Day 2.45: Nashville, TN to Atlanta, GA

We got up and worked out before having breakfast, during which Abe went back to the room and left Arielle sitting with another family, which she very much enjoyed. We hit the road to return to Atlanta almost a month after having last been there. We always make sure to watch our position on Apple Maps so that we know when we’re about to cross into a new state, but we weren’t ready for when we crossed into Georgia early and then crossed right back into Tennessee just moments later. The strangest part was that there a Tennessee Welcome Center on that stretch of the highway, but you would have had to already be in Tennessee to get there, which makes little sense.

We made it into Atlanta in the mid-afternoon, and our first stop was at Del Taco, which Abe had to get to by this very day since he got a free birthday shake which was about to expire. Our first time at this establishment was surprisingly rewarding, and the chocolate shake was delicious. We may be back if we’re ever in the mood for something good, and they seem to have some good vegetarian burrito options.

We drove about twenty more minutes to get to the home of Hillel, Sarah, and Jonah, where we spent a few minutes with the cute kid and then proceeded to put together our Purim costume. Dressing up as a pair of road (or Rhodes) trips didn’t go over as magnificently as we hoped, but we had fun along with our friends dressed as characters from Toy Story along with the rest of the synagogue staff. We ate a lot of hamantaschen as well as some quesadillas and listened to the megillah reading by Rabbi Heller, who was dressed as Buzz Lightyear.

It should come as no surprise that, upon returning to their house and putting Jonah to bed, we stayed up for a long time playing One Night Ultimate Werewolf.

Approximate number of miles covered: 259

Day 2.44: Memphis, TN to Nashville, TN

We woke up and worked out in the fitness center before having breakfast and packing everything up. Our first stop was in downtown Memphis, where Arielle was beyond ecstatic to attend the twice-daily duck march, where a bunch of ducks come out of the elevator and strut across a red carpet to the fountain in the center of the lobby. Our 11am duck march was attended by a huge crowd which was gathered there well in advance of the event, which lasted only about a minute or two, but Arielle still had a blast!

We got on the road for Nashville, stopping along the way at a Pilot where Abe got a surprisingly tasty vegetarian tomato soup and Arielle made a turkey sandwich with the meat she was still carrying.

We made it to Nashville in the early afternoon, circling for a bit before we found a meter that looked like we could park there. We walked about fifteen minutes to Broadway, where we heard musicians performing and saw many people swarming around. After sampling some pralines and exploring the streets, we walked into Nudie’s Honky Tonk and sat for a while listening to the live music, then walked a few blocks over to Honky Tonk Central to catch a few more songs.

We tried to walk up to a bridge but realized it was too high, so we went back to our car instead. Arguably the best move of our day was to follow the advice of Arielle’s friend, Kevin, who highly recommended a restaurant out of downtown: Mas Tacos. We parked in a neighborhood down the street and walked into the relatively small establishment. Arielle got a quinoa and sweet potato taco and a fish taco, fried plantains, and street corn. Abe got a fried avocado taco, a fish taco, and street corn without all the stuff on it. It was a phenomenal meal, and we got to sit outside, which was beautiful.

We drove to the suburb of Goodlettsville to check in to our hotel, the Wingate, which we were relieved to find proved to be a good choice (it was much less expensive than many neighboring hotels). After relaxing at the hotel for a bit, we went to the Kroger supermarket across the street to get a few food items, then drove back to right near where we had dinner to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams (also recommended by Kevin), which was quite an experience. After sampling many, many flavors, Abe went for one large scoop of darkest chocolate. Arielle went for the three half scoops and a waffle option, choosing salty peanut butter with chocolate flakes, rainbow buttermilk frozen yogurt, and the goat cheese with red cherries. She loved it – Abe’s more basic flavor was very good too!

We returned to the hotel and went to sleep before our last drive for a few days.

Approximate number of miles covered: 225

Day 2.43: Little Rock, AR to Memphis, TN

We got up and worked out and then enjoyed some breakfast in typical Best Western style.

We packed our car and drove about ten minutes to our second presidential library, this one created to honor Bill Clinton. It was interesting to read about events that we remembered happening or hearing about, and also enlightening to see parallels between a divided government then with Congress often at odds with Clinton and now. There was also mention of former First Lady Hillary’s Senate win and move into politics, though nothing about either of her presidential runs.

We spent about two hours at the library and then got on the road for the two-hour drive to Memphis, crossing into Tennessee.

We went straight to the National Civil Rights Museum, which is housed mainly in the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot. This museum features countless exhibits about the history of slavery and the South, and we spent two hours there and still feel like we could have done much more.

We drove about five minutes and parked our car near Beale Street, which was mostly empty and quiet but still fun to walk. We left to drive to our hotel and stopped briefly to walk along the river, which was very nice.

We checked in to the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Memphis Airport Elvis Presley Boulevard, which was perfectly nice. We were then picked up by Murray and Karen Riss, who took us to a lovely dinner. Murray is Arielle’s father’s first cousin and has lived in Memphis for decades. They brought us to an incredible place called Tsunami. Arielle got the goat cheese and fried eggplant Napoleon with tomato-basil sauce and Abe got the roasted sea bass on black Thai race with soy beurre blanc. Both dishes were amazing, and we had a wonderful time catching up. We finished with a delicious creme brulee. Back at the hotel, we relaxed and went to bed.

Approximate number of miles covered: 140

Day 2.22: Atlanta, GA to Hot Springs, AR

We had intended to get out right away after getting up, but we were quickly convinced to play 2 rounds of Sushi Go, in which Arielle was obliterated, before we hit the road, thanking Sarah, Hillel, and especially Jonah for their very warm hospitality.

We crossed into Alabama and stopped at the welcome center. Our first attraction of the day was the original location of Steel City Pops in Birmingham, Alabama, which features an appetizing assortment of fruity, creamy, and cookie pops. Arielle spent a while thinking and ultimately settled on a buttermilk pop dipped in milk chocolate with gluten-free graham cracker crumbs, a caramel drizzle, and a drop of raspberry drizzle, while Abe, who had visited with USY on Wheels back in 2016, got cookies and cream. They were quite sizable and filling. As we left, Abe said, most appropriately, “Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”

We drove to Mississippi, stopping at the welcome center, and continuing along to Tupelo, where Elvis was born. As soon as we pulled up to Mugshots Grill and Bar, we were greeted by someone exiting a truck next to us who saw our license plate and said “You’re a long way from home! Welcome to Mississippi!” Everyone there was incredibly nice, the waiter said he would replace our food if we didn’t like it, and multiple employees in the restaurant came to check on us throughout the meal. Arielle got fried pickles (at half off!) and a veggie burger with sautéed mushrooms and cheese. Abe got 10 wings, half with BBQ sauce and half with Carolina Gold BBQ sauce (he liked the former before). Both of us got fries, and both the regular and sweet potato were delicious. They even gave us the root beer float (which was only $2.95!!) that Abe got to go for free. Arielle decided that she wanted to live there and quickly found a synagogue, which was only eight minutes away. We drove there to see what it looked like but there was no one there, just some nice trees nearby.

We got back on the road as it got dark and entered Tennessee. The welcome center looked open but there was no one there.

We went over a bridge and were in Arkansas! This was state #47 for Abe and #42 for Arielle. We didn’t even both stopping at welcome center since we knew it would be closed and just got gas. We arrived at the Hotel Hot Springs after nearly twelve hours on the road, benefiting from the extra hour we gained once we entered Alabama. The hotel had a lovely lobby and made a good first impression on us, and we unloaded before parking in the garage down the street.

We collapsed into bed after crossing through more states than ever in one day!

Approximate number of miles covered: 580