Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit! (courtesy of Paula Deen)

On the recommendation of the Cajuns, we had to visit the “casina” (casino, for those of us non-Cajuns), lose a bit of money in the slots (I had to play Super Jackpot Party),

and, although we hate buffets- we had to try the Paula Deen Buffet at Harrah’s. $19.95 for all you can eat was probably a bargain for most of our fellow diners who went back for multiple heaping plates of B-Bqued meat, smoked meat and hoe cakes. The servers wore shirts proudly claiming, “Our hoes are free”. And, of course, there was the full array of “Southern vegetables” - cabbage, boiled okra, yams, mashed potatoes, squash, purple hull peas, butter beans, northern beans, lima beans, green beans, coleslaw, corn, sweet peas, black-eyed peas, greens, and two of the favorite soul food "vegetable," macaroni and cheese. Yes, in the south, mac and cheese is a vegetable. What’s not to love? And the desserts—gooey butter cake- check out the recipe- only 2 sticks of butter and a box of powdered sugar!

Gooey Butter Cakes.
· Cake
· 1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
· 1 egg
· 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
· Filling
· 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
· 2 eggs
· 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
· 1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar
· 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside.
3. Still using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth; add eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce speed of mixer and slowly pour in butter. Mix well.
4. Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point!
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. Just remember that these wonderful little cakes are very, very rich, and a little will go a long way-even for piggies like me!

Cajuns and the Blue and White Donut Tower

John and Brenda left Katie- still in the hospital, but due out on Monday—and they joined us in Tunica for the evening. We heard their tales of the tornado—amazing!

In the morning, we took them to the Blue and White in Tunica. Our waitress- Deborah Kaye- was a real charmer. By the time we left, we knew everyone in the restaurant.

Their local legend, 89 year old Ralph Sharp ,the first crop-duster in Tunica County, posed for us by his photo from the 1949 National Geographic.

Ralph Sharp ,the first crop-duster in Tunica County

Brenda interviewed the 84 year old retired mayor to get the scoop on the casino’s impact on Tunica.

Brenda interviewing the Mayor

John, Brenda, Deborah Kay-our waitress and the Blue and White Donut Tower

After a hearty Blue and White breakfast of 2 eggs, hash browns (or grits), bacon (or sausage), biscuits (or toast), we decided that we had to try the infamous “Blue and White Donut Tower”—two caramelized donuts filled with whipped cream then topped with ice cream and chocolate syrup”.

If that wasn’t enough, the chef, Ike, brought out a sampler of her famous creole sauce. Time for a nap!

Clarksdale – Home of the Delta Blues

“You can’t spend what you ain’t got and you can’t lose what you never had”…..Muddy Waters

Finally- our trip to the home of the Delta Blues, Clarksdale, Mississippi. Muddy Waters lived and worked here, John Lee Hooker was born just outside Clarksdale and Ike Turner and Sam Cooke were born and raised there.

At the intersection of Highway 61 and 49, the “Crossroads are marked with a monument to the place where Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil.
"I went to the crossroad Fell down on my knees I went to the crossroad Fell down on my knees Asked the Lord above "Have mercy now, Save poor Bob, if you please"
"Crossroad Blues" - ROBERT JOHNSON

The Sidewalk Scene in the "New World District" - Uncle Jessie's Little Greedy Pig Soul Food!
The Riverside Hotel, originally the GT Thomas Afro-American Hospital where singer Bessie Smith died, opened as a hotel in 1944 and was home to most of the blues musicians traveling to Clarksdale.

The Riverside Hotel

The town still has its share of juke joints. (The term supposedly came from a West African word that survived in the Gullah language spoken by some southern blacks. The word “juke” means wicked and disorderly.” When records became the rage, the term ‘jukebox’ was coined).

"Red's" - juke joint - Out front- a Pig Griller and a Toilet

"Red Top Lounge" Juke Joint
Morgan Freeman has made his mark in town with his own pseudo-juke joint, Ground Zero.
"Ground Zero"

Outside of town, on the Stovall Plantation, was the site of Muddy Water’s home (shack).

Several years ago, the folks from the Hard Rock bought the building and moved it to the Blues Museum in town.
An amazing place, a few miles south, is the Shack Up Inn , located at the Hobson Plantation.

Hopson Plantation- The Commissary

The owner of the Hopson Plantation turned his farm buildings into a commissary where you can get a cold brew and listen to the blues (and spend hours looking at his collection of everything from a complete barbershop and an old post office to old farm machinery). The country’s first cotton crop produced entirely by machine (from planting to bailing) was grown and harvested in 1944 here---Hence, the "Cotton Pickin Blues"

Inside the Commissary- The Bar (above) and the Back Porch (below)

"Ceiling Art"
At the Shack Up Inn next door, you can stay in sharecropper shotgun shacks. Their tag line-- Mississippi's Oldest B & B est. 1998(Bed & Beer)

Check out their photo gallery at: http://www.shackupinn.com/pictures.html

The Shack-Up Inn

TORNADO!!!

Our Cajun friends were heading up to spend the night with us at the "casina" (as they call it--you might know it better as the "casino") in Tunica, MS. They, unfortunately, were driving on 1-55 (about 140 miles south of us) just as the Yazoo City tornado crossed the highway. Our good friends, John and Brenda, only saw the tornado in their rear view mirror--but the other two motorhomes had stopped on the road, and when the tornado came through it tossed one of the coaches on its side--and Katie and Huey's motorhome and tow car were literally lifted in the air- over another car- and thrown into the woods.

Huey and Katie's motorhome

Both motorhome and car were totalled. Amazingly, they were able to crawl out of a window. Katie's seatbelt saved her life--but the pressure from being held in upside down caused a contusion and possibly a hematoma. The other couple wasn't so lucky- she was just coming back to her seat and when the coach was tossed over, she was thrown around the coach and suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung. She's in ICU -but expected to be fine.

Virginia and Anthony's motorhome--tossed on its' side

The news report:

Update: A large,powerful, long-tracking tornado struck Yazoo City, Mississippi just after 12 noon CT on Saturday.Storm spotters and chasers were tracking this "wedge" tornado for about an hour before it tore through Yazoo.The tornado was anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 of mile in diameter.There is significant damage in Yazoo with multiple structures destroyed.

Cotton Fields, Blues and Casinos

We talked about visiting the Delta Blues Highway for years and finally made it. Driving to Robinsonville and the Harrah’s RV Park, we passed through miles of hot, flat land. The cotton fields go on for miles and seem to reach to the edges of the casinos borders. The “Delta” of the Mississippi River is rich agricultural land—the topsoil averages 132 feet deep—in some places as deep as 350 feet. But, you can understand why the field workers learned to sing the “blues”….back-breaking work in achingly hot weather- with not a speck of shade in sight.

Note that the Horseshoes are upside down....all the luck is draining out!

The area was one of the poorest in the country—until the casinos moved in. They call themselves the “Casino Capital of the South” and claim to be the third largest gaming area in the country. It wasn’t what we expected—thinking “Las Vegas Strip”---instead we found tired looking hotels and casinos spread so far out that it was miles between them. Robinsonville is a town of 4 traffic lights on Highway 61. At each of the lights, you turn off and drive for miles alongside cotton fields to reach a group of casinos.
We took a day to drive south to try to find something of the Delta Blues music scene. In Tunica, about 10 miles south, we stopped at the Blue and White—a local tourist draw – serving typical Southern country cooking—grits, turnip greens and country ham.

We found a flier for the Wild Hog Music Fest and Motorcycle Rally in Helena, Arkansas and we were on our way to Arkansas. Driving through Lula, Mississippi- one of the poorest towns we’ve ever seen— a street of boarded up buildings.

"Downtown Lula"

We crossed the Mississippi River bridge into Arkansas and found ourselves in Helena. Highway 49 heading into town was filled with more closed down businesses and AME Baptist Churches.

Downtown Helena, Arkansas (Note the Buster Brown Shoe sign)

In its’ earlier days, Helena was a hub for dockworkers (and a major port of call for blues singers, bootleggers, gamblers and prostitutes).

Its’ real claim to fame came with the local radio station, KFFA 1630 on your dial, and the radio program called “King Biscuit Time”- the longest running daily blues radio show in the U.S. . Sonny Boy Williamson II hosted the show-sponsored by King Biscuit Flour –“Pass the Biscuits-It’s King Biscuit Time” –“King Biscuit- White….Dainty….Light”.

(Look beyond the truck to see the "King Biscuit Trailer")

Today, “Sunshine” Sonny Payne hosts the daily radio show.

The King Biscuit Hour Studio

You can tell that the town was once a prosperous place- with an active downtown, right on the Mississippi. Today, most of the buildings are empty with faded hand-painted signs – but the motorcycle rally had the town buzzing.

After a un-inspiring lunch at the “Road Kill Grill” (the Cajun Steak sandwich should be avoided at all costs—bad beef with cheese whiz on bad bread…)---the "Road Kill Grill" really does serve "road kill".

The Crawfish Rally

Things were pretty quiet for the first hour of our drive on Saturday morning. We kept waiting for another strange noise....but, everything was fine..and we made it to the Rally (just in time for the Bloody Mary party!). It was great to see everyone--and they loved hearing our tale.
We had a great time at the Rally--crawfish was great. We sat by Cheryl and she, once again, showed us the art of 'sucking heads'. She is such a trip---SO funny!! We asked if "size matters"--just in case you're wondering--it doesn't....

We left Rayne on Sunday and got to John and Brenda's that afternoon. Last night we had dinner at the new "Cajun-Mex" restaurant in town. Cajun/Mex was a new concept for us--the food and margaritas were good and the company great.

Today, we joined E.J. and Sharon at a restaurant here in Napoleonville that used to be the site of E.J.'s dad's drug store.

It looks like an old 50’s soda shop…adorable.

Stranded!

On the road from Mobile to Louisiana for the Cajun Rally in Rayne, LA. We drove about 1 1/2 hours and were on 1-10 when John said, "Something sounds funny"....I insisted that it was the pavement--and we drove on. But, John, fortunately, wasn't buying the pavement story. So, when we saw the Rest area sign, we pulled off. It was just before the Louisiana border and had a lovely information center, set in a forest of pine trees.

When we got out, it was obvious that we had a problem. The rear end of the motorhome had no air--so the coach was almost sitting on the tires. John immediately knew what the problem was--it had happened once before --three years ago. The bolt on the Ride Height assembly sheered off--so we lost air pressure in the tag axle. But we had hope! In his infinite wisdom, John had gotten a spare bolt after our last failure. So, we pulled out some old clothes--since he had to crawl under the motorhome --and he was able to replace the bolt. We felt so great--until we turned the key and the coach didn't air up! Turns out that when the bolt failed, the coach dropped on the air bags, puncturing them and damaging the valve assembly! We were stuck--with no air pressure on the rear, we couldn't continue to drive. So, we called our Roadside Assistance company. They took our info and told us that they'd have someone come out to tow us. Well--turns out that with no air pressure in the rear-we couldn't get a standard wrecker. By this time, we were working with one of the Roadside Assistance supervisors--who spent hours trying to find a tow company anywhere in Louisiana or Mississippi with the proper equipment (they needed something called a landau or a low-boy) and the willingness to tow us. Well, even though they could find companies with the equipment, not one of them was willing to take on the risk of towing us with no air pressure.

So, there we were--stuck in the rest area with an un-driveable, un-towable house on wheels. John got ahold of the chassis manufacturer and they searched for a local mobile mechanic. At last, they found a local truck repair place and dispatched two mechanics. They came out late in the afternoon, quickly diagnosed the problem and started to make phone calls...hours later, they told us that they hadn't been able to find the parts....but would start again the next day. It was 5PM, the Roadside Assist people had come up with no towing options and we were at the mercy of these two guys that looked like they came out of the movie "Deliverance". We were able to pull over to the back of the rest area where they actually had motorhome pull-offs. No hook-ups, but we had our generator and a quiet place to spend the night. They had picnic tables and the setting was quite lovely. We decided to make the best of it and had happy hour!

The next morning, "Daryl and Daryl" showed up and pulled off the old parts....and went on an all day search for replacements...at $170/hour!!!!! They didn't reappear until about 3PM....we had set our drop-dead departure time as 4:30--with a 3 hour drive ahead of us to get to Rayne, we didn't want to arrive in the dark. Well,,,,the time dragged by...and we kept hearing awful sounds...hammering under the motorhome (the parts didn't fit exactly--something about the connections....so they were hammering on the air bag to get it into place!...not exactly confidence building). They didn't finish until 6PM--and at that point, the only thing we wanted to do was drink copious amounts of wine. The coach appeared to be airing up and we decided that we'd take off the next morning--and try to catch the last day of the rally.