Rock Your Gypsy Soul

Made it home on October 9.  Took me 79 days and around 21,000 miles.  Its bitter sweet to be home, I was starting to get a little tired in Mississippi and I really wanted to see my cats, but there is still so much to see and driving across country is way better than dealing with normalcy.  My favorite place by far this whole trip was The Hoover Dam; I thought it was amazing how something nature-made and man-made came together to become this highly functional and vital thing.

So close

Home

Louisiana

October 8th, I made it to Gibsland, LA, the place where Bonnie and Clyde were Ambushed.   I read somewhere that they had a replica of the Ford they drove, but it had moved been to Nevada.  There are two museums, but one was closed, and that is all to see in the town, so pretty much my visit to Gibsland was a bust.

Almost home

Ambush site

Mississippi

October 5th, I hit Mississippi and was originally going to do the Mississippi Blues Trail, but decided that wasn't going to happen after I learned there were about 179 placards to stop and see; including one in Alabama, Maine, Arkansas, Illinois, California, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, France, and Norway; so I ended up only seeing about 18.

What Up

The Blues Trail: From Mississippi to Memphis: Memphis, TN

The Blues Foundation: Memphis,TN

Big Walter Horton: Horn Lake, MS

Memphis Minnie: Walls, MS

Rufus Thomas: Byhalia, MS

Hill Country Blues: Holly Springs, MS

Oxford & Lafayette County Blues: Oxford, MS

Mississippi Joe Callicot: Nesbit, MS

Beale Town Bound: Hernando, MS

Mississippi Blues Trail

Highway 61 Blues: Tunica, MS

Son House: Tunica, MS

The Hollywood Cafe: Robinsonville, MS

Harold "Hardface" Clanton: Tunica, MS

James Cotton: Clayton, MS

"Livin at Lula": Lula, MS

The Blues Trail: Mississippi to Helena: Helena, AR

Elvis Presley and the Blues: Tupelo, MS

Shake Rag (Shakerag): Tupelo, MS

Elvis' Childhood Church

I did of course stop and see Elvis Presley's birthplace in Tupelo again because Elvis is awesome and there is a placard there as well.  This place is great; there are a bunch of Elvis related things to see on the property: Walk of Life (granite blocks stating important facts from the 13 years Elvis lived in Tupelo), Mississippi Historic landmark placard, Birthplace house, "Elvis at 13" statue, Mississippi Music Markers, Elvis' Childhood Church, Elvis Presley Memorial Chapel, Story Wall (stories about Elvis from friends), Fountain of Life (fountain representing Elvis' life), Elvis Presley Museum, 1939 green Plymouth (replica of the car the family drove to Memphis), and of course the gift shop.

Elvis' Birthplace

I did learn something new in the museum, Elvis' father Vernon Presley forged a $4 check and was sentenced to three years in prison, eventually serving eight months.

42 Spout Fountain

Tennessee

I thought I'd seen everything I wanted to see in Tennessee when I started out for Mississippi on October 4th, but soon realized there was more to see.  My first stop was at Loretta Lynn's Ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN.  We were not allowed to take pictures in her house or inside the museum, so the only picture I got was the outside of her former home

Loretta Lynn's former home

Loretta Lynn is banking it, she lives on a huge piece of land that has her home, her mansion, her museum, an RV park, a concert area, and even a racetrack.  She still gives concerts threes times a year (this year she gave four), I didn't stay for the concert, but did do the tour of her home and museum.  The house was amazing and colorful, but you couldn't go upstairs for "security reasons" and apparently it is haunted (no haunting happened while I was there).

Graceland

Elvis took a "selfie" with a Polaroid here

Since I was in Tennessee and only a couple hours from Memphis I decided to detour to see Graceland again because it's the shit!  This time around they have an iPad giving the tour not just a tape recording.  The iPad is good and bad; you get extra pictures and video of Elvis Presley, but people don't know how to walk and listen or stand off to the side to watch the videos, so they end up standing in the middle of a hallway and holding up the line, but still worth the hassle.

Elvis' Parents Room

Records Room

Graceland is the best place to go for over the top decorating.  I'm not going to lie I would fabric my ceiling in a heartbeat, I would have a records room with bright yellow paint, and I would for sure have velvet eggplant curtains (I'd die if I had those curtains), I love all the rooms in the house.  When Elvis Presley lived here he wouldn't let people up to the second floor, so out of respect for him they still don't let anyone upstairs.

Pool Room

Meditation Garden

I also made my way to Lynchburg to the Jack Daniels Distillery, the property is in a beautiful area and one of the nicest distilleries I visited on my trip.  The thing I don't understand about some of the companies I've visited is that some of the bottles they make they only sell in their distilleries, overseas, or at duty free; like the Jack Daniels Sinatra Select (Frank Sinatra bottle) they only sell at duty free and the distillery.  I wanted to buy a bottle but they were asking $165 and that's not happening.

Jack Daniels

Nashville

October 2nd I made it to Nashville and good Jesus was it expensive.  Parking, bus tour, and the museums really added up.

You're the only ten I see

Legends Corner

I did the Music City Hop On/Off Bus Tour, which stopped at the Riverfront Station, Ryman Auditorium, Tootsies, Legends Corner, Tennessee State Museum, State Capitol, The Arcade, Musician's Hall of Fame and Museum, Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, Nashville Farmers' market, Marathon Motors Creative Village, Antique Archaeology "O" Gallery, The Parthenon, Centennial Park, Spirit of Nashville Gift Shop, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Union Station Hotel, Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum Store, Walk of Fame Park, Circa, Hatch Show Print, Two Twenty Two Grill, and The Johnny Cash Museum.

Ryman Auditorium

I didn't get off at every stop because I was originally only going to stay for one day, but ended up staying for two (two isn't enough either).  I saw the things I wanted to see the most: Ryman Auditorium, State Capitol (from afar), Musician's Hall of Fame and Museum, Spirit of Nashville Gift Shop, Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum Store, The Johnny Cash Museum, and the Grand Ole Opry.

Musician's Hall of Fame

The Johnny Cash Museum was definitely was my favorite.  They said it usually takes about 45 minutes to an hour, it ended up taking me two and a half hours.  It's not a huge museum, but there is a lot to read and watch.  There's his clothing, his time at Sun Studios, pictures, his acting career (he moved to Los Angeles to get into the pictures), his music, his time in the military, and his awards,  The museum got most of his stuff from one of his friends, Johnny Cash gave a lot of his stuff away to friends.

The Man in Black

State Capitol

I didn't get to spend as much time at the Country Music Hall of Fame as I would have like to, but I did have about two hours there and  my favorite exhibit wass the  Kenny Rogers Exhibit.  When I first walked in they had a bunch of photos from his "earlier" days; he is pretty unrecognizable without the beard, but it was nice to read about his impact on the entertainment industry because if it wasn't for Kenny Rogers people wouldn't know when to hold 'em, fold 'em, when to walk away, or when to run.

Kenny Rogers

Country Hall of Fame

My last stop was at the Grand Ole Opry, which is beautiful.  I originally wasn't going to do the tour because it was $20, but YOLO (you only live once for the outta of touch group) might as well spend the money to see the backstage of one of the most famous concert sites.  It's great, it has themed rooms, parties and shows are filmed there, you can even send you favorite Country star a letter there.  As much as I liked the Grand Ole Opry is sucks that it's located within a mall, I think it should stand alone.

Grand Ole Opry

Kentucky Bourbon Tour

On my way to Elizabethtown I saw the Jim Beam Distillery and said what up Jim Beam, I think I will.  The following day I went to the Maker's Mark Distillery and found out about the Kentucky Bourbon Passport Program, so you know I had complete that Passport.  You visit the nine distilleries listed in the passport, get the stamps, and you get a free t-shirt at the end.  

Jim Beam 

On the tours you get a lot of the same information like how they make bourbon, the rules and regulations, and what constitutes a bourbon; it has to be 51% corn, and the rest of the mash is either rye, barley, or wheat, must be aged in oak barrels, the barrels have to be charred, when put into the  barrel it has to be 125 proof or less, and the barrels can only be used once.  But with all the repetitive information every tour had something different to offer; like when they started, why, and how they differ from their competitors.

Maker's Mark

Unlike popular belief bourbon does not have to be made in Kentucky, most distilleries are there because of the water, there is no iron in their water because of the limestone, it is a natural filter.  Iron free water makes the best bourbon.

Town Branch

I started the trail on September 27 and finished on October 1, I listed the distilleries by order of visit not by order in the book, since all the distilleries have different hours .  Bulleit is only open on Wednesday to Sunday, which is not helpful if you want to start the tour on Monday, but they only started doing tours three weeks ago, so I guess they're just trying to get their legs.

Woodford Reserve

I visited Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Town Branch, Woodford Reserve, Wild Turkey, Heaven Hill, Four Roses, Bulleit, and Evan Williams.

Wild Turkey

Heaven Hill

Four Roses Distillery gives tours at two places; the warehouse and at the actual distillery (you get tastings and glasses from both places).  I actually got three glasses, one from each tour and one from a guy who didn't want his glass.  The day I went to the warehouse was there first day of tours; right before I got there they had there grand opening, the mayor was there and everything.

Four Roses

By law you can only have four tastings, and a tasting is a sip.  I got anywhere from two to four sips depending on which distillery I went to.

Bulleit

My favorite Bourbon was Bulleit, my favorite design was Four Roses, and my favorite distillery was Wild Turkey (my tour guide on this trip was Bubba).

Evan Williams

Kentucky

Made it to Kentucky on September 27.  Chose the city of Elizabethtown because of the movie with the same title filmed there; there isn't anything there about the movie, but there's a lot of Abraham Lincoln history there and in the surrounding areas.  

Lincoln runs this joint

I made a few stops in Elizabethtown: Summit One-Room Schoolhouse, Lincoln Heritage House, and Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln Memorial Cabin.

Summit One-Room Schoolhouse

Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln Memorial Cabin

I traveled to the surrounding areas to view all the Lincoln homes.  Abraham Lincolns Birthplace located in Hodgenville; the home is located in a monument on a National Park.  There are 56 steps (one for each year of Lincoln's life) leading up to the entrance.

Lincoln's Birthplace

Monument housing Lincoln's Birthplace

I also stopped at Lincoln's childhood home at Knob Creek Place in Hodgenville.  Lincoln lived in Kentucky with his family until he was seven, they then moved to Illinois.  There were two reasons for the move; a land dispute between Lincoln's father and the man he bought the land from and the families opposition to slavery.

Lincoln's Boyhood Home

I also made it to the Louisville Slugger Museum.  I did the tour through the factory, which was amazing.  At the beginning of the tour they have a man making bats the "old fashion way" all by hand.  They also now have a machine that sculpts a bat in 30 seconds, its crazy how fast the bat is sculpted.  We also got to see how they engrave the bat and stain the bat.  And at the end of the tour we got a free mini bat.  Totally worth paying to park.

Louisville, KY

Kokomo

September 26 I hit Kokomo, Indiana.  The main reason I wanted to go there was because I heard that The Beach Boys wrote their song "Kokomo" about it, but after doing some research that doesn't seem to be the case, but it is still a nice place with a ton to see. 

Yep

"Kokomo is a city in the middle of Indiana and is also a small resort owned by Sandals Royal Caribbean in Montego Bay; the title was made up. It was supposed to represent all the tropical places and images that people think of when wishing to get away to some paradise island to escape the dreary work life." - songfacts.com/detail.php?id=505

Giant Praying Mantis

Kokomo is considered the city of firsts.  There were 17 "firsts" that happened here including the first commercially built automobile, first carburetor, first aerial bomb with fins, first National bank, first canned tomato juice, etc...

Vermont Covered Bridge

One of the places I stopped to see was the Monroe Seiberling's Manison.  The house took two years to build starting in 1889; Monroe Seiberling decided to build and live in Kokomo because natural gas had been discovered here earning his family millions.  It is a beautiful home costing around $50,000 (they were banking it and wanted everyone to know it).  They only lived in the house for four years before moving to Peoria, Illinois.  Over the next 70 years the mansion would be home to two doctors, a minister, and Indiana University.  In 1967 the mansion was leased to Howard County for $1, as long as they agreed to renovate.  On August 12, 1973 the museum formally opened.  For the next 41 years the mansion would go through constant updates and renovations to get what you see today.  In the 70's the owner would let the neighborhood kids roller skate in ballroom on the top floor.

Seiberling's Mansion

My next stop was at Elwood Haynes Museum, he was really smart and unlike the Seiberlings, he was humble.  Haynes is the the builder of America's first commercially successful gasoline automobile; the 1905 Haynes Model L.  The automobile didn't make Haynes rich; his car was much more expensive than his competitors car; Ford's Model T.  Haynes spent most of his money producing his cars, but luckily he discovered Stellite, which kept him rich for the rest of his life.  

1905 Haynes Model L

My tour guide at the Elwood Haynes Museum was Tim Rivers, who knows a lot about Haynes and was really excited about the Haynes legacy and even let me sit in the 1923 Haynes Model 77, which he drove off the lot for the car show.  Kokomo is a great little town to visit, it even has a glass blowing company; Kokomo Opalescent Glass Factory, which you can tour, but only at 10 am on weekdays, so I missed the it, but the other people on my tour said it was really interesting.

1923 Haynes Model 77

Illinois Route 66

Drove through Mitchell, Edwardsville, Livingston, Staunton, Mt. Olvie, Litchfield, Gillespie, Carlinville, Nilwood, Girard, Virden, Thayer, Auburn, Chatham, Springfield, Sherman, Williamsville, Elkhart, Broadwell, Lincoln, Atlanta, McLean, Bloomington, Normal, Towanda, Lexington, Chenoa, Pontiac, O'Dell, Dwight, Gardner, Braceville, Godley, Braidwood, Wilmington, Elwood, Joliet, Romeoville, Indian Head Park, Countryside, McCook, Lyons, Berwyn, Cicero, and Chicago.

Boom

Livingston, IL

Livingston, IL

Livingston, IL

Henry's Rabbit Ranch and Route 66  Emporium is a pretty cool stop, there are eight bunnies on the residence and I spoke with Rich, who like everyone on Route 66 was really friendly and informative.  He gave me some advice on what to see and where to to go, we also chatted about the different people who come through the store.  You can pet the bunnies too.

Henry

Staunton, IL

The Polk-a-Dot Drive In

On the road in Nilwood is a neat little stop, there are turkey tracks in the road where a turkey crossed the road, not a chicken (see what I did there).  They have a little sign with a turkey and the tracks boxed with white paint, so you know exactly where to stop.  Another neat little thing is at one point for a couple miles I drove along a red brick road, something a little different then what you normally see.

Turkey Tracks

Springfield, IL

Joliet, IL

While in Springfield I made a detour to Lincoln's tomb, which is massive.  There are a lot of giant Lincolns in Illinois.  While there I stopped at the spot where Abraham Lincoln christened the town with watermelon juice.

Springfield, IL

Lincoln, IL

Lincoln, IL

In the city of Towanda they have 1.5 miles of Route 66 that they've made into a walking trail.  I walked about a mile of it, along the trail they have little brochures telling you about each state Route 66 goes through.

Atlanta, IL

Wilmington, IL

O'Dell, IL

In Joliet, I stopped at the Route 6 Hall of Fame museum, which has famous Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire's van and bus.  Joliet also has an Auto Museum, War Museum, and the Walldog Museum. 

Bob Waldmire's Van

2-Cell Prison

The Rialto

Joliet Prison

Finally found the Beginning sign for Route 66, I got really lost in Chicago and decided to go back the next day.  It only cost me $15, I had to park in a garage because there was no place to park on the street and I did not want to get lost again.  Under 20 minutes cost $6 and 21-40 minutes cost $15; I was parked 23 minutes.

I did it!

Where you're suppose to start

While in Chicago I decided to take the Untouchable Tour since my mom and I didn't get to do it in March; it was much easier getting around when I didn't have to drive.  The tour told us all about the Prohibiton Era, Gangsters, areas of town where crime took place, where these men died or were arrested, St. Valentine's Day Massacre and Public Enemy #1 John Dillinger.  I also drove to the cemetery where Al Capone, Earl "Hymie" Weiss, Dion O'Banion, and "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn are buried. 

Where Dillinger was supposedly shot

We learned about the North Side Gang: Dion O'Banion, Earl "Hymie" Weiss, and George "Bugs: Moran.  The South Side Gang: "Diamond Jim" Colosimo, Johnny Torrio, "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn and Al Capone.  The West Side Gang: The Genna Clan, John Scalise, and Alberto Anselmi.  John Dellinger, Anna Sage, Melvin Purvis, and Eliot Ness.  The tour was really informative and entertaining I just wished we could of stopped and got out to see some of these places.

Thugs