Peter and I were stereotypical tourists yesterday. We packed about as much into one day in Memphis as one could reasonably expect.
Peter was on the ball finding out what a visitor must see in a short period of time.
The previous night we hit Rendezvous, a really incredible BBQ spot in a basically unmarked alley in Memphis. This place was unreal – we think our waiter was actually the guy pictured on the menu. We shared a small rack of ribs, a pork chop, and a beef brisket platter. Washed down by a pitcher of Michelob (all they have on tap), this was the perfect dinner after a day of driving.
We wandered down the street to Memphis’ legendary Beale Street, home of plenty of outdoor bars, live music, and general fun. Peter made a point of walking directly up to a Memphis police officer and asking about the details of the city’s open container laws. The officer confirmed that we were within our rights to drink openly on the street – so we did. Exhausted from the day’s drive, we didn’t stay long. We polished off a tall light beer, racing against the southern heat’s relentless effort to warm our drinks, and headed back to the hotel.
We woke up in time for some more Belgian waffles in the hotel lobby. I am going to be done with Belgian waffles for at least a year after this trip.
The first stop of the day was the Peabody Hotel, just blocks from where we stayed. The Peabody is a classic southern city’s signature hotel. The large ornate lobby is home to a tradition dating back almost 70 years. Every day at 11 a.m. sharp, the hotel staff marches five ducks out of an elevator car through the lobby on a red carpet to a medium-sized fountain in the middle of the lobby. The ducks march along and jump into the water where they swim all day until the tradition is performed in reverse at 5 p.m.
We felt like tourist cattle but it was a very cool sight. We were glad we did it.
Next stop was the Civil Rights Museum in downtown Memphis. This impressive museum is built around what remains of the Lorraine Motel, the site of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In fact the very sight of his death is perfectly preserved. Curators have worked the culmination of the large exhibit into the exact site of his hotel room outside of which he was killed. The room is made up to look as it did on the last day of his life. A large wreath marks the spot on the balcony.
The museum staff has done a very good job, in our opinion, of separating the accomplishments of the Civil Rights Movement with the crime of Dr. King’s assassination. After walking through the museum, visitors are directed across the street to another building for a detailed account of the criminal investigation and subsequent manhunt for the elusive James Earl Ray. It was news to both of us that Ray had been ultimately captured in London.
From the museum we stopped for lunch at about the first place we could find. It tuned out to be a nondescript Philadelphia-themed cheese steak joint. We couldn’t have asked for anything better.
After lunch, we picked up the car and drove to the staple of any visit to Memphis – Graceland. Today being the day after the 30th anniversary of the King’s death (allegedly), Graceland was buzzing with activity. We lucked out and pulled up right in front of the mansion. Someone had removed the barricades from the alleyway along Elvis Presley Blvd. and we pulled right in.
The outer wall at Graceland is totally covered in multi-colored handwritten notes and messages. We walked up to the main gate and shot a few photos, gladly accepting requests to photograph other visitors with their cameras. Elvis Presley Blvd. was buzzing with activity, and the main cross street was filled mostly with airport shuttle-style mini buses ferrying people back and forth from the visitor center up to the mansion for tours.
We didn’t do any of the formal tours mostly because neither of us really like Elvis but we walked around and saw the madness of the event. I almost caved and paid $8 for a ticket to tour Elvis’ two airplanes parked right there on site. I have no idea how they got them there – for those of you in Washington, imagine an old 707 parked on the side of Rockville Pike. Peter painted enough of a picture for me that I was able to save my $8.
After about an hour of walking around we were on our way.
On the way back into downtown Memphis, we stopped at Sun Studios, another major tourist attraction and the original recording site for Elvis, Johnny Cash, B.B. King, and others. We picked up a few shirts and a couple of milkshakes from two giggling and heavily tattooed (and perhaps drugged) waitresses.
After choking down the poorly mixed Hershey syrup bombs, we went back to the hotel and rested for a brief while before heading back out to check a few more items off of the list.
Just about all we had left to do was to have an unobstructed view of the Mississippi River – really quite a site this far south. We walked over there past the relatively aggressive panhandlers – just about our only complaint about Memphis – and strolled along the river looking over into Arkansas for a while. We jumped on the street trolley (the last item on out list) and headed back toward the hotel. We took the long way, heading south past some prime riverside real estate. The trolley turned east and then north again to follow Main Street, a thoroughfare with which we have become familiar. We jumped off at the hotel and rested for the remainder of the afternoon.
Following a little recuperation in the a/c, we headed back down to Beale Street for a little nightlife. We walked up and down before deciding on a less-crowded bar with music pouring out into the street. A few drinks and a pile of nachos later, we headed in for the night.
Memphis is a cool town.
Robin and I just competed in our first ocean swim triathlon. The Imperial Beach Triathlon was a sprint distance – .5K ocean swim, 15K bike ride around a decommissioned Naval air station, and a 5K run through some sort of military training facility.
