I had great time in Houston, visiting with Kristen and family, highlighted by taking Grayson & Caroline for rides around the block.

Everyone else in the house had to get up early on Friday for school or work, but they let me sleep in.  When I got downstairs, my things all packed up and ready to go, I found this touching farewell.

My next destination was Nashville, which would be a 2 day ride.  I’ve never ridden thru this part of the country and this would be my first visit to Arkansas.

Approaching Arkansas, weather radar showed scattered showers, but they looked small, and rain gear seemed unnecessary.  It turned out the storms were small, each one taking only a few minutes to ride thru.  What I didn’t account for was the amount of water coming down: in just a couple minutes of rain, I was soaked clear thru.

When I stopped to dry out, I discovered serious thunderstorms over Little Rock.  After misjudging the previous storms, I decided to stop a little early and stayed that night in Hope, AR.

I woke the next morning to scattered showers across Arkansas, a head full of congestion and a bit of headache.  I took some cold med’s, donned my rain gear and headed out.

The rain wasn’t bad, drizzle to light rain, which never lasted long.  The fog in my head was much worse.  Most cold medications effect me strongly, so the one I had taken was quite mild; as a result, it didn’t really help.

As I approached Tennessee, I realized I needed to stop and decided to stay the night in West Memphis.

When I was planning this trip, I chose to visit Nashville based on recommendation of my friend Michelle.  Since I stopped so early today, it will be a short ride tomorrow which should leave me the afternoon to walk around and check out the town.  The only potential problem is, once again, the weather.  The forecast for tomorrow is scattered showers in the afternoon.  If it’s really nasty, I may just ride thru, but hopefully I’ll get a break.

One final note: the fog in my head not only prevents riding, it also makes blogging difficult; this entry required more edits than I can count.