Back Home!!

Mile 10386:

We left Knoxville, TN this morning in the dense fog on the final leg of our journey back home.  We stopped for lunch with my in-laws at the Olive Garden in Christiansburg, VA.

Back in Virginia after 6 weeks of gallivanting around the USA

Lunch at Olive Garden--me, Jansen, Herb, Evelyn

Mile 10497: 

We did it!!!  We traveled almost 10500 miles across this country and back and are still speaking!!  What an amazing adventure.  This afternoon we arrived at the home of my daughter's family in Stuarts Draft, VA

Me with grandsons Charlie and Benji

We're back!! "We did it" fist bump

Knoxville, Tennessee

Mile 9964:

We left Memphis, TN this morning and headed towards Knoxville, TN via Nashville, TN.  In Nashville, we visited the Tennessee state capitol building.

Tennessee State Capitol

Downtown Nashville, TN

ATT Building (in background with two towers) in downtown Nashville, also known as the "Batman Building"

Mile 10144:

We arrived this afternoon in Knoxville, TN.  Here we went up in the Sunsphere and walked around the University of Tennessee (UT) campus.

The Sunsphere--a tower built in Knoxville for the 1982 World's Fair

View of Knoxville from observation deck of the Sunsphere

Another view of Knoxville from observation deck of the Sunsphere

Water feature in the World's Fair Park

Fountain in the Festival Lawn of the World's Fair Park

World's Fair Park

Iconic Ayres Hall at the University of Tennessee

Graceland and Downtown Memphis

Today we went to Graceland, home of Elvis Presley--a must when in Memphis!!  Actually, the tour of the mansion and grounds was very interesting and mostly focused on him as a person, rather than a star.  (Now the trophy building was another story!)  The rooms in the house remain decorated as they were when he lived there----so....the style is over-the-top 60s and 70s. 

Gates to the mansion



Graceland-the house

Living Room with music room in the distance.  The sofa is 15 ft. long and coffee table is 10 ft. long.

Dining Room set with Elvis and Priscilla's wedding china.  Lisa Marie eats in here when she is in town.

Media Room in basement.  Elvis installed 3 TVs when he heard about
former president L.B. Johnson's 3 TVs in the White House and watching all 3 networks at one time.

The Jungle Room or Den

Horse pasture on the property

Elvis' grave

The famous 1955 "Pink Cadillac" that he gave his mother.  Also known as "Gladys, car".

Later, we downtown to Beale Street--known for its history of the music style "blues".  There are many clubs, restaurants, and shops on the street.  And there were folks making music in several outdoor venues along the street.

Nothing says "blues" like Beale Street

Looking down Beale Street

Looking down Beale Street

Then we headed over to the Peabody Hotel where the famed "Peabody Ducks" live on the rooftop and swim in the lobby fountain daily.  We saw the "ceremony" where they leave the fountain at precisely 5:00 PM and get on the elevator back to the roof for the night.

The Peabody Hotel sign

The Peabody Hotel

Lobby of Peabody Hotel.  Note the mallards in the fountain.

Elevator taken out of service for the "duck march".

The ducks and their duckmaster on the red carpet march to the elevator.

After the Peabody Duck show, we had dinner at "The Rendezvous" for Memphis style barbecued ribs.  Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

The Rondezvous restaurant.  The entrance is in an alley--adding to the local ambience!



Montgomery, Texas; Shreveport, Louisiana; Memphis, Tennessee

Mile 9129:

On Saturday, we left San Antonio yesterday morning and arrived in Montgomery, TX (near Houston) and stayed with our friends from Virginia who have relocated here--the Roys.  We enjoyed our time with them--relaxing and catching up.




Mike, Anne, Jansen, me

Mile 9348:

On Monday, we arrived in Shreveport, LA for an overnight stay.  We left Tuesday morning for Memphis, TN, via Little Rock, AR

Mile 9580:

We stopped in and visited the Arkansas state capitol in downtown Little Rock.

Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock

Capitol dome

Capitol rotunda

Dome in the Arkansas State Senate chamber

Rotunda from dome gallery

Mile 9716:

We arrived in Memphis, hitting the tail end of what the Weather Channel called the "October Severe Weather" storms.

Crossing the Mississippi River into Memphis on the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge in the rain! 
The weather was so nice in Shreveport, LA and Little Rock, AR. 
It wasn't.until we got to just outside Memphis that we had rain.

Remember the Alamo!

Today was a long, long, day of driving.  We left Carlsbad this morning, traveling out of New Mexico and through west Texas.  This area is sparsely populated -- so we enjoyed the scenery for awhile--a long while.  Scenes through west Texas:

Mile 8891:

We arrived in San Antonio in the late afternoon.  We went downtown and enjoyed the Riverwalk and Alamo.

San Antonio skyline

Tower of the Americas--San Antonio's version of the Space Needle. 
It was built for the 1968 World's Fair

Riverwalk - a pedestrian area with shops, restaurants, and hotels along the San Antonio River

Riverwalk

Riverwalk--kind of like Venice, Italy!

One of the many water features along the Riverwalk

Along the Riverwalk

Alamo monument in Alamo Square

The Alamo - also known as "The Shrine of Texas Liberty"

Front door of the Alamo - The building was the chapel of the Spanish mission at this site. 
Later it became a fortress for the Mexican, Texan, and lastly American armies.

Iron gate at the Alamo