It winds, from Chicago to L.A. Over 2 thousand miles all the way

I did not get my kicks on Route 66 this weekend, as I was not 'motoring' to the West. Rather, I was on Route 49 and Route 61 (and apparently went through the rather famous intersection of the two). Route 49 traversed me across Eastern Arkansas and Old Man River (i.e. the Mississippi River) into Mississippi and to US-61. Route 61 took me down through Mississippi Delta country--the birthplace of Blues music--and to Cleveland, MS where the wedding I was headed to occurred. Oh, and I did get to the church on time [from yesterday's post], just not without working batteries in my camera (so, alas, no pictures of the ceremony nor reception).

So a timeline of yesterday:

Saturday 2/28.
6 a.m. (Eastern) : My flight departs Fort Lauderdale and I proceed to sleep all the way to Memphis.

7:50 a.m. (Central): Arrive Memphis airport. Grab some breakfast, and proceed to watch an episode of Torchwood (Season 2) in the hour before my flight boards.

9:30 a.m.: Board flight to Little Rock. Schedule departure time: 10:00 a.m.

10:50 a.m.: Flight actually leaves for Little Rock (50 minutes late), following a paperwork delay that kept us from departing (and also had me bemoaning the fact that I hadn't gotten my laptop out to watch a second episode of Torchwood...).

11:20 a.m.: Arrive Little Rock, only 20 minutes late (apparently there was a lot of "buffer" time for the flight--scheduled to take 53 minutes, with a flight time of 29 minutes).

11:40 a.m.: Given a bright yellow Chevy Cobalt coupe [pictured at right] from the rental car people, and get on the road for my projected 3-hour drive to Cleveland.

Noon: Get on to Interstate 40 and start heading back toward Memphis. (4 hours until the wedding)


1 p.m.: Leave I-40 for Route 49 at Brinkley, AR. In town, see a Magnolia tree in full bloom in a house yard off on the side of the road. Note to try to snap a picture of it on the way back (today) when I have time. Unfortunately, due to either overnight snow/cold or the time of day, the buds are closed and less of a spectacle than the day before (but I still grabbed the shot anyways). (3 hours until the wedding)

1:30 p.m.: Pass through Marvell, AR, and have a surprisingly strong cell signal which continues the rest of way. Made further strange by the lack of cell signal I had while on the "big" road (I-40). Ponder whether I'll really be in Cleveland by 3 in order to make the 4 p.m. wedding.

2:00 p.m.: An obnoxious bright yellow arc is formed, as the Cobalt and I traverse The River, entering the State of Mississippi. Approximately 60 miles to Cleveland. (2 hours until the wedding)

2:20(ish) p.m.: Pass a sign reading "Alligator Right Lane" (sister of the one pictured above), and think it strange that there's a sign to let people know there's an animal in the right lane.... (Alligator, MS is a town in the Delta region.)

3:01 p.m.: Arrive Cleveland, MS! Check into Econolodge. (1 hour until the wedding)

3:15 p.m.: Emerge from shower and start to get dress for the wedding. Bummed (slightly) that no iron is present in room, but given the time remaining figure I don't really have time to iron my clothes (which aren't really wrinkled) let alone wait whilst one is brought to my room.

3:30 p.m.: Leave hotel for church. Follow most-excellent directions provided by the bride, and go straight to the church (passing Delta State University in the process, and not inadvertantly driving to the wrong church which neighbors where I'm supposed to head). (3o minutes until the wedding)

3:45 p.m.: Arrive at church, say hello to mother-of-the-bride and get introduced to the bride's father. Sit down in the chapel, and begin to see if I can find anyone I know. A few minutes later, "Mama" finds me and escorts me to see the bride (at the bride's request--she looks great).

4:00 p.m.: Wedding starts, exactly on time. Church is completely full, including people standing in the back. The wedding includes my discovery that the batteries in my camera are dead (I bought a replacement pair this morning before leaving town), and an Irish (Catholic) Priest, who says "y'all" at one point during the ceremony. (Yes, that's right: an Irish Catholic priest, saying a colloquial "y'all" in his Irish-accented English).

4:50 p.m. (or so): Ceremony ends. A mad-dash/drive to the nearby Cleveland Country Club ensues as people move on to the reception.

5:20 p.m.: First dance happens, with the band's volume equaled by the din created by 200+ people chatting all around. It is right around this point that I realize I know 2 people there: the bride and her mom (and possibly 1 other person).

5:40 p.m. (or so): Cakes (wedding and groom's) have been cut (and notice Vanessa--this is way, way, way, way, way before midnight ;-). Enjoying myself and viewing the Southern spectacle going on around me. Southern hospitality shines as some "swimming" people come up and introduce themselves to me: I begin to suspect the bride's family has asked them to come say hello so that I might be able to talk to some folks (though I am having a good time just "observing", and don't mind just hanging out and watching).

7:00 p.m.: I head out from the reception, and back to the hotel to prep for today's return (but not before the bride and her sorority sisters have done some sorority chant thing on the dancefloor). Reception continues until 9 p.m. I leave wake-up call for 9 a.m.



As for this morning, I ended up waking up and getting on the road early (and, regretfully missing a brunch with the newlyweds later in the morning). But it was a good thing I did get on the road early, as there was a light snow overnight (maybe an inch) and it also gave me time to grab some photos on the way (like the one at right of one of the bright green fields I passed on the way back).

The drive back went smoothly and was quite nice. The only troublesome thing that occurred happened on the back third of the drive, on I-40, when accumulated snow kept falling off of semi-trucks and into the road in front of me.

I ended up arriving at the airport around 12:40 p.m., way early for my 4:30 flight. But then I had time to write this, another post from an airport (as well as grab some lunch). And now my flight has been delayed to 6 p.m... hopefully, I'll make my connection back to Fort Lauderdale.


If you, ever plan to motor West
Travel my way, take the highway that's the best
Get your kicks, on Route 66