🙂 MUSIC! Elvis! Peabody’s Duck Parade!
🙁 Red neck turf! Huntin, Shootin & Fishin!
I am a huge Elvis fan, so whilst in the States on business I decided to extend my stay by a weekend and pop down to Memphis , Tennessee – what fun! Elvis Presley’s story is intimately bound to Memphis. The city, located on the fertile banks of the Mississippi River in southwestern Shelby County, Tennessee, gave him everything and he gave it everything in return, bestowing Memphis with one hell of a legacy. Today, it is known as the city that gave birth to rock ‘n’ roll, and rightly so.
Elvis didn’t always live in Memphis. In fact, he was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, in a tiny two-room house built by his father. He spent his entire childhood there. However, at the age of 13, Elvis’ parents decided to make a new life for themselves. From September 1949 to January 1953, he and his parents, Gladys and Vernon, lived at 185 Winchester, apartment 328 in Lauderdale Courts. It’s not a colourful part of town. The building itself is an impenetrable horseshoe of red brick that, with its wide, barred windows, looks more like an old psychiatric hospital than a place to call home.
Nevertheless, Lauderdale proved to be essential to Presley’s success, for it would be in the basement laundry room that a young Elvis would practise his guitar. The community-minded layout of the building itself also meant that Presley would bump into, and subsequently play, the other musicians who lived there, giving him his first experiences of performing music for an audience.
My first stop was of course Graceland – utterly immersed in Elvis – amazing to see where he lived and to list to his story. His mansion was much smaller than expected.
He had quite the car collection!
His private jet was equally impressive.
On a sadder note, the graves are also here.
An interesting and somewhat emotional visit – a MUST DO for any Elvis fan.
Next stop was the The Memphis Pyramid, formerly known as the Great American Pyramid and the Pyramid Arena, which is a building located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, United States, at the banks of the Mississippi River. It was originally built in 1991 as a venue for sporting and entertainment events, including many basketball tournaments, a Mary J. Blige concert, a Rolling Stones concert, a Mike Tyson boxing event and more. From 2002 to 2006, the pyramid was in use by a church. In 2015, the Pyramid re-opened as a Bass Pro Shops megastore, which included shopping, a hotel, restaurants, a bowling alley, and an archery range, with an outdoor observation deck adjacent to its apex. When construction workers were on top of the giant pyramid in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, they discovered a small metal box welded to the structure. Inside, they were shocked to find a small crystal skull. The story of how the skull got there has become Memphis Legend. It has the tallest free standing elevator in the States – it is 28 floors and 300 ft tall. There are stuffed animals, a restaurant within an aquarium and more guns and rednecks (men, women and children dressed in camos and trying all sorts of weapons!) in one place that you are likely to see ever again anywhere in the world! It is supposed to emulate a lagoon.
A crazy place!
The lift was fast and tells the story of the pyramid while you ascend.
The view from the top is cool.
You can see the ‘Dolly Parton’ Bridge in the background…
What an experience!
After all that bloodthirsty vibe I needed to chill so headed on a 90minute Memphis Music MoJo Bus Tour – soooo fun!
he Home of the Blues comes alive on this city tour aboard the nation’s only music bus. All of the guides on this tour are professional Beale Street musicians who play and sing selections from the city’s rich musical heritage, while entertaining you with comedy, history, and behind-the-scenes stories of your favorite Memphis personalities.
Along the way, you will see:
- Sun Studio
- Beale Street
- Stax Studio
- The Lorraine Motel
- Cotton Row
- Peabody Hotel
- Overton Park
- Historic Central Gardens
- St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital
- Early homes of Elvis, B. B. King, and Johnny Cash
Enjoy an exciting introduction to Memphis on this action-packed drive through the city. It’s great fun for all ages!
The Peabody Hotel is an ABSOLUTE MUST DO! This Memphis icon, opened in 1869, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is world-famous for its five resident Mallard ducks, who march daily through the lobby at 11am and 5pm.
The Legend of the Ducks!
How did the tradition of the ducks in The Peabody fountain begin? Back in the 1930s Frank Shutt, General Manager of The Peabody, and a friend, Chip Barwick, returned from a weekend hunting trip to Arkansas. The men had a little too much Tennessee sippin’ whiskey, and thought it would be funny to place some of their live duck decoys (it was legal then for hunters to use live decoys) in the beautiful Peabody fountain. Three small English call ducks were selected as “guinea pigs,” and the reaction was nothing short of enthusiastic. Thus began a Peabody tradition which was to become internationally famous. In 1940, Bellman Edward Pembroke, a former circus animal trainer, offered to help with delivering the ducks to the fountain each day and taught them the now-famous Peabody Duck March. Mr. Pembroke became Peabody Duckmaster, serving in that capacity for 50 years until his retirement in 1991. Nearly 90 years after the inaugural march, the ducks still visit the lobby fountain from 11am to 5pm. each day.
Reserve the Ducky Day Family Package to experience this very special tradition at The Peabody Memphis.
Whilst watching I enjoyed a rather lovely Pisco Sour whilst listening to conversation around me – that was my first inkling that Donald Trump would win the Presidential election… I also spotted a shirt to buy for Paul!
You cannot go to Memphis and not visit Beale Street! Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately 1.8 miles. It is a significant location in the city’s history, as well as in the history of blues music. Beale Street was built on memories – good and bad. Beale Street’s heyday was in the roaring 20′s, when it took on a carnival atmosphere. The booming nightclubs, theatres, restaurants, stores, pawnshops and hot music thrived alongside gambling, drinking, prostitution, murder and voodoo. I was on my own and I popped into about 10 different vibey places – from Karaoke, to bands, to soul …it was so much fun! I also visited the Hard Rock to get the t-shirt!
A fantastic trip – loved every minute!
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