Crossroads Adventure

The whole idea of quitting my job and traveling is so I can do what I want, when I want without the need to plan for deadlines, deliverables or paid days off. And this little side trip was EXACTLY that. It started with one of my riding and music buddies, Rick, mentioning that Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Fest was happening in about a week and a half, in Chicago. Being Eric Clapton, he’s able to draw the likes of BB King, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill and many, many other respected guitarists and musicians.

Well, of course the festival was sold out within minutes of the tickets going on sale, but it seems Rick is an industrious little devil. Once we decided to ride our bikes north for the day (its only like 900 miles), he went on a massive hunt to get us tickets. I won’t put you thru all the highs and lows of E-bay bids, called in markers and I’m sure threats and promises to high people in low places, but the day before we were supposed to leave, Rick made a connection with Jim Smith (*note, I normally don’t use complete names, but come on, its "Jim Smith"!) from somewhere in Illinois. Yeah, seemed pertty fishy to me too, but Rick reassured me that he "talked to the guy for 5 minutes on the phone" and could tell it was legit. I knew all was going to be just fine when the plan to get the tickets was to meet the guy in some bar along the expressway in Joliet, IL!

So, the stars were lining up and we were on our way to the festival. Day one had us riding up thru Oklahoma on our way to St. Louis where we were to stay with Rick’s cousin Bob who was also joining us for the ride and concert. True to the adventure, we came upon a traffic jam on the expressway, which had people out of their vehicles, walking around. Being 100 degrees, on motorcycles with 6 cylinder engines (Rick also rides a Valkyrie), and wearing black helmets, life was not good at this point. However, Rick spotted a place up the road where, with a little creative riding, we could go down thru a ditch and up a hill to a side road that was paralleling the expressway. Traffic jammers stopped and watched as these two large bikes went off-roading, and I think I even heard some cheers as we crested the hill and pulled out onto…..ROUTE 66!!!!!!!!

Yes, God put that traffic jam in our way to get us off the stressful super-slab and onto what is probably the most famous road in the country. At that point, life was VERY good, as we casually wandered over hills and around turns, passing some old stores and gas stations, small stick homes and generally enjoying a true taste of Americana! So what if we went about 100 miles out of the way to make it 40 miles up the road. What a ride!

A couple hours late, we were greeted in St. Louis by Cousin Bob, carrying a couple cold beers and informing us he threw the steaks on the grill when he heard us coming down the street (Rick has custom pipes). We had a great evening of catching up on old times (new for me) and Bob took us to a couple of the "classier" bike bars in the area. That’s also where we learned that Cousin Bob’s idea of "just up the street" could actually be across a large metroplex, so needless to say we were very cautious when he was leading the rest of the weekend.

Friday morning had us doing some last minute mods to the bikes and heading to the Bull Pen Sports Bar to meet Jim Smith to get the tickets.

Lets just say that by the time Jim actually got there, we had made an impression (not necessarily good) on the bartender (pictured, from behind) and the regulars in the place (after all, it was about 1:30pm on a Friday, so it wasn’t like the place was hopping). The tickets were legit, as was Jim, and after a few more rounds (quite a few!) we were on our way to the Embassy Suites in some Chicago suburb.

For anyone that’s never been to an Embassy Suites, one of the draws is that they have a breakfast buffet in the morning that is included in the room rate, complete with a chef making omelets, etc, etc. However, an even bigger draw for us was the "Manager’s Reception" in the evening, complete with bartender making vodka tonics!

Some of my friends from the Bell Labs days were able to make it down for a few drinks and more BS’ing. The rest of the night is pretty blurry, and could probably explain some of the looks we got from the other hotel guests the next morning at the buffet breakfast, but apart from pounding heads, bloodshot eyes and occasional shakes, we seemed to have survived.

The concert was to start at Noon, and we got there just in time for Bill Murray to come out as master of ceremonies for the day, attempting to sing Gloria, soon to be backed up by Clapton himself. Folks, there is NO WAY I can convey how great this day went. The weather was perfect – plenty warm, but with enough scattered clouds that we weren’t baking in the beating sun.

The seats were perfect, that we not only had a good view of the stage, but also low enough that we could people watch all day as the people in the general admission "floor" area wandered around and laid out on their blankets.

As was usual for the trip, we ended up partying with the entire section around us.

But the music – WOW!!!!!!!!!!! Besides the earlier mentioned stars, we also saw Jeff Beck, Roberty Cray, Cheryl Crow, Steve Winwood, Johnny Winter, John Mayer, Hubert Sumlin, Susan Tedeschi, Buddy Guy and so many more! They used a revolving stage, so there was only about 15 minutes between bands, with constant music from Noon till 11pm! Clapton came out to play with many of them. For some, like BB King, he stood on the side of the stage with a big grin on his face (and even taking pictures!). It was a great show, and well worth $500 a ticket (an inside joke, with our new friend Jim Smith).

Sunday morning, we checked out of the Suites, readied the bikes and headed for Memphis. What would a trip be without a stop at Beale Street and since Rick and Bob hadn’t been there, it was my turn to play tour guide. Due to some fuel issues (turns out, all three bikes do indeed have 5 gears – another inside joke) we got into Memphis a little later than planned, but still made it to Beale Street for some good food and better music.

On Monday, Cousin Bob continued on south to New Orleans, to see family and friends. Rick and I were moving slow, and then decided that maybe one more night on Beale Street was just was the doctor ordered (not like I had a job, or life, to return to!). And, if we were going to stay in Memphis, we might as well see the sights. We went to Sun Records, where Elvis Presley recorded. Cruised thru some of the lesser desirable neighborhoods. Stopped by Graceland. And then had lunch at the world famous Interstate BBQ, billed as the best BBQ in Memphis. It was there that we met the owner Jim, also rider, and found that we were "just up the road" from the Crossroads. That’s highways 61 and 49, where folklore has it that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil to be able to play (blues) guitar. Well, since we are both blues lovers, and since the theme of this trip was Crossroads, and since we didn’t have anything better to do, we rode the 70 plus miles to Clarksdale, MS! Again, just imagine two schoolboys with great big grins on their faces as we stopped for the photo op.

We also went by Ground Zero Blues Club, which is owned by Morgan Freeman and the Cat Head Blues emporium.

After the trip back across the flat, HOT delta land, we cooled off in the pool with a few beers before venturing to….yep, Beale Street for the night. But not before a little excitement in downtown Memphis. This is another "you had to be there" moment, but I’d like to point out a couple things that might not be apparent from the picture. First of all, the bike did NOT belong to me nor Rick (and we’re not too sure it rightfully belonged to either of these guys either). Second, female cops aren’t afraid to offer their nightsticks for "assistance". And lastly, while I did get an opportunity to experience those zip-tie type temporary handcuffs up close and in person, neither of us ended up in jail (this time). We once again caught some great blues, met a few folks and had another stellar night.

Tuesday we road back across Arkansas and Texas in a mixture of 100 degree temperatures and cold driving rain. But, I don’t think either of us quit smiling the entire time. After over 2000 miles in those 4 days, the trip came to an end, as many of my trips have, at the Ramblin Rose for a final beverage amongst friends.

That was to be my final side trip before finally leaving Texas, and boy was it a good one!
Till the next adventure, just remember,

Life is Good. Send Money.
Lon

Cast of Characters ....

Rick and Cousin Bob