This past Thursday me and my girlfriend Joey packed up some stuff into a Toyota Camry and headed south on our way to Little Rock Arkansas to see our Friends Luke, and Randy from Poor Rich Folk and Luke’s Fiancee Lacie. It was a great trip for many reasons because we have really grown to love this band and the music that they make but mainly that we have really become friends with them. It was also really great because Luke has been on tour and I booked him to play in my town in October but it was a solo tour so this time we got to see the whole band and meet the bass player Jon and drummer Andy. We went and ate at a bbq place which I unfortunately forgot the name of but if you’re in Little Rock its right by Central Church of Christ which is on 6th st (I got the bbq brisket with meaty beans and potatoe salad, and the potatoe salad was rediculously good). One thing I love about road trips is getting a taste of the local fare, and when you’re in the south I think its kind of a rule to eat bbq.
The PRF show was really great too, I am often convicted by the songs that they play especially right now this song called The Suffering Wealthy, prefacing the song Luke explained that us Christians have really made a mockery of the gospel by owning multi million dollar facilities yet letting the poor and needy go unnoticed. He paraphrased St Francis who said that “to have more than one coat in your closet is stealing, and you stole it from the poor”. It really convicted me to want to do something for the poor instead of talk about it all of the time.
After the show we got to eat at another local place in Little Rock called Damgoode Pie’s, and although the entire restaurant smelled like the mens bathroom the pizza was delicious. So then Joey and I pushed on to Oxford Mississippi at 11 o’clock, with an ETA of 2 am. Whenever I drive I always underestimate mileage, so when we were talking about staying in Little Rock for dinner 3 hours didnt seem like a big deal but it really sucked getting there at 2 am. Our day in Oxford began at about 10:30 by going to the Grove which has been deemed “The Holy Grail” of tailgaiting, it’s also the #8 sporting tradition behind the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona Spain. To be sure it is a great experience to go to the Grove, but just know if you show up in a tshirt and jeans you may feel underdressed as the typical attire of the Grove and Ole Miss football games is shirt and tie for guys and some type of dress for the girls.
Then later that night after the game, a group of us traveled about 45 minutes north to Hollysprings Mississippi which is the home of Paul Mcleod, who is the curator of Graceland Too. If you don’t know what this is, its a shrine for Elvis Aaron Presley which you can visit 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year and recieve a tour led by Paul himself for $5. After 3 visits you are a lifetime member and can come in for free for life. He supposedly sleeps between 6am and 10am, but from what I hear its best to go sometime after midnight, that’s when we went and we left around 1:30. I must admit as hillarious and amazing as it was I feel a little sorry for the guy because his life is literally consumed with Elvis stuff but the tour is all about how awesome Paul is and how all his stuff is worth millions of dollars a piece but he won’t sell it. Ok thats all I’m going to say, I suggest going and checking it out.
Finally on our drive home the next day we stopped in Memphis Tennessee, mainly to eat lunch at mine and Joey’s favorite restaurant in town called South Philly. I know I know, its not local Memphis fare but it was started by a guy from Philly who moved to Memphis and wanted authentic Philly Cheese Steak. Last year when we were heading home from Oxford we drove through Memphis getting pretty hungry for lunch and we stopped at a gas station on Riverside drive, it just so happened that a Memphis Cop was there and he offered to take us to his ‘favorite restaurant’, and we basically got a police escort to South Philly and we loved it; so now it’s our tradition to stop in Memphis to eat lunch there. If you are ever interested in eatting there its on Peabody Place, if you’re on I-55 take the Riverside drive exit and head toward downtown, then turn right on Beale Street, and take a left on 3rd or 2nd and then a right on Peabody Place. It’s a great place and theres a bunch of blues clubs right there so you can make a day of it, which I really want to do sometime but have only been just passing through.
