Terra Firma

Another hellish drive yesterday. It didn't start out that way.

I woke up in Jessop, Maryland. Couldn't find an overnight parking spot in DC, so I decided to hit the road and stop when it seemed necessary. Once the fog started rolling in 45 minutes outside of DC I pulled off and checked into a Red Roof Inn.

I was cruising through Maryland and New Jersey. Caught my first glimpse of Baltimore. Smooth sailing until Newark. The rain was coming down hard. From Newark into New York and Connecticut, the traffic never let up. As I filled with rage and irritation, I realized I had been in the car for 4 and a half hours straight. After the day before, it felt like no time. I pulled off in Noronton, CT for gas. It was $3.78/gallon, by far the highest price on the trip. I felt ready to carry on, but there was little pleasure on the way. Traffic stayed snarled and there were plenty of maniacs on the road, in particular an Atlantic Express bus driver who thought it was cool to weave in and out of lanes as if he were driving a Miata. After he cut me off, I laid on the horn for the only time on the entire trip.

Finally, at 4:39pm, I reached my final destination. Warmth, love, and home-cooked food were waiting. I stepped out of the shower and saw snow falling outside of the window. Beautiful.

I slept for almost 12 hours last night. I've unloaded a fair amount, but the car is still packed. Time for me to cook tonight, and I picked up some local oysters along with ahi tuna and Atlantic scallops. Very excited for that. I had great food all throughout the trip, but there is nothing like cooking your own meals. That's why the definite culinary highlight of the trip was my cousin's food out in Nashville, and the meal last night which also provided today's lunch.

I'll have more updates and a further breakdown of the trip in the coming days. For now, I saw the final mileage at the end of the journey was 128, 875. Started last Saturday at 125, 617. I travelled 3,258 miles. I saw a number of places I'd never seen. My favorite image came in Yuma, AZ on Sunday morning. I looked at the window of the restaurant and saw of a man riding a bike dragging an American Flyer racer with his dog in it and a huge American flag perch waving off the back. Wish I could've caught a photo of that but the image was striking. I definitely feel closer to this huge land and very proud to be American, moreso than I have in the past. This country is in major decline but politics aside it is a wonderful place filled with great people and a number of lovely micro-cultures. My home for now is Connecticut. I will always be a New Englander. But as I travelled this past week I had a strong sense of coming from California and received the benefits that cache brings with it. That will continue. Even today in the grocery store I had people staring at me yet I felt more at home with myself than I ever did a year ago.

There's snow in the forecast for tomorrow. I've just built a fire. I look forward to the next few chapters of the journey.

Final Checkpoint

After an exceptionally hellish drive, I have made it safely to our nation's capital. I left Nashville this morning at 7:50am, and made my way east into the Appalachians in a driving rain storm. The combination of wind, rain, and fog was enough to contend with. Add in a bunch of honky tonk truckers blasting down the winding roads at 80mph with their 18 wheelers sure did not help the situation. The rain never let up all day, and is moving north along my own path home. Aside from a pit stop in Bull Gap, TN, and another somewhere in Virginia, I spent over 12 hours in the car today. The important thing is I'm safe. Once I eat something and get some sleep, I'll feel that much better. Tomorrow I'm going home.

Thunder Snow!

I'm not falling asleep, which is vexing as I have a ten hour drive in store. I'm watching The Trip to wind down, but more entertaining is the thunder storm outside the window. No snow, that was just to sex up the title to draw you in. But brilliant flashes of light and grumbling thunder. Been awhile since I've experienced all that.

Graceland

There was a pins and needles feeling, a Christmas morning feeling, this am as I woke up and knew I was going to Graceland. I can't say that any of it was all that glamorous, or that the end result merited the anticipation, but I was propelled in a positive way into my experience, and there was nothing I would rather have done. I crossed the Mississippi. I went down Elvis Presley Boulevard. I woke up listening to Paul Simon's amazing song.

The mansion is tiny by today's standards. It is the epitome of '70s tacky-ness. But none of that bothered me. In fact, I found myself surprisingly emotional at the sight of the gravestones of Elvis, his parents, and his grandmother. I welled up. The guy hit a level of fame and influence never seen on this earth before or since at 19. By 42 he was dead. His father wrote the inscription on his gravestone. If you aren't moved by that, well, I'll still respect you, but we aren't at the same level. Elvis is a prisoner to early fame and an early demise. But I felt inspired by being able to be close to his nexus. God bless Elvis.

I had some great barbecue down on Beale Street before out. Memphis is certainly a town that would be blast to spend a weekend in. Come down to see a show and enjoy yourself. I don't think this is the last time I'll ever be here.

Made my way up to Nashville to see my cousins. Listened to a public funded bluegrass station playing Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Hank Snow and more pure country. It was great. The road didn't feel far away. I felt at home and could easily have been in any part of the country. But I made my way to Nashville and pulled off before seeing any of the city. Was greeted like a king of state. I feel blessed to have family here. If I had not set free from my moorings, I would not be so close to people who are so special to this world and connected and special to me.

A long day of driving tomorrow, and I must admit I'm at a loss for words. Positively.

Good Times In Little Rock

Arrived in Little Rock around 5 and it was heavy traffic time. This is a small city/town, but there was still gridlock. As I punched in random points on the GPS and then arbitrarily chose to override the directions, I ended up on President Clinton Way. Stuck behind a trolley car, crawling along the street, I finally broke free and found a spot. Despite having limited visibility due to a full car, it was easy to parallel park because the spaces here are fit for pick-up trucks. It wasn't until I got out of the car that I saw I was in front of a restaurant that had locals pouring into it.

Welcome to the Flyin' Fish. Exactly the place I wanted to find, a Southern seafood joint. I ordered up a fried oyster basket, complete with hush puppies. This was my first meal of the day and the food was sensational. The place was a ethnically diverse and a mixture of young & old. Everyone was friendly. Great find.

Walking out I realized I was on a happening street right alongside the river. I walked around a bit, popped into a bar called the Golden Saucer that offered over 200 beers. Not really my thing but still a very cool place.

Though I was parked in front of the downtown Courtyard Marriott I figured I could save a few bucks by heading up the highway towards Memphis. Now I'm in a Holiday Inn Express for $104 a night in Lonoke, AR. I'm getting screwed. This place has no hot tub. The room is nice, but I would be better off across the street at the Days Inn for $30 less and no expectation of a hot tub. In terms of symmetry, the first hotel I found on my journey out west was a Holiday Inn Express. That was in Kentucky. And that one had a hot tub.

Tomorrow I'm going to Memphis. Graceland. Home of The King. I'm very excited for that. Tonight was real fun because it was the first time on the trip I took in my surroundings. The next couple days should be cool.

Two songs of the day today.

The first comes from a box set of Tom Jones recordings from his Las Vegas set late '70s/early '80s TV show. That box set is one of my prize possessions. Purchased for $6 at the Virgin Megastore (on Newbury/Mass Ave) closeout sale, it shows not only artistry but professionalism. Sir Tom got up there every day and knocked out about 3 songs a day, all under 3 minutes in length. But they had some inspired arrangements, and he gave his all on every one of the vocals. When I was living in my studio on Huntington Avenue, I would cook dinner, drink wine, and blast these cds (and various others) and sing my heart out. Here is a great example of taking a very famous song and making it his own, with total '70s flair and raw sexuality (notice the thrill of the crowd as he takes off the blue sequined jacket). Also, TJ was great friends with The King himself.


And once I reached my unexpected destination this wonderful surprise, Tina Turner singing "Nutbush City Limits." I may not be in Tennessee yet but what a great example of Southern rock 'n roll! This was playing as I walked into the Flying Fish and I was thrilled to hear it. I'm more familiar with the version from the '80s double disc, Tina In Europe, but we've got to go with the original with that bastard Ike Turner and the welcome presence of the Ikettes:

Into Arkansas

Some construction on the road but still an easy drive. Saw a stray dog by the side of the road in Muskogee County, that was a bummer. I got an oil change in Van Buren, Arkansas. A team of 4 suddenly arrived at the car, popped the hood, and had the work done in 10 minutes. I didn't feel comfortable stopping anywhere so I headed straight for Little Rock.

Waking up in OK City

My phone never switched over to central time, so I woke up later than I had planned. Still, the Motel 6 treated me well. And you know you're in a class joint when there's a bottle opener mounted under the sink.

It was chillier here than any other place I'd been, about 42 degrees. But the high was expected to reach the 50s. Mileage 127, 094. Gas $2.99/gal.