That old crooked highway... the road to Memphis

I got up early, like crack-of-dawn, should-be-outlawed kind of early, to get the picnic packed and the last of the luggage in the car. Made sure that Nigelito Poquito Burrito had his breakfast and ample opportunity to relieve himself! The kids didn't seem to care about waking up early, they were just excited to go. Little did they realize that when I said we'd spend two days in a car, I wasn't kidding!

First stop, The Donut Palace on Wells Branch! What can I say, it's a road trip tradition. We HAVE to have donuts, and not the crappy Krispy Kreme nastiness--the honest-to-goodness, fresh, Sunday morning donuts that diligent, hard-working and very funny Californian Korean ladies make! Maples for me, Mom and the boy, chocolate for the Piggy! Then we were off... "Move 'em on, head 'em up, head 'em up, move 'em on, move 'em on, head 'em up RAWHIDE! (And yes, as soon as I put the car into drive I sing this and my kids think I'm awesome!)

Life was good, kids listened to music and took the opportunity to catch up on their lost sleep. So did Nigel.

We drove hard up through Texas, only stopping for potty breaks until we reached Sulphur Springs. At which time we pulled off and asked for directions to a local park to picnic and let the kids and dog run wild for a bit. I have to say, not a park I'd visit again. No bathrooms (seriously?), part of the playscape had to have been built in the 1950's and there was a suspicious older guy who spent his time meandering through the playscape admiring the lovely little children. So if you're traveling through Sulphur Springs, don't bother stopping there!

Then it was off to Texarkana and my first visit to Arkansas!


Can I just say that Arkansas is gorgeous? We stopped at this great rest area/tourist info center and I was just blown away at the amount of stuff that Arkansas has to offer! Seriously, the thought of an RV and two weeks exploring that state gets me all giddy! Sadly, I only managed one picture of Arkansas as I drove most of the way through it. :(
Things were going great though, the kids were only whining minimally, the sun was shining the temps were nice, I was getting decent gas mileage and Memphis was in our sights! Then it happened. About 30 minutes outside of Memphis I was thrown into my worst driving nightmare! (Just for a little background info, I am NOT fond of driving in the first place, I am especially not fond of driving at night, or with a lot of semis, or in heavy rain, or through construction that has concrete barriers--claustrophobia, what can I say?) So just like that, things went from pleasant evening drive through the country to heavy construction with concrete barricades and orange barrels EVERYWHERE, it was getting dark, the only thing on the road besides me was freakin' semis AND it was pissing down rain! What the hell?!? Instead of taking a leisurely, light-hearted drive on over to Memphis, I was white-knuckled and straining to see the lane markers, amidst a convoy of semis spraying mist and mud all over my windshield through construction hell! So much for getting my photo of the Tennessee sign OR seeing the Mississippi River for the first time in my life! And I don't know if it was the rain, the stress or the fact that we were 2 hours behind schedule, but Memphis did not win any brownie points with me in regards to their infrastructure. You should not have to take 8 different exits to stay on ONE freeway! Jeesh!

We finally made it through Memphis and found our exit. The plan was to pick up dinner to-go and hurry to the hotel to check in before they gave our room away! We had predetermined that we would try Corky's a well-known BBQ joint. It was slow as it was well past dinner and I was greeted by the sweetest little guy who spent the entire 20 minutes I was there saying, "Yes, Ma'am, No Ma'am, Oh that meal comes with fries Ma'am." It was cute at first, then I wanted to poke him in the neck! But with one last smile and a "Thank ya, Ma'am!" I was on my way out the door with a bag of really good smelling food! We raced to the hotel, stomachs growling, kids whining, and me really needing to pee! We got checked in, ran upstairs with the barest necessities (kids, dog, food) and quickly found out that I wasn't the only one who really needed to pee. Nigel whizzed like a Russian racehorse all over the floor! So for any of you traveling through Memphis and staying at the Northeast Drury Inn, try to avoid Rm 205!