It was soooo hard to leave our cousins! Pancakes and coffee by the pool was delightful – the kids swam then rip-sticked in the driveway, Em pulling Gillian and Grace on a second ripstick by horse lead!
After a quick load of laundry, the borrowing of two pair of riding boots for horse camp (English and Western – yee haw, thank you Melissa!!!!), some calendar comparisons about future meet-ups, and the knowledge that no matter how well we checked, we were sure to leave something (and in fact, it was Em’s Rein and Shine tee shirt!), we loaded up and headed out.
Last thing in the car was the ripstick, helmet, and wrist pads…of course!
Drove through the University of Arkansas campus – beautiful, hilly, and lots of construction. Loved seeing all the huge frat houses (well, mansions really). A quick one hour drive to Fort Smith didn’t deter Em from taking a nap – she woke up in the parking lot of Fuji’s Steakhouse and Sushi restaurant where we met my gal-pal Debbie for lunch and laughs.
When we got up to leave, we were literally the last people in the restaurant…including the staff! All the lights in the lobby were out and there wasn’t a person in sight. Debbie says they close between 2 and 4 and we were there ’til 3:30.
From Fort Smith it was about 3 1/2 hours to Memphis but it seemed like an eternity. Em slept most of the way, lots of construction including several points where it was one lane and a dead stop. Was actually able to read at one point. Listening to the truckers on the CB was too funny throughout the traffic and helped the time go by.
Did manage to rouse Em to watch the odometer turn over to 000 again (2,000 miles) – we missed it the first time so had to catch it today.
Cracker Barrel Turkey Dinner
Despite the fact that were just miles from Memphis ribs, we opted to stop at the last Arkansas exit for Cracker Barrel’s Thursday turkey dinner special and it was juuuuuuust right. Ate so much we even turned down dessert. Em had an extra serving of stuffing and gravy.
We love shopping in their little store, even looked for a new “On the Road Again” type CD but no luck. The sun was setting just as we arrived at the restaurant so our “Welcome to Tennessee” photo op an hour later was pretty dark.
Arrived at the Memphis airport Marriott Courtyard (great decorations and music!) and enjoyed a half hour of rip-sticking in the parking lot. Em glides along and I stretch my legs and we talk about everything from here to the moon – some of my favorite times on this trip.
Plans are for Graceland tomorrow morning then off to HOT-lanta. – Ann
Odometer Reading - 2,000 so far!
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