Beale Street & Tunica

---

October 23, 2010

A beautiful fall weekend found us on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee with our best friends Rod & Mary. A three block section of Beale Street in downtown Memphis is bordered with bars, bars, and more bars. While we were there on a sunny Saturday afternoon, we definitely did not get the full effect of what this area is meant for.....a night visit!

We began our visit to Memphis by driving by Graceland, Elvis Presley's home. Rod wanted to see it, but not experience it. From there we drove to a park along the Mississippi River, walked along the shoreline and watched barges pass.

Just up the hill was Beale Street. After parking we rode the River Loop Trolley. For only $1 we had a nice tour of downtown Memphis. We debarked at the Farmer's Market with only ten minutes until they were packing up. It was obviously a very popular market.

We lucked into a huge art festival on Main Street. The street was lined with hundreds of artists selling their works. There was a demonstration section where you could watch some artists at work. In addition to the artists, there was, of course, festival food, and live music.

By the time we made it back to Beale Street we were exhausted. We had saved a visit to Dyers as our last stop. They are famous for their deep fried hamburgers. It was worth the visit. Delicious!

In addition to our day in Memphis, we also took a river cruise, and visited all nine casinos that Tunica, Mississippi had to offer.

While visiting Tunica we went to the Tunica Museum (FREE), and learned not only about the area's history, but about a long time restaurant called the Blue and White. What better place for an afternoon pie break. Pie, however, was not to be on the menu. One of the locals suggested we try their one-of-a-kind dessert: The Doughnut Tower. This concoction was two doughnuts topped with a scoop of ice cream, drizzled with chocolate, and some whipped cream as garnish!! Glad we didn't have the pie! Another fun weekend with friends.

---