September 14
Today I set up a tour with Backbeat Tours. It was the Memphis Discovery Tour which included the Rock and Soul Museum.
Memphis is home to 3 kings. King of the Blues – B.B. King,
King of Rock & Roll – Elvis Presley and King of the Civil Rights Movement -
Martin Luther King Jr.
Our tour today was a short overview of the city with a lot
of great stories & history. We got there early and had some time to walk
Beale Street and get some morning shots before the street got crazy busy with
tourists.
Lansky Brothers, clothier to Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and
B.B. King, and still one of the most stylish places to shop. It's right next to the Hard Rock.
Beale Street
there are "notes" all along the sidewalks of Beale Street - here are just a few
The Staple Singers
Jerry Lee Lewis
The Blues Brothers
Justin Timberlake?
aren't reptiles animals?
Father of the Blues - William Christopher Handy - statue in the park
OK, no one wants a Big Ass Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer.....
Our tour met at the Hard Rock Café and we had a big bus for
the 6 of us on the tour. I’m sure in season it’s packed, so it was quite nice
having a very small group. Our guide was very good and gave us a lot of interesting stories and facts.
cute ATM - get yo' money here
our "love & happiness" bus
our guide
We only had a few stops as most things were “drive bys”
which I knew. Highlights of the tour were:
Beale Street
the Presley family lived in these low income apartments
we then drove along Millionaire's Row
the owner of this house was a millionaire, but chose not to live like one
The Peabody Hotel to see the famous Duck March - At
precisely 11am the Duckmaster roles out the red carpet to the fountain. Ducks
waddle down the red carpet walkway from the elevator to the old civil war era
elegant lobby fountain. Our guide warned it was more of a “duck sprint” than a
waddle so be prepared. They do go pretty quickly, but the duckmaster has them
stop twice to pose for photos. It really is a very serious event that has been
done for 80 years, but even the most stern person has to laugh as these ducks
waddle down the red carpet.
entrance to the hotel
waiting for the ducks
the Duckmaster (only the 5th one in 80 years)
waiting for 11:00 sharp
the ducks came down in the elevator
they stopped to pose
on their way to the fountain
they spend the day here until they return with the same fanfare at 5:00 to their home on the roof
paddle boats on the Mississippi River
Our next stop was The Lorraine Motel, to see the balcony
where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot. We planned to go back the next day
to tour the Civil Rights Museum now housed there. We could see the balcony
where he was shot and the bathroom window across the street where it is
believed the shot came from.
Lorraine Motel where MLK was shot
this woman has protested the museum for over 30 years
the balcony where he was shot
replicas of the cars parked there that night
From there we walked to Central BBQ, to sample some of the
best barbeque in Memphis. We were expecting a small sample cup of pulled pork,
but we got a drink, a small sandwich, coleslaw and home-made potato chips. It
was lunch enough for us and very tasty.
Other sites we saw on the tour:
Victorian Village
Orpheum Theater
Gibson Guitar Factory
St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital
Redbirds’ Stadium (AutoZone Park)
historic Cotton Row
Court Square, the heart of 19th century Memphis
Shelby County Courthouse
St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral
Beale Street
Hotel Chisca, where DJ Dewey Philips played Elvis for the
first time
Lauderdale Courts, an early home of Elvis Presley
At the end of the guided tour we were dropped at the Rock
'n' Soul Museum and admission was included. There we had an audio guided tour
of the museum and then it was only a block back to where the tour started where
our car was parked.
The museum was very well done, and I enjoyed it a lot.
Rock and Soul (and Blues) are more my kind of music than the country music of
Nashville. I'm glad that I got to see B.B. King (and Lucille) in concert many years ago.
mixing board from Ardent Studios
Since I had to appear in person at a Social Security
office to prove I am me, we headed to the one that the lady I called referred
me to in Memphis. There were 2 other offices closer, but we had to go to the
one that my file had been transferred to. That only took a couple of hours. I
got seen by the first person within a half an hour and then she couldn’t be the
one to verify my ID, so I waited a while for someone else to do a paper copy of
the form that had been filled out online. Any info I didn’t remember (actual
date it was filled out or my checking numbers) she just read them to me from
the computer. Huh??? So, I sign that and show her my driver’s license and I’m
outta there. Whatever…..
We then stopped at the largest Bass Pro Shop which is located inside the 6th largest pyramid in the world. It houses a hotel right inside the store. There are Lakes with boats that are for sale in them. Live fish and ducks. There are 2 restaurants and an elevator that for $10 you can ride it to the top of the pyramid. I would have shopped in there, but it is very dark in there. I don't know how you are supposed to know what color the clothes are. The lights are mostly the kind you would hang in your backyard for a party. I took some photos, but hard in that lighting. Very cool store though. Might be kind of creepy to spend the night in their hotel that overlooks the store.
entry
Big Cypress Lodge - hotel is in the store
elevator to the top of the pyramid - where the "fancy" restaurant is
the hotel rooms are all around the perimeter of the store and the balconies overlook the store
From there we went home for dinner.
Tomorrow, we are going back to visit the Civil Rights
Museum.
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