Walking in Memphis
Amber and I returned last night from out anniversary trip to Memphis. Highlights:
On our way there, we unexpectedly stumbled into Helen Keller's hometown, and snapped a picture of her birthplace.
Passed by Huntsville, Alabama, where they have a NASA Space Camp and Space museum. There is a gigantor rocket on the side of the highway, and I got as excited as a kid when I saw it. I shouted "Big fuckin' rocket!" and made Amber take pictures.
Passed a sign for "Coon Dog Cemetery" in Alabama, but didn't stop to investigate. Wish I would have.
Sun Studio was awesome. Saw the recording studio where Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, BB King, Jerry Lee Lewis, and so many others got their start. Got to have my picture taken with a microphone that was in use during the early '50s, and so was likey used by Elvis to record some early hits.
Hotel was a Crowne Plaza we got on Hotwire. Wasn't exactly a 3 and a half star place as promised.
Jillian's was a huge arcade and restaurant similar to a Dave & Busters. Good times were had playing a sort of horse racing simulator.
Beale Street was a blast. Lots of fun little shops and restaurants. Ate at BB King's, enjoyed a catfish po' boy and some fine blues music. A guy who looked to be about 115 years old wailed on a guitar like no one I've ever seen. Left the club and hit the street for a Big Ass Beer and jello shots. Trolley was not in service after 6 pm, and so we walked back the dozen blocks to our hotel. Not a good idea. Lucky to be alive.
Next morning went to Arcade Diner, a Memphis institution since 1919 and a place were several movie scenes have been filmed. The sweet potato pancakes were tremendous.
The National Civil Rights Museum was unforgettable. It was built around the Lorraine Hotel, site of the April 4, 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The museum spans two city blocks so that attendees can stand in the same room as Dr. King was staying, as well as the boarding house James Earl Ray was staying. It sounds morbid and tactless, but the effect is actually chilling and effective. (A display case showing evidence against Ray, including the ACTUAL BULLET excised from Dr. King, might have crossed the morbid and tactless line a bit.)
Yes, we went to Graceland. I thought it would be a fun, semi-ironic thing to do, and something you couldn't go to Memphis without trying. However, once I got over the sticker shock (29 bucks a ticket plus 8 to park), everyone was so excited and sincere it was hard not to get caught up in it. The house wasn't as tacky as legend would have it, but the jetplane (Lisa Marie), was awesomely overdone. (24K seatbelt buckles?) The whole thing had a vaguely corporate feel to it, much like a Disney theme park. It wasn't su much about Elvis, as it was about Elvis(TM). The whole music career aside, it was fascinating to me to see what a poor redneck kid from Mississippi did with a massive amount of wealth when it fell in his lap. (Answer: bought a house with a big yard, got golf carts for all his buddies, and they rode around shooting fireworks at each other. Really.) Elvis seemed to have an awesome sense of humor, a lot of humility, a generous spirit, and would have been a great guy to hang out with.
Dinner was at Erling Jensen a fantastic fine dining establishment. The food, service, atmosphere, and overall experience rivaled any restaurant we tried in Chicago. (And we have the bill to prove just how fancy it was.) On the way back to the hotel, we got some crackers, cheese, and cake to have with the champagne we brought with us.
The next morning, we checked out of the hotel and went to Crepe Makers, a slick little place with a whole list of dinner and dessert crepes available for the delight of the masses. It was so delicious, I don't know why the place wasn't crawling with customers. I guess some people don't know a good thing when they have it.
A quick stop by Avenue Carriage Crossing mall for Amber's Sephora fix, and we headed back home. Only got a little lost on the way.
For anyone interested, there will be pics forthcoming on my myspace or facebook pages.
On our way there, we unexpectedly stumbled into Helen Keller's hometown, and snapped a picture of her birthplace.
Passed by Huntsville, Alabama, where they have a NASA Space Camp and Space museum. There is a gigantor rocket on the side of the highway, and I got as excited as a kid when I saw it. I shouted "Big fuckin' rocket!" and made Amber take pictures.
Passed a sign for "Coon Dog Cemetery" in Alabama, but didn't stop to investigate. Wish I would have.
Sun Studio was awesome. Saw the recording studio where Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, BB King, Jerry Lee Lewis, and so many others got their start. Got to have my picture taken with a microphone that was in use during the early '50s, and so was likey used by Elvis to record some early hits.
Hotel was a Crowne Plaza we got on Hotwire. Wasn't exactly a 3 and a half star place as promised.
Jillian's was a huge arcade and restaurant similar to a Dave & Busters. Good times were had playing a sort of horse racing simulator.
Beale Street was a blast. Lots of fun little shops and restaurants. Ate at BB King's, enjoyed a catfish po' boy and some fine blues music. A guy who looked to be about 115 years old wailed on a guitar like no one I've ever seen. Left the club and hit the street for a Big Ass Beer and jello shots. Trolley was not in service after 6 pm, and so we walked back the dozen blocks to our hotel. Not a good idea. Lucky to be alive.
Next morning went to Arcade Diner, a Memphis institution since 1919 and a place were several movie scenes have been filmed. The sweet potato pancakes were tremendous.
The National Civil Rights Museum was unforgettable. It was built around the Lorraine Hotel, site of the April 4, 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The museum spans two city blocks so that attendees can stand in the same room as Dr. King was staying, as well as the boarding house James Earl Ray was staying. It sounds morbid and tactless, but the effect is actually chilling and effective. (A display case showing evidence against Ray, including the ACTUAL BULLET excised from Dr. King, might have crossed the morbid and tactless line a bit.)
Yes, we went to Graceland. I thought it would be a fun, semi-ironic thing to do, and something you couldn't go to Memphis without trying. However, once I got over the sticker shock (29 bucks a ticket plus 8 to park), everyone was so excited and sincere it was hard not to get caught up in it. The house wasn't as tacky as legend would have it, but the jetplane (Lisa Marie), was awesomely overdone. (24K seatbelt buckles?) The whole thing had a vaguely corporate feel to it, much like a Disney theme park. It wasn't su much about Elvis, as it was about Elvis(TM). The whole music career aside, it was fascinating to me to see what a poor redneck kid from Mississippi did with a massive amount of wealth when it fell in his lap. (Answer: bought a house with a big yard, got golf carts for all his buddies, and they rode around shooting fireworks at each other. Really.) Elvis seemed to have an awesome sense of humor, a lot of humility, a generous spirit, and would have been a great guy to hang out with.
Dinner was at Erling Jensen a fantastic fine dining establishment. The food, service, atmosphere, and overall experience rivaled any restaurant we tried in Chicago. (And we have the bill to prove just how fancy it was.) On the way back to the hotel, we got some crackers, cheese, and cake to have with the champagne we brought with us.
The next morning, we checked out of the hotel and went to Crepe Makers, a slick little place with a whole list of dinner and dessert crepes available for the delight of the masses. It was so delicious, I don't know why the place wasn't crawling with customers. I guess some people don't know a good thing when they have it.
A quick stop by Avenue Carriage Crossing mall for Amber's Sephora fix, and we headed back home. Only got a little lost on the way.
For anyone interested, there will be pics forthcoming on my myspace or facebook pages.