Chicago to Memphis

This ain't no pre-production anymore. We've hit the solid leg of our trip that we've been planning so long for. I said see ya later to my mom and the rest of my family in Chicago (including my grandpa who is amazing and still uses phrases like "by golly" and "i'll be darned") and I high-tailed it to Jeff's place on California Ave - foreshadowing!

We booked it down to Champaign, IL - a 2.5 hour trek - to get Melissa, whose apartment is part of a serious estate. Imagine. Paying pennies for something so nice. Not me. Not in LA. Melissa also has two adorable orange kittens named Calvin and Hobbes and the three of us discussed at length how they should come along for the ride - if nothing else, for the purpose of this blog. I've never really been to Champaign, right on the border of U of I. I went to U of I once to visit friends but it was generally dark out and I didn't get good a sense of the area. If I have ever dissed Champaign, I apologize. That town is adorable! I mean, I probably wouldn't make it a point to go there but it's like a breath of fresh air in the middle of rural Illinois. The college population lends itself to the hip cafes and bars, but I was honestly impressed by its charm. Way to prove me wrong about central Illinois, Champaign.

The dynamic of our group is downright amazing. Everything is exciting. ....Everything. (even the things that shouldn't be... I thought Jeff was going to jump out of the car when he saw signs to "BOOMLAND" on our brief stint down through Missouri.) Driving down the Mississippi is a pretty cool thing to do, I think. The speed limit is 70 most of the way to Memphis and it's a two lane highway on either side. No cops. I think we saw two. (far cry from the bazillion lining the turnpike in Ohio)

Memphis is alright. It's not really "the time of year" to be visiting, but we're making it work. Beale Street is about as Bluesey as I've ever seen and we went to this place, the Blues City Cafe, which is apparently Bill Clinton's favorite place for ribs and I can second that approval rating. This isn't your healthy high-class diner, alright? But you've got to try what's good in the area and those ribs were slide-off-the-bone unreal. Also. I've never like coleslaw, ever, and the coleslaw here was surprisingly refreshing. I have no idea what made it different than normal but the whole table agreed it was the best we'd ever tasted. Jeff hates coleslaw, too, so we're two-for-two in the "we'll change your mind about coleslaw" category.

I'm going to see if I can post our AMAZING video ... about an outrageous sighting that had to be documented, somewhere on 1-57 South.

To New Orleans, baby!