Scribble World Travel Blog

Home Of The Blues, Beale Street, Memphis, TN

I’m trying to think how to describe this experience. At first it kind of reminded me of Bourbon St. in New Orleans, the way all the happening places seemed to all be within walking distance.  The cobblestone street was blocked off to traffic and some very talented young men wowed us all as they would run down the middle of the street doing flips.

There was a great assortment of blues and soul music, as well as rock ‘n’ roll.  There was just so much going on in such a small area.  There was a band playing outside for tips, people wanting to take a picture of you with their computers and printers right there on the sidewalk, a young girl who asked if we’d tip her for her performance if she sang a song for us, people walking around selling roses, a guy selling perfume from a table, a girl trying to sell us beer “to go” as we walked past her shop.

Our last stop of the night was Coyote Ugly where we were greeted with women of all ages dancing on the bar (including a skinny old granny).  My water, which they call a “Wusskey” came to  $3.  I was probably the only person not drinking.

A Real Cop? Wasted Space!

We managed to spend part of the night in the very back of an enormous empty parking lot, not in, but to the left  of a Malco movie theater parking lot in the Memphis city limits.  It was very secluded, dark, and private with tall trees to block others from seeing us.  Aside from our van, this massive lot was completely deserted.

All was well until 3:45A.M. when what I could only assume to be a cop, drove up shining his huge spotlight in our windows.  I crawled to the front seat expecting the usual request for I.D. but instead he stayed in his car and kept the spotlight blaring into my face so that I couldn’t see a thing the whole time he was asking questions-asking what I was doing there, who I was with, where I was heading, how long I was going to be in the area, why I wasn’t at a motel-I answered all his questions sweetly and without hesitation, but all the while wondering why he was being such a dick and continuing to blind me with his spotlight.  I explained our financial situation and he sounded disappointed. That again surprised me-had this guy been hoping for a bribe?  He finally just said, “well ya can’t stay here,” and slowly backed up, never taking the spotlight off us until he was too far away for us to see him or his car.  And that’s when we started wondering if he had even been a real cop.  We never even saw his face, it was a most peculiar experience.

So we left a perfectly good empty parking lot and sought out a new one. We found a few more good hours of rest at an Equestrian park not too far away.

Autozone And The Cool Thing That Picks Up Bolts

We’re resting in a Walmart parking lot in Huntsville, Alabama. The weekly rental places we checked out were insanely expensive. We had dinner at the New China Buffet and it was very good with a nice selection of sushi and my favorite-hot and sour soup, and a great shrimp and zucchini dish.

We had our battery tested at Autozone earlier today after a couple weeks of weak starts, and they confirmed it was a bad battery. While installing the new one for us, the employee accidentally dropped a bolt down into the transmission. Cringing, I thought that was going to be a problem, but another guy went in the store and brought out this extendable thing that looked like an antenna with a magnet on it. It was a piece of cake to fish the bolt out. How many others could benefit from this amazing little tool, I wonder?

I was so impressed, I think the guy was embarassed-he said I could keep it.

Fresh Air At Bean Pot Campground In Crossville, TN

We’re spending a couple nights at the Bean Pot Campground in Crossville, TN.  The cabins are inexpensive but quaint, just what I’m in the mood for. It’s nice to have a quiet secluded place to relax and catch up on all those neglected projects.  We have internet access.  The toilet and hot showers are in a separate building.  There’s a picnic table outside and a wood swing to relax in.  Truely, what more does one need? :)  Although a tea cafe and a health store would be nice, but all this fresh air is wonderful!

Huge Ruby Falls Cave Tour, And Steep Incline Railway

We stopped at the Chattanooga Museum to see the electric map show, but there was a problem with the lights and so it was basically sitting in the dark as a narrator talked and an occasional christmas light flashed to indicate an explosion….but there were no overhead lights so we couldn’t see the details of the soldiers and it was hard to follow.  “Was that a joke?” Chris asked.

Ruby Falls was not a disappointment, we took an elevator about as far beneath the earth’s surface as the Eifel Tower is high, our guide said.  There were impressive formations and a nice long walk to enjoy the cave experience.  We  got to the finale-a lovely underground waterfall, then after 8 minutes the lights, which were on a timer, turned off and it was time to turn around and walk back to the other end of the cave. There was just the one way in and out.

Then, to get the full Lookout Mountain experience, we took a ride down the mountain on the Incline Railway, hopped off for a scoop of ice cream, and then rode back up again.  The Incline has been operational since 1895.

Fat Man’s Squeeze at Rock City, TN

We spent the night up on Lookout Mountain near Rock City Gardens, we started our day at the Starbucks across the street.  Rock City was great, we liked the “fat man’s squeeze,” the bridges and spectacular views. I also really enjoyed the Mother Goose fairytale cave-originally we thought that would be more for small children, but were impressed with all the attention to details- and seeing all the rooms carved into the lengthy cave was just a really neat experience, being in the dark save for the illumination of the blacklights.  I fear our pictures will not do it justice.  It is well worth the trip.

Chattanooga: Tea, Beer, And A Pedestrian Bridge

Life was good in Chattanooga, TN.  We found cheap parking at a nice park and walked across a pedestrian bridge with grand views of rock cliffsides and artful buildings.
We stopped at Greyfriar’s Coffee & Tea shop, where for $2.50 I got my own pot of tea (about 4 cups worth).  It was such a cozy comfortable atmosphere-I daydreamed how nice it would be to live close enough to walk to this place.  I picked up an apartment guide for the area, and the prices were actually pretty reasonable.

We dined at Thai Smile. Then walked back to our van to repark it closer.  Chris went to a brewery with live music and I went back to the tea place to relax and do some reading.  It was one of those perfect days where everyone got what they wanted.