Day 35 -- Thursday, June 4

I woke up this A.M. and headed east on Hwy. 82, planning to take in some of the Delta's historic blues sites. My first stop was Indianola, B.B. King's hometown. There's a street there that's named for him and, unlike many folks who've hit the big time, B.B. hasn't forgotten his roots. Every June, he returns to Indianola to play a concert for the locals, and I hoped I'd get lucky enough to see it.

As it turns out, I was lucky indeed. The concert was scheduled for Friday night, so I decided to scratch the Delta tour for a couple of days and head for Tupelo. As you must know, it's where Elvis was born.

I arrived late in the afternoon, stopped by the Visitor's Center to pick up a map and began to search for lodgings. All the motels were out of my price range, so it was a choice between a state park and the Elvis Presley Memorial Lake and Campground. Now, which do you think I chose?

The campground was nice enough, not too crowded and the price was right. I thought it an odd way, though, to pay tribute to the King. I mean, I can't really picture Elvis doing much camping.

I wanted to wait until the next day to sightsee, so I decided to take in a movie. Before that, though, I had dinner at a cool little drive-in called Johnnie's. It's got your usual drive-in faves, plus pit BBQ. It's been in operation since the mid-'40s and - wait a minute! If it's been there since the mid-'40s, then Elvis might have eaten there at some point. I might have eaten at the same place where the King of Rock 'n' Roll dined in his youth! Ohmigosh! I'm can't believe it!


Continue on the American Odyssey.
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