Loveless Cafe

30/05/2017

From Chattanooga we head towards Nashville. Southeast of it begins the Natchez Trace Parkway, which we want to follow to Tupelo, the birthplace of Elvis. But before that, we have to go to the Loveless Cafe with its world-famous, well, famous biscuits.

From the outside, the cafe looks like a normal single-family house with some weird facade from the 80s. Inside, it seems like time has stood still at 1961. The dining room looks like an emptied living room of Mama Walton. Southern cuisine is celebrated here. The highlight of the menu is the chicken, which comes in white meat version and dark meat version. Two side dishes, such as sweet potatoes (caramelized again) and beans. Delicious potato salad and coleslaw.

Beforehand, warm rolls and jam are served. Well, we already had breakfast, but whatever. When paying, it turns out that these are the famous biscuits. And we were expecting some great cookies. But those are called cookies! (Smartass!)

Off to the leaf-covered parkway, as the travel guide promises. It doesn't promise too much, just like the name. It is actually a road that leads through parkland, 440 kilometers long. It's just a pity that it ends after 70 kilometers due to construction work. The resulting detour to Tupelo is long, long, long. It is pitch dark when we arrive in Tupelo and there's no sign of a campsite.

We ask a firefighter. He shows us a parking lot that he thinks is suitable. We prepare ourselves for our first night of wild camping in the shadow of the local convention center. It will be a good night, apart from the kilometer-long freight trains passing by just ten meters away and kindly warning us with minutes of honking.