Murphypalooza Day 10: Put some South in your mouth

So we had this epiphany when we were moving out of our Connecticut house that hotels with young kids really just suck. After time in a car, the kids need to move and in hotels, they do that all over those disgusting bedspreads and that icky carpet. Or, they want to watch TV. There is no where to eat a meal and lots of neighbors to wake up. Yuck, yuck and double yuck.

I mentioned to Mo that it would be so much better if we could just camp in a pop-up camper instead and guess what? He made it happen. It definitely took some serious effort, coordination and a massive Craigslist search, but we are now the proud owners of 1999 Viking pop-up and we're seeing the USA, one campground at a time.

So our first campground was not at all primitive. It was a Jellystone Park, which is really a glorified parking lot with a pool and bouncehouse. But hey, we had to start somewhere. Setting it up was a success and we all slept pretty well (thank goodness for the AC - it never dropped below 90).

But then, we narrowly avoided disaster when Mo's finger got stuck in the roof as he was trying to make adjustments. I was pouring cereal for the babies when I heard, "Heather, I need you to come over here now and push the roof up as hard as you can." Awesome.

There was a lot of blood, calls to urgent care and quick consults from the doctors in the family, but thankfully Mo's finger is still attached. He left a little mark for future Jellystoners.

After bandages were applied, we ventured into Memphis, ready to do a little exploring. I wanted to visited Graceland, but at $70 for our family to just see the house, we easily decided not to get ripped off. Instead, we did a driveby and I bought an Elvis ornament that wiggles his hips. I felt satisfied.

We visited downtown, saw the mighty Miss, walked Beale Street, saw the National Civil Rights Museum (where MLK was killed), drove by Sun recording studio and took a fabulous trolley ride around the city.

 

 

 

We picked up our baby (the camper) then headed to a BBQ spot featured on Diners Driveins and Dives. It was truly a delicious meal, so cheap and the people who worked there were super friendly. It's neat when a place lives up to the hype. We were full and happy. Time to head to Arkansas!

 

Where we had our first legit pee stop. These boys are being so good.

And finally we ended the day at a wooded, shady campsite on the Arkansas river in Toad Suck, Arkansas. Really. You just can't make this stuff up! (And now, I'm officially caught up on blog posts. See you tomorrow!)