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Published: February 1st 2011
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It’s been a couple weeks since I returned from Fiji and there has been a lot happening – but I’m going to save that for another blog. I have a few more weeks at home too before I return to work on the ships – again more in another blog. But this last weekend, I took a mini trip into the southern states for a wedding!
I met Logan the first time I worked on the Destiny. We lived across the hall from each other and were really good friends. We were reunited a year later on the Glory and at that time he had just started seeing Cristina. They did another contract together and Cristina has since moved from Romania to Arkansas. They invited me to their wedding at their home in Arkansas and I was determined to get there.
I flew out of Buffalo early Saturday morning – thank you to Kevin & Alexis for chauffeuring me!! – and arrived in Memphis in the late morning. I rented a car and immediately headed for Graceland. What else would I do in Memphis first?! I’m not a huge Elvis fan, but I’m intrigued by anything that people are
fanatic about and by tourist sights that people line up to see. I’ve always got to see what the fuss is all about.
Graceland was tourist tacky and gaudy and wonderful for it. I did the full audio tour of the house and grounds, took lots of pictures along the way. The one thing that truly impressed me was seeing all of Elvis’ awards. It’s one thing to hear the facts that somebody has won dozens of grammys or has x-number of gold records or has been awarded so many distinctions . . . and it is another thing to stand in a hallway lined with gold records or to stand in a room at least 15 feet high just lined floor to ceiling with awards. Amazing.
After doing the complete tour – including paying my respect at the grave – I picked up a postcard for my friend Laura (a true Elvis fan) and grabbed lunch in one of the diners. Then I hit the highway.
I made myself a mix CD of Memphis and Arkansas themed music. I cranked the stereo and sang along to the CDs as I drove through Memphis, across the border
into Arkansas and along the highway past all the country fields. My destination was the Super 8 hotel in Hazen, a tiny little town along the highway and only 10 minutes away from the even tinier village where the wedding would be. Checked in, freshened and dressed up and then headed into Duvall’s Bluff, Logan and Cristina’s home.
The wedding was lovely. The ceremony was in their backyard and we ate homemade food served in the house and outside. I spent most of the evening talking to Logan’s college friends and some of his family. I was so happy to see Logan and Cristina and to be able to witness their wedding. They’re great people and a great couple and great friends. I remember sitting with them in the crew bar on the Glory and having separate conversations with both of them about how much they truly liked each other – something that can be rare on ships. I got to see them at a point in their relationship that their other friends and family didn’t get to see and Logan is one of the friends I’ve made from ships who I most cherish, so I really wanted to
make it possible to get down to their wedding. I’m so glad I did.
It was a long day for me however, so I was ready to crash when I left the wedding and got back to my hotel. And I did.
Sunday morning I got up around 8am to grab breakfast at the hotel and check out. Then I headed back to Memphis. The drive felt longer on the way back, likely because I was tired. It also rained very heavily at one point which made it more slow going. But eventually I got back to the city and headed downtown. I wanted to see a few more spots before flying out later that day.
First stop was the Peabody Hotel. The hotel has a strange tradition . . . they have a group of ducks who live at the top of the hotel. Every day at 11am, they ride the elevator down to the lobby and march along a red carpet to the hotel’s central fountain. They then spend the day swimming around the fountain until 5pm when they march back to the elevator and return to their home upstairs. Crowds gather every day to
watch the duck march and today I was one of them! It was both entertaining and bizarre how grand a scene it was for such a small little moment of ducks walking about 20 feet.
From the hotel I walked a few blocks over to Beale Street, famous for its parties, night life and the many bars and theatres where famous Memphis singers have performed over the years. It was interesting to see it on Sunday – you could see the remnants of the Saturday night bar scene here and there. It was still raining a bit at this point so I didn’t really linger outside very long.
I then stopped at a small little restaurant that is “world famous” – Gus’ Fried Chicken. It’s such a little small-town southern feeling restaurant that is totally a greasy spoon with pretty much only fried food on the menu. But it is a popular place! I didn’t eat very much – my stomach can’t handle too much fried food. But I did try some sweet potato pie for the first time!
My final tourist stop in Memphis was at the Sun Studios – where Elvis made his first recording
and hundreds of other artists have recorded countless famous songs. It was a great tour. It’s a small little space so there isn’t actually a lot to see. But the guides are good and interesting. And you get to go into the actual studio and hold the mic Elvis used and see spots where the different artists have made music history. Here is where I also picked up my tacky Memphis souvenir – Elvis sunglasses!
Then it was back to the rental location, back to the airport and time to fly home. I made a fun discovery on this mini weekend. While a big part of me really looks forward to putting my suitcase in a closet somewhere and staying put at home, there’s also part of me that can’t imagine stopping travelling. This weekend as I drove around singing “Walking in Memphis” and toured spots like Graceland, I had these little moments of excitement – and it’s the same sort of excitement I feel when wandering streets of foreign cities or wandering beaches on far off islands. It’s good to know that I can get that same feeling of travel excitement from a mini weekend in North America
– hopefully that will help me when the time comes for my extensive travel days to come to an end.
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