Walkin' in Memphis

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Geo: 35.1496, -90.0489

85 and sunny
2 hours 5 minutes
136 miles
1 King of Rock n Roll
5 ducks
3 duck masters
4 slabs of ribs
1 fraternity brother

We arrived in Memphis around 11:30 and went straight to Graceland. We are not Elvis fans and we weren't excited to go but it is one of those bucket list or boxes to be checked off. It is pretty expensive to go, too. We got the minimum 1.5 tour for $36 a person (there are no rides). It is an ipad tour. You start on one side of the road and they drive you onto Graceland property. I was surprised there weren't any Elvis crazies. The tour was actually pretty cool. We went through the whole house (well not the sacred upstairs.), his grounds and the racketball court. We saw all of his awards, outfits and other such memorabilia. You could see all of his cars and airplanes and archives for an additioinal 30 some dollars but we were good. It was better than I thought and now our box is checked.

While chatting with my sister in law about where we were, she asked if we were going to Rendezvous. It was lunchtime and I told Paul what she said and he said at the same time two of his friends said the same thing. So off we went to our hotel, The Peabody, and this BBQ restaurant around the corner. I looked it up and it said closed until 430. Bummer. Paul decided to call just in case the internet was wrong. The internet was right. He called and the guy said, "We are closed. But if you want some ribs, you can come in now." Weird but ok. So we walked down an alley across from the Peabody, went in a strange door and down to a basement level and there were all kinds of people there. But they were closed. A man came up to us and said, "We are closed. But we can serve you ribs, sides and drinks." Ok? They didn't look closed. It was a great atmosphere. He filled our table with 4 slabs of ribs, coleslaw, rolls, and pitchers of lemonade (you could order well drinks). It was deeeeelicious. Awesome ribs with this spice rub on them and the bbq sauce was great too. I felt like we were doing something wrong which was even more fun. It felt like a secret club. Like a speak-easy. An Eat-Easy. It was so good and fun. We all enjoyed it. So if you go there, go before it opens.

The fun continued at the Peabody Hotel. This is a really nice hotel that features ducks. You may know the story. The general manager played a prank in the 1930s and put a couple of ducks in the fountain and it was a hit. Long story short. Since then, they keep ducks in the pond during the day. Every day at 11, they waddle the ducks down from their palace on the roof into pond and back up at 5. It is a ceremony every day. Well, for a small (or not so small) fee, you can be a duck master for one of the ceremonies. So we surprised the kids with duck master honors. The lobby fills with hundreds of people. People come two hours ahead to get a good spot. But, if you are duck master, you have a reserved table. When we came down, there were people everywhere. The kids were scanning for a good spot to watch not realizing they were part of the entertainment. Paul and I guided them past the ropes to a table roped off for "celebrities." The kids were mortified to see dad taking the ropes down thinking he is just taking things upon himself. Two ladies even started in on Paul that the table was reserved. He looked at them and kindly said, "Reserved for me." "oh, oh. sorry."

The Duck Master was great. Full of energy and excitement. He came over to meet the kids and told them what they were doing and all the pieces fell into place. They were all stunned. They kept thanking us. He announced to everyone who they were and what they would be doing. They actually got the ducks out of the pond and waddled them up the elevator to the roof and into their home. It was soooo coool. Paul and I got to go as momarazzi and paparazi. The surprise and fun of it was well worth it. The kids LOVED it. They also got a duck master cane, certificate, rubber duck and duck cookie from their bakery. Many celebrities have done this including Oprah.

In the evening, we went to one of Paul's fraternity brother's homes to see the family and have dinner. It was such a nice night. The kids swam. We hung out. They are such nice people. They used to live in Michigan. It was nice. We got back to the hotel around 12:30 which is late for us. Let's just say, I was DD for the night. Paul had fun with his buddy.

Another great day. We think we will explore Memphis a little more, then off to Nashville. See you there Tina!!! Still can't believe you will be there the same weekend. Anyway, check back for Nashville activities.

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Comments

[Gach]

We miss you. Enjoy your vacation. Love

[Gramps]

Amazing video! What great fun!