Good Bye, Arkansas...HELLO TENNESSEE!!!!!

We departed Russellville, Arkansas with another clear, cool morning!  Hooray!  About 5 or 10 miles down I-40, I noticed an Arkansas State Trooper in the median.  Tom and I have had our cruise set at about 80 for this entire trip, but we backed off a little when we saw him.  As we passed, I saw his brake lights go on as he put it in "Drive" and pulled out in our direction.  Crap!  My thoughts immediately went to my trusty pistola I keep in my saddlebag.  I THINK Arkansas is a reciprocal state, honoring my Ohio concealed carry permit.  But I'm not POSITIVE offhand.  Crap.  Do I tell him right off the bat like I'm supposed to and then get in trouble if my permit is no good here?  Or do I NOT tell him and get in trouble when he spots it as I'm getting my wallet out of that saddlebag.  Crap!  My purse and some bandanas are covering the gun, maybe I can get my wallet out without him seeing it.  Crap.  I keep an eye out for him in my rear-view mirror and after about another 10 miles I breathe a sigh of relief.  He's nowhere in sight.  Did he pull someone else over?  Who the Hell was going faster than us?  We were passing everyone!  Whew!  Note to self....study up on the reciprocal states before traveling!
Sometime during one of our gas stops I noticed my sunglasses had broke.  The frame snapped just above the lens.  Actually Tom's sunglasses had broke.  I was borrowing them because MY sunglasses broke.  They too, snapped by the lens!  CRAP!!!!!  Both pairs are WileyX and cost about $145 each!  Why does this keep happening?!?!?  When I"M wearing them!?!?!  Tom suggested that we stop in Jackson, TN at Bumpus Harley Davidson to buy me some new shades.  We've been to that dealership several times during past travels so we knew just where it was.  Of course, for the whole day I was saying to myself  "SONS OF BITCHES.....BUMPUSES!!!!!!"  (Remember the Bumpus hounds in "A Christmas Story"?)  So on we rode!  The skies began to get overcast but without the threat of rain.  Perfect!

The traffic wasn't TOO bad considering all the trucks.  We were on a schedule to get to Memphis before the lunch rush at Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken!  THE BEST FRIED CHICKEN EVER!!!!!  Last time we were there our pal "Just-Plain" Bill Curran ate there....TWICE!  (Bill doesn't like any seasonings, sauces, dressings, ANYTHING on his food.....thus "Just Plain Bill"!)  I swear they put crack in the seasoning because I CRAVE this chicken!!! The drawback is that EVERYONE else craves this chicken, too, so the wait is usually ridiculously long and the service is SLOW....but so worth the wait!  Ordinarily it wouldn't be a big deal, but since we were just passing through, and gross and smelly from the road, and wanting to get to Nashville plenty early, I was so hoping to beat the rush!  Soon I could see the bridge leading to the Tennessee State Line that dumps you off right in Memphis!  Woo Hoo!

Beat the lunch rush we did!  We got there at about 11:30 with only a 20 minute wait!  WooHoo!  We ordered some fried green tomatoes right off the bat while we decided how much chicken we wanted to order!  I decided to go with 2 thighs and 2 legs.  The plates come with 2 sides and bread, so I was hoping my eyes weren't bigger than my belly, as is usually the case!  I wanted to order as much as I could because I have no idea when we'll be back in Memphis again!  Tom said that I was like a chipmunk, trying to store chicken in my cheeks to take with me!  Bahahhahaa!!!!

After gorging ourselves on fried chicken goodness, we signed their guestbook and took off.  (But not before I took a some Pepto-Bismol!  I don't usually eat a whole lot of fried stuff and I didn't want "issues" whilst on the road!)
Back on I-40 we headed....destination BUMPUS HD!  Luckily, the glasses were holding up thus far.  I didn't dare touch them for fear of the lens popping out and looking like Ghouldardi for the remainder of the trip!
As we approached Jackson, we got rained on a little bit.  Just enough to soak the bottom of my jeans.  No Biggie.  We pulled into Bumpus Harley Davidson, snapped some photos, quickly picked out some new shades for me, and headed out the door.  The ones I picked out are smaller than my old ones.  I think they look like dog-goggles but Tom says they look OK on me.  I think he just said that to get me out the door!

Before long we were here in NASHVILLE!  I LOVE this city!  I have more to tell you but I have to get cleaned up so we can go eat and listen to music!  Tomorrow I'll tell you all about meeting our friend David Brown from Indiana, meeting up with our local friends here, and lunch at the amazing Willie Mae's BBQ!    Tune in tomorrow!!!!