Running on empty

The last time I filled up my gas tank (before this afternoon) was Sunday afternoon. That doesn't sound like a long time, but that was in Bay St. Louis, MS (for reference, that is on the MS Gulf Coast, and I am a county and a half due south of the Tennessee state line). During this stretch, I went from Bay St Louis into New Orleans, across the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway (because I'm a geek, I admit it), over to Hammond to pick up I-55, then I-55 up to Batesville (this is nearly all the way up Mississippi, and across fourteen Mississippi counties and a couple of Louisiana Parishes). Then I went into work today, back home at lunch, then back home at around three to check on something, THEN about halfway back before finally putting something in because my needle was below "E". All told, this was nearly 441 miles. Figuring on a 15 gallon tank, that means nearly 30mpg. This is good because gas prices are on the rise ($3.19/gal. at the BP and Texaco stations at Lamar and Hwy. 6). Here are a couple of pictures, first my console showing the location of my needle and the tripometer (and no low gas light came on, so I could have gotten more, but I doubt it would have gotten my all-time record of 483 miles on a tank). The second is a picture I snagged of Lake Ponchartrain from the twenty five mile causeway. This one isn't as good, but you can see that there is a lot of water out there. When you get on you can't see the other shore, but on a clear day (like Sunday was) there is a point when you can see both shores at once (about twelve miles along...the halfway point or so). ENJOY!

First post since NYE

Ok, so this is my first post in two months. I admit, I don't post much, but I can say that my life isn't nearly as thrilling as Kerry's. Here are, however, three quick pictures I took yesterday (or the day before yesterday...either way, it was Feb. 29th). I took them on my cell phone, so I apologize for the quality. First, this is looking from the Hills of Mississippi onto the Delta. This is interesting because it is a sudden drop off and not sort of a gradual slope. I saw something similar to this in Yazoo City (this is near Horn Lake...which is near Memphis). If you look closely, you'll notice a hill that is coming just over the side mirror, then when you look a little farther to the right, it is flat. The second picture is similar, but looking the other way back from the Delta to the Hills. The sudden cliff is more noticeable here looking toward the hills. (Incidentally, I got out of the car for a couple of minutes and noticed that the soil was VERY soft and presumably rich/fertile...much different from the clay infused soil I am used to). The third is one I snagged just west of Memphis as I was FINALLY CROSSING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER!!!!! (sans when I went to Japan and had layovers in Dallas and Los Angeles). This is along the I-55 bridge. Yeah, I just went into West Memphis, and yeah, I turned around at the first opportunity I got (that area of Arkansas is very bleak). I have a couple of pictures of the river from the bridge (with me driving at 55mph), but from there they aren't particularly impressive, especially since I wasn't looking at the display screen, just sort of aiming and hoping for the best.

Highlights of Memphis from last night: Ate at the BBQ Shop in Midtown upon a recommendation. I'm all for trying new places and exploring new areas. I was told it was the best BBQ in Memphis. I'm not sure I've done the proper leg work to confirm that statement, and the scientist in me wants to try everything, and everything multiple times to make sure I get it right. I also drove down to Beale St. and spent an hour or so down there (though my feet got a mere one foot at maximum off of Beale and not the 10 feet Marc Cohn brags about). Went out to a Whole Foods Market out toward Germantown I believe (this is near the Corky's we at at Mom if you are reading this...in fact, I think it is just about two blocks further in toward "Memphis"). I picked up some Kashi cookies, Tupelo Honey and some African red tea I had interestingly not when I was in Ghana (to my knowledge at least), but last time I was in Starkville. My drive back was foggy, and almost involved me getting off at a random exit between Memphis and Batesville that I hadn't intended to get off (I was following the headlights on a truck...at a safe distance mind you...and he started drifting off to the right...I realized as I JUST got into the ramp that I was exiting the highway, but it wasn't too late to recover and get back onto the highway safely). This last one is actually from the trip mom, dad and I took up to Memphis a month or so ago. This is me in Sun Studio standing in the spot Elvis cut his first song and record. The unfortunate thing is he had musical talent to speak of, I have none (but do enjoy listening to it). I apologize for the little purple strip on the left side of the picture, my camera is doing that now-a-days. It may be time to get a new one.