End: Alma, AR (I-40 exit 14)
States: Tennessee, Arkansas
Distance: 524 miles
Time: 11 hours
Hotel: Day's Inn
Meals: McDonald's, Subway
Music: REM, classical, 90s rock/alternative
Overheard on the two-way radio:
Jeannie: Patrick, should we sing to you over the radio because you have no CD in the truck?Failed quest of the day: Looking for an irock to play my CD/MP3 player through the truck's radio. We looked at Circuit City, a Super Wal-Mart, and two local car audio stores and came up empty-handed.
Patrick: Save your batteries.
Near-accident of the day: Some idiot in Memphis who passed me on my left while I waited -- with my signal on -- to make a left turn. I can only imagine what 7 tons of truck would've done to his car.
Letdown of the day: Graceland. Here, we're expecting some mansion, something like the Biltmore with a 20-foot guitar out front, and instead we see a house. In kind of a seedy part of Memphis. I hear it's nicer inside, but we didn't have time for a tour.
Defaced historical landmark of the day: Graceland. The historical marker and the stone wall at the street are covered with graffiti, mostly praising Elvis or declaring that so-and-so was here, making some sort of pilgrimage.
Day's Inn
Elvis's plane
Graceland