11/2 and 11/3

As I write this we are about 75 miles west of Memphis. We are seeing lots of cotton fields that have recently been cut. The cotton bails are quite large…bigger than a hay bail. They almost look like a covered trailer sitting in the field. We also have seen some rice fields. Most have been cut but we saw something different back a ways and decided that is what it was. The altitude here is less than 100 feet according to our GPS. It is very flat and mostly crop land. We are just west of Memphis now on I 40 and there are actually more big trucks than there are cars. I have never seen it quite like this. We are planning to stay in Memphis for a couple of days. We wanted to revisit Mudd Island River Park but found out when we got to Memphis it is closed for the season….just 2 days ago. The river walk is a permanent outdoor exhibit of the Mississippi River. It is a scale model of the lower Mississippi River from its confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico. The model features twenty scale maps of river cities; panels showing the river’s major tributaries; concrete wedges showing smaller tributaries; engineering structures and bridges; and 68 free standing text panels that detail particular locations on the river. At the south end of this exhibit is a swimming pool which is the Gulf of Mexico. We may go to Beale Street for some food and music too. We are staying at T. O. Fuller State Park. It is heavily wooded. On Thursday we went to the “big city” to explore. We started out at an upscale mall, had lunch, and did some shopping for clothes. We each picked out some bargains. Then we did go to Beale Street. We walked up and down to see the sights and to decide where we wanted to eat. We picked a restaurant that also had live music in the evening. The music was to start at 6:00 and it was only 4:30 so we did some more sightseeing. We went to Peabody Palace which has several shops plus several places to eat and a very large movie theatre. It has a center court yard which was quite beautiful. We rested there waiting closer to time to eat. When we went back to the restaurant we were told the music did not start till 7:00. We decided to ride around on the trolley which went by some areas we wanted pictures of so that was nice. Check out this plate of food we ordered: Cajun Feast for Two…. A combination of Shrimp & Crawfish Etouffee, Championship Gumbo, Blackened Catfish, VooDoo Potatoes, VooDoo Chicken and Fried Green Tomatoes. We were there until 7:45 and the music never did start. Bummer. However we did hear some music along the street on our way back to our car. Tomorrow we will be leaving and will stay one night at Walmart before arriving in Morristown, TN where our daughter, Jackie and husband, Steve live.