From Mississippi to Tennessee

We left Natchez this morning and set off for Senatobia, MS. KJ's great aunt is buried there, along with a lot of other Latvians. It was quite nice to be able to visit. Bethesda Cemetery in Senatobia has a large number of Latvians interred, and actually makes note of it. 

The Latvian corner has a nice stone describing the lives of the Latvians that came to Mississippi. And the main description of the cemetery also makes note of the Latvians there. It's a very peaceful cemetery, and should be visited if you're ever in the area. 

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Only 45 minutes away, we were excited to get to Memphis. Tons of Memorial Day traffic led to a bit of frustration, but we made it in one piece! Our hotel is a bit far from major attractions (15/20min), but we'll survive. At least it's quiet! Haha.


We had dinner at Blues City Cafe on Beale Street. And while it's been nationally acclaimed on Travel Channel and magazines, we found the food to be just okay. We then headed down Beale Street that had been overrun by their annual Zombie Walk. All ages were participating, and it was quite a spectacle. 

We were expecting a old school Beale Street- record stores, blues clubs, restaurants. However, we found a forced cross between Bourbon Street and Wrigleyville in Chicago. We liked the bands playing and the people enjoying a beer having a listen. And we even enjoyed the parents that split a bucket of booze between 6 of them. 

Everything else was a bit obnoxious and fake. You can drink in the street (as in NOLA), but you can only go three blocks on Beale Street with it, and your ID gets checked and bag gets searched at the police gates.


If it sounds like we're complaining, well, maybe we are. But we expected a bit more from the "Home of the Blues". Perhaps tomorrow will show us another side of Memphis? We're hitting Sun Studio, the Gibson factory, and Graceland. Wish us luck!