San Jose to Memphis to Greenville, Mississippi

After the festivities on Sunday, Monday was a travel day. We flew out of San Jose, bound for Memphis, Tennessee, with a stop over at Dallas.  The stopover lasted about an hour and a half longer than planned, what with the flight delay, and we finally arrived at our hotel in Memphis about 10:00 PM.

Since our trip is bookended by to family celebrations, we had to come up with a plan to fill the six days in between.  On Saturday the 20th we will be in New Orleans for my nephew's wedding.  We decided to do a road trip through the Mississippi Delta, from Memphis to New Orleans, to explore a part of the country we have not seen before. 

Tuesday morning found us on the levee along the Mississippi at the Beale Street Landing.  At 9:00 it was 87 degrees and very humid.  We have been training ourselves to move slowly.

The history of any place is always important to us. This stretch of the river was part of the Trail of Tears, displacing the Cherokees from their homeland to Oklahoma. 

 The  modern Memphis skyline from the landing.

 We had only the morning to explore Memphis, so of course we went to Beale Street.  This area is meant to be enjoyed at night, for the music and the good times, but we were there in the  morning, just to see what we could see.

 Elvis memorabilia, anyone? I should add here that we did drive by Graceland, but did not stop.  It's not really our thing.

 Or how about a Blues guitar toilet seat?

 We were at the Peabody Hotel near 11:00, so we stayed around for the Parade of the Ducks.  Follow the link to learn more.  I'm not sure the wait was worth it.

 The Duck Master introduced the ducks.

 This little lady duck wasn't ready to swim.

Our last stop in Memphis was the National Civil rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel.

The museum was closed on Tuesdays, so that solved

the dilemma of needing to get on the road, but it was enough just to be there and remember. 

  From Memphis we followed the Blues Highway, Hwy 6,1 out into the delta farmland.

The Blues Highway was a major migration route of African Americans traveling north as work ran out for them in the south and factories in the north needed laborers. They brought their music along with them, and Memphis became the Home of the Blues. 

 Tennessee is very green.

 Native American history is also an attraction for us. In Mississippi, leaving the Blues Highway, 61, we moved west to Hwy 1, The Great River Road, headed for Greenville.  Along the way we stopped at the Waterville Mounds Museum.  

Ancient indigenous peoples built mounds for various reasons, but most believe they were for ceremonial purposes and as status symbols, marking the dwelling places of important chiefs or kings.

 We ended our journey on Tuesday at Greenville, on the Mississippi River.  We took a walk to the levee, and the levee was high, and wide.  

 We walked along the levee and looked down on our hotel. That's our rental car there in the lot. No, it's not a Chevy.  It's a Toyota. 

 This is the Greenville Inn, where we stayed.

 Built in 1883, it was originally occupied by the levee board. 

Tonight, Wednesday, we are in Jackson, Miss.  We've been to Vicksburg and through delta farmland and east to Jackson today.  

My next post will depend on hotel hookup and how much time I have Thursday evening.  Downloading photos takes a long time with this little laptop and wifi,  but this evening we were happy to settle in and escape the heat. 

Those of you who follow me on Facebook have been getting regular updates as we travel. 

I hope to be back soon.