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Published: July 10th 2013
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Day 7 – July 3
rd Memphis to St. Louis
Today we visit the metropolis of Memphis. First stop, the famous
Peabody Hotel. We have a deadline, we have to be there by 11:00, if we don’t get there by then we miss the big event. “What event”, you ask? Of course, it’s the marching of the ducks! Ever since the 1930’s the hotel’s Duckmaster (yes, there really is such a position) marches the wild Mallard ducks from their penthouse pen down the elevator to the lobby where they march, in a line, up a ramp and into the marble fountain. There they will spend the day, quietly paddling around, pleasing visitors, until 4:00 when they reverse the march to the elevator and back up to the roof. After three months of this strenuous duty they are returned to the “wild” on a ranch provided for them.
After the duck-show we wondered into the menswear shop just off the lobby. The shop carries some of the wildest/coolest/most unique shirts I’ve ever seen. I probably would have bought one if it wasn’t for the price tags. Almost all of them were about $165.00 each. The cool looking blazer
Son House roadside marler
He influenced many of the best known blues musicians but hardly anybody knows his name. This marker is along US Rt 61. Called "The Blues Highway" because so many musicians traveled it from New Orleans to Memphis and ultimately to Chicago. I looked at was a better value at $295. One of the rooms of this boutique had at least 20 autographed guitars displayed on the wall. The sales lady told us they had more in the back that they had no room to display out front.
Our next stop in Memphis was the
Gibson guitar factory. This is one of three factories Gibson has, each specializing in a particular type of guitar. This factory primarily makes semi-hallow body guitars as well as the occasional hallow body guitar. They are all electric. Acoustic and custom guitars are made in other locations. I highly recommend this free tour if you ever get to Memphis.
We also drove by, but didn’t tour,
Sun Studios. This is the recording studio that was pretty much the birth place of rock and roll. It was where Elvis made his recordings until he made it big and switched to RCA.
Although not huge Elvis fans, we simply couldn’t come to Memphis without making a pilgrimage to
Graceland. I won’t spend much time telling you about Elvis’ home, but I have included pictures so you get an idea what his place is like. My impression was
Peabody marble fountain
Ducks swim at the base. The extravagant flower arrangement is changed overnight when no guests are around. the house looked as if you put a Mississippi boy in a nice house in Tennessee and gave him more money than he could spend and you get Graceland. Nothing classy about it, but it was a fun place to be.
I was impressed with Elvis’ generosity, he was a true philanthropist. He was also a genuine good guy. I learned too that he had a twin brother Jesse that died at birth. Graceland was an interesting stop but not a highlight of our trip.
We stopped for a late lunch on Beale Street at BB King’s place. Nothing fancy here, looked pretty much as a blues club should look. Jill had ribs and gave them very high marks (she wished she would have ordered more). As usual, we headed out of town to our next destination much later than we had planned. Next stop – St. Louis. The trip was uneventful but we only rolled into Jill’s mom’s house about 11:00. The end to another long day.
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Dad
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Clarksdale, MS
Too bad you missed Morgan Freeman's Grond Zero Blues Club, and the Shack-Up Inn (share croppers' cabins). The first cotton gin in the US, still operational on the rr track, next to the shacks. Holes in the walls and floor covered with old license plates. Also, the first bbq place to serve blacks in MS (out the back door). The Lebanese owner would not give in to the the Klan. We will go back for a second visit this fall, on our way to SPI.