Ken woke up today all refreshed……and anxious to hit the road again.   He truly is a trucker at heart.

We actually thought about staying in Nashville another day, since Ken didn’t get to see much of it yesterday, but he convinced us that he really wanted to move on.  As it turns out (I checked….just in case) the KOA had no room for us to stay,  so we pulled up camp and got back on the road around 10:00 a.m.

Our plan today was to get across Tennessee and half way across Arkansas.  We decided to have lunch in Memphis, so I checked on the Internet for a good spot, and one fried chicken restaurant kept popping up….”Gus’s Famous Fried Chicken”.  I liked the image of the restaurant…..it definitely looked like a hole in the wall joint…..my favorite kind!

Of course, it was in downtown Memphis so parking could have been an issue.  I called to see if they had a parking lot for our RV.   The conversation went like this:

Employee:   “Gus’s Fried Chicken”

Me:  “Hi, we’re traveling through Memphis and would like to come to your restaurant, but we have an RV.   Is there parking at your restaurant that can accommodate our RV, and can you tell me if downtown Memphis streets are negotiable for large vehicles?”

Employee:  “Ma’am……I didn’t understand a word you just said”.

I’m not sure if the problem was my accent or my precise interrogation techniques…..lol.    I slowed down, and re-stated the question:

Me:  “I’m so sorry, I just want to know if you have a parking lot for big vehicles?”

Employee:  “No ma’am….we don’t”.

We decided to give it a try anyhow.  Ken managed quite easily (or so it seemed) to navigate “The Ox” through the riverfront area and the downtown streets, but when we got to the block where the restaurant was located, there was no room to park nearby.

I recommended that we get the chicken to go, and that way we could drive back down to the waterfront area and have a picnic.   The guys that this was a swell idea and the dogs, who were a little road weary by now, would be able to get out of the truck and enjoy the picnic too.

Road weary puppies

Ken found a place to park a few blocks away, but it was near a hydrant, so he stayed with the truck while Dick and I went to go get the chicken.

This little chicken place was either the only place to eat in Memphis or it was that good because it was packed to the rafters!  Every table was taken, and there was a long line of people waiting to order their food and others waiting to pick up orders.

Inside Gus’s Famous Chicken

There seemed to be one gal doing everything….answering the phone, taking walk-up orders, waiting the tables…..everything.   She was quite something to watch.  We finally managed to squeeze our way up front to place our order, and we were told to wait outside and it would be ready in 15 minutes.

When we were outside, we even saw a group of people sitting on the cold concrete, eating chicken!

We stood outside in the cold and waited….fifteen minutes went by….no chicken.   Thirty minutes went by….no chicken.  When I went back in to find out how much longer, I was told a catering order had gotten in the way but it should be up shortly.

Almost an hour later, I got the chicken.  I’m sure those of you who know my husband can only imagine how happy he was to have to wait that long!   But…..there is a happy ending.

We went back to the waterfront area and had a lovely, (if not somewhat chilly) picnic right by the Mississippi river.   We had the place practically to ourselves. The dogs got to have a nibble, and the chicken was really good.

Picnic spot

Windy enjoys a bite

After lunch, we checked out the nearby visitor’s center which of course included a big statue of Elvis.

For a couple of days, I had been trying to reach a friend of mine who moved from Oroville to Bald Knob, Arkansas after she got married a few years ago.  Bald Knob (gotta love that name!) is about 120 miles north of Memphis.  Unfortunately, I was never able to reach her, so after lunch, we just kept heading west, crossing the Mississippi and leaving Memphis behind us.

The drive through Arkansas was easy, and we got to see a beautiful sunset just as we got into the Little Rock area.

Arkansas sunset

We had called ahead and found a camp ground to stay at in a little town called Conway.   The proprietor, Juanita, was waiting for us when we pulled in, and helped get everything hooked up.   When I found out she didn’t take credit cards (this is a very small, family run park), she said I could mail her a check when I got home.  How’s that for trusting?  Of course, we paid her cash, but just the thought that she would have let us do that made our night.

Tomorrow morning we’re off to see the sites in Oklahoma City.   Goodnight all.