Day 36, Mar 2, Driving to Memphis

 Twas a lovely day to be with my sweetheart.  A bit of a sleep in, a lazy morning, a 4-hr drive in brilliant sunshine from Birmingham AL to Memphis TN, and yet another evening in the driveway of a generous Harvest Host in his bucolic country home setting.  Memphis sits on the western edge of Tennessee and shares a border with Arkansas and Mississippi; our host lives south of Memphis in Byhalia MS.  A dinner of Costco Rotisserie Chicken with honey dijon mustard served alongside a Napa cabbage/romaine lettuce bed topped with almonds, avocado, and cherry tomatoes.  Yum. But the very best time of our day, at least according to Aaron, was the 2 hours we spent inside the incredibly massive pyramid which used to serve as the University of Memphis athletic center but is now the world's largest Bass Pro Shop.  The place was unreal, a vacation destination in itself.  In the middle stands a 28-story free-standing glass elevator which takes one to the glass-bottomed lookout over the city and the mighty Mississippi River far below.  The ground level is themed around a cypress-tree bayou complete with ponds and streams full of live native fish, an alligator enclosure, several massive aquariums, and enough taxidermied wild animals (including two dozen wild boar) to fill several Cabela's.  There was an underwater-themed bowling alley, a Mississippi riverboat-themed shooting range, The Ducks Unlimited Waterfowling Heritage Center & Museum, an archery range, a pistol range, several restaurants, and even a Beretta Fine Gun Center.  Not to be missed is the sportsman-themed hotel on the second and third levels with patios overlooking the cypress trees and bayou.  Aaron was in sheer ecstacy, has forgiven me everything, and tells me his life is now complete.  

Three amazing things: 1- The Bass Pro Shop Pyramid in Memphis TN.  2- The indomitable Mississippi River. 3- Returning to the world's most comfortable mattress inside our very own wee Bambi.  Ah, it is delicious to sleep on and was sorely missed for 9 nights.

Good deed:  I was rather enamored with the lovely woman who hosted us in her Birmingham driveway.  I'm baffled by the extreme goodness of some people.  In addition to keeping 3 dogs (which hilariously howled when the 10am tornado siren drill ensued, bringing sympathy howls from numerous neighboring dogs) and feeding trees-full of bird, this sweetheart also feeds 4 feral cats from off her porch and has neutered 3 of them at her own expense.  This soft and generous woman also puts out enough food for the coons and even an opossum who visit nightly.  Single for 17 years, she confessed she's back on the dating scene because her heart is just too big and needs to be shared.  She didn't actually say this aloud; that part is my assessment.  How huge are the hearts of some people.  I gave her a special treat of my last bottle of Martinelli's and a whole sack of precious Lemoncello chocolate almonds.  As well, I prayed the Lord to lead her to a very kind man.