Memphis, TN. & Tupelo, MS. Nov 7th - 14th

Relatively mellow stay in Memphis. We stayed at EZ Daze RV Park in Southaven, MS which is about 15 minutes outside of Memphis. We liked it so much that we decided to stay another day. Ok...the park was fine but that's not why we stayed another day. More on that in a minute.

EZ Daze's website says it has a "spa-like environment". That's definitely a stretch but it's clean with paved roads, concrete sites, full hook-ups, plenty of thick grass, and some shade trees. The pool was closed for the season. No squirrels for Stella but the park served it purpose.

We had fantastic weather. Sunny days in the low 80s with cool evenings and mornings. As I mentioned in my last post, Melissa went home for a few days so I took the time to catch up on a few things. I figured it would be better to take another shot at finding the leak while the weather was good instead of waiting until we got rain again. So I had another Mobile RV mechanic out. I THINK he actually found the culprit. He found several screw holes along the roof line that had NO screws in them AND they were covered by weather stripping that was actually holding water in. Water was literally just running into the coach through the holes. He added the necessary screws and caulking. I'll let you know what happens next time it rains.

Of course we had to visit Graceland and I had pretty low expectations. Honestly, it was very enjoyable and informative. I'd recommend it. Beautiful grounds at the mansion and the interior of the house is very eclectic. Kinda groovy. 😎 Lots of memorabilia and jump suits. Car collection was impressive and his private plane was LEGIT! It's such a shame that Elvis's life ended so early because he was a very caring human.

Beale Street is a relatively small area (three blocks) of downtown Memphis. We went for lunch after our visit to Graceland so it was pretty tame, but I'm sure the night time is very different. There are about two dozen bars in those three blocks with live entertainment. Think New Orleans on a smaller scale. We made a stop at the Peabody Hotel which is upscale and rich in history. Elvis signed his first contract there. The hotel also has a group of ducks that make a daily march from the lobby fountain to the rooftop.

Now, let's circle back to why we stayed an extra day. If you've been following along for a while, you'll remember a day in New Hampshire when we had a motor issue with one of our slides in the RV. Well, that issue decided to return. It actually showed up in Savannah as well, but a quick re-calibration fixed the issue. This time, I tried everything I could to fix it myself, but no luck. Unfortunately this happened on Sunday and we were supposed to be leaving that day. Well...no one around here works on Sunday. Trust me I called every mobile mechanic I could find. So I figured that we'd just spend an extra night. Then we found out that the park was completely full that night. The staff at the park was awesome and found a way to let us stay for the night. On Monday, the same mechanic that fixed the leak called me back and came out. Big shout out to Chris at Happy Campers Mobile RV Service! He runs through everything on the slide and we agree that the same motor is the issue. Yes, the one I replaced three months ago! However, as we start taking the motor out, we find out why it probably stopped working again. The water that's been coming through the screw holes was also dripping on the slide motor. Lucky me!! ☹️ Here's where we do get some luck. The motor manufacture can send a new motor but it'll take 5 days. Not gonna work. The mechanic can get one in 2 days. Not gonna work. So we call the RV Sales store directly across the street from where we're staying thinking there's no way they're gonna have the exact motor that we need. Surprise! They have one in stock. An hour later, we're all fixed up and on our way. Adventures on the road, right? Now comes the fun part of trying to get Forest River (our RV manufacturer) to pay for it.

We spent one night in Tupelo, MS where we had dinner in historic downtown. It's the birthplace of Elvis so some cool murals around town. Today we were on the road about four hours to Florence, MS. Our drive included some time on the Natchez Trace Parkway. It's a 444 mile scenic route between Nashville, TN and Natchez, MS that was used by native Indians and early American settlers. Today it's a two-lane road that's managed by the National Parks Service. Beautiful drive!

We'll spend a few nights here to finish up our time in Mississippi. Then we're headed back to the coast where our first stop will be Orange Beach, Alabama. Can't wait!

Sorry for the long post. Thanks for following along.