That’s the subplot of the story. Jon was there, but it really made no difference to me. I was there to celebrate the magic of Stan and Babe once again. This was my sixth convention, and it ranks right near the top in my book. Joining Jon and me were my Dad and my sister Denise. We all stayed in the same room and there was a bit of contention on whether to split the room bill three ways or four, but other then that, we all got along swellishly.

The event began on Sunday, July 12, 1992 at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino – where I would spend my first time ever in fabulous Las Vegas. We flew out that morning and arrived in Las Vegas that afternoon. Registration was conducted in a central meeting area just up a set of escalators that I would re-visit in 2009. Whilst waiting to make my presence known, I was tapped on the shoulder and turned around to see my pal Bob Satterfield, looking decidedly thinner and with longer hair – which he later attributed to his mid-life crisis. Visiting Bob back in his room, he presented me with a somewhat late graduation present, which was well worth the wait: an amazing photo album full of autographed photos with graduation wishes from about 25 L&H and Our Gang co-stars. Someday, I’ll post the album in its entirety.

That evening we had a fun cocktail reception (where Bob received a Stan Laurel check endorsed by Stanley “Tiny” Sandford, which I carried around with me and showed off). Then we had a “Salute to Hal Roach Dinner”. Mostly what I remember about this was that Dick Bann had accompanied Hal Roach himself to the event. At this point, Hal Roach was 100 years old. This ended up being the third and final time that I saw Mr. Roach in person. Following the dinner, The Parade of Tents was presented via video presentation. The evening culminated with the opening of the cinema and the Dealers Room. I made a couple of significant purchases at some point during the week – framed and matted autographed photos of Oliver Hardy and Edgar Kennedy. I was up exceptionally late reading my new copies of The Laurel and Hardy Magazine in the bathroom in our room while everyone else slept.

Having Tommy “Butch” Bond, now sporting red hair, sign a photo for me at the cocktail mixer

I think Jon and I tried our hand at the slot machines that night. Not being a big gambler, I’d be surprised if I spent more than $20 in quarters throughout the week. I remember that night watching Sherry Han, the host of the convention and Grand Sheik of the Jitterbugs tent, playing slots with silver dollars and quickly going through 100 bucks. How I cringed!

Monday, July 13, saw a lot of standard Sons fare: the Grand Council meeting, the Dealer’s Room and Cinema, a seminar on How to Start and Maintain a Sons Tent (which interested me greatly at the time), the Trivia Contest and Tournament of Champions Trivia Contest (of which I didn’t participate), the Hal Roach All-Stars Look-a-Like & Sound-a-Like Contest, and the Pee-Wee Contest. I can’t recall if I participated in the latter – but it was something I would typcially do. All of this provided plent of time for Jon to sit back in the room.

I also brought along a ridiculous amount of copies of my new tent newsletter (for the tent that didn’t quite yet exist) Dante’s Info. I was proud of that darn thing and periodically laid numerous copies around the convention and watched people pick them up, hoping that they would gawk and think it was a literary masterpiece.

That night saw a great event at a local waterpark Wet ‘N Wild, called the Honolulu Baby Luau. A lot of folks – and I’m not honestly sure if I was one of them – participated in the waterslides, with special focus going to Bob Satterfield and Tracy Tolzmann, both of whose girth made for some very impressive splashes as they went down the speed slides.

After swimming, we had a great dinner with background music provided by Ronnie Hazelhurst and his Orchestra, playing the tunes of the Hal Roach Studios. I recall standing in line for food with Bob and celebrity guest Vera Ralston and her husband. Dwain Smith noted that Larry Semon’s cousin was also present at the event and could be recognized by the stain on his pants. It was a fine, warm evening in the 100-plus degree weather, which was almost bearable with the low humidity.

 Tuesday the 14th saw the Celebrity Panel & Autograph session at 10am that morning. This convention had more celebrity guests than any other convention other than Hollywood ’80. Participating in the Q&A were Tommy “Butch” Bond, Lois Laurel Hawes, Jerry Tucker, Jacquie Lyn, Anthony Caruso, Jay R. Smith, Trudy Marshall, Eugene “Pineapple” Jackson, and Dorothy deBorba. Other celebs that were not present at the Q&A were Diosa Costello, Vera Ralston, and Della Lind. Two guests had been slated to attend but did not end up coming: Felix Knight and Vivian Blaine. Postings regarding encounters with some of the celebrities begin here.

Jay R. Smith, Jacquie Lyn, and Dorothy deBorba during the Q&A session

Jerry Tucker, Pineapple Jackson, and Tommy Bond

Trudy Marshall and Lois Laurel

There was a Laurel and Hardy Olympics in Toyland event that afternoon, but I don’t think I participated. This might have been when Jon and I spent a very brief time at the slots. There was also a screening of going on, and although I didn’t watch it, I was able to meet celebrity Diosa Costello my one and only time after the screening. I never saw her again at the convention or any other time.

We went directly from the theatre area to the banquet room, where there was some bizarre Murder Case Crime Scene, where one was to guess who the killer of ‘Bozo’ was. I really had no idea what was going on, but it was fun to see various Sons, Tony Hawes in particular, play characters who were suspects of the ‘murder’. I think Bob, also not knowing what was going on, took part in this also.

Bob in costume with Kathy Luhman, following the Crime Scene event. Randy Skretvedt and I are in the background.

The banquet that night was hosted by Bill Cassera’s The Midnight Patrol tent had a cops and robbers theme and everyone came dressed accordingly – but not me as per usual. After the banquet, Bob drove my Dad, Denise, Jon, Jimmy, and me into Vegas and we visited a couple of the casinos. It was a nice chance to look around although none of us gambled. Jon kept his ideas peeled for legal prostitutes. As we weaved our way through the blaring neon, my Dad jokingly asked Bob, “Yeah, but where do people go to gamble?”

With the display of one million dollars at the Binion’s Horseshoe Casino

Thank goodness we had at least one group shot: Dad, me, Jon, Denise, and Jimmy with the million bucks

Bob working his way though the lights of Vegas

Denise participates in some late night antics with paper cups

The final full day of the convention came on Wednesday, July 15. The first activity I can recall was the screening of Pack Up Your Troubles, which included a talk from Jacquie Lyn and featured a print that included footage that I had never seen before. This was about the only Laurel and Hardy film I actually watched during this convention. There was an auction that afternoon, and I purchased an original lobby card from The Dancing Masters and had Trudy Marshall sign in that evening at the Jitterbugs banquet, which featured live big band music.

In between the auction and the banquet was the final Grand Council meeting where we voted for the next convention. I declared my soveriegty by voting on behalf of my own tent instead of the Towed in a Hole Tent. Although I actually voted for Harlem, Georgia, the convention bid for 1994 was won by Tarrytown, New York and the Founding Tent.

The standard Farewell Brunch and Passing of the Pineapple was held on Thursday morning. My Dad, Denise, and Jon departed for the airport and took along the long piece of artwork that I had brought to exhibit in the Al Kilgore art gallery. I, however, didn’t leave from Vegas. I was continuing my vacation by participating in some of the post-trips and celebrations in California. So I loaded up my loot in Bob’s car and we began our drive back to his place in San Bernardino.

Jimmy and Denise at the Farewell Brunch, with standard foliage head garb. My pal David Rodriguez is behind Jimmy.

Denise gets around with her plant heads. Here is John Duff sprouting something besides hair on his head.

With my artwork contribution and the world’s worst mullet

It had been a fabulous convention and I so wish that I had captured more photos. I had also recently begun a journal, which was mostly so that I could journal my experiences on this trip – but alas, that invaluable book no longer exists.

The 1992 trip will continue in California…

Follow the trail of celebrities from this convention here…

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…

As usual we had a rather slow-moving morning, just kicking back with the kiddies, the TV, and cereal. Eventually Jamie and I got up and ventured out to the B&B Antique Mall just down the main strip. I can’t recall ever purchasing a single thing in here, but it’s still fun to look around at the over-priced junk. We made pit-stop at Krispy Kreme’s for some refreshing whipped-cream-laced beverage for Jamie. The I noticed Big Daddy’s Dog Shack nearby. Naturally I had to stop and try one of their chili red dogs.

Early morning cuteness from Megan

Jake, Jamie, and Elwood outside the antique store

A little bit of foreshadowing

Farewell to B&B…for now

Jamie and her sweet and creamy treat

Hot dog! Look at what I found!

I ate the dog back at the condo where I found Silas in his Bumbo watching Everybody Loves Raymond. After polishing that off, we headed down at about 1:30 for one more spin in the Windy Shores pool and the Atlantic Ocean – and then the pool again. We stayed out for several hours until we were nice and sun-crispy and it was about 5:00.

Silas enjoys the performance of Peter Boyle

What are you looking at?

Synchronized nerdiness

Throwing down the gauntlet to the giggle-boys

Mom & Bob and the Ocks look for treasure

The process to bury Grandma on the beach begins

Oceanside hula practice

Silas meets the Atlantic

There’s something about Bradley

Pool ‘tude from Mom

Pretty girls dried off and ready to continue our final evening

We went in groups to dinner that night. First Denise and Aaron went to the new seafood buffet called Captain George’s Seafood Restaurant, while Mom watched Adam and Megan. Then Jamie and I headed out to put in the reservations, and finally once Denise and Aaron returned, Mom, Bob, Ashleigh, and Silas met up with us.

The food was quite good. We enjoyed blackened mahi mahi, catfish, Alaskan snow crab legs, seafood casserole, prime rib, cobblers, baklava, pudding, flan, and other assorted side dishes. The waitress took a bizarre photo of us and Jamie ended up leaving her credit card there. Otherwise we were all full and pretty happy. But when we got back, we went through the miserable process of packing.

Ashleigh shows how to get her money’s worth at the seafood buffet. Not!

Group photo from across a crowded room

Plates full of fishy goodness

Showing off my crab-cracking skills

On Friday morning, we got up nice and early, loaded up the cars, and we all took off at roughly the same time – 8:15am. Jamie and I had an agenda for the route home, which mostly encompassed hitting a couple of restaurants from Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives – as I’m sure you might have guessed.

We got to the first one in Lexington, South Carolina (on the outskirts of Columbia) at around 11am, and were the first customers in the restaurant, which is only open on weekdays. This one had been featured on the episode Homegrown and Homemade, and with good reason. The vegetables that they served had all been cultivated right there. It was actually a fresh produce market with the restaurant attached. We ordered the shrimp and grits and Jefferson Chicken with sides of tomato cheddar casserole, zucchini and squash casserole, greens, and cornbread salad. It was a filling, hearty, and delicious meal. We departed a little after noon.

DD&D #14: The Farmer’s Shed in Lexington, South Carolina

Some home cookin’ under the watchful eye of Guy Fieri

Shrimp & Grits, etc.

Although we made a pit stop at a Blockbuster to browse and stretch our legs somewhere in between, our next real destination of the trip was in Knoxville, Tennessee. I had grown to love this city during my visit last summer, but this time we were back to hit up another DD&D location. This was a cool place that had been on the episode That’s Italian. It was a very neat old drive-in known as the Pizza Palace. Although there was limited seating inside, we decided to go for the full effect and order our food for the car.

We ordered and split the famous Spaghetti & Meatballs (with their secret sauce) and small pizza, half with pepperoni and sausage, half Greek-style with Feta cheese, and garlic bread. It was all good stuff, and much more than we could finish, but my favorite was Jamie’s selection – the Greek pizza. We’d be having some pre-wedding leftovers the next day.

DD&D #15: Pizza Palace in Knoxville, Tennessee

Good thing I didn’t have a ‘no eating in the car’ policy

Since we were already in Knoxville, I knew that Jamie would most definitely want to check out Coolato Gelato. The gelato did not disappoint as I scarfed down a strawberry marscarpone cheesecake and butter pecan gelato combo cone. We then walked down to Mast’s General Store – which you may recall as being home to the great barrels of candy. Neither Jamie nor I bought any of the candy, but I did get some Burt’s Bees foot creme, some Blenheim’s Ginger Ale, and took advantage of the great sale on Clove, Blackjack, and Beeman’s gum.

Jamie meets Knoxville

How very coolato

Digging deep at Mast’s

Blenheim’s and gum to go, and we bid farewell to Knoxville

It was a little after 7pm when we departed Knoxville. Since we were all going to be going to the wedding the next day, we planned out stay at Mom’s house for that night. Not making any notable stops, everyone had gotten back hours earlier than we did. We arrived at about 11:30 that night, dragging in our leftovers for the morning, our luggage, and then quickly crashing down in the basement.

This concludes the Myrtle Beach trip. Return to the beginning of the trip here…

Continue with 2011 here…

We spent the morning peacefully and lazily and didn’t head out until after 11am. I had only recently learned that the bulk of John Hughes movies had been filmed in the Chicago area. Sixteen Candles has always been one of my all-time favorite movies and in fact, it is Jamie’s very favorite movie. So I thought it would be fun to spend some time and track down a few of the location that were used in the film. The fact that the film is about a birthday and the fact this it was actually my birthday was a bit of a bonus.

Our first stop was about fifteen miles east of the motel. We drove to Evanston, Illinois, which is a town on the coast of Lake Michigan and then from there we would gradually work our way north, with each successive town about ten minutes for the last. Here in Evanston, we found what was probably the most important of all of the locations, the home of Sixteen Candles character Samantha Baker and her family.

This was a fun stop, as a young girl who lived in the house and her friend came outside and were hitting around a volleyball. I had hoped to actually lay in the yard to pose where Long Duk Dong had, but I felt reticent to do this without permission. The girl just thought it was funny, so of course she was quite okay with it.

Frame grab of the Baker residence in Sixteen Candles

Me in front of the house today

Jamie sees the location from her favorite movie

Screen grab of Dong lying in the front yard drunk

The tree is now gone, so I was a little bit off – in more ways than one

Pushing it

Dong, Grandpa is talking to you!

Jamie tries her hand at acting

Goofing around at the Baker house had helped us work up a bit of an appetite and it just so happens that there was a great restaurant that had been featured on the Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives episode Burgers in the area. The place was called Hackney’s and they served up some mighty fine food. I had the inside-out burger (with the cheese and bacon cooked on the inside of the burger) on a pretzel bun. We also ordered a 1/4-size order of the brick of onion rings. Unbeknownst to us, all burgers were half price since there was a Chicago Bears game going on, so this was a great bonus. After we ate, we checked out the outdoor seating area and Jamie played inside the little kids house for a few minutes.

DD&D #27: Hackney’s in Glenview, Illinois

The restaurant was located in a residential neighborhood. It almost looked like it was in someone’s backyard

Jamie raises her Hofbrau

Delicious birthday dining with a beautiful girl

Jamie makes a new friend in the Hackney’s play house. His Dad would be rushing over shortly after we started taking his picture.

Feeling nice and full, we resumed our movie locations trek. The next stop was from a different, yet perhaps even more popular John Hughes movie, Home Alone. Although we were not quite as big of fans of that film, it was certainly cool to see the McCallister house that figures so prominently in the plot of the film. This was located in the town of Winnetka. When we pulled up, there was a man just getting ready to leave, so we waited until he drove off before we took our photos.

The McCallister house as seen in Home Alone

The Home Alone house today

We were soon back on the Sixteen Candles trek when we found the Glencoe Union Church in the town of Glencoe. This was a great location that can be seen prominently near the end of the film when Sam’s sister gets married and Jake shows up to claim Samantha. The pictures of us jumping (as seen at the top of the posting and below) are representative of the scene with Sam’s sister Ginny when, while high on muscle relaxers, tries to catch the rice thrown by the wedding guests in her mouth.

Ginny jumps for the rice during the final moments of Sixteen Candles

Jamie similarly jumps for the rice – which isn’t actually there anymore

Me on holy location

Jake and Samantha and the happy ending

Me, ruining the ending

Jamie and I also finally figured out to which  ’big lake’ Dong Duk Dong was referring as he’s describing the fate of Grandpa’s car. After we left the church, we happened by the Glencoe Beach. It proved to irresistible not to stop, so we parked and walked down onto the sand and the pier (and found a restroom). We weren’t expecting any sort of beach on this trip, but it was a lovely welcome site.

On the pier at Glencoe Beach

Our final stop of the day was the home of Jake Ryan – again, a main character in Sixteen Candles. This location, located in Highland Park, was probably the worst of the locations, simply because the house was located so far off of the road. The garage that was also featured prominently was much closer to the road, so proved to provide better photo ops. For the third time this day, the owner of the house came out as we were finishing up with our pictures. She walked from the house to the garage, but like the others, she said nothing to us.

The Jake Ryan house, all dressed up for the big party

The same house today

Anthony Michael Hall pulls out of Jake’s garage

That very same garage

It was just after 3pm when we left Highland Park. Being somewhat north of Chicago, our ride home took about six hours. We were originally going to stop at Steer In (the DD&D restaurant in Indianapolis where Jason and I had stopped during our visit a month prior), but since we were so full and were a little bit behind schedule, we opted to just get our meal at Subway. We got back to my place a little before 10pm, watched an episode of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet (A Ball of Tinfoil), and went fast to sleep. Jamie left the next morning and I returned to work as normal.

There were a few additional happenings the following week pertaining to my birthday, the least of which occurred on Monday the 3rd when I got my drivers license renewed. Since somehow they had missed my birthday at work, they made up for it on Tuesday the 4th, when they decorated my office in an array of balloons and streamers and such. I celebrated by having my lunch at Blue Ash Chili that afternoon.

40th birthday decor in my office

On Wednesday, October 5, Mom took me out for my birthday dinner at Hibachi Grill. Grandpa Murphy, Bev & Ed, Susan, Karen & Joe and their kids, Darlene, Zac & Nicole, and Ashleigh and Silas all joined us. We had a good meal and Mom brought along a Bill Knapps chocolate birthday cake that reminded me of old times. She also gave me some body lotion since she knew how much I liked the ones she was giving out at Indian Lake. It ended up being particularly special that my Grandpa was there, as we were afforded one last chance for a five-generation photo.

Gosh, Grandpa is getting old

Seeing Silas always makes my day

Five generations of Chinese food lovers. This was the last picture of Grandpa Murphy.

Proudly and excitedly displaying my Bill Knapps cake

Making wishes that probably won’t come true

Smiling Silas punctuates the day once again

After dinner that night, I stopped over at Kristy and Sly’s house to see their new baby girl Krislyn. It was fun to also see Jake and Katherine, who were in town visiting.

With the adorable new baby Krislyn

I can’t think of any way I’d rather have spent my 40th birthday. The beginnings of my 41th year on earth had begun in grand style and I was enjoying every minute of it. I’d have one trip left to take this year, and then things would take a bit of a turn for me.

2011 will continue on the west coast…

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…