LEAVING MEMPHIS

On Monday night, we watched the full moon rise across the river on a balmy, calm night. On Tuesday night, we took Luna to the protection of Audrey's house as thunderstorms rolled over Memphis and the weather radio trilled with severe weather watches and warnings.

After so many years in Sacramento, we are trying to adjust to the fact that we are in a part of the country that has WEATHER. As fronts move across the mid-west and mid-south, the warm, humid air and the cold dry air collide somewhere - we just hope it is not over us!

After a great visit with family in Memphis, we are currently on the road towards Little Rock, Arkansas, and then slightly northwest to Toad Suck Ferry, a Corps of Engineers campground on the Arkansas River, where we plan to stay two or three nights. Since it will be a couple of weeks before we see anyone we know (therefore, no uncontrolled social eating), today is Day 1 of 2 weeks of Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. We hope two weeks are all it takes to lose the fabulous ribs, fries, and deep-fried catfish we have consumed since we hit the Texas border on our way east.