Tupelo and Birmingham

Mara at the pulpit

 We had an uneventful drive to Tupelo and when we got there, we headed straight to Johnny's Drive In for lunch.  It's full of Elvis artifacts and the owners enjoy talking with the tourists.  Next, we visited the birthplace and childhood church of Elvis.  Tupelo is very proud of their native son.  His second cousin gave us a tour of the tiny church he began his singing career in.

Elvis at 13 and Mara at 14

downtown Tupelo

After our fill of Elvis, we headed south to Birmingham.  Just as I was settling into my cruise control drive, I had a problem with depth perception and context.  I saw ahead of me what appeared to be a semi truck.   It was beige and rectangular and looked like a semi some distance away.  Only when I was a few car lengths back from it, did I realize it was actually a dishwasher plopped down right in front of us.  I was able to change lanes and avert disaster just in time.  A mile or two down the road, there were two pickup trucks, one with an empty trailer, pulled over to the side of the road.  I think they were the owners of the runaway dishwasher.  I hope they were able to rescue it before someone ran into it.  

Once in birmingham, we found our 1898 B&B and were greeted by the friendly host.  After settling in, we headed out for dinner and then to the Vulcan park where there is a huge Vulcan statue at the top of a hill.  We climbed 159 steps to the top and enjoyed some lovely views of the sun setting over Birmingham.

Mara practicing her wire routine