Road Trip

AppleJack and I made the decision earlier in the year we would take mini vacations.  We loaded up the wagon and headed west.  This is one of the bridges which spans the Mississippi River in Memphis.  Memphis is one of gateways to the west.

We were enroute to Little Rock to spend some time with family before school started.  We learned very quickly with Memphis being a gateway city there is a heavy constant stream of  trucks moving freight.

The pyramid which is located near the river is one of the more recognizable Memphis landmarks..

Memphis is famous for their barbeque.  As long as there are people with appetites there will be the great debate:  wet or dry and the best place.  Rendezvous, Interstate, Martin's and Neely's are some of the Memphis barbeque places who have been in business for many years and are some of the more recognizable names.  Ronnie Q's is our barbeque joint of choice and it is not in Memphis but in a small town called Dickson, which is about an hour west of Nashville.  Ronnie Q's has melt in your mouth brisket.  Yum Yum

One of the first things I do when planning a trip is locate the needlework shop(s).

Shepherd's Needle is in Little Rock and is an awesome shop.  Shawn Williams with Threads that Bind had taught a punch needle class the week before our visit.  

From shop models, a huge selection of linens, classes, recent chart releases to the beginning of sampler Saturday, Shepherd's Needle is a great shop.  If the commute were shorter, I would be spending a lot of time at this shop.

I had planned to take a photo of the outside of the shop when it started raining.  It was raining cats and dogs and rain was pouring off the building which looked like a waterfall.  We made a run for the car and got soaked--we looked like someone had poured a bucket of water on us, don't ever remember being any wetter in a shorter period of time.

AppleJack has a very high sense of adventure, discovering new places is also one of the things we do when traveling.

The owners of The Hole in the Wall Cafe had converted an old gin into a cafe.  "Real southern cooking and home of skillet fried cornbread" is how they describe themselves.  We may have been drenched by the rain but it did not affect our appetites.  Turnip greens, (real) mashed potatoes, fried okra, pinto beans, fried chicken, chicken fried steak it was all delicious.  (No one ever said southern cooking was healthy)

The Hole in the Wall had delicious desserts:  Peanut Butter pie, Lemon Ice-Box pie, Coconut Cake.  In the spirit of adventure we decided to explore more of Conway, AR and have dessert at Patti Cakes.  I thought the oversized ginger man cookie cutter was a great way to welcome customers to your bakery.

More yum yum

All to soon, it was time to head east, back across the river to Tennessee.

Part of the Memphis skyline taken from the car while crossing the mighty Mississippi.  See those rain clouds--they followed us all the way home to Nashville.  Mini vacations--I highly recommend them.