Rough roads, smooth driving- Day 2

We woke up Monday morning to a cold and dreary Memphis. It was about 46 degrees. After a quick 'continental' breakfast that consisted of a hard boiled egg, hash brown, banana, and half a waffle we were on our way to Graceland. Now I'm not a huge Elvis fan but we had to go. Very few people beyond maybe Michael Jackson have had that impact that Elvis had on the entire world. So we toured Graceland, saw the Jungle room, the bell-bottomed bedazzeled suits, and the cars of Elvis. It was pretty impressive. I had no idea that he'd garnered so many gold and platinum records over the years or that he was so active in donating to charity and helping people out.

As we left Graceland and headed for Little Rock, AK we encountered some of the roughest roads yet. Hopefully some government stimulus money is making its way to Arkansas and Oklahoma for some road repairs- my ass is killing me from all the bumps.

Again Bailey took the wheel and this time drove for about 4 or 5 hours, or from Little Rock, AK to Oklahoma City, OK. I took over in  Oklahoma City, OK and we headed for Amarillo, TX. At first it seemed like this last 4 hour leg was flying buy. But after hour 3 it wasn't. We were so ready to get out of the car that I think I kept checking the odometer every 2 minutes and thinking, 'oh, we only have X more miles' then I would look at the clock somehow hoping that we had made up some time and would arrive before 11pm. I was wrong. We landed at the hotel exactly at 11pm.

After a few yoga poses to get everything aligned we headed for bed.

States visited: 4
Tennessee
Arkansas
Oklahoma
Texas

Hours: 12

Tuesday we are moving on to Flagstaff, AZ. This should be a 'quick' day because we are only driving 9 hours. Stay tuned...photos are on their way

Day 1

So we set out at 8am from Orlando. Of course we had to pit stop immediately for some drive-thru breakfast but then we were really on our way. Florida took FOREVER! We went from Orlando up the Turnpike, through Gainesville, left on I-10, into Tallahassee and finally out through some small town and into Dothan, AL. We cruised through Dothan and finally decided to stop at that local favorite- Pizza Hut. What can I say? It appears that Bailey and I have this odd fascination with stopping at Pizza Hut in foreign locales. We did it in London and now we are doing it in Dothan, AL. Don't judge us.

At any rate. Bailey took the wheel when we hit I-65 and did well for a rookie stick driver. But I did most of the driving. It's been amazing to see parts of this country that are so beautiful and know that the only way you would have seen this is by doing exactly what we are doing- motoring!

The MINI has done great. We only stopped for gas once for this first leg. Of course, I filled up before we left but it's still not too shabby considering we did over 700 miles yesterday.

We arrived in Memphis in the dark and road-weary. After some food at Marlowe's and a pink limo ride we hit the sack. Today is Graceland and then off to Texas.

States visited: 4
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee

Miles driven: 700+

Total time from Orlando to Memphis: 13 hours

Getting Geared Up

First entry! I start my cross country journey in 2 days. We are packing up the Mini and heading north to Memphis.

I'm saying good-bye to my friends, family, and city that I have known for most of my life and heading to a land that is 180 degrees from anything I have ever known. Well not completely foregin. I do know a lot about living in the rain since it rains so much in Florida too- but mountains, 4 seasons, and being on the West Coast will be different.

My heart is starting to pitter patter a bit at the thought of several days of driving for 12 or 13 hours. But it will be an adventure. A once in a lifetime adventure.

So follow along and if you have any suggestion on what to do, where to go, and what to eat while we are on our journey, leave a comment so we know and can try it out.