Hello Memphis!!

LOVED that sign on a restaurant on Beale Street in Memphis this past weekend . . . Eat, Drink, Boogie, Repeat... hey, that's a pretty great way to think about life, huh?

We had a great time in Memphis, even though our softball tournament was rained out. (Delaney's travel team, the Birmingham Thunderbolts, was supposed to be playing both Saturday and Sunday in a tourney against Tennessee and Mississippi teams, but it rained incessantly into the early morning hours on Saturday and apparently the fields were UNDER water.) So, instead of playing softball... we just PLAYED!!

Now, let's go ahead and get the obligatory Bed Jumping picture out of the way at the get-go. The best of the weekend was this one of McKenna. LOL!


On Saturday morning, we ventured out into the rain and the fog to visit Memphis and see the sights. Well, at first we couldn't "see" much of anything because of ...well...the rain and the fog! Here is the Pyramid in Memphis ...

It was so foggy that you could barely see down the Mississippi River. It was awe-inspiring just the same, though. It always amazes me how huge it is (especially how WIDE it is!)...

Sydney and I in front of the Mississippi...

The team in front of the Mississippi (we let the team get together Saturday for some time having fun, since they didn't get to play)...

Memphis is the "Home of Blues" and the "Birthplace of Rock 'N Roll," so its influence was everywhere. We found a statue of B.B. King...

and Elvis Presley...

We spent the rest of the day on Beale Street, which is a really fun entertainment area that kinda reminded me of New Orleans' Bourbon Street (except it was actually "family friendly"--no boob shows and bead-throwing junks, and it actually smelled "normal" and not like vomit. LOL I'm not saying I don't enjoy Bourbon Street too; have had a couple of really great visits there!). But, I digress! Here are the girls out on Beale...

We had a HUGE platter of barbecue for lunch. It was GOOD!

McKenna in front of the Hard Rock Cafe...

We then ventured over to The Peabody Hotel, to see the famous "parading Peabody ducks." We had told Scout that we were going to see ducks and we'd read about it, but it was really even cooler than we expected and we ALL enjoyed it! The ducks hang out in the hotel's fountain lobby and two times a day (at 11 and 5), they parade down a red carpet and up to their home on the roof of the building. It was very sweet...


On Sunday, we got up for churchand then headed back into Memphis to meet Gary's cousin Lorri for lunch and a tour of Sun Studios (Lorri lives about five miles outside Memphis and Gary hadn't seen her in YEARS; but, she reads both Gary's and my blog and we planned a visit!). Here are some pictures at Sun Studios, which was by far by favorite part of the trip. It was beyond COOL, mostly because I love early rock n' roll and American music history (probably has something to do with all the music my Dad introduced me to at a young age; Dad would LOVE this place!)
Sun Studios is where Elvis was "discovered" and recorded his first albums. It's also were musicians like Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash recorded. Loved seeing the pictures and hearing the stories and hearing the music!

Here I am in front of the building, which is a National Historic Landmark...


This was WAY cool!! This microphone is the actual microphone that all of those great artists sang into when they recorded here. They let you hold it, take pictures next to it. Fun, fun!!!


And some pictures of the instruments and the interior of the studio (I love this first one because of the pic there of U2's Bono, who actually recorded three songs at Sun Studios for their Rattle N Hum CD--one of my faves back in college!)...


(This is the piano that Jerry Lee Lewis first played, "Great Balls of Fire," on . . .)


And then the lobby/gift shop was a lot of fun, with a working jukebox and a soda shop that made some yummy milkshakes...

(Gary with his cousin, Lorri.)


We were getting tired and needed to get on the road to get back to Birmingham before too late, BUT we couldn't leave without at least seeing Graceland (Elvis' home). We decided we didn't have the time (or the money!) to go on an inside tour, but we were bound and determined (well, I was bound and determined and Gary knows to just let me go on my wild goose chases!! LOl He's done it enough over the years, on a ton of different vacations and road trips!! It's one of my favorite things about him!)

So, we found Graceland and were first struck by the graffiti that covers the stone wall out front. There were notes from people from all around the world...

Gary and Scout by the historical marker...


Graceland is actually quite a bit off the street, and the stone wall keeps you from getting near to it. AND there are a ton of trees out front! So, if you really squint you might can see it here! LOL


But this may just be my FAVORITE pic of the weekend. We all wanted a good look at the house, but we couldn't see it well. So...let's stop on the side of the road, stand up on top of the truck and look over the wall. THEN we could see it. And we had to wave at it. Hello, Graceland...