We started the day pretty early since we knew this would be our first day with stops along Route 66! We left Memphis and headed into Arkansas. Our first stop was actually for lunch at David's Burgers in Conway AR. For my full review of our extremely tasty lunch visit here. 

We opted for just one road side stop in Arkansas and for this trip we opted for Alma AR. Alma is one of those towns that we love and hate to see. You have a cool town center that is very rundown and shows it's age. In the middle of that you have Popeye Park. A beautiful oasis with fountains, murals, flowers, and a very cool statue of Popeye the Sailor Man! On the drive out of town we came across an area full of chain stores and restaurants. While these are convenient and offer a variety of items it really bothered us that this was probably the reason the town center was closing down. I really think as a country to we need to do more to support small business and those who strive for personal connections. 

We went off our direct path a little bit once in Oklahoma. Heading north of Oklahoma City we made our way onto Route 66 and drove straight to POP's Soda Ranch. POP's Soda Ranch is a restaurant, store, road side attraction, gas station, and more! Here we were able to find some unique and not always great tasting soda's as gifts for family and friends. The staff were also especially wonderful in letting us bring Fred inside to the store area (in his carrier). It was just too hard to have only one of us shop for goodies. 

At this point we drove to our hotel for the night. Embassy Suites Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City. To read my full review of this disappointing hotel visit here. 

For my full Hilton Nashville review visit here. We started out the day with an activity we knew Fred would love! A long morning walk through Centennial Park. We found directions to the park very easy, lots of parking, and enjoyed a relaxing morning! We first walked up to the Parthenon (replication of the actual Parthenon in Greece). Unfortunately they are closed on Mondays. It was still very cool to walk around and marvel at the size. Fred was on a mission at this point so we walked around the lake and other paths before heading back to our car.

I was hoping to stop by Las Paletas shop but it was still too early so we decided to head straight to Memphis. 3 1/2 hours later and we pulled up to lunch at One & Only BBQ. We had an enjoyable lunch on their pet friendly patio. For my full review visit here. 

After lunch we went a few blocks up to our hotel for check in. We opted for the Hilton Memphis. For my full hotel review visit here. 

We were only in town for a few hours so we hopped back into the car for some sightseeing. First up was Graceland. Unfortunately, Graceland is not pet friendly, and isn't really view-able anymore unless you pay to park and pay to enter. We knew bringing Fred on this trip would limit us in some ways so this stop didn't really bother us too much. What we found ridiculous was our next stop....Beale St. Before you get on to Beale St you come across a very unfriendly sign stating: "No Vehicles, Bicylcles, Skates, Skateboards, Glass Containers, Animals / Reptiles. Needless to say we didn't venture onto Beale St. We opted to drive around the area and downtown Memphis for quick photos. We also made a quick stop at Memphis Pyramid (also Bass Pro Shops) for the 2nd of our quirky road side stops (The first being Foamhenge).