6/1/2015
We got up to pack the car for the last leg of the trip and it was lightly raining! No top down driving this morning. So, we headed out of Tupelo on Hwy. 78/I-22 to Birmingham and stopped for breakfast at a Cracker Barrel in Jasper, AL. After breakfast, it had stopped raining so we put the top down for a nice, cool overcast ride home. However, on a stretch of I-20 about 30 miles out of Atlanta, it started raining again. Luckily, there was a nice bridge to stop under for putting the top up. We're getting pretty good at this! The rest of the ride was uneventful, except for a massive traffic jam in Atlanta - normal for this time of day. But, I was able to work my way around some surface streets and was very lucky with some lights that seemed to be timed correctly and we got home in time to go pick up our dog, Ford, at the vets where he was boarding. He was quite happy to see us! We were told that there was a Chevy and a Wrangler boarding there also!
That is the end of our trip to the National British Meet in Hot Springs, AR. Except for the weather, we had a great time. But, we are glad to be home and in our own bed. Now to clean the car up and let it dry out!
Monday, June 1, 2015
Sunday, May 31, 2015
On the way home.
5/31/2015
Packed the car, put the top down, and headed for home. Because of the poor road conditions, we decided to go back a different way, which involved a little Interstate travel but decided that was the lesser of two evils, so off we went. A few miles down the road in Benton, it started to rain so we pulled under a convenient bridge and put the top up. We drove through rain most of the way until we got to Memphis. The car leaked in the usual places, and also developed leaks in previously unknown places! In Little Rock, we took Hwy 70, which roughly parallels I-40 and in that area there is a lot of water present from overflowing rivers, creeks and streams. Not as bad as Texas, but a lot of water, even covering cornfields and others. After crossing the Mississippi River into Memphis, we continued on into MS, stopping in Olive Branch for lunch. We then continued down Hwy. 78, a nice 4 lane divided highway into Tupelo where we will stop for the night. Really tired of driving on bumpy roads in the rain!! Checked into the hotel, turned on the TV and "no signal". Called the front desk and the person said that was because they are on a satellite feed and there is no signal because of the brewing storm. It was nice when we checked in! But, it is getting very dark and windy, so I drove the car around and pulled under the portico just as it started pouring down rain - again!! Was worried about hail, but it is so windy I think the storm will blow over pretty quickly. I hope so, as we planned on going into Tupelo for dinner.
The rain finally slowed down enough for us to venture out for dinner. We cruised around Tupelo, Sunday night about 6:30 pm, and found out they had already rolled up the sidewalk! Hardly any restaurant downtown was open and the other places we wanted to try were closed also. Even the Neon Pig, where I wanted to get another Wheatch beer, closed at 4:00! So, we cruised to the KFC, got a box of chicken with all the trimmings, and took it back to our room. We enjoyed a banquet while watching The Hangover!
Will head home tomorrow and hope to get home early enough to pick up Ford at the vets.
Packed the car, put the top down, and headed for home. Because of the poor road conditions, we decided to go back a different way, which involved a little Interstate travel but decided that was the lesser of two evils, so off we went. A few miles down the road in Benton, it started to rain so we pulled under a convenient bridge and put the top up. We drove through rain most of the way until we got to Memphis. The car leaked in the usual places, and also developed leaks in previously unknown places! In Little Rock, we took Hwy 70, which roughly parallels I-40 and in that area there is a lot of water present from overflowing rivers, creeks and streams. Not as bad as Texas, but a lot of water, even covering cornfields and others. After crossing the Mississippi River into Memphis, we continued on into MS, stopping in Olive Branch for lunch. We then continued down Hwy. 78, a nice 4 lane divided highway into Tupelo where we will stop for the night. Really tired of driving on bumpy roads in the rain!! Checked into the hotel, turned on the TV and "no signal". Called the front desk and the person said that was because they are on a satellite feed and there is no signal because of the brewing storm. It was nice when we checked in! But, it is getting very dark and windy, so I drove the car around and pulled under the portico just as it started pouring down rain - again!! Was worried about hail, but it is so windy I think the storm will blow over pretty quickly. I hope so, as we planned on going into Tupelo for dinner.
The rain finally slowed down enough for us to venture out for dinner. We cruised around Tupelo, Sunday night about 6:30 pm, and found out they had already rolled up the sidewalk! Hardly any restaurant downtown was open and the other places we wanted to try were closed also. Even the Neon Pig, where I wanted to get another Wheatch beer, closed at 4:00! So, we cruised to the KFC, got a box of chicken with all the trimmings, and took it back to our room. We enjoyed a banquet while watching The Hangover!
Will head home tomorrow and hope to get home early enough to pick up Ford at the vets.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Showtime!
5/30/2015
We left the hotel this morning for the show site at the Hot Springs Village. We arrived at the site, were directed to our parking place and cleaned up the car. It is a nice site, with parking on a paved lot and an air conditioned building with restrooms! We watched the valve cover races, then checked out all the cars. It seemed to be a light turnout - I guess the threat of rain kept some away. But, it did not rain all day! One of the more interesting vehicles was a 1952 British scout car. (It is inside in the picture, but was at the outdoor show, also.)
After the votes were tallied, there was a parade of class winners with the awards presented by Dennis Gage. Afterwards, we drove back to the hotel, parked the car and went to eat at the Brick House Grill for Kathy's birthday dinner. Tomorrow, we will drive to Tupelo where we will stop for the night.
We left the hotel this morning for the show site at the Hot Springs Village. We arrived at the site, were directed to our parking place and cleaned up the car. It is a nice site, with parking on a paved lot and an air conditioned building with restrooms! We watched the valve cover races, then checked out all the cars. It seemed to be a light turnout - I guess the threat of rain kept some away. But, it did not rain all day! One of the more interesting vehicles was a 1952 British scout car. (It is inside in the picture, but was at the outdoor show, also.)
After the votes were tallied, there was a parade of class winners with the awards presented by Dennis Gage. Afterwards, we drove back to the hotel, parked the car and went to eat at the Brick House Grill for Kathy's birthday dinner. Tomorrow, we will drive to Tupelo where we will stop for the night.
Friday, May 29, 2015
What, no rain?!
5/29/2015
Today, we went to Hot Springs Village, which is about 10 miles from Hot Springs. It is the largest gated community in the US. Approximately 26,000 acres, 14,000 residents and 8000 houses. I am competing in a Lawn Bowling competition, something I had to look up on the internet to see what it is! Anyway, we had some instructions by a very nice group of people and while I did not win, it was fun and our hosts were great. The game is a lot more difficult than it looks due to the bowls (balls) being weighed so they curve when rolled.
Today, we went to Hot Springs Village, which is about 10 miles from Hot Springs. It is the largest gated community in the US. Approximately 26,000 acres, 14,000 residents and 8000 houses. I am competing in a Lawn Bowling competition, something I had to look up on the internet to see what it is! Anyway, we had some instructions by a very nice group of people and while I did not win, it was fun and our hosts were great. The game is a lot more difficult than it looks due to the bowls (balls) being weighed so they curve when rolled.
 |
| What form! |
After the match, we went to a different facility within the village for lunch. This is also the site of the show tomorrow, so we will know how to get here tomorrow. The weather has been nice, and the top has been down. After lunch, we drove back to the hotel and made it all the way back without any rain! But, it is supposed to come in later this afternoon so we put the top up when we got back. We rested for a while before the party tonight, which is in the convention center with the invited cars. We bought some raffle tickets that benefit a local charity and won a large, wicker picnic basket! I'm not sure we will be able to get it back in the Midget! Luckily, there is someone here from the Atlanta area that trailered their car and offered to take it back for us. We might have to take them up on it! During the party, it poured down rain!! Luckily we were inside. It is supposed to
stop tonight and be nice tomorrow. We'll see...
 |
| The Crown Jewels show |
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Sightseeing in Hot Springs
5/28/2015
After breakfast, we gathered with about 10 other cars for a drive to Garvan Gardens. The weather was again clear and sunny in the morning and we had a nice drive with the top down. The gardens were built on land owned by a wealthy industrialist and was donated to the U of A by his widow upon her death. It is a beautiful area and worth seeing if you are ever in the Hot Springs area. After a couple of hours, and lunch, we started to leave. Noticing that the wind was picking up and it had suddenly gotten dark, we put the top up before leaving and hoped we could get back to the hotel before it started raining. Didn't happen! Got caught in a good downpour once again. So far, its rained every day we've been gone!
Of course, a few hours later, it was sunny again! We decided to eat at a place we figured I had to try because of its name. Turned out the name was the best part. Our waitress appeared to be sleep walking and the food was just average. Tomorrow we will explore Hot Springs Village.
After breakfast, we gathered with about 10 other cars for a drive to Garvan Gardens. The weather was again clear and sunny in the morning and we had a nice drive with the top down. The gardens were built on land owned by a wealthy industrialist and was donated to the U of A by his widow upon her death. It is a beautiful area and worth seeing if you are ever in the Hot Springs area. After a couple of hours, and lunch, we started to leave. Noticing that the wind was picking up and it had suddenly gotten dark, we put the top up before leaving and hoped we could get back to the hotel before it started raining. Didn't happen! Got caught in a good downpour once again. So far, its rained every day we've been gone!
Of course, a few hours later, it was sunny again! We decided to eat at a place we figured I had to try because of its name. Turned out the name was the best part. Our waitress appeared to be sleep walking and the food was just average. Tomorrow we will explore Hot Springs Village.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
On to Hot Springs
5/27/2015
We left Tupelo early this morning with the top down, and after a short trip down the Natchez Trace Parkway, we turned onto Hwy. 278 toward Oxford, MS. After cruising through the rural north Mississippi backroads, passing through towns with difficult to pronounce Indian names, we arrived in Oxford to check out the University of Mississippi. We were blown away by the beauty and charm of the downtown area with a wonderful square and beautiful homes on streets lined with huge magnolias and oaks. And, the Ole Miss campus is equally as beautiful. It was very nice driving around as school is out and it was almost empty! We went to Rowan Oak, which was William Faulkner's home when he lived in Oxford, but it was too early and they were closed. We were able to walk around the grounds. Also, there was some exterior renovations going on the home, which is on the National Historic Register. About this time we were going to eat, it started raining and the top went back up. We stopped at a the Beacon for lunch. This is a local place frequented almost exclusively by aged, white males, who all seemed to know each other and the waitress seemed to know them all by name also!
After breakfast, we headed out toward Arkansas, where the rain varied from light mists to pretty hard storms. The rain finally stopped shortly after getting into Arkansas, but the roads were terrible and except for corn, beans, wheat and something that looked like rice (we never did figure out what it was), there was not much to see. Pine Bluff was a big disappointment. It was sad to see the state of the city, downtown is empty and decaying, with many historic homes that were once very nice now rotting and falling down. There are many empty buildings, overgrown weeds and grass and trash everywhere. We continued on to Hot Springs where we checked into the hotel. We met Phillip, the valet who was super and not only told me I could park the car in front, under the portico, but also arranged for a hose and bucket so I could wash it. And, after the trip today, it really needed it as it was just filthy, covered with a film of oily road film. After I washed the car, we walked downtown to eat.
Tomorrow, we will check in and see what is on the day's agenda.
We left Tupelo early this morning with the top down, and after a short trip down the Natchez Trace Parkway, we turned onto Hwy. 278 toward Oxford, MS. After cruising through the rural north Mississippi backroads, passing through towns with difficult to pronounce Indian names, we arrived in Oxford to check out the University of Mississippi. We were blown away by the beauty and charm of the downtown area with a wonderful square and beautiful homes on streets lined with huge magnolias and oaks. And, the Ole Miss campus is equally as beautiful. It was very nice driving around as school is out and it was almost empty! We went to Rowan Oak, which was William Faulkner's home when he lived in Oxford, but it was too early and they were closed. We were able to walk around the grounds. Also, there was some exterior renovations going on the home, which is on the National Historic Register. About this time we were going to eat, it started raining and the top went back up. We stopped at a the Beacon for lunch. This is a local place frequented almost exclusively by aged, white males, who all seemed to know each other and the waitress seemed to know them all by name also!
 |
| The square - downtown Oxford, MS |
 |
| The Grove at Ole Miss |
 |
| Rowan Oaks |
 |
| Breakfast at the Beacon |
After breakfast, we headed out toward Arkansas, where the rain varied from light mists to pretty hard storms. The rain finally stopped shortly after getting into Arkansas, but the roads were terrible and except for corn, beans, wheat and something that looked like rice (we never did figure out what it was), there was not much to see. Pine Bluff was a big disappointment. It was sad to see the state of the city, downtown is empty and decaying, with many historic homes that were once very nice now rotting and falling down. There are many empty buildings, overgrown weeds and grass and trash everywhere. We continued on to Hot Springs where we checked into the hotel. We met Phillip, the valet who was super and not only told me I could park the car in front, under the portico, but also arranged for a hose and bucket so I could wash it. And, after the trip today, it really needed it as it was just filthy, covered with a film of oily road film. After I washed the car, we walked downtown to eat.
Tomorrow, we will check in and see what is on the day's agenda.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
British National Meet - Hot Springs, Arkansas
5/26/2015
As we went to sleep last night it was pouring down rain. Didn't look good for our trip to the British National Meet in Arkansas tomorrow. But, it quit raining last night and this morning it was overcast but not raining. We left very early to avoid the Atlanta traffic and because of that, and it being the day after a holiday, we were able to get across Atlanta in very good time. We zipped through Atlanta on the Interstates but on the other side of the city, we got off and continued on Hwy. 78. It was great with the top down - overcast and cool. We stopped at a QT for coffee then continued on Hwy. 78 through west Georgia and into Alabama where we stopped for breakfast at a Waffle House in Oxford, AL.
After breakfast, we continued on Hwy. 78, roughly paralleling I-20 until we got to Irondale, just outside of Birmingham. Here we had to get on I-20 east of B'ham, then continue a short way up I-65 where we exited for gas. While getting gas, two different people came up to talk about the car and that they had, or have, and MG, also. We then continued on surface roads until we got on the continuation of Hwy. 78 which is also called I-22. This is a nice, lightly traveled 4-lane divided highway that goes from B'ham to Memphis. We were enjoying the ride when around Jasper, AL it started raining. So, I just sped up and started looking for a bridge! In just a mile or two, we stopped under a bridge and put the top up. It rained pretty hard for awhile, but by the time we got to Tupelo, it had stopped and the sun was out! We checked into the hotel before going downtown for lunch. We stopped at the Cafe 212 on Main Street, a cute, local shop where we had very good sandwiches.
After lunch, we went to the Tupelo Auto Museum. This is a very nice collection of about 100 cars,
As we went to sleep last night it was pouring down rain. Didn't look good for our trip to the British National Meet in Arkansas tomorrow. But, it quit raining last night and this morning it was overcast but not raining. We left very early to avoid the Atlanta traffic and because of that, and it being the day after a holiday, we were able to get across Atlanta in very good time. We zipped through Atlanta on the Interstates but on the other side of the city, we got off and continued on Hwy. 78. It was great with the top down - overcast and cool. We stopped at a QT for coffee then continued on Hwy. 78 through west Georgia and into Alabama where we stopped for breakfast at a Waffle House in Oxford, AL.
After breakfast, we continued on Hwy. 78, roughly paralleling I-20 until we got to Irondale, just outside of Birmingham. Here we had to get on I-20 east of B'ham, then continue a short way up I-65 where we exited for gas. While getting gas, two different people came up to talk about the car and that they had, or have, and MG, also. We then continued on surface roads until we got on the continuation of Hwy. 78 which is also called I-22. This is a nice, lightly traveled 4-lane divided highway that goes from B'ham to Memphis. We were enjoying the ride when around Jasper, AL it started raining. So, I just sped up and started looking for a bridge! In just a mile or two, we stopped under a bridge and put the top up. It rained pretty hard for awhile, but by the time we got to Tupelo, it had stopped and the sun was out! We checked into the hotel before going downtown for lunch. We stopped at the Cafe 212 on Main Street, a cute, local shop where we had very good sandwiches.
 |
| Cafe 212 |
displayed in chronological order, from about 1898 to modern examples. This was a personal collection and the museum is very nice and spacious. Included were two cars belonging to B.B. King (a Rolls and an El Camino) and a car of Elvis' (a Lincoln). And, to give some credibility to the facility, they also have an MG!
After the Museum, it was back to the hotel for a nap! For dinner, we found a really cute, hole-in-the-wall joint near the hotel that was very good. The Neon Pig Cafe has the best burger in Mississippi, (and they have the award to prove it)! We tried it and it was a very tasty hamburger. I washed mine down with a Wheach beer - a peach flavored wheat beer from O'Fallon, MO. which was quite good.
We then cruised around and checked out Tupelo before heading back to the hotel. Tomorrow, the plan is to stop in Oxford, MS to check it out before going to Hot Springs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)