back home now...

...but i am not done with our story.

Blogger likes to load the pictures backwards so this is mammoth caves backwards

this is from the end of our New Entrance tour

This is Bill and me in the frozen niagra section of mammoth caves; one of the few areas with stalactites and stalagmites.

This is Bill and me after the 500 step decline into the new entrance. This entrance was made by a few sticks of dynamite in the 1920s.

This is the historical entrance that has been used going back hundreds of years. After our hike down to the green river and our hike back up towards the visitors center the cool air rushing out on this entrance was awesome.

This is the deer that wanted to join us on our hike to the green river. it freaked us city folk out that he was so close to our trail. we also saw a snake but he wasn't as cool or as easy to photograph.

caves!

we went to mammoth caves today. it was awesome!! hopefully we'll have pics to share. see you soon.

our dog snores...

...loudly! Like so loudly Bill tried to blame the snoring on me and I on him.... crazy dog.
Sorry for not posting but i know there are like 2 people reading this so you probably don't mind.
Let's see last time Bill left things off in Memphis after our first evening. The next day we got up and took Winnie on a walk along the river. we then got a bite to eat at a sushi/ pizza place. That afternoon we took a tour of sun studios. Well worth it. We drove by Graceland, but didn't visit. on top of it not being my cup of tea it was Elvis week and just totally nuts. That evening we visited with Kara and Dave and at BBQ at a place called Corky's. I had some spaghetti and then shared Bills order of meat. That evening we walked along Beale street and stopped by the Peabody hotel.
The next morning we walked along south main to the Civil Rights Museum. It is well worth the trip and if you go don't miss the 30 min documentary at the beginning. The museum is in the location of the hotel that Martin Luther King Jr was shot at. Also, if you do go don't miss going across the street when they have an exhibit about finding the shooter.
We packed up the car and got on the road to Nashville after that. On our way out of town, we stopped at a place called Tom's BBQ, which was featured on Diners Drive-In's and Dives. We had excellent sandwiches and said good bye to the BBQ part of our trip.
We got into Nashville yesterday around 5pm. We took a nice walk to their Centennial Park where there is a recreation of the Parthenon. By the time we were done Winnie was pooped. We are staying a a Lowes here across the street from Vanderbilt University. We had a nice dinner at a place called Mambu.
Today we got up and went to Andrew Jackson's home, The Hermitage. We saw the resting place of Andrew Jackson and had a nice tour of the home and grounds. In the afternoon, we walked around the down town area. We ate dinner at a local brewery where Winnie was allowed on the patio with us.
Tomorrow we will be on the road to Louisville and stopping at the mammoth caves national park.
More pictures later.

Memphis part one

“...it keeps getting better...i dunno if we just happen to like the style of bbq more as move east, but damn, the meals are getting tastier. the ribs in particular are getting smoked perfectly with less wet sauce and more dry rub. one particular surprise is that i'm not getting tired of eating grilled meats. you think i would a little, but there's enough variation that inevitably at meal time, we start the hunt again for more.

tonight we hit up "central bbq" as per the recommendation of sarah's aunt kara. apparently it is her favorite, and now it is one of ours. like most of these smokehouses, the place wasn't much to look at, but as soon as we entered, we were engulfed in the smells of bbq. i wasn't particularly impressed with the sides, but the pulled pork, sausage and ribs were all top notch. pork was juicy and smoky, the sausage was flavorful without being too spicy and the ribs were balanced between falling off the bone and still having substance.

tomorrow we'll hit up some more local favorites and take a stroll down beale street. i'm not sure what other sights we'll see yet. then on wednesday we'll go to the civil rights museum first thing.

lastly, after a couple of days of just driving and eating too much, sarah and i are planning to use the fitness center and burn off a couple of calories. we'll see how that goes. i just know there's no way in hell i'll be running outside with this heat and humidity. ok. i think it's time for a drink...”

- Bill

pics!

Arthur Bryant's BBQ - our first stop

Gates BBQ - Lunch on Sunday. We ended up liking Gates better than Arthur Bryant's

This was literally the street our hotel was off of. Really nice location. Very friendly staff, like every Westin

This morning we went to the Arch, which was pretty cool to see and experience. This is Pappy's Smokehouse that we had for lunch today. It was visited by Adam from Man vs Food ( a great show) and was recommended by two people we asked about the best BBQ.

And last but not least this is where we went for dinner tonight. it was wonderful. the ribs sausage and pork were all tasty.

St. Louis

Blogging on my phone again we did down load photos last night. Unfortunately, we didn't have wireless in the room. We had a hard time finding a place to eat because it was Sunday. So we went to a nice modern restaurant and celebrated our anniversary. We ate at a place called Lucas Park Grille.
This morning we took the mile walk to the arch. We went all the way up and walked through the museum.
We walked back to our hotel - another westin directly across from the cardinal's stadium - and packed up. We are having lunch at a place called Pappy's Smokehouse. It was voted the best bbq by two different locals that we asked.
Ok we'll be getting on the road to Memphis after this.

Happy Birthday Giddo!

Kansas city bbq

So yesterday we got on the road around 9 am and headed east on 80 to des moines. We had lunch at a little french cafe there. Yes french food on a bbq trip. It seems to be a tradition now.
After lunch around 2 we headed south into Missouri. We got to KC around 6pm and checked into the westin. I must say if you are traveling with a dog westins are great!
We ate dinner last night at Arthur Bryant's bbq. I'll write more later. Off to Gates for an early lunch.

our trip

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This is going to be great!!!!

ready to live high off the hog

or some such thing. Bill and I are trying to get hotels panned out and get packed and ready for our road trip. we leave this comming weekend. Any suggestions of places to go or visit in the Kansas City, St Louis, Memphis, Nashville, Louisville areas?