Editor's note: Gilles Samson and his wife, Suzette, always wanted to travel around the United States. So after retiring from their jobs late last year, the two Canadians decided to combine their wanderlust with their love of golf. The Samsons will be driving their RV across the country and attending every PGA TOUR event in 2006. While on that journey, they'll be writing a diary for PGATOUR.com. This is their 21th installment.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- We did not anticipate as many activities as we have been able to accomplish this week. Moving from Dallas to Memphis proved to be full of very interesting events with stops over in Paris, (Texas), Hope and Little Rock, (Arkansas). Our three days in Memphis included a visit to the Civil Rights Museum, a night on Beale Street, a visit to Graceland, a concert by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra at sunset by the Mississippi River and a spectacular firework display to celebrate Memorial Day.

FedEx St. Jude Classic -- It was not before the 13th hole on Sunday that the name of Jeff Maggert started to attract our attention as a potential winner. Up until then the story of the day turned around the high score of the leaders of the third round more so than anything else. The temperature was in the 90's for the fourth consecutive day. It was humid with very little wind. The greens were hard and fast, and the pin placement particularly difficult. Under these conditions, Tim Herron, Kris Cox, Tom Pernice and Jay Delsing all shot over par. Jeff played consistently all day and rolled in a 36-foot eagle putt on the 16th hole to take a three-stroke lead. It was to be the only real excitement of the day. He had the best round of the day -- four birdies, a bogey and an eagle in the final round to finish at 9-under 271. He had only 99 putts during the four-day tournament which is only the second time this year that a player recorded less than 100 putts. This was his first victory since 1999.

Maggert's paycheck was delivered by an official FedEx courier, in a specially designed golf cart-sized version of a standard FedEx delivery truck that drove down the 18th fairway to the amazement of the crowd. We were able to be very close to the action all along the course. It does help to better appreciate the work of the players. On the green of the 14th hole,Tom Pernice touched his ball on address. I learned, after the tournament that he had not been penalized because he had not advanced the ball. It was a great outing in a particularly nice setting.

Dallas and Forth Worth -- We completed our visit in these areas by visiting the Amon Carter and the Kimbell Art Museums in Forth Worth, two of the most unforgettable museums and art collections in the U.S. We were particularly impressed by the works of Frederick Remington and Charles M. Russell depicting American art of the Wild West (paintings and sculptures). After a short visit to the Dallas Museum of Art and a tour of Fair Park, a huge park of cultural and sports events, we spent our last evening in Deep Ellum where we had our best hamburger so far in a typical saloon on Commerce Street before heading to a night club for a blues jam. The evening ended with a nice bonus from the City of Dallas, a well-deserved parking ticket.

Our trip to Memphis -- We decided to travel some extra miles to reminisce about the film Paris, Texas as well as taking the opportunity to use country roads to get to Little Rock, Ark. Paris, Texas reminded us of Win Wenders' film of 1984. We had lunch by the railroad station and took pictures which will remind us of our visit as well as some of the opening scenes of the film.

We also visited a large cemetery containing more than 40,000 graves -- including many patriots of the Texas Independence War of 1835-36 -- and saw many unusual handsome carved head stones and monuments. The city may not have an Eiffel Tower but nevertheless, we will keep a vivid memory of our short passage.

We then travelled further East to Hope, Ark., the birthplace of President Clinton and visited a small museum housing an impressive collection of photos and memorabilia from his life. We arrived late in the afternoon for an overnight stay in Little Rock where he served as governor and waged his campaign for presidency. The next day, we took the trolley across the Arkansas River to tour historic downtown and visited the William J. Clinton Presidential Center that houses the largest archival collection in presidential history. We then strolled along Riverfront Park where there were lots of activities as they were getting ready for their annual Riverfest Weekend.

Memphis -- We started by visiting Slavehaven/Burkle House, a modest house built in 1850 by a German immigrant and which was inhabited by the same family until 1978. The house is thought to have been a way station on the underground railroad for runaway slaves. We had a guided tour that deepened our understanding of the ways and means used by the slaves to get to freedom. One of the visitors had a personal experience of witnessing the existence of tunnels across the U.S. and Canada border. We moved onto the National Civil Rights Museum located at the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. It presents a detailed and global review of the struggle for racial equality in the U.S. from the time of slavery until Dr. King's death, including all the details of his assassination.

We spent the evening on Beale Street, the center of Memphis entertainment -- the Mecca of blues and country music. Great crowd, great ambiance, great music everywhere!

We experienced Elvis Presley's Graceland by walking a few blocks from our campground under a very warm and humid day. We took a tour of Elvis' mansion and associated sites -- including the Memorial Garden where he is buried with his closest relatives. Millions of people come here to pay homage to the "King of Rock'n Roll" and the site is a tribute to his success and contribution to the music world.

We believe that the magnitude of Elvis' heritage is best demonstrated by the inordinate amounts of platinum and gold awards that are displayed in the Trophy Building. He sold over one billion records and his music will remain his best legacy. The next morning we filled the motor home with Elvis' music broadcast from Graceland, by a dedicated satellite radio station.

After golf on Saturday, we rushed downtown to the Tom Lee Park on the Mississippi River to attend a Memphis Music in May Festival concert featuring Mavis Staples, a well-known R&B artist. It was a gorgeous event. There was a huge crowd. People came with their seats and picnics to enjoy the sunset music, good company and firework display. We were invited to share our neighbours' delicious picnic with fares such a caramel fondant Brie, a shrimp and orange salad, a pasta pesto salad and much more. We have enjoyed our first celebration of the American Memorial Day weekend. Many thanks to our neighbours for such a nice hospitality!

As of Wednesday, we will be travelling to Dublin, Ohio for the Memorial Tournament.

Have a nice week!

Suzette and Gilles Samson