Jamie had patiently endured several other historical sites throughout the week. That is not to say that she hated them or anything, but she had more fun at places like the water park that we had visited in Little Rock. Truth be told, as far as fun goes, so did I. So I guess I just didn’t like ending the trip on a rash of cold, hard graves and buildings.

That morning, we woke up at the Days Inn in Columbia, Tennessee, poised to take in the sites relevant to the life of President James K. Polk. The only house besides the White House in which he lived stood just five minutes away from our motel. They opened at 9am. We made it there at 9:20 and went on the next guided tour, which lasted about an hour.

Arrival at the Polk home in Columbia, Tennessee

Jamie daringly crosses behind the velvet rope to pose in the Polk kitchen area. As you can see, I am teaching her well.

We also paid the extra $3 fee to go through a quick run-through of the building next door, which currently housed a rotating exhibition of the James K. Polk Memorial Association. This one was dedicated to The U.S. Mexican War, which took place during Polk’s administration. The other couple scoping this out were visitors to Presidential places as well. But for the record, I had them beat. There was a lot of historical information and plenty of period artifacts in the exhibition – but we only spent about 20 minutes here and then moved on.

Ready to check out the bonus exhibition

Uniform, sword and scabbard, and telescope belonging to major generals in the U.S. Mexican War

The docent that took us through the house had informed me of a few sites in Columbia that were relevant to the life of Polk, so we also made visits to the Greenwood Cemetery where the Polk folks are buried, and then went down the road a ways to see the location of his first boyhood home in Tennessee. These locations can all be seen in my posting on James K. Polk.

It was around 11:20 when we departed Columbia and headed back to Nashville, which was about 45 minutes away. Since it was around lunchtime upon our arrival, we hit up another restaurant that had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives – this on on the episode Gone Global. As the name Savarino’s Cucina will you tip off, it was an Italian joint. Jamie had some stuffed pasta while I went for the featured item, the Ed Pontieri sandwich – which was made of all kinds of Italian named foods: mortadella, sopressata, coppicolla, provolone, and the bomba calabresse hot sauce. We punctuated our lunch with an array of Italian desserts treats which included a canoli, strawberry gelato, chocolate chip cheesecake, and a raspberry filled chocolate cookie, only the latter of which was a bit disappointing.

DD&D #8: Savarino’s Cucina in Nashville, Tennessee

Eating Ed

Capping off the meal with a blend of sweet delicacies

Then it was on to the Capitol building – which happened to be my 21st. We found a parking area that was a good walk from the building and then hoofed it, stopping for a picture outside the current Supreme Court building before entering. We were provided a guided tour and asked to not take flash pictures of paintings – which naturally was asked after we had already done it. We checked out the old Supreme Court Chambers, the Governor’s Office, the House of Representatives and Senate galleries, the library, and numerous busts found throughout the building.

Outside the Tennessee Supreme Court building

Getting ready to enter the State Capitol

The three Tennessee Presidents: Jackson, Polk, and Johnson

Fielding questions in the old Supreme Court Chambers

Bust of John Sevier, the first Tennessee Governor

Trying in vain to get into the Governor’s Office. Jackie Kennedy kept us out.

The Jackson bust

The Polk bust

The Johnson bust

The House of Representatives Gallery

Addressing the Senate. Our tour guide wouldn’t let me get behind the main dais. And yet, later we were permitted to roam freely. Go figure.

Jamie and the library’s exquisite stairwell

One final bust… or bust! But surely Washington wasn’t from Tennessee was he?

But the most important thing at the Tennessee State Capitol was the fact that President James K. Polk was buried on their lawn, the only President interred at a State Capitol. We checked out his grave, and the great statues of other “Tennessee” Presidents, then walked a few blocks into the city to find the location (and sign) where Polk’s final residence, known as Polk Place, was once located. These sites can all be seen here.

Jamie and her first Presidential grave. An occasion like this calls for a Sprite.

The majestic Andrew Jackson statue on the Capitol lawn

Johnson didn’t want to be left out

Jamie and a nice Liberty Bell reproduction

My 21st State Capitol visit

Jamie’s fourth and final Brad-induced State Capitol visit

It took about 45 minutes to make our way back to the car and then drive to the Hermitage, the home and final resting place of President Andrew Jackson. It took about two hours to see everything here including the gift shop, an introductory movie, the museum, the main house, the original Hermitage cabin(s), and Jackson’s grave. These sites can be seen in their entirety here.

Jamie samples the crummy juice in the Hermitage visitor’s center

I dared Jamie to get on the stage before the film rolled. She did it, but then worried all through the film that she had somehow damaged it. Cutie!

Jamie outside the Hermitage house

Jamie’s second Presidential grave, which happened to be the same day as the first. Unfortunately the Sprite was gone and all she had to celebrate was a raincoat.

Jamie’s last act of patience, trudging through the wet grass to get photos of the Hermitage sign

It was 5:45 when we departed the Hermitage and then we headed north out of Nashville. We made a bit of a half-hearted attempt to find the grave of Johnny Cash at the Hendersonville Memory Gardens in Hendersonville. But unfortunately the office had closed by the time that we got there and Cash’s grave, along with the bulk of them, were flat – so we really had nothing to go on.

As fate would have it, there was a restaurant just a bit down the road from the cemetery, which had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. This one was called Cafe Rakka and it had been featured on the episode Sauced and Spiced. Although I wouldn’t classify this place as a diner, drive-in, or dive, they did have some pretty good, if rather pricey food. But since this was our last meal, we went all-out and ordered the cheese plate, the hummus plate, and I got an order of the salmon, which had been poached in Olive Oil with fresh herbs and caper berries – and served with rice, a house salad, yogurt sauce, and pita bread. I also added a pomegranate tea. All of it was great except for the cheese plate, which I was surprised to find rather bland. Also, they were out of the filet mignon kabobs and our waiter had a loose mustache. Guy Fieri had raved about this cheese, made fresh in-house, so I don’t know why ours was so lame.

DD&D #9: Cafe Rakka in Hendersonville, Tennessee

The hummus plate with onions and mushrooms

My salmon, etc.

Our last dinner of the trip, and quite a good one

And dinner marked the last destination of this fabulous trip. We left Cafe Rakka at about 7:15. We kept ourselves entertained by listening to Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Cosby, Steve Martin, and more Billboard hits, whist I sucked down Coca-Cola out of the leftover two-liter bottle. In the interest of saving any time possible off our trip – during which staying awake was the utmost challenge – we decided to sleep over at Mom’s house. Only Bob was there, as Mom had already gone up to Indian Lake. We got there at 1:40am, having lost an hour as we switched back to Eastern Time.

Arrival at Mom’s

I must say that this was certainly one of the greatest trips I have ever taken. It was a very pleasing blend of music, history, food, swimming, and to top it all off, the greatest girl I have ever known. She was an excellent travel companion and I was grateful to her for putting up with my odd blend of destinations. It was a trip that I hated to see end.

The good news was that by coming back on Friday night, we were able to continue the weekend with another fun destination…

2011 will continue…

Return to the beginning of the trip here…

Uncle Lou’s, of course, had been featured on the TV show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, in the episode Where the Locals Eat. Apparently everything they cooked, they cooked to order. They were scheduled to close at 8pm, and I think they were overwhelmed by us and the other pair of customers in the restaurant – so much that they decided to lock the doors early! This made no difference to me as it became one of my very favorites of all of the diners I have so far visited. We got the fried chicken (both the Homestyle and the Sweet and Spicy Love varieties), with side items fried dill pickles and corn nuggets. It was all delectable, but the Sweet and Spicy Love sauce (which had been named by Guy Fieri right on the show) was the most incredible of all.

DD&D #5: Uncle Lou’s Fried Chicken in Memphis, Tennessee

Chicken and other good eats. Can you tell which one is the Sweet and Spicy Love?

This was quite the feast

After dinner, we checked into the Knights Inn motel and amazingly enough ended back up in one of the same rooms in which we had stayed three days earlier. We didn’t swim on this night, nor take a midnight adventure to a BBQ joint. We just rested with our fresh sunburns in order to get an early start the next morning.

Our first stop of the day was at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. It is a privately owned museum that had been built around the Lorraine Motel on Mulberry Street where Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated on April 4, 1968. The complex included the restored motel as well as the building across the street from where it has been determined that James Earl Ray fired the fatal shots. The museum itself is built on the same property and displays an absolutely fabulous history of Civil Rights in America, kicking off with an in-depth examination of the King murder in a film called The Witness. Once you find yourself in the area where the Martin Luther King museum begins, you realize that you are now actually inside the motel. So the point in history where his killing would happen corresponds to you standing right next to his motel room and the balcony where he stood when he was shot.

One portion of the Lorraine Hotel, with the old-style neon signs

The Motel portion of the museum was under some construction

A wreath placed on the balcony at the spot where Martin Luther King was shot and killed has been perpetually in place since the day of his murder

Jamie outside the motel, with representative cars mirroring what was sitting there on that fateful day in 1968

Outside the terrific National Civil Rights Museum – as the rain began to fall

The museum was dead serious about not taking pictures in the museum with signs every ten feet with warnings that you will be ejected if you even attempt it – so I didn’t. So I’m afraid you’ll just have to visit it to see the great, informative displays. After we went through the museum, we went through the building where the shots came from. There was a lot of info about James Earl Ray, as well as other theories as to whom may have performed the killing. In an amazing twist, Martin Luther King’s family supported Ray’s efforts for a re-trial and publicly stated that they didn’t believe that he had anything to do with the murder. I did sneak one photo of the bathroom which had been restored to the way it was found on the day of the murder. Ray – or whomever – supposedly fired the shots from this boarding house bathroom window.

The former boarding house from where the shots were fired. The second story window partially obscurred by the tree was the room in question.

The shared bathroom in the boarding house is reputed to be from where the shots were fired.

After finding a parking garage, lunch that afternoon was at The Little Tea Shop. Yep, you guessed it. It had been featured on DD&D in the episode American Classics. I ordered the soup of the day and the Lacy Special, which included chicken breast between corn sticks topped with gravy, served with rice and carrots. Because Jamie and I were actually going to eat a second lunch this day, we split this one – but still wound up full. The Little Tea Shop is only open on weekdays from 11-2, and it was incredibly busy. In fact, I almost thought that our waiter wasn’t going to be able to take our picture, so we took pics of each other. Eventually, he came back and snapped one of us – once our food was almost gone.

Jamie and one of the homemade cornbread sticks

Ready to devour another fine meal

The waiter takes a second and quickly snaps a picture for us

DD&D #6: The Little Tea Shop in Memphis, Tennessee

Next up on the Memphis agenda was a visit to one more records studio, this one the famous Stax Records. Similar to the Sun Studios, this studio (although much larger) had fallen into disrepair and had to be completely restored to get it back to its original form. The studio area was cool to see and they combined it with a dynamic museum of relics and memorabilia from the great recording artists that had worked at the studios. The opening move really got my heart pumping to the beat of the R&B and Soul tunes that had been recorded right there. Again, no photos were permitted unfortunately. Before we left, I purchased an autographed copy of the newest Huey Lewis CD Soulsville, which is a tribute to the artists and music of Stax Records.

The Stax Records Studios

The historical marker outside the studios

The highlight piece in the museum: the Hammond Organ used in the recording of Green Onions by Booker T. and the MGs., which is sitting in the area where the song was actually recorded.

As a young boy, I had a 45RPM record called What the World Needs Now is Love by Tom Clay, and within that record were representative recordings of the assassinations of John Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King. One of the clips featured part of the end of his “I’ve Been To the Mountaintop” speech. I played this record over and over again as a kid. This very speech had been delivered in Memphis, and ended up being King’s last speech before he was murdered the next day. Knowing this, I took the opportunity to visit the Mason Temple from where this speech was delivered. The temple wasn’t open at the time, but it gave me chills to stand outside of it, and then listen to the Tom Clay song in my car.

Outside the Mason Temple, from where Martin Luther King gave his final speech

After checking out the Mason Temple, as un-hungry as Jamie and I were, we headed over to Alcenia’s for our second lunch. This had been featured on the DD&D episode Traditional Dishes. Alcenia’s motto was “Feeding the heart, the head, and the stomach.” And they did that just fine. We ordered up some Fried Catfish and Fried Green Tomatoes that came with corn and green beans. Just for fun, we ordered the Ghetto-Aid – which is like Kool-Aid with five times the sugar. This is my estimate only. Unlike the The Little Tea Shop, this place was absolutely empty the entire time we were here. We attempted to play the jukebox, but only got out one song before it apparently broke. Appropriately enough it was Green Onions. Although we shared our food again, needless to say, we were quite full by the time we left the establishment.

Jamie fiddles with the jukebox at Alcenia’s

Some crazy-good home cookin’

Under the portrait of Alcenia herself. Her daughter was cooking that day and her granddaughter was our waitress. No hugs from Alcenia today.

DD&D #7: Alcenia’s in Memphis, Tennessee

It was around 3:30 when we departed Memphis. About an hour north of Memphis, is a small town called Henning. My friend Dean Garrett had recommended that I visit a location found here, they boyhood home of Alex Haley, the author of Roots. I concurred; it was well worth the visit. It was on the front porch of this home that Haley’s grandmother would regale him with stories of his ancestors that would ultimately inspired him to write the famous novel that would become a TV mini-series in 1977.

We took our photographs outside in the front yard where Haley is now buried and then attempted to go inside. The door was locked and no one answered when we knocked. Upon closer inspection, it seems that there was a giant visitors center (which we hadn’t seen from the road in front of the house). It too, however was closed. So I phoned the number and the tour guide answered from inside the house. It was like a bad horror movie. Turns out she was in the middle of the tour, so we joined up with them inside the house. Anyway, it all worked out.

Outside the Alex Haley boyhood home

Alex Haley’s grave in the front yard of his boyhood home

Playing piano in the family parlor

The Haley kitchen. This was our last photo before Jamie was scolded.

After the house tour, we checked out the museum in the visitors center, as well as the documentary on mini-series that can be found on the Roots DVD.  I told our tour guide about my encounter with Levar Burton from the year before, although I didn’t tell her what I really thought of him. Although the museum was supposed to close at 5pm, they let us stay inside until nearly 5:30. Once again, no photos were allowed in the house or museum, but due to my blissful ‘unawareness’ we were able to capture some images. See…this would have been a boring posting if I didn’t bend the rules a little bit.

Alex Haley’s chair from the set of Roots – located in the visitor center and museum

On the Haley front porch, where Alex first heard the tales of his ancestors from his Grandmother. The roots of Roots…

It was about a three hour and very peaceful drive (despite some bridge nervousness) from Henning to Columbia, Tennessee. We checked into the Days Inn upon arrival around 8:30 that night, finding the desk clerk lounging in the lobby, watching TV. This joint had ice. We got it in the lobby and took it to our room so that we could enjoy cold drinks with our lime chips and nacho and ranch dip courtesy Jamie. We looked at the pool and kicked an electrical box, but didn’t swim.

This would be our last night in a motel, as we’d be starting the next day in Columbia and sadly begin our trek back home.

Our Tennessee road trip will conclude in the next posting…

There were two things to see in Little Rock that afternoon of Tuesday, July 5, 2011, that were related to the Little Rock Nine and this incident. The first was a sculpture dedicated to the Little Rock Nine that I promised I would locate for her to see. This was a very easy assignment, as the sculpture (officially entitled Testament) had been erected on the grounds of the State Capitol, which we were visiting anyway. This monument had been erected in 2005. After we did our self-guided tour through the capitol, we walked over and checked out the memorial.

Jamie meets the Little Rock Nine

At the Little Rock Nine Civil Rights Memorial on the State Capitol Ground

Jamie and one of the plaques surrounding the memorial. This quote is attributed to Jefferson Thomas, whom she had as a guest speaker in her class: “As a youth, God blessed me with the courage of men. As a man, he gave me the spirit of youth.”

The second location was Central High School itself, which still acts as a functioning high school. We started in the building caddy-corner to the high school. Inside was a visitors center and a small museum with information and artifacts related to the incident. Most fascinating was a documentary that included newscasts that had been seen during the crisis. We couldn’t spend long in here as they were closing up at 4:30 and we had cut into their time by about 20 minutes.

Outside the Central High School Visitor Center – as if you couldn’t tell

Jamie browses the exhibits in the visitor center

The former visitors center had been constructed to look like Magnolia Gas Station that had originally sat across the street in 1957. It wasn’t open, but we checked out the exterior. Then we headed over to the high school itself. It was amazing to stand on the grounds, which had been virtually unchanged over more than fifty years. We got some photos outside, and then me being the bold person that I am tried the front door and found that it was open! We went on inside, checked out the display case dedicated to the Little Rock Nine, and looked around in the auditorium, naturally climbing on stage and posing at the podium.

The Magnolia gas station replica once served as the visitor center

I arrive at Little Rock Central High School and immediately climb it

Jamie and glass case exhibit dedicated to the Little Rock Nine inside the entry hallway of the school

Me and the exhibit

Inside the school, on the auditorium stage, preaching to a crowd of one

Soon enough a bell rang and scared Jamie. But it was only a group of kids being dismissed from some sort of sports practice. They came rolling out of the school, both black and white, as we watched in amazement, thinking how great it was the times had changed so much.

It was hot and humid, so we stopped by Starbucks to get some iced treats, relaxing in the booth – and being shocked by some creepy smoking guy outside the window. The reason we were hanging around for a bit was because I thought the sun was preventing us from getting good photos at the capitol and Central High School. But we decided to go ahead and eat dinner and then come back.

Jamie’s Starbucks interlude, before being creeped out by the smoker outside

Oddly, there wasn’t single restaurant that had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives in the entire state of Arkansas, so we had to resort on recommendations from the locals. A couple who had been on our Governor’s Mansion tour had told us to try the Flying Fish, located in the River Market District of Little Rock. I tried the Hogwallow Fry Basket, which included catfish, shrimp, and oysters. Jamie was even a good sport and tried a bite of each, despite an aversion to fish.

Dinner of fish and fun

Jamie meets fish

We then stopped back by the State Capitol and then Central High School to attempt some better pictures outside after the sun had dropped behind the buildings. It turned out that the pictures were hardly better than the originals, but it was a valiant effort and I appreciated Jamie’s patience. From there, we went to our lodgings at the Rodeway Inn & Suites and checked in around 8:30pm. We both crashed pretty early that night, needing to catch up on our sleep.

Jamie meets her third State Capitol of the year – in Little Rock, Arkansas

The Little Rock Nine students are escorted into Central High School on September 24, 1957, by the 101st US-Airborne Division of the of the United States Army

Here’s where it all happened

Jamie in front of the school 

I was looking forward to our day on Wednesday the 6th, but I think Jamie was looking forward to it more. This was the day that I promised that we’d visit no historical sites or any other scavenger hunt/checklist locations. Nothing. Instead we’d spend the day at a local water park known as Willow Springs. We slept in that morning and departed the motel at about 11:20. Just 15 minutes later, we were pulling into our next destination.

The Willow Creek water park had been a staple of Little Rock since 1928. I must say that the look on Jamie’s face when we arrived at this place was worth the cost of the entire vacation. There was nothing fancy here, but the quaintness and serenity of the lake put us in mind of summer camps of yore. There was quiet music playing over the speakers, it wasn’t too busy, and and the lake was man-made lake was full of fun things to do. And since the bottom of the lake was sand, it was easy to move around in the clean water.

We spent the afternoon playing basketball (PIG and FISH), tetherball, climbing on a trampoline, going down a small slide, taking three trips down the newer big water slide (twice individually, once together), laying out in the sun, eating burgers and hotdogs from the concession stand, practicing card tricks, and then twice more down the big water slide. We also chatted for a while with the owner (who lived on the adjoining property). He was fascinated with people like us who did ‘internet vacations’ – meaning we merely found the location on the internet and headed there. He had worked here since being a teenager, and then ended up buying the place, maintaining it, and even adding the giant water slide. He took us out front and showed us the tool that had been used to dig the lake in the late 1920′s.

Ready for some fun in the Little Rock sun

Overview of the park, with the giant water slide in the background

I’m ready! Let’s get wet.

Jamie at the concession stand

Enjoying an angus burger at the picnic area

 Jamie, a hot dog, and a Coke - in a pure summertime moment

With the owner – and the giant metal tool that was used to dig the lake in the 1920′s

Frolicking about in the kiddie area

I’m taking this water and the start of a nice tan with me as we depart Willow Springs

It was an afternoon of good, clean all-American fun. Of all of the memories of this trip, this one had to be my fondest. We headed out at about 4:30 that afternoon, carrying along some hefty sunburns. It was about a three hour drive to our next location, which brought us back to Memphis, Tennessee.

The road trip will continue…

As we left the city, we crossed the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge over the Mississippi River, I put in the Vampire Weekend music, we ate some bananas and Twizzlers for breakfast, and Jamie fell back asleep. It was an uneventful, leisurely drive across Arkansas and by the time we emerged, four hours had elapsed. We were only about 20 miles from the border of Texas during our stay in Hope.

It is probably quite obvious what we were doing here, given my Presidential location obsession. This small town was the birthplace of our 42nd President Bill Clinton. We went straight to his birthplace home, took a tour, and then checked out some of the other local Clinton attractions that included the site of the hospital where he was born, his elementary school, his parents’ graves, and his second boyhood home. We also stopped by the city’s visitor center, but they – along with almost everything else in town – were closed for the holiday. You can check out all of the Bill Clinton sites here.

Jamie in Hope

Outside the Bill Clinton birth home

In the Clinton living room

Jamie in the bedroom of the future President. It was innocent, I swear.

Home cooked madness in the Clinton kitchen

Jamie and I had to break our pact not to eat from any chain restaurants, as there simply was almost nothing open in the town open. Besides, after Jamie had been such a good sport about visiting these locations this day, I gave the rest of the evening to her starting at about 4:30pm when we had finished up all things Clinton.

She opted to have our dinner from Domino’s Pizza – which was directly across the street from the site of Clinton’s hospital birth. While we waited for our pizza, we played tag in the parking lot, which became one of the fondest memories of the trip. We picked up a bottle of Coke from the local Family Dollar and made our way to our motel, the Best Western of Hope. Much to our delight, we found that this ice machine – for the first time on our trip – was working properly.

Victory at the Hope ice machine

We spent the evening in complete, utter, and delightful laziness – consuming our pizza and Coke, and watching Hoarders on A&E, singing a cappella karaoke, and naturally making obscene farting noises as if we were at camp. Even though I had made sure that every motel in which we stayed had a pool, we never ended up swimming in any of them after Memphis. Even without taking a dip, it was once of the most enjoyable evenings of the trip.

Hedonism in Hope

The day of rest was over and it was now time to jump back into our own amazing race. We had to leave rather early on the morning of Tuesday, July 5, as we had a time-sensitive appointment in Little Rock. Heading out at about 8:30am, we arrived at our destination at about 10:30 – which was a bit too early, so we had to wait. Our semi-private appointment to tour the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion didn’t start until 11am.

The Mansion was no only the home of the current Governor Mike Beebe, but had been the home of former President Bill Clinton for 12 years and Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee for another 12. The mansion, which had been opened in 1950, also served as the exterior for Delta Burke’s character in Designing Women. We had a nice tour of the first level interior areas that included the family room, library, and dining room – all of which were present when Clinton lived here. We then moved into the new entertaining area and ballroom known as the Grand Hall that had been added in 2003 during Huckabee’s administration. Finally, we checked out the outdoors garden area and the large children’s playhouse. Whist touring, we were joined by the mansion’s handyman and gardener Freddy and were able to meet the Beebe’s dog Viper, who was keeping himself cool in the backyard fountain. More details about the Governor’s Mansion can be found here.

In the Governor’s Mansion foyer, a painting of the first Arkansas Governor James Sevier Conway

Taking the lady for spin on the dancefloor in the Governor’s ballroom

Consoling the Governor’s dog Viper as he tries to beat the Arkansas heat

The playhouse in the Governor’s backyard

If all houses were like this, I wouldn’t have any problem building a small fire

Tea time in the playhouse

Jamie enjoyed perusing the Gardens

Outside the Governor’s Mansion. Apparently our tour guide was the worst photographer in the free world.

We had little time to waste on this full day, so after we wrapped up our tour, we headed directly to the Bill Clinton Presidential Library elsewhere in Little Rock. It was getting close to 12:30 as we made our way inside, so we decided to go ahead and have our lunch here. We ate in the downstairs restaurant Forty Two, aptly named in honor of President Clinton. I went with the Presidential Club and soup. Firmly believing that the former President would have demanded more bacon on his club that I got, I did so – and was pleased to get enough bacon to last someone who likes bacon only slightly less than me.

Getting ready to enter the William J. Clinton Presidential Library

Fine dining in Forty Two

Presidential Club with plenty of bacon. I don’t know why but I was expecting a dish called the Bubba Burger.

Jamie and the Oval Office reproduction

Jamie and the Library display about the Little Rock Nine. We’ll see more of them in the next posting.

We spent about 90 minutes in the Library, which included a jaunt to the offsite gift shop. Overall, I was rather disappointed with the Bill Clinton Library… but you can read more about our visit here.

Moving right along through Little Rock, our next stop was the Arkansas State Capitol. We entered my 20st Capitol, which was my fourth of the year, at around 3:30pm. It was a self-guided tour which allowed access to nearly every part of the mansion – except for the Governor’s office unfortunately. When I asked the receptionist if she had some hand-signed photos that she could hand out, she said “oh yes, I guess he did sign these.” But since I got one for both Jamie and me, it only took me a matter of seconds to realize that they had been signed by autopen. No matter… who’s Mike Beebe anyway?

Without a tour guide to slow us down, Jamie and I were able to visit the the Supreme Court room, the Governor’s Reception Room, the Governor’s Office (waiting room only), and the House and Senate Galleries. Not bad for less than a half- hour’s work.

The Great Seal in the Arkansas State Capitol

The Capitol dome

Presiding over the Arkansas Supreme Court

I climbed a bench to get at Bill Clinton’s Governor portrait

Jamie in the Governor’s Reception Room

At the other end of the table, one or two of me

The Governor’s office; he wasn’t meeting me nor letting me sit in his chair

With the Governor’s receptionist, who gave me this fake autograph. Thanks, but no thanks.

The House of Representatives Gallery

The Senate Gallery

Bicentennial memorial placed on the Capitol grounds in 1976

Outside my 20th State Capitol

With the exception of the Domino’s pizza and Hoarders evening, so far almost everything we had done in Arkansas might best be qualified as “Brad’s Stuff”. For the rest of our stay in Arkansas, we would switch gears a bit and move on to some “Jamie Stuff.”

The road trip through Arkansas will continue with the so-called Jamie Stuff…

Personally, I think that Bill Clinton was and is a good man who left the country better than he found it. He continues to do a great deal of charitable work as an active ex-President. I am still holding out hope that one day I will get to meet our nation’s 42nd United States President, but until that day comes, I’ll have to happy with visiting some of the key sites to the life of Bill Clinton.

Monday, July 4, 2011 - Bill Clinton birthplace – As an admirer of President Clinton, it was apropos for me to be visiting the town of Clinton’s birth in Hope, Arkansas, on Independence Day. My girlfriend Jamie and I rolled into town that morning and hit all of the Clinton sites relevant to his early life. One of the most unusual was the site of his birth. Born William Jefferson Blythe on August 19, 1946, Clinton was only the second President to have been born in a hospital. Unfortunately, of the now-four hospitals claiming a Presidential birth, this is the only one no longer standing.

I had done internet research for several years trying find out whether there was a marker on the location of the actual birthplace, but didn’t come across a photo of it until right before trip. Turns out that the site of the Julia Chester Hospital where he was born now has the Brazzel Oakrest Funeral Home sitting on it. Fortunately, there is a plaque under an American flag noting the location’s importance to history – but oddly, the plaque does not face the road, but the funeral home.

Overview of the former location of the Julia Chester Hospital. The plaque is located under the flag.

The plaque and me

Bricks that were part of the original structure can be found at the site of Bill Clinton’s second boyhood home.

Physically, this is all that it left of the Julia Chester Hospital. The bricks in this monument were taken from there. This is sitting in the front yard of Bill Clinton’s second home.

Monday, July 4, 2011 - Bill Clinton’s First Boyhood Home – Sadly, the biological father of William Jefferson Blythe was killed in a car accident before his son was born. Therefore, his mother moved back into the home of her parents, and eventually left young Bill to live with them while she was working in New Orleans. Although for years, this location in Hope, Arkansas, was touted as the Bill Clinton birthplace, he was actually born in a local hospital (see notes above).

Less than three months before our arrival, President Bill Clinton himself was onsite to dedicate the birthplace home to the National Park Service.

Displays in the visitor center of the Birthplace Home

The side of the former Clinton home. The opening at the top wasn’t an escape hatch; it was where a box fan could be placed during the summer.

On the front porch of the house

Young Bill would live in this home for the first four years of his life, before his mother Virginia married Roger Clinton (hence the last name of Bill Clinton). Even after the new family moved to another house in Hope, young Bill would often come back and visit his Grandparents in this home on South Hervey Street. This was the house that he himself always considered ‘his childhood home’.

We had a nice tour of the house, which had been decorated and restored to resemble the time period when Bill Clinton was a child. Bill’s mother Virginia actually helped to point out where things were located within the home. There were no areas off-limits and photos were welcome, so I got plenty in all of the rooms of the home.

Bill had his crib in the master bedroom where he stayed with his mother as an infant

Bill Clinton’s room as he got older. His grandparents bought him the desk so he could work on ‘becoming President’.

One of little Billy Blythe’s children’s books

The household lounge

In the Clinton living room. Bill’s Mom helped them get the decor right.

Monday, July 4, 2011 - Bill Clinton’s Second Boyhood Home – Once Bill Clinton’s mother re-married, she and her husband Roger moved along with Bill into another house in Hope, Arkansas. This one was not currently open to the public, and was actually occupied by a local handicapped man. The agreement with the city is that he will keep the house up and in turn they let him live in it. With this understanding in mind, it is perfectly permissible to go up to the porch of the house for photos. There are even handouts there highlighting the other locations in Hope.

The Clinton’s lived in this home from 1950 – 1953, at which time they re-located to Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Because of noise from the highway traffic, filming for this interview was moved from the Birthplace Home to the second boyhood home

The second boyhood home in Hope

Monday, July 4, 2011 - Other Bill Clinton Sites in Hope, Arkansas – It was a holiday as Jamie and I made our way around Hope, Arkansas, so there didn’t appear to be much going on. We did, however, find a couple of other interesting sites that related to the life of President Bill Clinton. The first was the Brookwood Elementary School, where young Bill attended first grade. The school was still open for business, but was closed at the time for summer vacation.

I looked all over town to find this sign!

Brookwood Elementary, clearly proud of their heritage

In the local Hope Cemetery known as Rose Hill are the graves of Bill Clinton’s parents William Jefferson Blythe and Virginia Clinton Kelley. We made a quick visit here to check out the graves, which are located inside a small fenced-in area (that is quite easy to scale), and pay our respects.

The easily scalable fence surrounded the graves of Bill Clinton’s parents and grandparents

The graves of Clinton’s parents

Tuesday, July 5, 2011 – Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock, Arkansas – Bill Clinton had served an interrupted term as Governor of the State of Arkansas from 1979-81 (as the 40th Governor), and from 1983-92 (as the 42nd). Clinton’s was the 7th family to occupy the mansion since it opened in 1950. There were several remnants of the Clintons’ occupancy, including a library of books that were donated by the President.

The Governor’s Mansion. We had to be buzzed in like real important folk.

Little Rock or bust! This Clinton tribute may be found in the front yard of the mansion near the front gate.

Great seal rug in the foyer

Photo of Clinton and other Governors of Arkansas taken in the living room

The same living room. Note the funny painting.

Library of books that were collected by Bill Clinton during his twelve years of living in the Governor’s Mansion

During Governor Mike Huckabee’s administration, extensive additions were made to the mansion, placing the outdoor balcony (from which Bill Clinton first announced that his running mate would be Al Gore), on the inside of an extended ballroom area.

This once-outdoors balcony is now enclosed in the new addition of the mansion. From here, Bill Clinton announced for the first time that his running mate would be Al Gore.

Gubernatorial portrait of Bill Clinton in the new addition to the mansion

I had arranged a semi-private tour of the residence, and it was fun to check out the indoors and grounds of this historic location.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011 – The William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park – It pains me to say it, but out of the seven Presidential Libraries that I have visited to date, this one was by far the weakest. It was the architecture and layout that bothered me the most. Instead of having a distinct flow of displays like a museum should, this one was almost like a wide-open warehouse, with small glass displays of various chapters in the Clinton administration. Very little information was given about Clinton’s life before or after the Presidency.

Visiting my 7th Presidential Library

And worst of all was that the revolving exhibit that was stationed there for the summer was devoted to Elvis Presley – which I had a hard time relating to anything in the political or Presidential realm. There was a display of Elvis relics (some from the collection of Bill Clinton himself) and a photographic display called “Elvis at 21″.

The Elvis display signs were unfortunately prominent outside the museum

Jamie and I had a nice lunch in the museum restaurant (which was simply called Forty Two) before we started our tour. Although not under any tremendous time contraints, we were only in the museum for an hour and fifteen minutes – and that included the 15-minute film showing, as well as a viewing of Bill Clinton’s incredibly funny skit of The Final Days, in which he feigned boredom as his administration wound down. This was actually the highpoint of the visit. About the only thing in this museum that was in line with the others was a reproduction of the Oval Office, built to re-create the office at the time that Bill Clinton resided there.

The Cadillac Fleetwood Presidential Limosuine – built in 1993 and used by Bill Clinton during his administration

Amongst the displays in the Clinton Presidential Library. The binders were a miniscule portion of the Presidential papers stored in the Library.

The Clinton Oval Office reproduction

Presidential China

The abandoned Rock Island Railroad Bridge over the Arkansas River, as seen from the Bill Clinton Library

I desperately wanted the Library to be better, but it just simply wasn’t. And if there wasn’t enough to complain about inside, the gift shop was located in a building separate from the Library itself – one that a free shuttle (ie. golf cart) would drive you too. If it weren’t for the magnet I needed, I wouldn’t have even gone there. Sorry, Bubba… great President, crummy museum.

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