Dallas, Little Rock, Nashville, Roanoke

After heading out from Austin, I made it to Dallas, where my grad school friend Vernesha lives. She took me out to a place that had BBQ and fried pies. They do things right and proper in Texas. No mistake about that.

After enjoying the hospitality of Dallas, I struck east to Little Rock, Arkansas, home of the Clinton Presidential Library. The most impressive thing about the structure is the outside. The inside is sparse, filled with reproductions, and an astonishingly low amount of displays and content for a purported eight years of presidential office. Little Rock itself, though, was a friendly town. When I'm asked, usually by no one, which state out of all the ones I've been in is the friendliest, I can honestly say that Arkansas wins that title. Everyone wants to talk to you here, and they're all pretty chipper.

After a night with my journalist friend Kelly (she took me out to a terrific dive), I hiked up Pinnacle Mountain, which is honestly one of the most difficult hikes I've ever tried. Oh, I made it to the top, but it was less a path and more a two-hour scramble over jagged rocks, ledges, and children. I think it's the best workout I've ever had while hiking. The way down wasn't much easier.

From Little Rock, it was off to Tennessee. I stopped in Memphis to see Graceland. It was $10 to park, and an additional $32 to visit the mansion itself. I like the man's music, but I don't worship him, so I stopped at parking and walking around the gift shops, museums, and Elvis-loving tourists. And there were many of them.

Nashville was a party. A downtown filled with rowdy bars, each one blasting live country music. It was great. Then, it was off to the Grand Ole Opry for a performance by a bunch of country starts I didn't recognize and Riders in the Sky, who I did. They had a CBS series in the 1990s. It was very entertaining, and the tickets were inexpensive, likely due to the sheer number of commercials that they had between the performance sets. As the Grand Ole Opry is a live radio show, the commercials are broadcast to the sitting audience as well as the listening one at home. It was a barnburner, to be sure. Great performances all around, and the seat I had was pretty good. I'd definitely go again, y'all.

After camping just outside of Nashville, it was off to Roanoke and dear old Hollins University. I'm seeing lots of friends, having a wonderful time, and writing. And that's really the very best thing of all.