We didn’t have much planned for Sunday; we just figured we’d go to mass in one of the churches in Memphis, and then drive around and see some of the sights.
Their first recommendation was to visit the ducks in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel.
The hotel lobby was stunningly beautiful – decorated for Christmas – and we stopped to visit the ducks in their little fountain pool.
There was an amazing display of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory – all made out of chocolate and candy!
It was really cool – the base was all covered in candy sprinkles, with chocolate Oompa Loompas, candy trees . . . tons of detail! We looked for a while, but never did find Willy Wonka anywhere.
There were several restaurants and shops on the ground floor of the hotel, including this cool Men’s Store – known as the Clothier to the King.
They had guitars and other memorabilia all over the walls, and claims that every artist represented there have shopped with them at some time.
They had some really nice clothes, very stylish . . . and some really off the wall stuff, too!
Tom found some blue suede shoes . . . and they were on clearance!
How ‘bout those jackets!?! I told Bryce he needed one!
Next we took the elevator to the Sky Deck,
where we were told we could see the ducks’ penthouse apartment, and have a 360 degree view of the city.
We found the palace!
We walked around the rooftop . . . carefully . . . it was windy up there!
Nice views!
Leaving The Peabody, we decided to take a drive down toward Graceland. We weren’t sure what to expect, but were surprised to see a fairly normal-looking home, mostly hidden behind a tall stone wall that has been completely covered by messages from fans.
We parked in the pull-off in front of the house, and walked to the opening at the driveway for a better view of the house.
Yeah, that was as close as we got! We enquired about tickets, but at $50 each, plus another $10 for parking, we just couldn’t get excited about seeing the house.
This is good enough for us!
Heading back toward downtown, we decided to take a driving tour of Elmwood Cemetery.
Their office isn’t open on Sunday, so we couldn’t get a brochure to follow along, so we just took a drive through.
It’s an old cemetery, with the graves of many famous political and civil rights leaders buried here, as well as some Confederate soldiers.
The Confederate grave markers were very old – just blocks of stone, really - and this tree’s roots were growing right through the graves, with may of the stones embedded right into the tree roots.
There were family plots,
and community plots (this appeared to be all Chinese families),
and some of the older gravestones were very ornate.
This is something we’ve never seen before – a swing in a cemetery!
The Chapel
OK, well that was an interesting little tour, and now we were hungry so we headed back towards the Beale Street and Main Street areas. I was looking for a place for lunch, and we found a fried chicken place with high reviews.
Turned out it was a famous fried chicken place, and they now have franchises all over the world, including 3 in the Detroit area that we were totally unaware of!
I doubt if any of them have the atmosphere of the original, though!
It was quite the “hole in the wall”, but it was bustling in there, and the chicken was really good!
Our last stop before heading back to the RV was at the Bass Pro Shop, along the bank of the Mississippi River.
It was quite a place, and we spent some time walking around and doing a little shopping. They had a pretty Christmas tree, as well,
We had a nice couple of days exploring Memphis, and then it was time to take a day off from being tourists and then continue into Arkansas!
We did Graceland back in 2000 but the price was a lot lower. We had stayed in the hotel across the street and we didn't get to visit Beale Street. Maybe next year we'll follow in your footsteps.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.