Ft. Smith, AR; Memphis, TN; Holly Springs, MS; Tuscaloosa, AL - April 2, 2009

Thursday, April 2
I woke up at 3:45 am. I had packed the car with everything but the ice chest and a 6 pack of Dr Pepper bottles and had laid out my clothes the night before. I got up and was out the door at 4:15; I would've left at 4:00, but I couldn't find my favorite road trip CD [Havalina Rail Co.- "America"] and I had to have it or I wasn't leaving...that CDs been with me on every road trip I've made probably for the last 5 years, it is now tradition with me.

Once I got on the road it was smooth sailing all the way to my first stop...Tilles Park, Ft. Smith, AR. I arrived about 7:30 and hopped out of the car, located the first hole and proceeded to knock out a quick round of disc golf on a rather picturesque little 9 hole.

#3. Tilles Park, Ft. Smith, AR

I didn't play so hot, but I had fun anyhow. Apparently there was a lightning strike to a tree there in the park the night before as this giant tree was laying in the first 50 feet of the #2 hole which made for quite a challenge. About the time I hit the #5, the city already had a crew over there tearing the tree up and getting it out of the way...nice timing.

View of where I had to take my 2nd shot from on the #6 hole. My only easy par. You can barely make out the basket at the left edge of the bush.

Once I finished up and had packed my discs back in the trunk I was off for Memphis. It started sprinkling on me just before I got in the car and this would be the beginning of a very wet morning of driving. The rain was light to moderate from Ft. Smith to Conway and shortly after leaving the Conway area the rain just came down in buckets, then barrels. I've decided that I-40 doesn't drain off worth anything in Arkansas as my low traction light came on more times that morning than it's came on since we got the car...and that's counting all the times I've driven it in the ice storms and snow.

I finally arrived in Memphis around 12:45 and proceeded to find a place to park and get lunch. I already had a place picked out and so I looked for a place to park and walk over. As I'd had one of the worst driving experiences that didn't involve a collision that morning, I opted to park in a nearby parking garage and stay out of the rain...the $3.00 was well spent in that regard. 

I walked to the restaurant I'd planned to eat at from the time I knew I was going to being going on this trip, The Little Tea Shop. I had seen it featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, so I just had to try it. The restaurant is a Memphis landmark, it has been around since 1918, since 1935 in its current location. I had the pot roast with sweet potato casserole and rice. It was all very good and they served it with corn sticks which were a nice appetizer/side item. The owner was super nice and once she knew I was from out of town and had been driving all morning she invited me to just stick around and take some time to relax and have some coffee on the house, even though they had been closed for a good 20 minutes by the time I finished eating. It will be another place that will be on my list of places to stop on any future trips through the area. That kind of hospitality is not soon forgotten.

After a great lunch and a chance to dry off and de-stress a little, I got back on the road again and made the turn for Tuscaloosa, AL. Every mapping site I looked at routed me through Holly Springs, MS, and since I've been there before I didn't object in the least. Bonnie and I went there for a day on an anniversary trip a few years back and did some bird watching/baking in the sun lost on the trails to the point of possible heat exhaustion and definite dehydration...I wanted to see if things had changed and explore the place in the much cooler climate. I got into a little rain on the way to Holly Springs, but it tapered off to nearly non-existent by the time I got there. 

I arrived at Strawberry Plains Audubon Center at about 3:15 or so and was greeted by a Wild Turkey.

Wild Turkey at the entrance to Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, Holly Springs, MS.

I stopped in and walked around a little bit, took a few pictures, and watched a few birds. The trails were a bit too wet for me to go venturing off on and the center closed at 4:30, so I really didn't want to get locked in.

Trees in front of the restored home at Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, Holly Springs, MS. Just to give an idea of the size of these trees, the small evergreen on the left side is about 6-7' tall.

Restored home at Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, Holly Springs, MS.

Path to the restored home at Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, Holly Springs, MS.

They finally marked the trails. It's nice to see our previous experience wasn't forgotten and wasn't in vain.

Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, Holly Springs, MS.

Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, Holly Springs, MS.

I stuck around long enough to see 8 different species of birds: Wild Turkey, Northern Cardinal, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Mourning Dove, Tufted Titmouse, Blue Jay, White-throated Sparrow, and my first view of a female Eastern Towhee.

After my brief stop in Holly Springs, I was back on the road and eventually got into more rain around Tupelo, MS. It rained off and on all the way to Tuscaloosa. I arrived in Tuscaloosa and decided upon getting within about 15 miles of my destination that Google Maps directions were about as worthless as they come. I called my friend Erik and after about 10 minutes of getting an idea of where I'd managed to end up, I finally arrived at his place around 8pm. Since I hadn't eaten and since he'd just gotten home with his dinner, I left Erik to his food and ran over the the McAlister's Deli that I'd passed and grabbed a Havarti Chicken Chipotle panini...it was quite good if you've never had one. 

After about 15 minutes of Erik's dog, Sham, barking at me (I later renamed him Sham Wow...as in "Sham, Wow, your barking is loud"), I finished up my dinner and grabbed a pillow and blanket and crashed on the couch.