and feathered hair, you'd loose count.


The Jungle Room

Going through the home and grounds, with my audio guide, I didn't think of the fat, fried peanut butter and banana sandwich Elvis, but the hot, black leather Elvis.




After the tour, I had my phone interview in the parking lot. The guy who interviewed me was honored that I would take his call from the hallowed grounds of the King and asked me to pay his requests for him. The call went well and so far, everything Stweart said sounded great. It's just the commute into NYC....ugh.

In the news

Waking up this morning to the news of the London bombings put a damper on my trip today. I was so sad to watch what such stupid people do.

I'm also keeping an eye on the weather, trying to stay between both of the hurricanes. Looks like any thoughts of heading further south to New Orleans and Atlanta are gone and now I'll be trying to follow behind Hurricane Charley through Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia.

In other news, I have a phone interview this afternoon with an interactive agency in NYC. Wish me luck.

Off to see the King...

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis

Total miles traveled: 824
Stated visiteed: 5

The scenery through Illinois was pretty much the same: farms, corn, silos, until I got to the edle of the state and greenery gave way to concrete and skyscrapers. Finally after one bend in the road, the Gateway Arch appeared.



I went insde the museum below the arch and was facinated with the artifacts collected from the settlers, farmers, soldiers and indians of the day. Unfortunately I didn't go to the top of the arch because the wait was 2 hours, and I had better ways to spend my time.

It was a strange feeling sitting underneat the arch outside. The Gateway to the West was the furthest west that I would be going on this trip.



I had a late lunch at Laclede's Landing, a restaurant row nesr the waterfront, and then took the MetroLink to Union Station. It was an old train station converted to a mall and hotel. Very touristy, but the original structure was intact and renovated to it's former glory.

I was quickly bored with St. Louis. I had to get out.



I took a detour to Bonne Terre, MO to visit Patty at the bar she owned, Crossroads. Patty screamed when she saw me, it was completely unexpected. She instantly introduced me to her friends as 'the girl I met in Chicago that I was telling you about."

I had a wonderful time visiting her and had the most fantastic filet mignon I've tasted in a long while. Yum!

By 10pm I was ready to head back on the road and took a winding, dark, lonely backroad back to the interstate. I looked out the sunroof and yelled, "WOW!" The view of the stars was amazing, like somone scattered sequence across the sky. Now, this was America.

Get your kicks on Rt 66

From Bloomington, IL through St. Louis, MO Rt. 66 runs parallel to I-55, so I'd jump off the interstate every now and then to take a ride on the 'Mother Road'. For the most part I'd have cornfields on my right and the interstate on my left but once in a while I'd drive through a small town with little bungalow houses that look slike those on 16th Avenue in Belmar, NJ. Or I'd see a block of shops that comprised of their Main Street, complete with the train tracks running through at the edge of the block.



The best surprise was driving and coming upon this roadside attraction of a huge ax embedded in a stump, and a huge Abe Lincon riding on a covered wagon, This is the Land of Lincon after all.

Sweet Home, Chicago

Upon leaving the hotel, I went across the street to Grant Park where they were cleaning up from the Taste of Chicago festival. The Buckingham Fountain was amazing...



but was not to be outdone by the beautiful Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue of its kind in the United States, designed by Frank Gehry.




From there I roamed the city, ate lunch at Navy Pier, took a trolly up to Lincon Park. On it I talked to a nice woman about places to see while in St. Louis. I walked through the neighborhoods filled with beautiful townhouses, some old with amazing architecture and some new and modern. From there,I took the 'L' to Wrigley Field and stayed just long enough to take a picture.



By 4:00 I was ready to be on my way, but since I'm jobless, I forget that the rest of the world still does work and sat in traffic leaving Chicago on my way to St. Louis.

Last night I stayed in a town just because I liked the name, Normal, IL. I'll leave it to you to decide if I actually deserve to be here.

Yeah, but does She vote?

Seen on a bumper sticker:

God is not a Republican

I can't make this shit up...

I came into Chicago through Lakeshore Drive so I was able to see the skyline rise up along the edge of Lake Michigan.



First stop was at Navy Pier, where I took a sightseeing cruise. The Angles of Music interviened again.

On board was a group of older ladies who had enough energy and fire to rival The Quad in our college days. They were hammered and loving life. It was still raining slightly so they were festooned in plastic garbage bags as ponchos and a margarita in hand.

I asked where they were from and they said St. Louis. Well that happens to be my next stop and soon we were chatting away. They were so excited to hear that I was traveling around on my own, and Patty, the self appointed leader instantly adopted me as a daughter. She was havingme pose here and there to get the perfect shot with the Chicago skyline in the background.



These women, who were old enough to me my mother and grandmother soon invited me to not only spend the rest of the day with them, but because Jackie, the soon to be 70 year old party girl, had an extra bed in her room, I was invited to stay the night in their hotel!!

After the cruise, the St. Louis Ya-Ya's took a taxi back to their hotel and I drove the men of their group, Ivan and Jim back. Poor Jim, someone's grandfather, was wedged behind me in the backseat with my dog's hair keeping him company.

The group met up in the lounge - where else. Patty, 48, has the mouth of a truck driver and a heart of gold. Jackie, 69, was the sweetest person I've ever met. Her line was "I love it", unless she was talking about her dearest friends, in which case she addressed them as "you assholes". Patty had called Jackie's husband on the phone. Patty handed the phone to Jackie and she responded:

"Who's on the phone? Dave? F-U-C-K." She took the phone, "Hi sweetheart, you asshole."

Marlena, also in her 60's was the middleground between Patty and Jackie. She could cuss with the rest of them, but seemed a little more innocent than Patty.


Patty, Me, Jim, Marlena, Ivan and Jackie.

We had dinner at Miller's Pub where I had a great steak and Jackie and Marlena made friends at the next table with a Chicago native who lived there for 70+ years.

After dinner we went to the John Hanckock's Signature Lounge on the 96th floor to watch the fireworks. It was so beautiful to watch the sunset over Chicago and the flickers of fireworks all over the city, like fireflies. Patty and I left the others and went to a table on the other side of the building to watch the fireworks display over Navy Pier. We wound up losing the group, so we had one more drink at the bar then took a cab back to the hotel. But Patty and I weren't done yet. We wanted to hear some Chicago blues.

We walked to a blues club a few blocks away, but unfortunately it was closed. Actually it was probably a good thing as I was exhausted and with Patty it was bound to be an intersting night. The ladies asked me if I was sure what I was getting myself into going out with Patty.

I finally called it a night and joined Jackie up in the room for a good night's rest. This morning, I packed up my gear, thanked Jackie for her hospitality and got the name of the bar that Patty owns outside of St. Louis so I can be sure to vist.

Now, the city of Chicago is calling me and I have a lot more to see.

Chicago, baby!

When I got to Chicago, the rain did too

R-O-C-K in the USA

Once I got some rest, it was back on the road for more adventure. I drove across Ohio and once I got into Indiana, I put John Mellencamp on the iPod as a tribute to him.



The scenery was all farmland, with the occasional wiff of horse shit.