Day 8 - Memphis, mile 734

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Geo: 35.1516, -90.0499

Boring steam-boating day yesterday, with overcast and chilly weather and effectively no wi-fi.

Sadly, overall the cruise was slightly disappointing. The novelty, entertainers, food and accommodations were good. The service was inconsistent, the wi-fi woeful, and the poor organisation in the dining room forced us to eat more often at the casual upstairs buffet than we would have liked. The shore excursion experiences were also too variable.

A very good day in Memphis though! Terrific three hrs at Graceland, trolley ride to the National Civil Rights Museum, The Peabody's ducks, then a great Rock 'n Roll dinner at BB King's Blues Club on Beale St. Best time we've had so far, see pics for more detail.

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Photos

Graceland from the street
Very liveable mansion, on 13 acres about 10 miles south of Memphis. Elvis bought it in 1957, very early in his career. On the opposite side of the street to Graceland is the tourist/retail area. It has umpteen memorabilia shops, his car museum, his two aeroplanes, other minor exhibits and cafes.
Elvis was born on 8 Jan 35 with his still-born twin brother Jessie. The family was dirt poor and qualified for public housing when they moved to Memphis from Tupelo. Elvis cut his first record in 1954 and became a music phenomenon in 1956. Rock and Roll was in its infancy, and Elvis gave it form with his larger-than-life stage persona.

Graceland
Compared to other mansions we have seen, this felt more like a home (albeit over-the-top sometimes). The multi-media tour on supplied iPads was very good and we walked through the house and the several buildings on the grounds. Several rooms were devoted to displaying his unbelievable number of awards and gold records. Elvis apparently was very generous and gave freely to those in need. When he died his estate was not large (less than $1M by some reports) and it was Priscilla's creation of the Graceland memorial that has generated hundreds of millions.

Basement toys
Too many inside pics to show here, but this material-lined pool room was typical of the flamboyant entertaining areas. We noted the very many ash-trays distributed throughout the house - times have changed.

National Civil Rights Museum
We mis-calculated, because 90min was not enough time at this excellent but sombre museum. The winding displays and dioramas led us out onto this balcony. Here, outside room 306 of the Lorraine Hotel, Martin Luther King was shot to death by a sniper in the brick building to the right of the central street light. The date was 4 Apr 68. It was a very disturbing experience and an excellent portrayal of the Civil Rights movement. Nothing is without controversy though. We saw signs outside protesting that the $27M museum refurb money was mis-directed, while people remain in need.

The Peabody Hotel ducks
Who'd have known? In 1933 some rich, drunk duck hunters brought their decoy ducks back to the famous old hotel. As a joke they left them in the fountain and went up to bed. In the morning the guests were delighted to see the ducks serenely floating around the base of the fountain, and a tradition was born. After a time the Hotel built a duck palace on the roof and each day at 11am the Duckmaster brings the family of five ducks down the elevator and across the red carpet to the fountain. They are fed some corn and remain there all day until 5pm when they return to the roof. What a hoot!

Duckmaster
This is the sixth Duckmaster at the Hotel. Twice a day he gives a short spiel about the duck tradition and the lobby is packed with hotel guests and tourists there to see the show. The rooftop duck palace is open to the public and it is well worth the elevator ride. The five ducks typically are replaced every three months.

Beale St
Nashville is to country music (white) what Memphis is to Rhythm and Blues (black), with R&B as the forerunner to Rock 'n Roll. Beale St is the legendary home to many black Blues and R&B musicians.

BB Kings Club
During a stop on our city tour, the guide called over a pedestrian friend to talk to us. Turns out he was 'Memphis Jones', a local entertainer who has a deep knowledge of Memphis music. Jones was playing at BB King's that evening and he invited us all. The music was great and the BBQ chicken and ribs (even the beans) were terrific. Memphis prides itself on good BBQ - any new ribs restaurant is assessed, and if it is not up to standard - "it's despatched to Texas" ;-) .

Comments

[Lowie]

Sel, Rob,Welcome (back) Stateside. If you would like to make your presence more permanent I could speak to Don(ald). Your trip is surrounding me. I am in Birmingham, Alabama. More later.Have fun.Cheers,Lowie

[Douglas Betts]

Very interesting insights on Graceland and Memphis!Speaking of ducks, still planning our Christmas catchup here and trying to get all ours in a row - like trying to herd cats! May try instead for NY.Best for Christmas!D

[Steve Corcoran]

Was the music good?

[robselclark]

Good luck Douglas. I'm pretty sure that these trained ducks would be much easier to organise.

[Selwyn Clark]

Yes Steve, very loud too. The band played mainly early rock and roll songs and I even raised a sweat hopping around the dance floor with Robyn.

[Morag]

Licky for some eh! Oh to be a duck, well, in this,place anyway

[Morag]

That kinda music gets one hoppin'