The Music Higway

We traveled down the "Music Highway" between Nashville and Memphis today. Although we didn't stop to see any of the attractions (such as Loretta Lynn's 'Country Kitchen), we enjoyed this stretch of highway. The weather was once again hectic, though, to say the least. We left Nashville under a completely blue sky but were rained on within one hour. Later, as we approached Memphis, the sun came out again but didn't last.

I failed to get a photo of the Arkansas state line. Turns out the official state line between Tennessee and Arkansas is halfway across the Mississippi River. We crossed the bridge on I-40, and if it hadn't been so windy I would have just held up the camera as we passed underneath. So, no photos of the state line.

The highway from Nashville to Memphis and then into the Arkansas delta region unfolds in one long downhill trajectory. Highway 64 through Arkansas from beyond the state line to Searcy reveals nothing but horizon. I never imagined it was so flat. There were miles and miles of rice paddies (Arkansas grows more rice than any other state in the USA).

We included Searcy on our itinerary because some of my old friends from Florida State University graduate school live there. They took us out to dinner, but, of course I forgot my camera at the hotel. That's why no photos accompany this entry. My friends had just come from coaching their five-year old's t-ball game, so they weren't so upset about not having their picture appear here.

Tomorrow, we expect to be rained on all day. I'll make sure to take plenty of pictures to make up for none today. We plan to be on the road by 7:30 a.m.

304.3 miles today. 790.2 total miles.