West Memphis, Arkansas

Mon., Oct. 8
While on our travels today, we stopped in New Madrid, Missouri, in this town they are known for earthquakes in the past, and the river had flooded 48 feet at this town, but didn't get over the levee.



After getting to our next campground we really didn't have nothing to do tonight, but 34 of us went to Interstate BBQ for dinner. One of the other couples had ate there before and recommended for us all to go. Everyone seemed to like their food, it was really good.

Tues., Oct. 9
We had a tour of Memphis today by bus, we had a great pair of guys as our tour guides. The one guy played guitar and sang, and told us about the area.


We had stopped at Sun Studios, this is The Birthplace of Rock N Roll. This is the place where Elvis recorded his first song, That's All Right. We saw priceless 50's memorabilia from the music legends that blended blues & country music to explore in the Big Bang of Rock N Roll.



After driving around town, we got out for lunch on Berle Street. We ate lunch at Blues City Cafe, not the nicest restaurant but really good food. After eating our lunch we ordered an apple dumpling with vanilla ice cream,which was a highlight of the meal, a lot of us ordered this and all enjoyed it.






After lunch we had time to walk up Berle Street, there was two groups playing bluegrass music, really sounded nice. Walked into a few shops and then back to the corner at Blue City Cafe to meet the rest of the group for a walking tour down Berle Street.



















The end of our walk ended at Gibson Guitar Factory. Our tour included an up-close look at the intricate process of binding, neck-fitting, painting, buffing and fine tuning that turns a piece of wood into a masterpiece like B.B. King's Lucille.






We then went to Memphis Rock N Soul Museum, developed by the Smithsonian Institution. The Museum presents a dazzling chronology of the rebellion hearts that shaped "The Memphis Sound." We were introduced to the pioneers who, for the love of music, overcame barriers to create the musical sound that changed the cultural complexion of the world forever.





This is a 78 juke box.
This was one of the longest days we had on the caravan, we left at 9 am., and never got back until 5:30 pm. We came back to camp and sat by the river and watched barges going by. The longest barge that we saw was 30 barges long, 6 across and 5 long.

Wednesday, Oct. 10
We went to Graceland this morning and went through the mansion.


Front of the house


Living room


Dining room


Sitting & TV room


Reward room


Memorial room


Meditation garden


Tomb stone
Later in the afternoon, we had gone to Gus's Fried Chicken Restaurant for a late lunch.


Nothing fancy, but really good fried chicken, every time you order a meal here in Memphis, they give you a slice or two of white bread. After getting back from town, we sat and played a game of joker with two other couples. They were having a happy hour next to the river and we all joined them and watched more barges, before dark.



Thursday, Oct. 11
We got up to it raining this morning, so I decided to do laundry, this is the first time that I was in a campground that doesn't charge for the washer or dryer, I'm glad I got there early, because everyone else had the same idea. We were planning to go into town again today, but it started to rain, so we just stayed at camp. Tonight was our final banquet, that was held at The Butcher Shop Steakhouse in Memphis on Front Street. The food was terrific, Ken and I both had the house specially, 9oz. Filet mignon stuffed with sautéed portabella mushrooms, Gorgonzola cheese and fresh rosemary. While dinner was being served, we watched a picture show of the our trip, different people submitted their pictures for the showing, really interesting.









After the program, Ken and I drove past Berle Street to see if anything was going on, but decided to go home.


Berle Street at night

We have really enjoyed our eighth caravan and are looking forward to another one next year.



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Sikeston, Missouri

Saturday, Oct. 6
While driving to our next campground, we stopped in the town of Chester, Illinois. Can you guess what this town is known for?


Popeye


Bruto


Wimpy


Olive Oyl, Swee'Pea, Jeep

Yes, you guessed it, Popeye, in town, they have statues at different places of different characters that played with Popeye. They have 8 statues now and are planning a new one for they next 8 years. Popeye, himself is made of bronze, which is hard to see and the rest are made from granite. The creator of Popeye, was from Chester and helped run an Opera House until his characters took off. There is a shop called Spinach Can Collectibles and Popeye Museum in the old Opera House. The people that own this shop are originally from Memphis and have quite a collection, she told us she has 5,000 more things to put out but doesn't have the room.










We were told not to drive into town, but we're glad we did. Our leader said the next time they will go into town and check it out.

After we left town, we decided to stop at a rest area to see the Mississippi River and have a little lunch. This area you can really see how low the river is.



After getting to the campground and getting set up, one of the other couples asked if we wanted to go on a tour of a cotton gin. There was about 12 of us that had gone, what a site to see.


Cotton field


Cotton plant


Cotton bale


Feeding the cotton fluffer


Separating cotton and seeds


Cotton, cleaned, separated and baled


Shed of seeds, after separated from cotton

After our tour we went to China Buffet for dinner, almost all of us showed up for dinner. The food was really good, the place reminded us of Jumbo Buffet in Harrisburg.

Today, Sunday, we took a drive about 30 miles away, to Big Oak Tree State Park. They have a boardwalk, which was to be .7 miles, we walked and walked until we were tired and turned around, never did make it to the end. About the time we decided to turn around we started to see cypress knots, I guess we should of kept walking, but didn't. We drove to the lake that was there, but didn't see any water, just weeds.

Had our last drivers meeting, then we went to Lambert's Cafe, home of the throwed rolls. At the campground you go to the office ask for a shuttle, a guy comes picks you up, takes to the restaurant, and seats you, without the wait, which is very long, nothing Iike butting in line. You order from a menu, a guy goes around and throws rolls to whoever wants them, you also have unlimited sorghum molasses, apple butter, fried potatoes & onions, macaroni & tomatoes, black eyed peas, and fried okra. Food is very good and plenty of it, and everyone walks out with a doggy bag.








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Cahokia, Illinois

We are parked across the river and a short distance south of St. Louis, Missouri. After arriving at camp on Mon., Oct. 1, we had dinner at The Sawmill Restaurant, which is located within the campground. The place is not very big so we had to split up into two groups to eat dinner. The food was really good, we had a buffet of turkey, pork and beef brisket, with their own BBQ sauce, potato salad, cole slaw. After every one ate, the owner came over to our leaders and asked if we wanted the rest of the food, cause they would just throw it all out. We took the food and split it out between all 26 trailers, that just tells you how much food was left over.



On Tuesday, we had a bus tour through St. Louis, our tour guide was great, telling us about all building, gardens, fountains, and each section of the city. We got dropped off at the arch and had two hours to spend going thru the museum, watching movies, and going up to the top of the arch.


Gateway Arch


St. Louis seen from top of Arch


Busch stadium


Top of Arch


For lunch, we stopped at The Spaghetti Factory, great food, salad, spaghetti with meat balls and homemade ice cream for dessert. When we entered the building we had to go downstairs. The fixtures were great, they had used old heads of beds as benches, this was once an old hotel and this was a way to use some of the furniture let behind. There was also a trolley down there where you could also sit inside to eat.





We also had time to get out of the bus to go into The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. The construction of the Cathedral began in 1907, with granite walls, rose windows and two massive towers. Entering through the massive oak doors, you see soaring domes, soffits, arches, pendentives and lunettes which are paved with brilliant mosaics. There are 83,000 square feet of mosaic art created by twenty artists and installed over a period of seventy-five years.












On Wednesday, we carpooled to Budweiser Brewery for a tour. It was in 1852 when entrepreneur Eberhard Busch and Adolphus Busch, started a small local brewery here, soon to be called Anheuser-Busch. Since then it has grown to be a thriving global beer company offering a variety of quality beer brands. On the tour we experienced the history and saw the brewing and packaging process first hand. We also saw the Budweiser Clydesdale Stable, lager cellar, and brew house. You just can't image how massive this whole place is, it was a great tour and we recommend if you come to St. Louis, to take the tour, best thing, it's free.
























In the afternoon, we carpooled to Cahokia Mounds, this is a National Historic Landmark. This is the largest prehistoric Indian site north of Mexico, covering about 4000 acres and include at least 120 mounds. The first settlements at Cahokia were around AD 700 by Late Woodland Indians. From AD 800-1000, the Mississippian culture began as highly structured communities, they grew corn, squash, and seed bearing plants. After AD 1050, it became a regional center, and it peaked from AD 1050-1200, sprawling over six square miles with the population of 10-20,000 people, making it the largest community north of Mexico. By the late 1300's the area was completely abandoned, where they went or what tribes they became remain unanswered questions.








This picture is of St. Louis seen from on top of the largest mound.

On Thursday, we carpooled to Alton, IL., to Lock & Dam #26. This Lock is the newest lock along the Mississippi River, was moved downstream from the former lock. It is also one of the longest locks, there is only 27 lock & dams along the Mississippi. We got to have a tour of the lock and was lucky enough to watch a 16 barge and tug going through the lock. We also got to watch a movie and visit the interpreter center.








This is the barge that went through the lock while we were on top of the dam, and a new bridge in Alton.

After the lock, we had visited the Lewis & Clark Confluence Tower, this is where you can see where the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers join.



Next we visited the Louis & Clark Interpretive Center, watched a movie and walked through the museum, where you could envision their journey around this area. Outside they have a full scale replica of the 1803-04 camp, you can experience the tiny area in which these men lived for 5 months.






After returning back at camp, we had a drivers meeting and a social dessert. They had changed our drivers meeting for this night because they where calling for rain and colder weather for Friday.

Well it is raining, and has got colder, only 46 degrees, today. Ken and I went for a drive, we went and found Cahokia Church of the Holy Family, it is said to be the oldest church in Illinois, a 1699 stone and wood building.



We had also found Jarrot Mansion, which was completed in 1810 and is one of the oldest brick building in the mid-Mississippi River Valley.



We also saw Cahokia Courthouse, put didn't get a picture, too many trees. This building was built in 1740 and is a unique remnant of the French in Illinois. We had driven toward St. Louis, stopping at a couple pawn shops, after getting into town, we got fuel, $3.79 per gallon, and then went to Soulard Farmers Market. The market is open Wed.-Fri. and Sat., they say best to visit on Sat., put we won't be here tomorrow. This market has been in business since 1779, shaped like a huge H, it has stall after stall of produce, butchers, bakers and vendors. Some of the prices were great and then some were high, bananas .69-.75 cents per pound, pineapples 75 cents. St. Louis is not really easy to get around, too many highways going every which way, they are building a new bridge, which Ken thinks High Steel is send some work here, which we found and looked at. Hopefully tomorrow it's not raining, they say it is to stay cold, for the next couple of days.

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