Geez was our first day ever a long one. It started when we got out of bed at 5:15am in Massachusetts and ended when we went to bed at 1:00am the next morning in Clarksdale. During that time we:
– Flew to Birmingham
– Drove to Clarksdale
– Looked for a liquor store (read this blog post for an example of what we experienced)
– Ate dinner
– Listened to the blues at Red’s from 7:00pm until midnight
Day two was much more laid back. Having stayed up late into the wee hours, we slept in as late as possible without missing our complimentary breakfast, then drove to Dockery Farm in Cleveland. After walking around and marveling at the ingenuity of the cotton gin, we popped over to the Senator’s Place for a late lunch of southern comfort buffet. You know its going to be good if its stuffed full of locals and nary a tourist in site aside from ourselves. After stuffing ourselves we drove to the BB King Museum in Indianola and spent the rest of the afternoon learning all about him, his impact, and the world’s changing views and acceptance of the blues. We unfortunately did not leave enough time to visit the cotton mill portion of the tour. We drove back to Clarksdale thinking about where we were going to go to dinner. We like to avoid going to the same place twice, so thought we’d try out two of the other places in downtown and maybe catch the Sunday show at Red’s. It turned out that both of those places were closed on Sunday, so we went back to the main drag of town and had Mexican food. I meant to eat light after that heavy lunch, but my last minute decision to get a side order of refried beans put the cabash on that plan. Over dinner we talked about our plans for the next day, and after discovering that two of things we wanted to do in Clarksdale were closed on Mondays, we decided to change plans by leaving a day early and going to Memphis for two days instead of going to Tupelo.
Where we slept
Hampton Inn: Full sized towels, plentiful breakfast, pleasant staff, on a quiet street, well equipped gym, spacious rooms, free water bottles. Moon Pies at check in! Close to downtown and many of the blues attractions.
Were we sipped and supped
Levon’s: We would have given it 5 stars if the salad hadn’t been far too over dressed. It had good flavor, but too much of anything isn’t a good thing. We shared several small plates, all of which were great. The bartender (Greg) was super friendly and the chef brought us yummy bread he had just made. Lou was sitting next to a woman from Cali who said she visited on a regular basis. Maybe a few times a year and stays for a month or more every time. She told us where to visit the rest of the trip, but we ended up not visiting any of them because we left a day early. More on that later.
The Senator’s Place: This is what I mean by a perfect meal. Everything we put in our mouth was delicious and the waitstaff were upbeat. The only disappointment was that the cobbler ran out early. The banana pudding almost made up for it.
Atzimba: We had a huge lunch so were looking for a snack dinner. We sat at the small bar in the back room and ordered a beer for him and a beer and tequila for me. The selection was scanty and didn’t reflect what was on the menu. The salsa isn’t spicy, but it also didn’t have a ton of onions so we called it a win. The beef and chicken tacos were very good. The refried beans were pretty typical, but I ate too many for comfort.
What we did
Red’s (Big A was the musical group booked that night): What can we say about Red’s that hasn’t already been said? If you drive by while its closed you’ll think its a permanent condition. The inside is a hot mess and a little scary if you’re into sanitation, safety and tidiness. The music and the people, though … that’s why you go. Before we even walked in the door we had made several new friends, and once inside we made several more, some more sober than others. People streamed in and out all night, but it never got so crowded that we felt uncomfortable.
Dockery Farms: This was a neat place to stop and explore. There was only one other person there taking pictures. Be sure to watch the film on the monitor in the gas station window and push the audio button before exploring the grounds. The information is useful to understanding what you’re seeing. It’s amazing that all the equipment is still there to see. My husband is a mechanical engineer and was fascinated and explaining to me how it all worked. Our only disappointment was that the blues sampler audio wasn’t working. It would have added a little more to the experience.
B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center: This was a very well done and organized museum. Our only disappointment was that we spent so much time reading and watching everything in the museum that we didn’t get to go through the cotton mill before they closed. Give yourself more than two hours if you want to experience the whole thing.