August 30, 2009 New Orleans, LA; Jackson, MS; Memphis, TN

There was to be one final conference event, a brunch and lecture by Stax soul man William Bell that I would have liked to have attanded, but it started and ended too late in the day, and I had to drive back to Memphis. So I checked out of the hotel, and drove out I-10 to Pontchartrain Boulevard and northwards to the lakefront to a restaurant called Russell's Marina Grill. To my amazement, it was quite crowded, and parking was at a premium because there was another restaurant across the street that also served breakfast. I had to wait for seating, but I finally found a place at the bar, and I found that the breakfast was definitely worth the wait. I decided not to cross the lake on the causeway this year, and instead, headed back the normal way to LaPlace and up I-55. In Jackson, I stopped at Lemuria Books, but ended up not buying anything there, and after a latte at Broad Street Baking Company, I drove on into Memphis.