Day Three - Memphis!

Our day started in Little Rock, Arkansas - I dropped Hart and Nibbles off at a fantastic dog park - it had a doggie splash pad and everything. You dog owners know. Anyhow, I scooted over to the ubiquitous and helpful national coffee chain, came back with provisions, scooped them up and headed for Memphis.

So many Memphis songs. So much Memphis music. Thank you Chuck Berry, John Hiatt (holy cr*p...looking for the album version of Memphis in the Meantime and found this genius live version with Rodney Crowell and Carl Perkins!), and so many more. But, telling Hart the Elvis Origin Story led me to a Sun Sessions playlist....bouncing around to the original versions of most....and so we headed down to Elvis Presley Blvd, to the kitschtastic Days Inn across from Graceland. 

I mean....

Guitar shaped pool - kinda murky....

 

Plenty of Elvis over the beds...kinda bare and bouncy...

Elvis with breakfast...kinda faded....

 Elvis still guided us, though...first to Sun Studios...where the literal busloads full of German tourists made getting this one picture an incredible journey...
 

....and to the Arcade Restaurant, serving since 1919.

 

It was gloriously grubby, with beautiful neon and super friendly servers. Hart had a super hard time deciding between the sweet potato pancakes, or the peanut butter banana sandwich. You know which I rooted for - but he chose the pancakes. They. Were. Great. (You will find throughout this blog that I set him up for the genius food experience - then sneak in some tastes for myself...)

Now you see it....

Now you don't

We went from the Arcade to the National Civil Rights Museum, but I need to talk about that later. What's funny, is after the museum, we went to the Peabody to see the ducks, and both got bored and left after 2 minutes. Then we went to the Rendezvous, but it was closed. It seems that the gods of good fortune were on our side, because we wound up at Central Barbecue.

So, you know, I had ribs from the Rendezvous in 1998, and found them a revelation - they were served dry, with a thin, vinegar-y sauce on the side, to add if you wanted. These ribs have haunted my memories. I mean, it might have something to do with the fact that I saw a Jerry Lee Lewis concert right afterward, and had a long chat with James Burton. But still, Memphis-style pork ribs - that falling off the bone, tender, smokey, porky goodness...

Quick check of Yelp, Chowhound, Roadfood, and SFA, a couple of phone calls, and we found ourselves at Central BBQ. Wasn't expecting much...but the people that run that place know what they are doing. Lovely, kind, funny staff, keeping their chins up while facing a deluge of tourists and locals.

Can I please tell you that the ribs were....ummmm....spectacular. Got them wet this time (20 years later, try the other way!), with their mustard BBQ sauce. How to do this justice? I parted the porcine sea with just a fork, and the rib gave way willingly, while still maintaining its pride. The bark was slightly sweet, very tangy, and darkly intoxicating.

The meaty meat, the smoky smoke, the low-and-slow skill...Hart was stuffed from his pancakes...immersed in a video....he said "no, Mom, I don't want any..." but still - well, you see? 

Nibbles got two bones, Hart got 4 ribs, and we all got a memorable experience. We are still talking about these ribs.

I think the report on the National Civil Rights Museum needs its own post....so the shot of the amazing Memphis ribs will close this post....can't you just smell them!?

PS - Here is Hart on Memphis: We picked good BBQ. The ribs were juicy, crispy, and delicious. We went to the Civil Rights Museum. That was emotional for my mom, and I got a great pencil with a bunch of MLK Jr quotes. The Days Inn we stayed at was sup-par. It smelled bad, but the waffles were awesome.

Day Two - Hot Springs and Little Rock

We spent Saturday night in Texarkana, on the Texas side, so Sunday morning found us quickly in Arkansas, where we stopped for free coffee and brochures at the welcome rest stop.

 

Headed for Hot Springs National Park - the most urban of the national parks. Basically, it is a cute little mountain town, where people used to go to "take the waters." There are a bunch of really gorgeous deco-looking buildings that have housed spas since the early 20th century. We just really wanted to see the springs, so....

The water looks deceptively cool and refreshing...Nibbles wanted to jump in! But after gingerly dabbing at the surface, Hart and I agreed the name was fitting. Here, I think I got a video that shows the steam coming off...

Of course, a giant rock needs climbing...

And then we were headed off to Little Rock.  Doing an "eduvacation" through the South means hitting sites of civil rights struggles, and so we found ourselves at Central High School - where three years after Brown vs. Board was passed, a group of brave, young, black, high school students - the Little Rock Nine - attempted to secure their rights of citizenship and equality. 

1957. Governor Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to keep the students from entering their school, and local white racists hurled insults, spit balls, and worse at the young people. President Eisenhower sent army troops down to overpower the segregationists and enforce the Constitution. Wasn't easy, the racism never fully went away, but these strong activists overcame, and helped moved the world forward toward justice and equality....part of a journey we still travel.

Here's Hart: Very memorable, very educational, and very important for the Civil Rights Movement. It was very cool to see a black and white student who disagreed on racial segregation in the 1950s being friends today. I saw a quote and a picture of John Lewis. I read all three of his books, "March." He was a big contribution to the Civil Rights Movement. 

Stayed in lovely North Little Rock, ready for the next stop - the next new state for H, Memphis TN!

Day One - to Texarkana!

Hello! Welcome to the blog that Hart, my 13 year old son, and I, decided to do together. He is helping choose (and take) pictures, providing narrative input, and will be authoring portions soon. We left the already burning summer inferno of Central Texas in late May - headed on a circuitous route to NY. Hart will grab a plane to the cool climes of Norway to see his amazing Norwegian family, I will head up into the cool climes of the Catskills to work on my dissertation.

and on the way....experiences, education, and fun!

SO - we piled our giant sweet dog, Nibbles, into the Tiguan and headed up IH35. We have a plan to hit some national parks....and completely forgot that there is a relatively new national monument very close to Austin/San Marcos the Waco Mammoth site. We decided to take the 5 mile detour and see what it was all about....but soon learned that it is by guided tour only. That tour takes an hour, and it was 100 degrees, so, yeah, we passed. Gave Nibbles some water, used the restroom, headed out again.

We drove, and drove, hit holiday traffic, drove some more, and finally, arrived in Texarkana. Hart said "Why is Texarkana famous? Why is it worth visiting?"

I'm sure there are other reasons, but honestly, the main one that led me to choose it as a stopping point is this...



Tip of the hat of course to Leadbelly and CCR - listened to those versions in the car!

And tomorrow, we are Arkansas Travelers....