Fortunately for me, I was still on 'get up early to get the kids to school' time and we finally got off to the early start Dave wanted each day of this trip. One of the best things about leaving so early was that the sun was still rising as we crossed the bridge into Memphis, TN. Of the many things I love about taking an I-40 eastbound road trip, crossing this bridge is in the top ten favorite list. There would be no stops, no pilgrimages to Graceland on this trip as there have been in the past, but I loved crossing that bridge and telling the kids to look out their windows. It really put me in a better mood.
An hour later, we were stopping in Jackson to have breakfast at Casey Jones Village. The food was just as good as ever, but a lot of the other visitors and ESPECIALLY the man that seated us, were rude. It was a bummer. Equally sad was that the cute little train museum/gift shop has now been overrun by Thomas the Tank Engine. Make no mistake, I love Thomas. His shows have saved many an otherwise disastrous babysitting adventure and my kids love him too. But, this was not the Thomas museum, it was a tribute to Casey Jones. Even if I am the only one who still knows that. I guess recent developments in Jackson have created more competition for my beloved restaurant, but it was still a little disappointing to see how much things have deteriorated since we last visited in 1998. I hope I was just there on an off-day and the fact that I visited at all was still much-envied by my Dad who first took us there as kids en route to see our Aunt K in Philadelphia (yes, that same aunt who is childless because I once broke her fiancee's sunglasses).
The rest of the drive was fairly uneventful and, thanks to our early start, relatively traffic-free. Sadly, our GPS system kept us from getting lost in Nashville and inadvertently driving past the Grand Ole Opry as we did on both our previous Tennessee trips. It's a silly thing to be disappointed by, but I was a little. I blame it on my recent viewing of Walk the Line. In keeping with tradition though, I did make sure to annoy Dave and the kids with as much Elvis and Johnny Cash music as I had on CD and iPod (sadly, that's not too much) though I did forget my Loretta Lynn CD, much to my own chagrin. (We didn't stop in Hurricane Mills at all this time either, sigh).
I think this is the day I realized that I couldn't take anymore lunch or dinner stops in the trailer unless we had already arrived at our destination and were 'plugged in.' After two hot, miserable meals in the unairconditioned sweatbox; I said "no more" AND I stopped taking all bathroom stops in there too. I should have done THAT much sooner. Once he knew a bathroom stop may or may not mean more quality time in the trailer, Tristan didn't request nearly as many. The definite low point of the day was when Dave decided to switch off his "navi-computer" and drive to his grandparents' house "on instinct." I never thought I would say this, but maybe that boy has seen Star Wars one too many times. All I'm saying is we got completely lost while driving through a lot of twisting, winding roads and pulling a 30-foot trailer, and never once did I hear the voice of Obi Wan telling us to "use the force" and "let go." Constant cell phone communication with his Dad eventually got us into the right place. I do regret that I didn't spend any of our time wandering through the hills of Jonesborough taking pictures. There were some beautiful farms there, but there was no way was I asking Dave to drive back through there so we could get lost again.
Mamaw and Papaw were still up and, as I've mentioned, there sure was some good food waiting for us when we got there. Elisa climbed all over her grandfather and her great-grandfather while Tristan pretended that he couldn't talk and insisted on communicating with Mamaw like this. She indulged him until he couldn't help himself and started talking to her. Like my grandmothers and Dave's Aunt P, she's got the Tristan touch. I was impressed. We drifted off to sleep that night in a much better place-hooked up at the end of Dave's aunt's driveway. No neon signs, highway lights, or hyper kids. Just croaking frogs, southern breezes, and bellies full of good food...good times.
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