Hunka-Hunka Burnin' Rubber....Chicken

3 hours of drunk sleep does not bode well for getting on the road early. Thank goodness we have our resident chaperon BB (aka Jul) who was sober enough to start the drive towards Arkansas. Although BB appreciated Jihan's volunteering to take the wheel, she in fact was still drunk and promptly passed out (along with Cragin and Jen) after 10 minutes on the road. About 2 hours into the drive Jihan awoke for 7 minutes, just enough time to describe her idea for an invention....something you could put on to hydrate you while you were sleeping rather than having to drink through your mouth. She informed that the IV was invented in 1922 by a man named Jim Sorensen. Disgruntled she passed out again.

We woke up now hungover in Memphis where we stopped for some world famous BBQ at Rendezvous. Some ribs, a few pork shoulders and some beans & rice later, and we were new women. We wandered around Memphis seeing some of the highlights including live music on Beale Street and the ducks in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel (made famous by The Firm and Tom Cruise pre-scientologist freak show).

Next stop? Graceland of course described by BB as "the most white trash thing I've ever done." Elvis freaks everyone were gathered to pay homage to The King's infamous voice, shiny suits and gold records. We were there to see if Elvis's sideburns could contend with Jason's during our 4 years at Middlebury. Jason wins!

After walking through the house, our audio tour took a sentimental turn in front of a video playing Elvis's final performance. Jihan suddenly realized that Elvis died in 1977 and immediately burst into tears. Blame on the A-a-a-a-a-alcohol.

Our 2 hour ride to Little Rock took longer than expected due to a Severe Weather Warning than knocked out the power while we stood in the Graceland gift shop. FIRST TORNADO SIRENS! A little nervous, a little excited, we waited out the funnel clouds and then got on the road. A few minutes into our journey a truck passed us with a headless rubber chicken dangling from the back. Photos were taken and judgements were passed. You know you are in Arkansas when.....

We arrived in Little Rock to stay with Cragin's friend Jana who is practically a saint and made these 4 bitchy east coasters feel cynical and selfish. Maybe we should spend more time in America where people are nice.....


Rules that BB has been forced to adhere to so far:

• No singing
• No dancing
• No yodeling
• No pointing
• No cheesy jokes from the 1950's

Learnings and realizations:

• One of our male friends is like Ricky Martin.....we'll let you guess who
• There is a big problem with gangs in Little Rock...yes....Little Rock
• Bagels shouldn't be sold in the South
• There are an equal number of "Jesus Saves" and "Adult XXX Store" billboards in the Great Plains