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09/10/05 - Memphis, TN (Photos - All KY, TN, & AR photos) Historic diners, walking tours, Elvis impersonators on Beale Street |
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Our bed was quite fabulous last night. So nice, in fact, that we got a late start on the day. We walked down toward the South Main Historic District which, everyone says, is on the upswing, and has galleries and restaurants opening in a neighborhood that has been less than savory in the not so distant past. This is the area where the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. MLK Jr. was shot, is located. We stopped for an excellent breakfast/lunch at the historic Arcade diner before walking north through the very nicely done riverfront parks lining the Mississippi.
Walking around Memphis, we were really struck by what a nice town it is. It has such a great energy and the people are so friendly. The waterfront area is beautiful and great for walking. The music and civil liberties history is truly engaging and there are so many things to see and do; we are already excited for our next opportunity to return!
In the evening, we headed out toward Beale Street, where there are extra street musicians hanging out these days now that some of the New Orleans entertainers have managed to make their way to this very Bourbon Street-like area. Upon seeing an Elvis impersonator hanging out of the window of one of the bars, we decided that that bar should be our first stop. A strange character, this Elvis-guy, but his quirkiness provided most of the entertainment from his performance. Dinner was down the street at Alfred's, where Caroline managed to have an exceptional bbq pork sandwich (yes, 2 in 2 days) and Scott a better-than-average bbq chicken sandwich. Then it was back to the Elvis bar until his performance was over, when we decided that we'd had our fill of Beale Street for the night. We're sure it probably got crazier after we left, as the Southern Heritage Football game was just ending, and we were pretty sure we knew where thousands of the fans would be heading. |
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| Bye, Bye Horses...Hello Elvis | |
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09/09/05 - Hurricane Mills and Memphis, TN (Photos - All KY, TN, & AR photos) Loretta Lynn, a Duck Tour and a trip back to the Old South via the Orpheum Theatre |
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This morning, we set out for Memphis, heading west on I-40 through rural Tennessee. The landscape was beautifully forested, so thick and green you could literally smell the foliage. It was intoxicating! With no plans for sightseeing before reaching Memphis, we expected to roll into town shortly after noon and were excited to begin our tour of Elvis' hometown. But then...
We had to stop for gas about an hour or so into the trip. At our exit, we noticed that this was also the exit for Loretta Lynn's Dude Ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN. There were lots of billboards for her restaurant, music venue, house tour, museum and the dude ranch in general. Well, we were intrigued by all this, having never heard of any of this and well, how could we not go check out the ranch of the original Coal Miner's Daughter?! As we approached the ranch, we drove down a winding lane, passing by the RV park, and a whole Loretta Lynn compound opened up before us! Who knew?!! Our drive culminated at the main gift shop building, where we entered and watched with fascination as a multitude of (mostly) southern retiree tourists purchased their tickets to tour her mansion and other buildings on the grounds. We opted not to take the guided tour (the postcard pics satisfied any curiosity we had), but thoroughly enjoyed perusing the wacky and wonderful assortment of LL souvenirs in the various gift shops scattered throughout the grounds. The only thing that kept Caroline from buying the tee shirt that had "Loretta Lynn" spelled out in rhinestones was the fact that we'd be at Graceland before too long...
Okay, okay, time to get back on track. We rolled into Memphis a little later than we anticipated, just in time for a late lunch at the famous Memphis bbq joint, the Rendezvous. It was delicious - now that's barbeque! Before lunch, we checked into our luxurious room at the Doubletree Hotel right across the street from the grand and historic Peabody Hotel - an AWESOME downtown location that we scored on Hotwire for $95/nt! Apparently energized by our excitement at arriving (and bbq lunch), we decided to take the 5:30 Duck Tour in an amphibious vehicle in order to get the lay of the land and to get a boat ride to boot; then we rushed off to a 7:15 showing of "Gone with the Wind" (the longest freaking movie ever) with bad sound at the beautifully restored Orpheum Theatre here in downtown Memphis. At least now we can say we've seen it, but Caroline will not be doing that again anytime soon! |
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