Back where I started ...

I'm back where I started this road trip: at the airport Best Western in Atlanta. Just spent 4 hours driving in from Nashville -- about 300 truckers and I tore up the Appalachian foothills on I-24. I'm about to catch a few hours of shuteye before I take the blue(s)-mobile back to Thrifty and catch a shuttle to the airport.

Some of the destinations on this trip were new to me. Some were repeats. Either way, it was a privilege to enjoy the southern heat, humidity, and hospitality on this trip. Throw in a few hurricanes (Fay, Gustav, and Hannah/Ike on their way) and you've got wild-weather adventure to boot!

Some highlights from the road:

Thank you to Thrifty Car Rental for providing the blue(s)-mobile: a surf blue 2008 Dodge Caliber. What better car for road trip through the home of the blues? And this car was loaded: R/T package, 18" rims, 172 horses, AWD, Chill Zone beverage storage bin, illuminated cup holders. Sweet!

Fat Matt's Rib Shack in the Morningside district of Atlanta was amazing (both the food and the live blues). Could this be the best BBQ in the south? Other contenders are Abe's BBQ in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and Jack's BBQ in Nashville. All of the above are INDEPENDENTLY owned and operated. (Hello Winnipeggers: why do we keep lining up at the Olive Garden when we could eat real food from real Winnipeg restaurants?)

I think every Winnipegger would feel at home in New Orleans: floods, good food, great music, and a French heritage bind the two cities together. Whenever I'm in America, I'm almost overwhelmed by the affluence and opulence. I didn't feel that way in N.O. The people are too often on the forgotten side of the American political machine to buy into the American dream. Like Winnipeg, New Orleans is not a rich town -- the people work hard to get by. Unlike Winnipeg, the people of New Orleans LOVE their city. That, more than anything else, is what gives the place its vibe. I'll be back.

Ferriday, Louisiana is the home of three famous cousins: Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Lee Swaggart, and Mickey Lee Gilley. These boys can rock. Ferriday stopped rocking about 50 years ago. It feels like a ghost town ... except for an old U.S. Post Office that has been turned into the Delta Music Museum. This is the little museum that could. They started off small (almost laughably so), but now have state funding and have just been selected to host a Smithsonian exhibit. Another thumbs up for Ferriday: the town has restored and re-opened the Arcade Theatre. Now, if they could just do something about the Lewis Family Museum across the street (Linda Gail Lewis is a devoted fan of her brother, but she's no museum curator).

It took a little bit of convincing, but I'm glad my wife agreed to stay in a renovated cotton gin for a couple of nights in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The old Hopson plantation is once again a happening place thanks to the proprietors of the Shack Up Inn. Highly recommended, but take them at their word when they say, "the Peabody (or Ritz) we ain't".

Also in Clarksdale: check out Sarah's Kitchen on Sunflower Ave. for lunch. Sarah used to cook for the county jail -- would've made you want to rob a bank just to get some of that food. If you need new threads, you've got to pay a visit to George Daho at the Super Soul Shop on Yazoo Ave. You won't find these kind of clothes in the big city! Looking for blues books and other memorabilia? Go visit Roger Stolle at the Cat Head on Delta Ave. And if history is your thing (it's mine), you'll think the Delta Blues Museum is definitely worth the price of admission ($7.00). They've got Muddy Waters' cabin in there!

They don't call Memphis, Tennessee the capitol of Mississippi for nothing! This is THE big city of the delta (no one even thinks about heading south to New Orleans). I love Memphis, but more for its past than its present. Music would be completely different today if it hadn't been for Beale Street in the inter-war years, Sun Records in the 1950's (worth a visit today), and STAX/Soulsville in the 1960's/70's (also worth a visit). Not much has happened since, musically speaking. Check out the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel, where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot down.

Tupelo, Mississippi has done an incredible job of honoring their most famous citizen: Elvis Presley. The Presley's experienced hard times in Tupelo and left town when Elvis was 13. The town didn't forget Elvis and Elvis didn't forget the town. Plans were made early in Elvis' career to build the Elvis Presley Birthplace Museum. The foresight paid off. The site features the Presley house, a church, a chapel, and an exhibit building. If I had to choose between touring this Birthplace Museum or Graceland, I'd choose Tupelo.

Muscle Shoals, Alabama is the home of FAME Recording Studios and Muscle Shoals Sound Studios (home of The Swampers rhythm section). So many great records were made in these two studios. The studios survive today, but aren't cranking out too many radio hits, nor are they doing a great job of celebrating their amazing legacy. Avoid the Krystal fast food restaurant (not only in Muscle Shoals, but ANYWHERE!).

Nashville highlight: at 11:00 a.m., I called up a tour company and asked if I could still get on their 1:30 p.m tour. They said yes and it was nothing less than an act of God that destined my unexpected reunion with tour guide, Jim Meadows. Jim had been my guide on the RCA Studio B tour in 2004 and I realized then that he was no ordinary tour bus driver. Jim had been good friends with Chet Atkins during the 60's and 70's when Chet ran RCA Studio B. I heard stories from Jim that could only come from someone who had been there. It was the same experience on the "Making of Music City" tour I did with Jim on this visit to Nashville. After the 3 1/2 hour tour came to an end, I spent almost another hour listening to Jim's stories. I could have listened all week. Jim could easily charge $200 a head, just for all the inside tales he tells. I think it was the best $40 (plus tip) I spent on this trip.

Nashville warning: if you're a guitar player, Music City is going to make you feel shitty about yourself. I've been to New York City, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver, Memphis, and New Orleans. Only in Nashville can you walk into EVERY honky-tonk hole-in-the-wall and discover that EVERY single guitar player is better than you. The good news: you can learn some solid picking in this town! Check out Legends Corner and Robert's Western World (both legendary and both non-smoking). The Ryman Auditorium has two back doors: one crosses the lane to the back door of Legends Corner; the other to the back door of Robert's Western World.

Speaking of the Ryman Auditorium: I didn't visit the Ryman (aka the "mother church") this time round, but I've been there before and no visit to Nashville would be right and proper without a tour through this hallowed shrine. Also, stop by the Country Music Hall of Fame/Museum.

Musicians will love the new Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville. This new institution honors and preserves the contributions of the players behind the scenes who made great music great. Fantastic.

Some other highlights:

I drank more beer in 10 days than I have in the past year and a half.

I plan to eat BBQ every day for the rest of my life.

I made a new friend in Atlanta, named Frank. Frank is married to one of Brenda's good friends. Frank has exquisite taste in cars. For example, I know a lot of guys who drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee. But how many guys have a Grand Cherokee with a Hemi? This was one of Mopar's SRT projects. It rips. Very rare. Very cool.

I've never seen so many dogs: our hotels in Memphis, Tupelo, and Nashville were filled to overflowing with Gustav evacuees ... and their pets! The people of New Orleans are down, but not out. Three years later, they're still trying to come back from Katrina. Many are still living in FEMA trailers. Almost nothing has been rebuilt in the Lower Ninth Ward. Still, they're confident (though not self-assured) ... and you can't help but want the best for these people.

It was a blast doing a couple live spots on Larry Updike's morning show on CJOB. I did one spot from New Orleans and one from Tupelo, Mississippi. I loved being on the road, but I missed my hometown too. Larry (and Brian) kept me connected to Winnipeg. And thanks, Larry, for the road trip CD. You are a walking encyclopedia of music!

There was something at least slightly poetic about submitting my Hockey Night in Canada anthem from Memphis, and then again from Tupelo.

I picked up a few souvenirs along the way, but the most interesting keepsake is something I found in the gravel along the railroad tracks at the Clarksdale train station. I think there's some mojo in this thing. Stay tuned.

Thumbs down to Rogers for taking 8 days to give me the lowdown on potential data charges, etc. on my iPhone useage in the U.S. No one can beat Rogers for gear (i.e., handsets). No one is worse than Rogers for customer service. Hey Ted: your company is a national disgrace. Make Canada a proud telecomm nation again! Why are we always made to feel like communications beggars in this country?

I would do this road trip all over again tomorrow ... with one change: there's about a half dozen guys I'd like to take the next time around.