Walkin' in Memphis

What I noticed first was the open space. There is just SO much space. Nothing is piled on top of other things, the highway entrance ramps are full clover leaves and not misshapen ovals that force drivers to drop down to speeds in the teens.  There were farms - lots of them.  The forecast said 88 and thunderstorms but the sky was free of clouds, yet somewhat hazy. My first glimpse of the Mississippi river - it is the color of coffee: light and sweet. 

Thanks to Hertz for Melissa and my sweet $26 Toyota Yaris, we drove around and explored Riverside drive's beautiful homes before hitting the Peabody hotel for the march of the ducks. Yes, not penguins. Ducks. They live on the roof of the hotel in the duck palace (I'm still not joking), and come down every afternoon from 11-5 to be cute, play and swim in the fountain, entertain guests, and be a general spectacle. It's basically slave labor if you ask me. But I'm no PETA advocate, so well, I don't care. 

We hit Beale street: memphis blues and rock 'n roll cafe's and eateries. We had fried chicken and waffles that we were told, are "so good you'll want to slap yourself."  That was some damn good chicken but let me just say I kept my hands to myself. 

Did some walking along the river and jumped into the mississippi!  Kidding: I would never put my body in that water but I had to touch it. So I did stick an appendage in - add it to the list! I have a list, you'll see it soon. 

We sat by the river and chatted, drove and walked some more of the city, saw the Lorraine Motel here MLK Jr. was assassinated, got an awesomely interesting tour of Sun Studios where none other than Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash recorded hit albums, and headed to Overton park for a walk in the woods.  On our way to dinner we dropped by 1372 Overton to check out the place where "Lucero," Melissa's favorite band practiced, and it was also the location of Elvis' dojo for karate lessons. Bet you didn't know that. 

Ending our day trip at Marlowe's Restaurant, as seen on Guy Fieri's "Diners, drive-ins and dives," we had some ribs, and by some I mean a 20+ piece full rack, BBQ brisket, refried beans, saltly slaw, and biscuits that were more like zeppoles or doughboys depending on your neck of the woods.  Delicious ribs.  These babies were dry rubbed then smoked for 12 hours before a slathering of house made BBQ goes on top!  Well done Marlowe.  Well done.  

Head back to the airport to fly to our respective homes: NYC + BOS. 

On the descent, the blanket of cloud cover so thick above new York city was glowing a mixture of charcoal and orange, almost as if the entire city below were on fire.  The aircraft skimmed along above the clouds like the pilot was waiting for an opening to dip through. When we finally dropped in, and made our way through, we exited the clouds (or from the ground you'd have called it fog) and were at most 100 meters above the runway. Crossing over the grand central parkway, we touched down brilliantly. Thanks for a smooth ride, cap'n. (That's what she said)