Long Distance Information, Give Me Memphis, Tennessee...

Getting to Texas was a lot faster than getting home.  Partly because we took a side trip on the way back - we stopped to check out Beale Street, which is kind of the Bourbon Street of Memphis, Tennessee.  

It was amazing.  The energy was palpable; you could hear music from all directions, people performed on the street, and it was an absolutely perfectly gorgeous day to visit.  I really wish we could have stayed until it got dark; I'm sure it would have been quite the sight to see with all the neon lights.





A cool shop:




It had a zombie Elvis:





More neon lights:











A couple of musicians in a beer garden:





Then we finally went to my intended destination:  B.B. King's Blues Club, where I wanted to have real Memphis-style ribs for lunch.  It's a very cool place.





The stage was empty when we got there:





But then The Carl Drew Blues Band took the stage and rocked the house.  I have never heard blues music live before, and it was an awesome treat.





The ribs were amazing, and eating them while a live band played was amazing.  I really enjoyed that little side trip.  Sarah really did as well, and Becca liked it, but I'm not sure if Lauren and Becca could really appreciate why the experience, and all of Beale Street were a great experience.  Maybe one day.


A few photo ops, of course:








The King himself, immortalized:





And then it was time to hit the road again, and head home. But first a few minutes to check out the Mighty Mississippi:








The ride home was soooo long. Tennessee is a long, boring state to go through on Interstates, and so is Virginia. The following day we hit storms almost the entire way through Virginia, and I was white-knuckling it for hours.  Wiped me out.  We were all glad to get home, but will always look fondly upon our adventures in Texas and Tennessee!


Next road trip in one week - NYC to see Paul McCartney at Yankee Stadium!

Sometimes I Think Life is Just a Rodeo...

...The trick is to ride and make it to the bell.

While in Texas last week, we went to the Mesquite Rodeo. I love watching the rodeo; it's so exciting and fun. My dad got us great seats right in the front row. We could've touched some of those horses sometimes!  Sarah was in heaven with all the cute cowboys around.  

This sign set the tone for the evening as we walked in:

You don't see too many warnings like that in Maryland. Before the show, we helped ourselves to the BBQ buffet, which was AMAZING.  Brisket, sausage, potato salad, coleslaw, beans, rolls - everything was so good, we went back for seconds. And the beer was icy cold.  Perfect.

You can see how close we were to the action here:

The first event was bucking broncos, which was really cool to watch.  Not every cowboy made it to eight seconds, and you really feel sorry for the ones who are thrown right out of the gate. 

Here is a rodeo referee almost getting in the way of a bronco:

Thrown!

A little bit of steer wrestling:

Team Roping:

Tie-Down Roping:

There were a few other events, like Chuck Wagon racing and Ladies' Barrel Racing, but they don't do anything for me, so I didn't get them on film.  My favorite event is Bull Riding!

You really don't want to tick them off:

Hard to see, but they are hard to photograph! I didn't get one good bull riding shot.

This bull did NOT want to go back to the pen; it took quite a few minutes to get him in there:

And this one got away from the wranglers and clowns - and started coming RIGHT TOWARDS US.  It was a little unnerving.

That was our last night of fun in Texas. We went to dinner the following night and then breakfast before we headed out. It was sad leaving Texas and my dad, but we took a great side trip on the way home...

Hanging in Fort Worth, Texas!

On Wednesday, my dad, the girls and I headed out to Fort Worth for the afternoon.  First we stopped by Billy Bob's for an early BBQ dinner; Billy Bob's is the world's biggest honky-tonk. It's a pretty cool place - it hosts rodeos, musical acts, and other neat stuff.  There are plaques on the walls where famous people have put their hands in cement - kind of like in Hollywood.

The food was great, but we couldn't hang around and check out the rest of the place; they were setting up for some kind of benefit that was closed to the public.




The girls enjoying the atmosphere:




And Becca checking to see if her foot matches the singer's foot in the plaque:




Leaving Billy Bob's:





Sticking naughty children where they belong:




Then we headed for the stockyards for a little sightseeing and shopping:













Some beautiful longhorns:









Being goofy in the gift shop:






Then, and here is where I enter bad mom territory once again, we were hot and thirsty from being out in the Texas sun, so we made our way to one of the bars lining the street.  And this wasn't a family place, like Billy Bob's, or like Applebee's or something.  This was a REAL bar, and a dive at that.  It was great.






Nice decor - beer signs all around, hundreds of cowboy hats lining the walls and ceilings, party advertisements. Unfortunately, we'll be missing this party:










The old wooden table had tons of graffiti carved into them.  So my little girls decided to immortalize their first visit to a dive bar at the ages of 13 and 15 by carving their own initials.





This is supposed to say LMW, but Lauren had a little trouble:












Sarah carved hers as well, but she's legal:






All shopped out and ready to go home:






Even more Texas adventures to come!