Portland to Portland - Driving around the U.S.

Random post about things I've noticed during my drive from Portland to New Orleans (about 15% of my journey down and heading to Texas tomorrow). 1.  Country music....it's EVERYWHERE! I've been trying to listen to different radio stations along the way to get a taste of what is played locally and the majority of what I find is country music (not my favorite) and/or religious stations. I'm sticking to podcasts unless I think a tornado is heading my way. 2.  I have to remember that time zones change in the middle of places. Duh! I had tickets to Mammoth Cave for the 10:00 History tour. Totally spaced that it goes from eastern time zone to central time zone near the western end of Kentucky. I thought I was getting there at 9:30 but really got there at 8:30!  Yup! Lesson learned! This is happening again when I drive from Austin to Carlsbad Caverns and I'm totally psyched about that one since it's a long effing drive and it gives me a little more time to get there...

How can you not sing that song when visiting Memphis? Look at him! No wonder he became an icon! The drive to Memphis from St. Louis was uneventful, thank goodness, and I picked up my youngest daughter Ally, who flew in to join me for 3 days. Right off the bat we went to Central BBQ to sample some Memphis ribs. I'll be sampling different BBQ styles as I make my way around the country.  The meal was delicious! I may have enjoyed the St. Louis ribs a bit more but not complaining one bit about how tasty everything was. We then went to Graceland. It was insanely hot and humid so we got there early and soaked in some AC while watching a short film about Elvis. Then we got to tour Graceland. Now, when I first bought the tickets I was like, "Over $40 each to see just the mansion on a self-guided tour!" Damn, no wonder his estate is worth so much!  And that's the cheapest ticket. But, I'll admit, even if it was self-guided with an iPad and headphones, we got to se...

I'll be honest. I added St. Louis to my list of places to visit because I had never been to Missouri before and wanted to check it off my list. Now I wish I had planned a longer visit. It is the first on my list of places I want to visit again. Getting here was an adventure - driving through a tornado warning storm with heavy rain and high winds. Made it in one piece and it pretty much stormed on and off the entire day I spent in St. Louis. That didn't stop me. I drove right by the arch and my first stop was to head up to a barbecue place called Pappy's Smokehouse that I heard about on some cooking show. There was a long line but it moved quickly and I got to partake in some DEEElicious bbq.  The only thing left on my plate was the slice of bread under the ribs. I figured I was good for the remainder of the day until I remembered an ice cream place I heard about on a podcast I listen to that I wanted to try. I zigzagged my way around the city driving throug...