Catchup #2: Clarksdale, Mississippi

Rat, Daddy Rich and Tamales
Clarksdale 2010

This is perhaps my forth trip to Clarksdale, home of many blues music venues of historic and artistic merit like Red's and Ground Zero as well as the Delta Blues Museum and its educational program for local school kids.

I always seem to end up there on Monday night when nothing is going on, but this time I planned to arrive on Tuesday night. Guess what, nothing going on on Tuesday night either. I was feeling a Tigger story (as in Winnie the Pooh) coming on. (If you get this, you get it, if not, skip to next paragraph.) While any food wasn't what Tigger ate, any night I came wasn't the right night.

I was going to have fun anyway. I made a short list of some places I had not visited in Clarksdale and proceeded to visit them. The first was Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Art, Roger Stolle's now-famous place where CDs and posters are available as well as unique art from the region and related somehow to the Blues. Well, everything is related to the Blues, so anything goes here. I talked to the woman running the store, a blues keyboard player of international repute, and she told me about a nearby art gallery, Hambone Gallery, that was having live music that evening. If you are into this kind of music, Roger Stolle's (and others) movie M is for Mississippi is a great look at the legends of the area, very cinema verite.

The promise of the music at Hambone was enough for me. I drove right over to Frank "Rat" Ratliff's Riverside Hotel and booked a room. Well, 'book a room' here is not what the phrase brings to mind elsewhere. I had visited with Rat on previous trips but never ended up staying there. The Riverside Hotel is in the building that formerly served as the black hospital in Clarksdale. The claim to fame, if one can look at it that way, is that Bessie Smith died there after a car wreck in 1937.

Rat invites me in and adds that I should feel welcome to take photos of any room with an open door. I got a room near Bessie's last resting place - across the hall. We talked for an hour or two, covering vital topics including fixing weed-wacker string spools, his getting a pacemaker (is that protected by HIPPA?), installing laminate flooring and his daughter's employment. Other hotels tell you that you will feel at home, Rat pulls it off. I got from a reliable source that he had the best beds in Clarksdale, and I can't say, but the mattress was good. The bed itself was old, as was all the other furnishings. This is the appeal of this region for me. There is no Disney or Hilton resorts pushing the blues - it is mostly the people that do it that are running the venues, making the food and supplying the experience. Cash, real food, real music, real conversation rules. No BS, no micro-brew beer (but, I had a Dos Equis at Hambone), and local folks actually coming to listen to, and play, the music.

The show that night was Daddy Rich. You can read all about him on his page. After a few solo songs Lee Williams sat in on drums. And I wish I had a good photo of the drum set. It looked like something from a toy store.

Lee is kind of a small guy, but the woman who later sat in on one song, was bigger and really made the drum set look tiny. Check it out on the right side of the blurry photo here, being played by the woman whose name I didn't get. None-the-less, the sound did more than fill the role. You can see Lee playing a real kit on Daddy Rich's website. Two woman also played bass (objet d'art instrument made for her by Super Chikan) and sang with Mr Rich. When Stan Street, owner of the Hambone Gallery, got in from the west coast at about 9:30 he joined on harmonica. By 10pm the place was really jumping. I wish you were there! Along with enjoying the music, the bouncer gave me great tip on another place to stay next time and advice on keeping my roto-tiller running good. Well, everyone needs a day job.

So here was a chance to experience local music, in a setting like a house concert, with no smoke (either kind), no drunks, no posers (except maybe me) and get a look at amazing art as well. I'll be back.

I can hear Pat saying that this is impossible because there is no mention of food in this post - Fear Not! I cannot seem to pass through Clarksdale without stopping at Abe's. Tamales, real ones with corn wrappers, and ribs and bbq. This is the appetizer...

I won't post the picture of the pork chop I had with eggs for breakfast. Obviously I switched from sea food to pork on this leg of the trip.

Catchup #1: Oxford, Mississippi

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Since I returned home I have been thinking, but not writing, about what to share about my July 2010 Annual Roadtrip - part Deux. Oxford Mississippi, like Savannah Georgia, has been on my list for some time. I have never walked the streets of Oxford, and in fact, I do not think I have even passed by on the highway. I got to check another one off on this trip.

Oxford is the home of Ole Miss, the University of Mississippi, and the surrounding town and county reminds me conceptually of Blacksburg Virginia. But that ends once your boots hit the ground. This is summer, the main student body is elsewhere, so the ratio of locals to students is skewed as it would be in any college town. Lots of local people on the street in the evening, even if it is hot and humid.

My hanging around was limited to the Square and to Rowan Oak,

William Faulkner's home that is now a museum complete with grounds under restoration. Great old trees, brick walkways, out-buildings, and pastures. My favorite feature of the home was his planning tool - a Monday to Sunday list on the walls of the room where Faulkner wrote.

Also, the wedding invitation hand decorated by Faulkner's mother.

According to the card in the museum case, she would hand decorate with flowers invitations she received and give them to the couple as a wedding gift.

Very appealing idea. How does that work with eVites?

Since it was the week of the annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference, this year considering Faulkner and Film, a lot of the goodies were taken to town and on the morning I visited the house they were replacing items in cases and re-arranging the furniture a little. This home and grounds is worth a visit and I think 2 hours is minimum if you like standing long enough to feel what the original occupants experienced back in the day. I especially like the pasture area. It was a cool(er) morning and just being in the shadow of a hedgerow was special.

The Square, as always around the courthouse, is a delight. However, it has too many good eating places. It also has at least four independent bookstores, that may be owned by the same people, but are delightful. One is dedicated to young people. Yeah, I did buy some stuff for the grandkids. Keep in mind that my goal on this trip is to help the economy of the gulf coast. Well Oxford is far from the coast, but it was in the spirit of the act. Anyway, hanging out in bookstores is a fine use of time.

But back to eating.

After two complete walks around the square I had no idea where to eat. Too many good looking places. So I began asking local folks walking around the area where I should eat if I only had one chance at dinner in Oxford. The first three people I asked pretty quickly responded "Ajax Diner" which was one of my selections too. So Ajax it was. I did not ask what I should eat there, but afterwards I found the answer to that is Meatloaf, but I had Red Bean and Rice with an Andouille sausage. It was great. It would have been good with a beer, but I was re-hydration mode and drank many glasses of water instead. Ajax comes with my recommendation for atmosphere, food, sound level and location. Comfort food in a comfortable place. I followed that up with frozen yogurt and fruit at another place on the square.

I had already decided on my breakfast place, the BottleTree Cafe, based on the bread rack in the window. Located a tiny bit off the square, it has the feel of my favorite coffee shop in Blacksburg (the EasyChair) combined with the bakery smells and products of my favorite bakery (Bolo's). This picture is the result of not being able to think of anything but eating the cranberry and peach (maybe) pastry and Latte served in a beer mug. So here is the empty mug and plate. It was good! Recommended for food, coffee, good layout and smells. Thanks, BottleTree staff, for the Blues Festival poster off your wall!

Many of you know we really love our dogs and dogs in general. Oxford is a good place for dogs. One bank on the square has a stainless, plumbed water fountain out front. Lots of eating places have outdoor seating for dog people with their companions. There was even a guy with a litter of puppies trying to find homes for them.

And then there is the RSVP office craft shop right off the square.

It is hard to not start with the cutest little dog, but what was really cool was the friendly staff and in the end, it is the Fig preserves and the Green Tomato Relish that I bought. We first tried the fig preserves on vanilla frozen yogurt. It was a winner, for sure. Last night we tried the green tomato relish on hot dogs (actually I started eating it straight out of the jar) and that was all we needed to know. We have now made plans to stop in Oxford to buy more of this stuff later in the month. It is only 1500 miles round trip from home. Yeah, it is that good. I better email them to be sure there is some on the shelf for us.

Gulf Coast update

I am one day from home, but wanted to post a quick update from the last motel for this trip. I am in Commerce Georgia at exit 149 of I-85 and decide to try another in my long line of "never heard of it" motels, this one called the Dandelion Inn. Owner operated and very nice. I happen to get a ADA set-up room (must have looked like I needed it at 11pm last night!) with a King bed. Best part was it only cost $40. Anyway, got a good nights sleep and I am ready for the last leg of the trip. The Dandelion comes with my recommendation!

On the food front, I found a good one in Eufaula Alabama. The Cajun Corner is one of those places that looks like you are going to get Southern comfort food, but the menu had some surprises including creative deserts. I had North Shore Pasta which is Shrimp, crawfish morsels and Andouille sausage in your choice of a creme sauce or oil and garlic (which was my choice). Came with a surprisingly well built salad, more than any normal person could eat. I met some more friends I didn't know, three sisters that had come down from Opelika (about 1 hour away) to eat there. They invited me to share their table and that made for more fun. Ann and I lived in Opelika in 1974 when we were first married. The good news from them is that the Opelika schools have strong arts and music programs even in this era of tight budgets.

The beaches I visited had lots people on them, having fun and in the water. I saw no signs of oil except the signage. More details later, but here are a couple of photos...

Yes, I am alive and moving...

I have been having too much fun to spend time on the computer, so here is the quick report on what has happened in the last week. I did go to Baltimore and visit family for my birthday, had a great dinner (seafood, of course) and hit the HOT road to Vintage Motorcycle Days near Lexington Ohio at 7AMish on the 8th of July. Since I volunteer for the Motorcycle Hall of Fame I get in Thursday night. I camped in my regular spot in the infield Thursday night, alone. Kind of weird. Friday started early as always at the showers right next to the flea market area. Got to see folks as they set out their goodies, and bought some items including a small folding chair for traveling.

Friday at 9:30pm while three of us were talking at our camp-sites, a track employee notified us that the infield was closing and we'd have to leave. I begged, but it didn't work. Packed the tent and was out before dark - about 15 minutes - and on to a motel. Set up the next morning in the worker area that was not too bad.

For the first time I worked on Saturday (usually Ann and I take the last Sunday shift and help take down the displays) and had the pleasure of hearing great riders from the past tell what it was like "in the day." Malcolm Smith and John Penton were the people that brought European style off-road competition to North America, and Craig Vetter told about his passion for design and innovation.

Craig Vetter designed the sidecar I drive, though his company did not produce it under his leadership, it was produced after he sold the firm.

The next group of speakers were 4 of the 5 members of the of the US ISDE (International Six Day Enduro) team. Again, more great stories of the effort it took to travel to Europe to compete in this very difficult event. They also told the story of Edison Dye, the father of motocross, the event that made all of the other off-road events happen here. He was quite a character from what was said!

The Observed Trails competition was moved to Sunday morning this year. This is a 'race' in which the objective is to not put your foot down, and not stop forward motion (don't roll backwards, but you can stop as long as your feet stay off the ground). Well with all the rain Thursday and Friday, it was somewhat muddy.

Oh, and you have to go over downed trees and piles of rocks and climb stream banks while following paths marked by ribbons.

Yes, this is a prewar, tank-shift Indian motorcycle being ridden by a vintage fellow in the mud of the Ohio woods! And he was pretty good at it. I am not sure if he was older than the bike or vice-versa.


In addition to listening to these guys talk about memories I spent a long time watching the road racing. After a few hours of watching I began to understand what is going on. The little chair I bought enabled the long term sitting. The last race of the day on Sunday was the sidecar race and my favorite couple won! So I did another first - I went to the winners circle where all the prizes were awarded. Immediately after that everyone leaves. Fast. In only two hours the place looked like a pristine farm instead of 30 acres of flea market and parking. It was so quiet, all I heard was birds chirping. I stayed over Sunday night to get a good night's sleep before hitting the road. I was alone in the worker camping area, no problems. For those who have been there, even the shower floors were dry by the time I went there at about 9pm.

As I got up early in the morning, with rain predicted for the afternoon, I could smell rain. Got the tent packed as the rain just started and hit the road. Rained all the way home. I arrived at about 3pm instead of Midnight if I had left after the races on Sunday. I decided that riding in the rain is actually easier then riding in 100 degree temperatures.

Tomorrow, Sunday, I start on Part II, a seafood-free trip to the gulf coast via Atlanta, Oxford, MS (Thirty–Seventh Annual Faulkner & Yoknapatawpha Conference), Greenville, MS (Doe's Eat Place), Clarksdale, MS (Ground Zero) Baton Rouge, Coastal Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and home via Georgia and the Carolinas. That should keep me busy for two weeks. I am taking the BMW convertible for this part of the trip so I will likely have more time for photos and story-telling. I've been wanting to take the car on a road trip and this is the time for air conditioning! Top down may be a possibility at night. In packing I find that the sidecar has more cargo space than the car!

I will be running the tracker again, so if you like you can see where I am if there are any hams in the areas running digital repeaters.

Life is good!

Stay tuned.

On the road - tracked

After a few delays I got on the road yesterday at about 9:30 and traveled directly to the Frog and PenguInn in historic and romantic Onley. I took US 460 and US 13, the Bay Bridge-Tunnel (which is really nice on a bike) and had an interesting experience only at the toll booth. The toll taker asked me how much a motorcycle with a sidecar had to pay. Having no idea she called her supervisor on the phone to ask that question. The answer, in case anyone is interested is $12, the same as a car. The crossing was nice, perfect weather and sea birds flying along at about 40 mph just above my eye level.

It took 10:30 to get here, 6:30 moving the rest goofing off. Got lost once in Norfolk, just a few minutes of backtracking to realize it was a signage issue.

Had a great dinner outside with the Inn keepers, followed by too much remembering the old days. Makes the old neurons ache!

Today was the USA Birthday parade, a great old fashioned town event with kids riding bicycles and people walking their dogs. I did not see any cats or sea-creatures on leash. There are a lot of characters here, and my hosts knew them most-all of them. Then we went to the library book sale and few thrift stores. Got more books I'll likely never read - some are for gifts.

If you want to follow my travels electronically I am tracking my self via ham radio. Clicking on the red dots give you a little more info like speed, temperature and even the battery voltage on the bike, as well as little messages I may change from time to time. Not everyplace I will travel will have a repeater to relay my little signal to a station that gets it to the internet, so I may disappear from time to time and reappear miles down the road.

The July 2010 trip planning time

Last year's July plans were changed by the passing of my step-dad and I ended up only making one short day-trip to Mt Airy North Carolina and having a PCS (Pork Chop Sandwich) at the Snappy Lunch. While this included back roads and the back-to-the-past nature of Mt. Airy, the model for Mayberry of the Andy Griffith Show, a little of Andy and Oppie only goes so far. The PCS was good and there were actually a few shops in downtown that yielded cool stuff. But that is not a road trip!

MAP
So I am now planning what will come this July. Note that the map is a rough draft, I won't be on all those interstate highways. And most likely it will not even go to all those places! That is the wonder of it all...

Thanks to the gods that control schedules, Vintage Motorcycle Days is back where it belongs at the beginning of July. This would work with a visit to Baton Rouge for Kent's birthday (can it be three years already?) but the birthday boy and family are planning to be in New Jersey anyway, so I am looking for a first week route that will end up in Ohio. Southwest Virginia to Ohio? Via the coast, of course.

We had so much fun in Savannah last year and thought of doing that again, but now I think I'll make it a solo trip on the planned route from last year, starting out with a trip across Southern Virginia to the coast near the North Carolina border, up the coastal area to Maryland and then head west to Ohio. I have a couple of friends along the way to visit and lots of small fish places to eat at. Weather permitting, I will be camping along the way and trying to get in a few ferry rides. After VMD I may make a trip down to see some newly-reunited Haiti-era friends in Arkansas and the Ozarks, back via Clarksdale (for Ribs and music) and Greenville (for a stop at Doe's Eats Place) Mississippi with a day in Baton Rouge (for kid spoiling time) in case I am not hot enough at that point.

Since I will be so close, I'll have to stop to see Vech and Elaine at Benchmark Works (might need some parts at that point anyway), and a day or two to make sure all is going well with all my friends & family in Atlanta and then a trip home via the mountain roads that connect Hot 'lanta to our hillside home. Now to decide which bike to ride.

I guess I better teach Ann how to work the new mower ...

Making Pens

After mentioning making pens on Facebook I got several inquiries about what that was about. So I took some photos of finished pens and soon plan to take some video of the process. It is a fun and easy craft that uses wood to make something useful. Of all the hobbies I have had over the years this one is the first that facilitates giving the product to others. I have given several to friends and planned to make a lot for Christmas presents. I was a little stymied by the heat system not getting done as soon as I expected. The room where the lathe is located is now heated and is a pleasure to work in. Yes, I do this in the house!

This kind of got started when I saw kits to make mechanical pencils at Highland Hardware in Atlanta a year ago. Jack likes mechanical pencils and I thought that this would be a good gift for him. I bought the kit and purple heart wood and thought that I could somehow adapt my metal turning lathe for this purpose. So after some research I found a class in pen making at a Woodcraft store in Roanoke. Like Highland Hardware, this is a good place to leave your credit card at home. Many toys for grown ups and those that should be.

The class resulted in my first pen (they wouldn't allow me to make a pencil) and I was hooked. I did not post a photo of that first one, but it came out pretty good. My first project once I got a lathe and the other hundred little things needed was Jack's pencil. It works, but next year I'll have a better one done. Take a look at my latest pens at my picassa website.

The teacher pen in one picture is unique in that it has red ink on one end and blue on the other. It is going to a teacher friend and I better send extra red ink refills!

Anyway, each one comes out better than the last. I have begun making some custom parts on my metal lathe (not in the house) so I am combining the skills into a useful product.

Lesson learned: Giving is better than receiving and making stuff shiney takes a lot of effort. Also, taking pictures of pens is not easy!