FINALLY, at 11:30 AM, I photographed a sign that said "Welcome to Mississippi". [133686 miles]. This was on my third attempt. But I still did not have a postcard!
10:45 AM Checked out after eating free continental breakfast. After checking out, I went and sat in the car. Took out the Tennessee map. I was in Memphis -- a city in Tennessee which borders two other states -- Arkansas and Mississippi. I had been to Arkansas on this trip, but not Mississippi. So I thought I'll drive down there, take a picture of "Welcome to Mississippi" sign, send Parixit a postcard, and drive back up again. "Doesn't sound too difficult. The state of Mississippi is just a hop, a skip, and a drive away from where I am right now. How hard could it possibly be to just drive down there, take a picture, send a postcard, and drive back up again??? O.K. I'll do it."
Started driving South. Driving. Driving. Driving. "Where's the border??? Am I in Tennessee or in Mississippi? I didn't see any sign for Mississippi. I must be in Tennessee. But according to the map, I've already driven enough miles. I SHOULD HAVE seen a sign! Maybe there was a sign back there somewhere and I just missed it. That's OK. I'll go back later. Might as well buy the postcard. All right -- what kind of place might sell a postcard? There's a gas station. Stop there." Stopped at gas station. Went inside. No postcards. Came back out. "I think I'll go back North now." Drove North to Tennessee. Did not see any sign on the other side of the road. Turned right, then another right on a major highway that goes South into Mississippi. "There's gotta be a Welcome sign on this road. Count the miles this time. One. Two. Three. I should be in Mississippi now. Where is the sign? Four. Five. Six. Seven. Aren't there any shops here? Eight. Go back, Ishaan." Made U-turn. Back to Tennessee again. Turned right, then right again to enter I-55 South. "If this FREEWAY does not have a `Welcome to Mississippi' sign, I'm ending my trip right here and going back home! One. Two. Three. THERE IT IS!!!! Stop the car. Brake. Ooops --- I'm on a freeway! Sorry about that. Yeah yeah yeah. You'll have to excuse me. I'm from Los Angeles. Pull over to the shoulder -- THEN brake. Stop."
FINALLY, at 11:30 AM, I photographed a sign that said "Welcome to Mississippi". [133686 miles]. This was on my third attempt. But I still did not have a postcard!
"This is ridiculous. All I want is one lousy little postcard! There's gotta be a mall or somethin' like that aroun' here somewhere! Uh oh. Running low on gas. All this going back and forth." Took the next exit. Pulled over into a gas station. Filled gas in the car. Went inside to pay for it. And there, next to the cashier, was a rack of postcards!!! Bought gas with credit card, postcard with spare change I had in my pocket, then went back out. Wrote postcard while the car was still in front of the gas pump. I didn't care. I had so much trouble buying a postcard in THEIR state; now they should wait in line behind me while I write that card! It's all their fault! After I finished writing the postcard, I took my time to address it and stamp it -- all this while still in front of the pumps. THEN I started the car and parked it away from the pumps. All I had to do now was to find a mailbox!!! "How hard could it be?"
I went inside the store and asked the cashier where is the nearest mailbox or post office.
"There is a post office not far from here."
"[Thank you, God]. How do I get there?"
"Just go North on I-55 to Memphis."
"[shucks, that defeats the purpose, doesn't it?] No, I want a mailbox in THIS state!"
"Huh?"
"Mississippi. I want to mail this postcard from the state of Mississippi."
"Why would you want to do a thing like that?"
"Could you please tell me where is the nearest mailbox in the state of Mississippi?"
"I don't know, man! I live in Memphis. I just work here."
Came back out. Getting really irritated! Drove South on that same local road, and then I found it -- a mailbox. Mailed postcard. Got back on freeway.
11:40 AM Memphis and Tennessee. Kept driving -- didn't care where I was going. Just kept driving wherever the lane went.
12:35 PM Entered Arkansas; 133721 miles
"Huh? What? Where am I? Did I just cross the river? Why am I going back west again? I dun wanna do that!"
12:45 PM Tennessee and Memphis; 133728 miles.
12:50 PM Parked at Mud Island parking lot. "Mud Island"[8] is an island on the Mississippi River. It contains the ONLY museum in this country that is dedicated to the Mighty Mud -- I mean Mississippi -- River. 
.
The island also has a miniature replica of the last 1000 miles of that Mud River -- every single turn in the river, every single change in depth, no matter how small, is represented in this replica! It took me 20 minutes to walk the entire length of that "miniature" Mississippi River. Some of the major tributaries of the Mississippi River (Ohio River, Missouri River, Arkansas River, among others) are also depicted as "flowing into" the Mississippi.
On top of all that, the island is also home to the Memphis Belle, the first plane to complete 25 successful bombing missions over Germany during World War II.
4:00 PM Left Mud Island -- and decided to establish a trip record.
4:30 PM Arkansas again; 133737 miles
5:30 PM Lunch-to-go at Taco Bell in Blytheville, AR. Ate while driving.
5:40 PM Entered Missouri; 133806 miles. Later mailed Missouri postcard to Parixit -- had no problems this time.
7:45 PM Entered Illinois; 133896 miles. This is at the confluence of Ohio and Mississippi rivers. As soon as I entered this state, it created a new trip record -- 5 states in one day. The record would be broken in 15 minutes.
8:00 PM Entered Kentucky; 133900 miles. This is also at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. SIX. ONE-TWO-THREE-FOUR-FIVE-SIX. Six states in one day. Three of them repeated. Tennessee (#1). Mississippi (#2). Back to Tennessee. Back to Mississippi. Back to Tennessee. Back to Mississippi. Back to Tennessee. Back to Mississippi. Back to Tennessee. Arkansas (#3). Back to Tennessee. Back to Arkansas. Missouri (#4). Illinois (#5). Kentucky (#6). A new, never-to-be-broken trip record. What was even more impressive was that I also did more that three hours of sightseeing in Memphis! THEN drove to five more states.
9:25 PM Checked in at Best Western Inn at Paducah, KY. Ate dinner at Hardees.
STARTED WRITING THIS BOOK. I wrote the Introduction ("I a person of the United States...") and the first day's journal entry.
License Plates:
| LADY GI | TN | Toyota Tercel |
| MYRA L | MS | Ford Taurus |
| ALEX AJ1 | IL | Chevy Blazer |
| $35.05 | Chase | Econolodge | Memphis, TN |
| $11 | Discover | Gas | Nesbit, MS |
| $3 | Cash | Parking -- Mud Island | Memphis, TN |
| $6 | CB | Admission -- Mud Island | Memphis, TN |
| $10.55 | CB (as two bills: $9.55 + $1) | Souvenirs -- Mud Island:
Union Currency "Independence" documents |
Memphis, TN |
| $2 | Cash | Lunch at Taco Bell | Blytheville, AR |
| $1 | Cash | MO postcard | Small town in Missouri, MO |
| $1 | Cash | KY postcard & key chain | KY |
| $4 | Cash | Dinner at Hardees | Paducah, KY |
11:40 AM Entered "Land Between the Lakes National Recreational Area" = for everything except the planetarium show. The planetarium was 
.
Land Between the Lakes National Recreational Area is a forested area between two lakes on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee. I liked the Kentucky side better, but Tennessee side was also "fine". I REALLY liked the star show at the planetarium, which was in Kentucky. Entered Tennessee at 3:25 PM [134040 miles]. Left Land Between the Lakes National Recreational Area at 4:00 PM.
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM At Clarksville, TN. Ate lunch at Taco Bell. After I finished it, I made a note in my notebook to never order a "Chicken Burrito Supreme" again! And after that, I never did!
Drove through state capital Nashville, then...
7:30 PM Alabama; 134231 Miles
7:30 PM - 8:00 PM At Alabama visitor center. There was a Saturn rocket on display in the rest area! I called Bhindi Jewelers and told them I'd call back later. Then it started to rain lightly. In the rain, I walked to the rocket, tried to take a picture, then walked farther away, again tried to take a picture, then walked ever farther, sat on the wet grass, and finally took a picture of the entire rocket! Then started driving again.
On my last trip, (on January 27, 1994), I had driven on Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee, then came down on I-65 in Alabama to a Dennys restaurant in the town of Cullman, AL -- all this during one of the most severe thunderstorms I have ever driven through. I also got a speeding ticket on that day. There were a lot of similarities between that day and this night. At 9:00 PM, I arrived at the same Dennys restaurant I had been to on my last trip (I remembered exactly where it was). Before eating my dinner there, I called Bhindi Jewelers again. This time, the call lasted for only one hour. They have an (800) number, so I really did not mind the LENGTH of the call. But I did mind being out in the rain that long. At 10:00 PM, I went inside the Dennys and memories of Trip #1 came back. That was a dark and stormy night. This was a dark and rainy night. I was tired then. I was tired now. I was not in a good mood then, since I had just got a ticket a few hours ago. This time, I was not in a good mood because I was wet. (But at least the dirt on my pants was washed off!) But... WHAT AN ADVENTURE -- both on January 27, 1994 and April 19, 1995!
I left the restaurant at 10:30, then, for old times sake, went to sleep at the same rest area near Cullman, AL as on Trip #1.
License Plates:
| OPHIE | KY | Dodge Sport |
| URMIN2 | IL | Mercury Topaz |
| BLU HRNZ | KY | Chevy van |
| KWV RNG | OR | Pontiac |
| HOT RAM | TN | Dodge truck |
| H LEE | TN | Ford 4x4 truck |
| $40.11 | Chase | Best Inns | Paducah, KY |
| $11 | Cash | Gas | Aurora, KY |
| $2 | Cash | Planetarium show | Land Between the Lakes NRA |
| $3 | Cash | Lunch @ Taco Bell | Clarksville, TN |
| $6.31 | CB | Dinner @ Dennys | Cullman, AL |
| $1 | Cash | Tip -- Dinner @ Dennys | Cullman, AL |
I left the rest area at 7:45 AM. Then drove North (that's right-- back North towards Tennessee. But this time, I knew where I was going).
At 9:00 AM, I arrived at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. 
.
This was the first of many space-related attractions on this trip. I took a bus tour of the space center. The rain had slowed down significantly since that morning. I bought a cap at the gift shop. I did not realize it at that time, but I now believe that cap was the first truly wise investment on this trip. It later came in handy (or rather, "head-y") on several occasions.
4:15 PM Left U.S. Space and Rocket Center. Started driving South again towards Birmingham.
5:50 PM - 6:10 PM In Birmingham, AL -- mailed postcard to Perry (no problems there). Then started driving East towards Atlanta. After I started driving, the rain and the wind both became a lot stronger. I did not know it then, but there were several tornadoes touching down in Northern Mississippi and Alabama. I was close -- very close.
7:10 PM Checked in at Howard Johnson Inn in Anniston, AL. Bought dinner-to-go at Burger King. Came back to the motel and ate dinner while watching the news. Then I found out what was going on. The governor of Mississippi had issued a "Tornado Warning" for Northern Mississippi (North of Jackson) and the Alabama governor had issued a "Tornado Warning" in Northwestern Alabama counties and a "Tornado Watch" in Northeastern and East Central Alabama counties, including the Birmingham-Anniston area. I was in Anniston! The reporters were giving instructions on what to do -- we were supposed to go the basement. I was in a motel! No basement. No place to go. "Just sit and wait." I had never experienced a tornado before, and the thought of "sitting and waiting" was not exactly comforting!
"Northern Mississippi. Northwestern Alabama. Northeastern Alabama. East Central Alabama. I WAS JUST THERE! I AM THERE RIGHT NOW! There are tornadoes touching the ground not far from here. There is a very real and serious danger of tornadoes striking here. Well, I've had a good trip. I don't mind dying now. I'm going to call home. Then go to sleep. If I go, at least I'll go in my sleep and won't even know it!"
Called home. Went to sleep. Did not go. Still here.
Expenses:
| $12 | Discover | Gas | Hartselle, AL |
| $9.95 | CB | Admission -- U.S. Space and Rocket Center | Huntsville, AL |
| $13.63 | CB | Souvenirs: -- U.S. Space and Rocket Center:
Key chain = $1.49 Postcard = $0.15 |
Huntsville, AL |
| $7 | Cash | Lunch -- U.S. Space and Rocket Center | Huntsville, AL |
| $5 | Cash | Dinner -- Burger King | Anniston, AL |
9:20 AM [Central Time] Checked out of motel. Headin' East to Atlanta.
10:55 AM [Eastern Time] Georgia; 134532 Miles. Immediately took the exit for Georgia visitor center. Picked up useful brochures on sightseeing attractions in the Atlanta area. Left the visitor center at 12:10 PM.
In Denver, I had gone to the new multi-billion-dollar-much-talked-about airport -- just because I had nowhere else to go. I saw a map of the United States there -- quite by accident. So when I arrived in Atlanta, the first place I went to was the airport. "Who knows, since the Olympics were coming to Atlanta, there might be something at the airport here too!"
1:15 PM - 3:30 PM In Atlanta International Airport. A lot of planes. A lot of people. A lot of rich people. A lot of pickpockets (saw one lady getting arrested). A lot of salespeople (one Indian salesman saw me and he tried to sell me a copy each of "Ramayan" and "Mahabharat"! Although I was grateful to be alive that day, I did not buy the books.) Yeah. There certainly was "something" here.
After I left the airport, I went to McDonalds for lunch. 4:00 PM on a Friday evening is not the best time to eat lunch at a restaurant (isn't life funny -- you learn something new every day!).
5:00 PM Checked in at Days Inn in Acworth, GA.
5:30 PM - 8:00 PM On phone with Bhindi Jewelers.
Expenses:
| $35.22 | Discover | Howard Johnson Inn | Anniston, AL |
| $5 | Cash | Parking -- Atlanta airport | Atlanta, GA |
| $80 | ATM | Cash withdrawal -- Atlanta airport | Atlanta, GA |
| $0 | Cash | Lunch -- McDonalds | Atlanta, GA |
[8] Appropriately named.
[9] That has happened to me once before (on my last trip, what was supposed to be the last day -- I was in a rest area in Vallejo, CA, just North of San Francisco).