Day 3: "I'll think about it tomorrow..."

Day 3, we awoke in Searcy, AR. We knew we had a fairly short drive to Little Rock (about an hour), so we took our time getting started and had a leisurely morning. Outside our new friend's home, I found THESE daffodils and snapped a picture for my Mums. I had seen previously that Little Rock has a yearly Daffodil Festival, but the timing didn't work out for us to attend it.

 As it was mid-March, we saw flowing trees:

The Capital Building in downtown, Little Rock.

 We saw this bell:

 One of the "off the beaten path" places that I had pre-hunted was the Old Mill, which is also known as Pugh's Mill. This was build in 1933 by Justin Matthews as a replica of an old water-powered mill. It was designed to appear as if it had been in Arkansas since the 1800s.
  The reason I wanted to go here was because it was seen in the opening scenes of the 1937 movie, "Gone With the Wind". It is believed to be the only remaining structure from the film. It took a little doing to find this place, but then we really enjoyed wandering around the park/mill area:

Yes, a romantical settings calls for more kissies!

This bridge was pretty neat.

 Eric and I were like little kids, exploring...

 There were a few bridges:

  Eric, climbing around:

 It really is a nice park area.

 We found more daffodils!

This is now an historical site...

There was a nice fence by one of the park/mill entrances.

Sometimes I like to look through fences/tree overhangs to get a neat shot.

 Then it was over more bridges and back into Little Rock, looking for some good grub.

We saw all kinds of interesting buildings along the way.

Finally, we found a REALLY good bbq place! We decided to share the mix plate. It was  reasonable price and plenty of food for both of us. Hooray!

Eric, looking at the names of the bbq sauces:

Time to eat! Here is Eric, giving the pulled bbq pork and different sauces a try. We also struck up a conversation with an interesting couple at the next table.

 After lunch, we drove down a scenic path on the way to a special park.

Our destination was the Big Dam Bridge! (yes, that's really it's name)

 Parts of this actually reminded me of a place in Juneau, Alaska.

 We parked the car and walked up to the top of the bridge. Here is Eric, standing by the bars "at the top" of the bridge.

Looking down at the water below:

     This bridge is part of a group of hiking trails. Had we more time here, we might have done a larger hike up to the mountain top. For now, we just walked most of the bridge. There are 4,226 linear feet of bridge. It is 14 feet wide. Approaches to the bridge are at a 5% grade. We walked up but saw people biking and running it. There are 8 observation areas, and there are tons of things to see! This bridge contains over 3 million pounds of steel and over 4 million pounds of concrete. Wow!

Overall, we were pleasantly surprised with Little Rock. We didn't really know what to expect, but enjoyed the city much more than originally anticipated.

   After exploring the Old Mill, bbq plate options, and the Big Dam Bridge, we went back to a fabulous Bed & Breakfast, where we would be staying for the night. More on that and the evening's activity's in the next post.

  When you travel to/through Little Rock, what are some of YOUR favorite things to do?

Day 2: Moving, Memphis, & More!

  After a night at a HORRIBLE hotel (it all smelled like paint thinner) just outside of Memphis, we drove into downtown Memphis for part of the day. The plan was to EXPLORE - maybe go to Sun Studio and def. visit Beale Street and the historic district and get some good bbq.
  We parked by this baseball stadium.

 There was a little construction.

Looking down a street packed with musical history:

 Yes, Beale Street!

 
Oh, the history here... the famous people that have been here!

Yes, BB King. That King.

This is a VERY old drug store.

  Among another place for some gator gumbo that was actually pretty gross, we did try the bbq at this Pig place. It was ok. It was NO Ziffels. (once you go there fore ribs in Fort Wayne, IN, you will be "ruined" for bbq ribs forevermore)

Music on the sidewalk...

 We like BB King. This street was actually pretty deserted, but it was a Tuesday in the spring.

  I liked these lanterns.

 Then we found a little old diner.

 Yes, good food - shakes - burgers. I was happy NOT to have diet restrictions this day.

Even the ceiling was pretty. Reminded me of an old building in downtown Columbia, SC.

Hannah & Eric - enjoying lunch together at the diner.

The main attraction here was DEEP FRIED Peanut Butter & Jelly. Yes, really. We were surprised that it didn't include bananas. (come on, we were in Memphis!) It was pretty good.

Eric checks out this food:

Bon appetit!

Downtown Memphis, looking at the nice landscaping...

 Yes, THAT Gibson factory... where they make a few guitars.

 Then we drove over to Sun Studio...

 Yes, THAT Sun Studio! The "birthplace of Rock 'n Roll!" Home to the "Million Dollar Quartet"...
706 Union Avenue in Memphis, TN. This was originally opened by rock pioneer Sam Phillips in 1950 and called the Memphis Recording Service. We walked around, but didn't take the full tour this time. (I think I already did that, a "few" years ago.) In the early 1950s, some of the GREAT Blues and R&B artists recorded here - Little Milton, James Cotton, Howlin' Wolf, Junior Parker, BB King, Rufus Thomas, and more. Then came the other rock & roll and country music legends - Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Charlie Feathers, Warren Smith, Jerry Lee Lewis...

 Eric, standing in front of Sun Studios:

I liked this sky/guitar shot:

 Driving around downtown, Memphis, TN.

 Oh, the things you can see:

 We both noticed this pyramid building.

Thinking musically, just could almost see musical legends crossing this cross walk, maybe for a cd cover.

 There was a place on the corner of Beale St. that offered gator gumbo. It was GROSS. However, we liked the guitars hung about the room.

 Guitars and Stax.

Looking through the grass into an open courtyard. Yes, the sign says to "Beware" of "Irish Diving Goats". Hmmm.

 Lunch at the Pig place - bbq with cole slaw on the sandwich. It was OK. We expected more from Memphis.

 "Walk'n in Memphis..." (Oh, yes, I did.)

 As we prepared to leave Memphis, we saw this cool bridge. Then it was onto Arkansas! Our destination for this 2nd day was Searcy, AR, where we had a "friend of a friend" who was kind enough to offer us lodging for the night.

 Here we go/went:

Across the bridge!

 Yes, I like bridges the same way I like trees. Ha.
   We went to our new friend's house where they served us excellent food with even better conversation. We also got to get some good sleep before heading on to Little Rock the next day. We were VERY THANKFUL for both lodging and new friends. Hooray!