Fin.

The heat got to this place, too.

London, ON – Much of the morning's drive through Kentucky was like climbing into a Bob Ross painting: happy little clouds dancing over green hills.

It helped we were able to make the final push home with leftovers from Memphis's famous Gibson's Tastee Donuts and from The Stillery in Nashville.

It turns out Brussels sprouts are an underrated pizza ingredient.

One province and eight states, including one new one (Arkansas), and a great time in Memphis. Down to four contiguous U.S. states I've yet to visit.

But, the car still smelled of beer.

Vitals:

• Time: 8.5 hours
• Distance: 641.9 kms
• Weather: Sunny and hot (Detroit, the hottest point on the trip: 34.5 degrees), with a brief storm
• States: Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan
• Wildlife: None

The Can Can't.

How hot was it? Hot enough for Nashville Hot Chicken.

Louisville, KY – The first let loose with a crack that shot across the parking lot.
Then, another.

And another.

It's a wonder nobody ducked for cover.

How hot is it? Well, upon opening the trunk in the parking lot of a random Nashville McDonald's, four cans of beer exploded all over me, spinning on the ground in pinwheels of sweet and sticky spray.

We had wondered for several miles about the aluminum clicking sound coming from behind us.

It was as though we had pulled the pins and tossed grenades that soon rolled under the adjacent car. The kid inside must have wondered what was going on.

The car and I reeked like we were on a week-long bender.

Fourth of July fireworks, it seems, had come early.

Vitals:

• Time: 8 hours
• Distance: 641.9 kms
• Weather: Sunny and hot
• States: Tennessee, Kentucky
• Wildlife: None

Memph Is Absurd.

I know I passed through Cairo yesterday, but?

Memphis, TN – Yesterday was about history.

Today, it seems, more about a theatre of the absurd.

It began with a trip out to a massive reflective glass pyramid tucked into a concrete pretzel of intersecting highways and a bridge to Arkansas.

Naturally, it's a Bass Pro Shop.

Inside, there are large pools of fish and ducks. And, of course, alligators. You can even stay in a hotel ringing the upper levels if you really can't get enough of the swamp. Don't worry: there's a bowling alley should you tire of shopping.

It's actually one of the world's 10-largest pyramids, and former home to the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies. But, it's still incredibly odd. Really, who needs a six-basket fryer with their camping gear?

Land of the Rising Sun.

We carried on to the Peabody Hotel for its twice-daily duck march. (I told you the day was absurd, no?)

At exactly 11 a.m., four ducks were escorted from their $200K penthouse (again, absurd, right?) by a duckmaster – and two honorary duckmasters, bronze duck-head canes in hand – out the elevators, over a red carpet and into the central lobby fountain. The drake didn't show today.

They'll enjoy an afternoon spent circling the marble sculptures to an adoring crowd before ducking out in the same ceremony, in rewind, at 5 p.m.

I proceeded to tuck into a shrimp po' boy at Trolley Stop Market and visit the birthplace of rock-and-roll, Sun Music, before venturing down a rapidly improving Monroe Avenue dressed with neat historical sidewalk signs describing businesses that had previously occupied the buildings.

The old Wonder Bread factory is currently being surgically rebuilt into something modern, saws sending sparks dancing into the sky.

Yesterday's history is welcoming rebirth.

Even if some of it is absurd.

Stuck in Time.

Putting the tacks in tacky, at Graceland.

Memphis, TN – There could be absolutely no question.

The day had to begin with Paul Simon's controversial classic, Graceland.

It would end, however, with live music reverberating from every corner of Memphis's legendary Beale Street. Home of the blues.

Given some of the city's history, the blues make absolute sense.

We spent the morning at Elvis's former home, sweat dribbling down my brow. Graceland is surprisingly modest in size – but in nothing else. Bedecked by green shag carpet and folded fabric ceilings, gold taps and plush white leather sofas, the house is a faded Polaroid of seventies kitsch.

But, you can't got to Memphis and not visit once.

Just incredible. Nothing witty to say about this.

By contrast, we visited the Lorraine Motel  – and the attached National Civil Rights Museum – where Martin Luther King Jr. took his last breaths in 1958. It's similarly locked in a time warp, with an old Dodge and Cadillac standing sentry beneath the balcony where he was shot. You could take a photo in black and white and few would know it was from today.

The museum visit also includes a visit to the room from which James Earl Ray took the shot that fateful day. In terms of museum concepts, it's breathtaking.

It seems I always end up at the heavy sort of museum that makes you reflect. Given how little things seem to have changed in this day and age, that may not a bad thing.

At night, live music pours out every doorway along Beale Street. So does the beer.

Snare drums of cicadas fill the trees as sighs of brass horns rattle through the humidity.

Beale Street may not be the longest, but its neon-clad bars have been witness to a disproportionate amount of music history.

It's the home of the blues in a gritty city that has seen its share of heartache.

Vitals:

• Time: 1.5 hours
• Distance: 177.4 kms
• Weather: Sunny and hot
• States: Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee
• Wildlife: None