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"I'm very sorry, but I've smashed the kitchen window.....will this show up on my bill???"
We appeal to the good hearts of the First Congregational Church in Memphis.
DALLAS
We arrived in Texas knowing that affordable accomodation was going to be much harder to come by, this is not a part of the USA usually frequented by backpackers, just how difficult was yet to be realised. Our chosen hostel in Dallas, the only hostel in Dallas was not, as it turned out, in Dallas at all and also it appeared not to actually be a hostel, but a private house owned by a hairy man of Eastern European origins. We were duly invited to move in and stay as long as we liked, but the cockroach sightings in the kitchen and the skin like substance in the bathroom sink, confirmed our 2 night stay would be long enough. Believe us, we've stayed in some dumps over the last 11 months, but this place has to rank in the top five.
We quickly got to grips with the public transport needed to commute the 10 miles downtown and headed straight for the infamous Dealey Plaza, scene of the assasination of JFK. What confronted us was exactly the same as all the photographs and film clips you see from the time, nothing has changed or been modernised and the ominous looking 'Texas Schoolbook Depositry' looming behind the grassy knoll still has the 6th floor window, where the alleged shots were fired, slightly opened as it would have been on that fateful afternoon. The building itself is home to the '6th floor museum' which documents the life and eventual death of President Kennedy, culminating in a reconstructed scene at the very window, giving an eery snipers-eye view of the imaginary motor-cade below.
Downtown Dallas doesn't have much else to offer the tourist, but the neighboring town of Fort Worth is a cowboy lovers dream complete with cattle drives, stetsons and mounted sheriffs. We 'hauled our cotton pickin asses' to the famous Stockyards district to see some bull riding, lassooing and to see if real people use the words 'howdy' and 'yee-ha'. Everything at the Stockyards is BIG. Big cows, big cars, big horses, big hats, big boots, big flags, big bars and big bbq's, but most importantly for us, big beers and big steaks! Naturally we indulged in both of the latter quite literally until the cows came home. To top this, not only were bars ringing with the sound of howdy and yee-ha, but Dan has actually been seen using the word 'howdy' in public on several ocasions since.
HOUSTON
We emerged from the Greyhound bus station in downtown Houston to find more than the usual selection of beggars and street folk. Begging in America was proving to be as common place as it was in India - quite disturbing for the richest and most powerful nation the world has ever seen. Our hostel this time, again the only one in the city, could not even afford us a room together. Mixed dorms were banned forcing us to split the toiletries as best we could and go it alone. Not so bad for LJ in a room of flowers and perfume and an apothecary of all manner of sweet smelling beauty products, as for poor Dan, a cage in a zoo would have offered more comfort - the growling bear in the bunk below him saw to that! The establishment was run in the style of an 1980's english seaside guest house, we had to be out of our rooms by 10am and couldn't return until 5pm. For what purpose we're not sure, but it certainly wasn't to clean. Again 2 nights was ample. As it turned out, the city of Houston didn't have much going for it either, the exception being the excellent NASA Johnson space center whch easliy filled our one full day in town. The center itself, although mainly geared to kids was an incredible and informative insight into the past, present and future of space exploration and fully worth a visit. It's a strange feeling, after seeing all of the science fiction like technology and forward thinking developments of NASA to go back to the reality of downtown Houston 10 miles away, which appears not to have developed at all and be met with the words, "excuse me sir, can you spare me a dollar??"
AUSTIN
A place overlooked when you think of Texas is in fact the state capital - Austin, by far the best place we visited in the state. Again, the only hostel 'in town' was a 10 minute bus ride 'out of town' and again mixed dorms were banned and the showers were cubicle free and communal. Texas was becoming a little bit like boarding school!
Live music is what makes this place tick and teh city centre literally has hundreds of venues, the only difficult thing is choosing the best one in which to spend the evening. The hot, sweaty and cheap 'Emo's' was perfect. The bands were great, the beer was good and the crowd was jumping. Austin was a welcome restbite from the tired cities of Dallas and Houston. The whole city is a slave to music, the shops, restaurants and bars all have a musical theme. The centre is busy all night long with revellers and the streets full of buskers working for tips and the chance to be booked to appear in one of the live venues. For the first time in Texas, it seemed a city was not just a place where people went to work, but was where people went to live. It was great.
Our visit also coincided with the release of the new Tarantino/Rodriguez double feature film - Grindhouse, heavily promoted in Austin as the majority of the film was set in the city. We booked our tickets and headed to the 'Alamo Drafthouse' cinema downtown. There is a saying "only in America" and our trip to the movies in Austin is aptly described by it. The whole experience was unforgettable - instead of the usual rows of seats facing a blank screen as is normal before a film back home we were led to an auditorium complete with tables, drinks, pizzas, snacks and beer, all served to us swiftly and unnoticed by the ninja like black clad waitress, against a back drop of old movie clips and retro advertisements on the screen ahead. We couldn't believe our eyes, a trip to the cinema will never be the same again. On top of all this, the film itself actually features the very same cinema in which we were sitting, which drew huge cheers from the crowd, something else synonomous with American movie goers - the endless whoops and cheers as if watching an actual live performance. yee-ha!
We really didn't want to leave Austin, but knew that we had to in order to get the most out of our time in the south. We had a long Greyhound journey ahead of us - we were leaving the city and the state and heading for Tennessee.
MEMPHIS
An air of doubt surrounded our arrival in Memphis due to the fact that the only hostel style accomodation in the city was 'Pilgrim House' based inside the First Congregational Church. As our only option, we booked in and hoped for the best. What a pleasant surprise, the place was clean, friendly , comfortable and above all the cheapest room we'd found so far in the states. The only catch was the requirement of participation in daily chores in addition to our rent. Nots ones to shy away from a little work, we equipped ourselves with dusters and polish and set to the selected jobs in hand. Dan, a boy raised by the cleaning champion of the world -Margaret Raw and sibling to world cleaning runner up - Carolyn Raw, set to his task of 'clean kitchen windows' a little too vigorously. On the first spray of windowlene he put his hand clean through the pane, in essence destroying God's property - oops. His task was swiftly changed forthwith to 'gently stroke kitchen windows' to avoid further vandalism.
As with Dealey Plaza in Dallas, the Lorraine Motel, home of the civil rights museum and scene of the assasination of Martin Luther King in 1968, is unchanged from the day of his shooting. The museum itself covers the shameful history of the American civil rights movement right back from President Lincoln all the way through to its crescendo of violence and eventual social change in the 50's and 60's. It's amazing to believe that relatively recently in this nation of immigrants, people were not allowed to sit on a bus, eat in a diner, drink in a bar or go to the movies just because of the colour of their skin. The collection ends at the reconstruction of Martin Luther Kings motel room and the view of his balcony where he was slain.
Just a few blocks from here takes you to Beale Street and a moment of clarity as the lyrics to the song 'Walking in Memphis' finally make sense. Beale Street is the spiritual home of blues music and black culture in AMerica and an effort has been made to preserve the vibe as it must have been in its 50's heyday. Everywhere you walk there is the sound of the blues and the smell of soul food cooking. A great experience drinking in the bars, listening to the live music and enjoying the atmosphere. If anybody were to ask us "tell me are you a Christian child?", we'd have said "man I am tonight!!!!"
From the city's favourite street, to the city's favourite son. No visit to Memphis is complete without a hearty dose of Elvis and a trip to the great mans home - Graceland. Upon arrival it is clear that the Graceland day tour means far more to some than it does to others - we were there to have fun, but it seemed others were there for spiritual enlightenment and perhaps a glimpse of the big man himself. The house is surprisingly modest in size, but great fun to look around. Again, the mansion has been persented to look as it did when Elvis still lived there before his death in 1977 and it's not too difficult to imagine hm sat there in his TV room or in the now legendary 'Jungle Room', taking care of business. Also included in the tour are the corridors lined solid with his platinum and gold discs and another room addorned with tens of his famous rhinestone jumpsuits, all very kitsch, but what else would you expect from The King. When you get outside and visit his grave it is clear how much of an effect this man had, and still has, on the world. We must never forget that he invented rock n roll as we know it and for this we all owe him a debt of some kind.
NASHVILLE
Just as Memphis is the home of blues, Nashville is the home of country and is in fact known as Music City USA. First stop - The Country Music Hall of Fame, a huge monument and shrine to all things country. The museum follows a timeline of the history and origins of the country music genre and how it has developed over the years with the advancement of instruments and technology. It covers the cross over styles of Rock n Roll and how most music styles have evolved from similar origins. It focuses on key individuals who, over the years have had the most impact on the country music scene and above all showcases famous costumes and artifacts from the said people, as well as the Hall of Fame itself where plaques of the elite, lucky enough to be elected, are on display. Included in the ticket is a trip to the legendary RCA Studio B, the most famous and successful studio in the country for 30 years until the late 70's. Elvis recorded 70% of his entire catalogue in the room which was the work place of the likes of Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Jim Reeves and the Everley Brothers. It's certainly true that America leads the world in the history of popular music and with these kind of establishments it's easy to see why.
On Broadway downtown, the endless rows of 'Honky Tonks' showcase live bands all day and all night, every day of the week and it's great to bar hop up and down the street, taking in the sounds. Many famous names from the history of country music were spotted here over the years and still today, it's a platform for the discovery of the next Johnny Cash.
Our trip around the south has really been made memorable by the 3 music cities of Austin, Memphis and Nashville. All very different in terms of music styles, but all feel good cities and a lot of fun to be in and around. It has felt a lot like a holiday in somes ways for us to be able to visit the array of bars and venues and take in the buzz of the different live music scenes. A definite highlight of our trip so far and as we always seem to say, places we'd love to return to one day. Visiting the south has shown us the vast differences between life here and over on the west coast and in fact the vast differences just from state to state. Our last few weeks will be different again as we tour the big cities of the east, but first a Greyhound north to the Great Lakes region and Chicago, Illinois.
However you look at it - you can't help but love being in the states.
Will update again soon.
All our love, us xxxxx
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