We're Back

Beale Street at Night

It was a quickie, we weren't there much more than a day, but oh what a day.  We flew to Memphis, Tennessee to meet up with Mac's cousin and his wife, the same ones we met up with in St. Augustine, Florida earlier this year.
I'd like to say we made it to Graceland to say hello to Elvis, but we didn't, nor to Sun Records where he made his first recording (That's All Right Mama), but again we didn't.  We started our first evening at B.B. King's Blues Club for dinner and what a dinner it was.  one of the reasons we'd decided to meet up in Memphis was barbecue, Memphis is famous for it and B. B. Kings place lived up to the reputation.
Plates of barbecued ribs, chicken and brisket were consumed.  There will no pictures of this because we all looked too stuffed to be photographed.  Best barbecue any of us had ever had and the cole slaw and baked beans were pretty good too.  We all had dessert, but couldn't finish it, too much food.
The next morning found us at Miss Pollys for breakfast, her specialty was chicken and waffles , that's a southern thing, but we all stuck to eggs, chicken just seems a little strange for breakfast.

Beale Street in daylight

After that it was off to the Smithsonians' Rock and Blues Museum, what an incredible place and it will get its own post tomorrow.   It was a self-guided audio tour and we could have spent the day there except for the fact that across the street was the Gibson Guitar factory where you could take a tour and Mac loves guitars.  It started at 11, so we left the music---they told us we could come back and finish up-- and headed across the street.
No pictures were allowed there, but the pictures will stay with us anyway.  They walked us through  each step of the making of a Gibson or Les Paul Gibson Guitar, utterly fascinating.  Mac had started the tour not wanting another guitar and finished the tour finding out how he could get one that we saw being made.

If things work out we'll be flying back to Memphis at the end of month to pick up his guitar and finish seeing Memphis.
After Gibsons we went back to the music museum to finish up.

River Belle

Then it was time to head down to the Mississippi River and get on a river boat for a 90 minute cruise up and back.  The tour guide on the boat was great and we really enjoyed it.

Triple bridge, middle one for trains, connecting Tennessee and Arkansas

Memphis skyline from the river

After the boat we caught the city trolley to go to the Peabody Hotel and watch the duck parade, but I messed up where the hotel was and we missed it.
" In 1933, Frank Schutt, General Manager of The Peabody, and a friend, Chip Barwick, returned from a weekend hunting trip in Arkansas. The men had a little too much Jack Daniel's Tennessee sippin' whiskey and thought it would be funny to place some of their live duck decoys (it was legal then for hunters to use live decoys) in the beautiful Peabody fountain.

Three small, English call ducks were selected as "guinea pigs" and the reaction was nothing short of enthusiastic. Soon, five North American Mallard ducks would replace the original ducks.

In 1940, Bellman Edward Pembroke, a former circus animal trainer, offered to help with delivering the ducks to the fountain each day and taught them the now-famous Peabody Duck March. Mr. Pembroke became the Peabody Duckmaster, serving in that capacity for 50 years until his retirement in 1991.

Nearly 90 years after the inaugural march, ducks still visit the lobby fountain at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day."  (This was taken from the Peabody Hotel site)

City trolley, I don't want to say that some strange people ride the trolley, but boy howdy, there were some strange people.  One gentleman in top hat and tails, complete with a glitter cane called out to a lady at a stop and insisted she call Mama because Mama was worried, the driver held up the trolley while the lady found a piece of paper and a pencil so she could copy down Mama's number---only in the South.

Then it was time for dinner and as good as B.B. King had been we tried and Irish barbecue and though the food was ok it couldn't hold a candle to the night before.  Mac had brisket again, I had shrimp and the cousins had ribs.  Because dinner hadn't been up to our (new) standards we went elsewhere for dessert.
Mac and I had a Zombie chocolate dessert made up of milk chocolate, dark chocolate, cheese cake bits, vanilla ice cream, drizzled with chocolate an covered in whipped cream.  It was meant for 2, we shared it with his cousin who'd had carrot cake while his wife had bread pudding in a brandy sauce.

Zombie Chocolate

And I haven't told you about the music, it was everywhere!!!! The first night was a 5 piece band with both a male and female singer.  They mostly did soul and blues.  She sang a Bonnie Raitt song that gave me chills.
Where we went for dessert we had an older black man playing an acoustic guitar backed by a midi (it provides rhythm) and he was very good.  Every place in town had music, it was fantastic.
Our trip was too short, but as I said we should be back there very soon.