18 August 2017
Houston, Texas to Memphis, Tennessee to Paducah, Kentucky

My flight left Houston about the time it was supposed to land in Memphis, so our afternoon plans got messed up before I even arrived, but no worries – we adapted.  After Kim picked me up, we drove out to her house to get her bags and load the car, then we stopped for a quick bite of sushi at a cool restaurant in a newly renovated old home in Midtown.  From there, we went to the High Cotton Brewing Company for a work party for Kim.  It was fun to meet her co-workers, and the brewery was in a fantastic space.  The food looked great, and we managed to not sample anything (but the beer, of course!).  After the party, we took off for Paducah, knowing that my friends Judy and Jenny, who were joining us for the eclipse weekend, would get there before us.

Once we made it out of Memphis, it was smooth sailing to get to Paducah – no eclipse traffic jams yet.  We heard from J & J that they had checked in to our hotel and we sent them to the Mellow Mushroom in the old Coca Cola Bottling Plant.  And yes, we know it’s a chain, but I haven’t ever seen another M M in our beautiful Art Deco Coke building!  It’s a spectacular building – read all about it and follow it on Facebook!  Best of all (and the pizza was scrumptious) was that the neon on the dome was shining again!  We got checked in by about 11 PM or so, and of course we all stayed up talking too late!  It’s good to be home!

Saturday, 19 August 2017
Paducah

Kim and I got up and went for a walk – tomorrow we must get an earlier start – it was already really hot by the time we went out.  We each had lunch plans with former classmates – Kim and her friends met at JP’s downtown, and my friends and I were planning to go to Flamingo Row, but it was packed!  We opted for Jasmine instead, and after a delicious meal, we all traipsed to Roof Liquors in search of Kentucky bourbon and anything else we might find.   At this point, everyone went their separate ways, and I took Judy and Jenny the nickel tour of Paducah.  After showing them our old house and neighborhood, schools, and church, we drove downtown to see the goings-on down there.  We checked out the floodwall murals, walked along the riverfront, and then met Kim.  It was blazing hot, with no shade on our side of the floodwall, so we were ready for a respite from the sun and some cold ice cream.  Never having heard of ‘rolled ice cream’ until lunch today, we opted to try Curls & Cream downtown.  Good call!

After getting rejuvenated, we did some window shopping and real shopping, then we went to the 1857 in hopes of having a drink.  Sadly, it was closed for a private party, so we went to Tribeca instead.  From there, we took in the art exhibit at the Yeiser Art Center in the old Market House, and then we met Judy W at the Freight House for dinner.  It was PACKED, and there was a very long wait for our food, but it was worth it!  It was after 10 before we made our way back to the hotel.  Long day, and a fun one!

HERE are some photos.