Elvis Country ---> Fried Chicken ---> Clinton Country

Sunday, 10/31

We continued to be blessed with great weather.  Autumn at its best, with the foliage falling behind us.  Sunday on the road in less populated areas, especially on very good roads makes the day an easy one.  The goal is to sneak into the Little Rock, Arkansas area and visit the Clinton Presidential Museum.  Our route from Mississippi to Arkansas took us through a corner of Tennessee and a city we've explored 4 years ago.  What we didn't know then was that our computer could connect with http://www.flavortownusa.com/, hosted by Guy Fieri, seen on The Food Channel, a favorite of Doris.

As you know, on this trip, we've wallowed in troughs of Midwestern beef, corn on the cob, Chicago "dogs", Vermont syrup & donuts, Maine lobster, Rhode Island clams, Maryland crab, Virginia ham, "down home" Georgia cookin', Alabama ribs.  You'd also think that we've "oink, oinked" enough and should have started a starvation diet so that we'd be ready for the upcoming Thanksgiving stuffing ... of turkeys and ourselves.

But NO!  Tennessee said it's time for Sunday lunch.  While I'm driving toward Memphis, Doris searched the website for a good representative of Memphis dining.  She came up with ribs or fried chicken.  Memphis ribs we'd done 4 years ago and gagged.  Dry rubbed ribs meant they'd been cooked and the spices dry rubbed onto the ribs, afterward.  Yuck.

So, it was chicken this time and Food Channel's Guy Fieri said the best in town were at "Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken" on Millbranch Street.  We tuned in the GPS and soon found ourselves skirting Memphis' airport and driving into an area that most of us would not choose at nighttime, especially if one had seen it in bright daylight, just as we were.  Assuming Guy did not have heavily armed guards and lived through the experience, we slowly motored deeper into the area of less fortunate folk, finally locating the strip mall that accommodated the kitchen with the best fried chicken on earth.  The parking lot was nearly empty of cars, but not of wandering young men.  Uh oh.  A nail shop, a hair salon, an ethnic grocery selling chitlins and collard greens, etc., plus several empty store fronts.  And "Uncle Lou's". 

"Uncle Lou, Dude your chicken is so off da chart.  Keep cookin'"

Inside this restaurant with rolls of paper towels on plastic covered tables, our order taker spoke in "southern black", a language that might as well have been Sanskrit, but we got our order placed and then waited.  With a blaze of laughter, a young black man storms in and starts talking to everyone, a real charmer.  Seems he's related to the real Uncle Lou and loves to share how wonderful the food is, what a great guy Uncle Lou is, and then proceeds to serve us, adding extra chicken because we told him we traveled from California because of what we saw on TV.  Other people strolled in, some from St. Louis, others from New York, even a "local", and we all shared the same reason.  It was a fun cross-cultural experience, just talking and taking pictures together while we waited and ate.

Uncle Lou's Sunday public relations "dude" greets another customer.

The chicken?  Unbelievable.  The promotion was absolutely spot on.  We all agreed it was the best we've ever had.  (In fact, I never before enjoyed so much a meal at a restaurant highly praised by the media.)  If you don't believe us, grab a flight to Memphis, take a short cab ride and treat yourself.  Just be sure to bring home an order for us.

Chickens cluck.  After an Uncle Lou's over sized Sunday fried chicken lunch, his customers "cluck" high praise.

By the time we finished our Sunday chicken in Memphis, the drive to Little Rock took longer than expected and once again, Walmart provided overnight parking.  President Clinton would have to wait for us to inspect his memorabilia (or what remains after the XXX portion was removed).  After that fried chicken lunch, our Walmart parking lot Halloween trick-or-treaters were given free directions back to Uncle Lou's.  Someday, they'll appreciate our Halloween "treat".

Big Decision & Elvis Land

Saturday, 10/30

Early morning was spent making a big decision.  Do we continue southward and visit more friends outside New Orleans and onward into southern Texas for more such visits and sightseeing ... or begin a more westerly heading toward home.  We've been on the road 2 1/2 months and a continued pleasurable, educational and friend-filled days that includes the deeper south and southwest will add a month.  That, dear friends, puts major pressure on being home a few days before Thanksgiving.  In fact, the pace we've been enjoying would see us enjoying(?) Thanksgiving together, with fellow roadies, but without family and friends.

It became evident that we needed to delay those visits 'til our next trip when we'll cover the deeper South ... in depth.  (Oh boy!  I get to design another cross country road trip.)

Saying farewell to Georgia on a quiet Saturday, we cruise into northern Alabama.  Rolling countryside, passing the Talledega Super Speedway, filled with more RVs than any rally we've seen (big races today), and with the sun at our backs, we approach Birmingham and decide to try some southern cookin'.  BBQ'd ribs seemed in order and that is what we did ... order some.  Surely there were better ones in the South because these did not rise to what Doris can produce with little effort. 

Moving northwest, we reach our destination, Tupelo.  Why Tupelo?  I knew of Tupelo because of studying the Civil War ... and because it's Elvis Presley's birthplace.  A small, truly southern town, it was easy to find the house where he was born, and where he lived with his very poor parents 'til age 3 when Dad moved the family further south in hopes of finding a job that could support the family.  Elvis' life ended in tragedy, but he was a remarkable philanthropist.  His first gift was a home to his parents, followed by purchasing his birthplace and 15 acres, giving them to Tupelo as an historic site.

Tupelo, MS:  Elvis' birthplace.  Two rooms, 2 parents, 2 children.

Front room/living room/bedroom for 4.

Kitchen/dining room/playroom.  The bathroom was outside.

We stayed the night in this town, now populated by 36,000 people and home to one of Toyota's manufacturing plants, supporting a poor region of this country.

The Big Chicken & A Bigger Dinner

Friday, 10/29

It feels like summer with foliage and John gave us some ideas for exploring downtown Marietta, a near idyllic suburb of Atlanta, and one that barely escaped destruction during the Civil War. 

So, how do we find the plaza in the center of Marietta?  "Drive out of the RV park, turn right on the main street, then left at the big chicken."  Whaaat??  "Just don't think about it, you can't miss it".  Hmmm.  We're driving our coach and while we're good at getting around places others have said isn't possible.  But, being told that looking for a big chicken while driving in city traffic wasn't the most reassuring direction item we've heard before John, known for his humor, shared it with us.

Whatever, off we went and, sure enough, driving down the busy thoroughfare, there was a BIG chicken!  With beak opening and closing while its eyes were rolling, this BIG chicken, 3 stories tall, stood by the highway intersection, overlooking a Kentucky Fried Chicken store.

The Big Chicken, the landmark that guides everyone throughout Marietta.  Too bad all KFCs don't have one.  GPS and Mapquest aids would become extinct.

With the siting, we turned left and squeeezed our way downtown and around the ornate, tree-filled plaza.  Finally we found parking a few blocks away in front of a Baptist church, the church letting know for sure that we definitely are in the South where Baptist churches abound.

Walking throughout downtown Marietta was a special pleasure, along with having lunch in a historic building overlooking the plaza.  Sociable locals guided us about, and shopping became another pleasure for both of us.

Dinner tonight?  An exquisite, 4 course meal with intermissions between each course.  All this prepared by John & Cecile's daughter and son-in-law in their beautiful, shared Marietta home on a golf course.  What an experience with such a loving, harmonious family.  With everyone sharing stories and humor, it was nearly 11pm when we realized that it's time to leave and let those who still work get their night's rest.  This, our last night in Marietta, was a celebration of long term friendship.

Michelin would award 5 forks for this dinner.  Great food, great ambiance, great friends providing us with a farewell to Georgia dinner.