Round about the town
Saturday, slept in because of being up so late. Went to the Metal Museum and had a great conversation with the lady at reception about the college, etc. Saw another lady blacksmithing and the others in the shop welding and such. Wonderful sculptures around the grounds and two kitty cats stalking birds. There seemed to be an event that evening and a tent was erected and caterers arriving during our tour of the grounds. There was a gazebo that overlooked the Mississippi River. We left as a gang of people showed up for said unidentified event.
We then drove across the bridge into Arkansas (just to say we'd been) and saw an exit for West Memphis. Had to go there because of the West Memphis Three (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_Three). The town was eerily quiet - a depressed area.
Back into Tennessee, we stopped at O'Riley's to get a bulb for my car's tail light. It was funny because Elvis was in his kilt, and he got a lot of strange looks from the folks. Ha ha.
We went to Beale Street to eat. Appetizer at one place, walked around and dinner at another. Saw street performers, lots of blues playing. Of course, everyone had to ask if Elvis was Scottish. ha ha. Went in a gallery depicting photos from the Civil Rights era and talked with nice folks there. Went into a neat old 5 and dime type store called Schwabb's and talked to a cool guy there for a while.
Took one of the horse carriages that night, with a really nice driver and heard great Memphis history. She let us off at the bar Ernestine & Hazel's because we wanted to see the haunted juke box in action. Unfortunately, there was a wedding reception going on downstairs. We pushed through the crowed and went upstairs, sitting in the "red room", enjoying the decay and decadent history, while staring out the window at the street cars and people passing by.
With the crowd worsening and revelry increasing, we left for a quiet - albeit cold - walk back to Beale - while partaking in photographing hoping for orbs. We stopped by the Lorraine Motel, which is now a civil rights museum. There was a wreath on the balcony where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot. It was late, and we were the only ones there. It was a quiet that makes one feel uneasy.
As the wind picked up, we decided to take the trolley back. It only costs a dollar per person, so we stayed on for the complete circuit, getting more history and touristy advice from the driver. Back at Beale, we decided to head back because the crowd was acting up - all drunk, etc. We did grab a pizza on the way back to the hostel.
Back at Pilgrim Place, we went to the shared kitchen/dining room to eat our pizza and met a cool guy from Australia who was (dare I say it) on walk-about in the U.S. He is a chef back home, and was really enjoying southern cuisine. We told him about Stone Soup across the street (which later said was wonderful). We talked to him for hours until I was just falling out. We are going to meet up with him when he gets to Atlanta in a couple of weeks.
We then drove across the bridge into Arkansas (just to say we'd been) and saw an exit for West Memphis. Had to go there because of the West Memphis Three (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_Three). The town was eerily quiet - a depressed area.
Back into Tennessee, we stopped at O'Riley's to get a bulb for my car's tail light. It was funny because Elvis was in his kilt, and he got a lot of strange looks from the folks. Ha ha.
We went to Beale Street to eat. Appetizer at one place, walked around and dinner at another. Saw street performers, lots of blues playing. Of course, everyone had to ask if Elvis was Scottish. ha ha. Went in a gallery depicting photos from the Civil Rights era and talked with nice folks there. Went into a neat old 5 and dime type store called Schwabb's and talked to a cool guy there for a while.
Took one of the horse carriages that night, with a really nice driver and heard great Memphis history. She let us off at the bar Ernestine & Hazel's because we wanted to see the haunted juke box in action. Unfortunately, there was a wedding reception going on downstairs. We pushed through the crowed and went upstairs, sitting in the "red room", enjoying the decay and decadent history, while staring out the window at the street cars and people passing by.
With the crowd worsening and revelry increasing, we left for a quiet - albeit cold - walk back to Beale - while partaking in photographing hoping for orbs. We stopped by the Lorraine Motel, which is now a civil rights museum. There was a wreath on the balcony where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot. It was late, and we were the only ones there. It was a quiet that makes one feel uneasy.
As the wind picked up, we decided to take the trolley back. It only costs a dollar per person, so we stayed on for the complete circuit, getting more history and touristy advice from the driver. Back at Beale, we decided to head back because the crowd was acting up - all drunk, etc. We did grab a pizza on the way back to the hostel.
Back at Pilgrim Place, we went to the shared kitchen/dining room to eat our pizza and met a cool guy from Australia who was (dare I say it) on walk-about in the U.S. He is a chef back home, and was really enjoying southern cuisine. We told him about Stone Soup across the street (which later said was wonderful). We talked to him for hours until I was just falling out. We are going to meet up with him when he gets to Atlanta in a couple of weeks.