Memphis

Limo to favorite Elvis BBQ place

Gibson Guitar factory

Dinner at BB King's

Peabody Hotel, march of the ducks

Lorraine Motel balcony where MLK was shot and killed

Graceland, Elvis' home (named by original owner)

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Memphis, Tennessee – Southern Sights and Sounds:

Friday, April 5^th, 2013 saw us heading east again (Is there any other direction?) – we left Branson, Missouri and made our way through a small corner of Arkansas and on into The Volunteer State – Tennessee. Many miles today, but they were mostly on good interstate highways, with good weather and little wind, so this made the travels relatively easy and quick. We got into the Graceland RV Park just in time for dinner. We took a pink Cadillac limousine to Marlowe’s BBQ Restaurant and enjoyed a very tasty sampler plate of chicken, brisket, and ribs – oh my goodness we have really enjoyed a lot of good barbequed meals. Karen had a pink Cadillac cocktail to get in the spirit of things.

Saturday, April 6^th saw us up and moving early, fed the Boyz, walked them and then made our way over to Graceland to learn about Elvis. We were only a couple a blocks away, so we walked and saved ourselves from fighting the traffic. We were touring the Graceland Mansion by 9:30am, enjoying the informative audio that described what we were seeing and giving us some history of his life. It was a very attractive home and grounds, not over the top like we thought it might be. Not truly being Elvis fans, we had minimal background on him or his career. He performed in over 60 movies, musicals and filmed performances, received over 200 Golden Records and was a very gracious and generous person with his time and money. We also toured his 2 personal jets and the car museum. The guy knew how to live it up.

Our next stop was downtown Memphis, we visited the National Civil Rights Museum – which is at the Lorraine Hotel, the location where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. The displays, videos and photos gave us a good overview of the big picture of many civil right’s issues, we always learn so much going to these museums.

The next stop of our busy day was the Gibson Guitar Factory – we took a tour where they showed the process of constructing these world famous USA made guitars. It takes approximately 3 weeks to make a guitar; they make approximately 50 instruments a day.  They sell no seconds.  If it doesn’t meet standards the guitar is sent to the band saw.

Happy hour was next; we went to the Peabody Hotel where we shared the bar with the famous ducks that swim in the lobby’s fountain. The tradition started back in 1930 when the hotel manager and his friend went hunting. They took a bit of Tennessee sipping whiskey with them to ward off the chill. Boys being boys, the hunters returned back to the hotel and thought it might be funny to put some of their live decoy ducks (that was legal back then) into the fountain. The next morning they awoke to find the ducks still swimming round and round and the hotel guests delighted with the new addition. So now every morning at 11:00am the ducks come down from their residence, ride the elevator down to the lobby, walk a cross a red carpet and hop into their fountain pool. These mallard ducks swim around all day until 5:00pm when the Duck Master turns on the John Phillips Souza’s Stars and Stripes Forever, out hop the ducks, they waddle across the red carpet, into the elevator and back up to their penthouse pens. Karen really enjoyed this silly event.

Our final stop of the day was on Beale Street, renowned for their bbq and blues music. We walked the two-block area, peering into the restaurants, finally settling on BB King’s Place. We enjoyed, more bbq and listening to some live blues music. The weather was perfect; we sat out on the sidewalk and enjoyed watching people walk up & down the street. It was prom night for some high school, oh my goodness some of the prom dresses were very eye catching – Mike had to be reminded to quit staring.

This was a BUSY day, but we got a good taste of Memphis.