Memphis

We got into the EZ Days RV Resort in Southaven, MS which is just south of Memphis. We needed to get to Memphis to attend our good friends, Blair and Lane Billings, daughter’s Jessica’s wedding. Since the wedding was a few days away, we were able to have dinner with the Billings at the Coastal Fish Company in the Shelby Farms Park. Excellent food!

Afterwards we had a chance to walk around the grounds:

Great getting together with them where we could talk without the insanity of the forthcoming wedding.

The next day Katrina and I visited Graceland, the home of Elvis – the King!

We took a tour of the grounds and house. Here are pictures from the foyer, dining room and living room:

Check out the kitchen:

State of the art at the time, obviously outdated now. The famous jungle room:

Elvis collected the furniture from his travels around the world!

In the basement was the pool room:

Look at all that material! Even the ceiling!

Also in the basement was the family room and bar:

Very yellow! Check out the three TV’s, one for each major network.

The grounds were very beautiful as well:

Horse pastures, racket ball building, and pool.

Near the pool there is a sanctuary where Elvis and other family members are buried:

Across the street they have added a number of attractions; like Elvis’ planes, cars, memorabilia, restaurants and stores.

Due to the pandemic, they included this marker:

They were placed six feet apart.

Elvis was known as The King because he covered multiple genres and was one of the first in the new era of Rock & Roll. He was:

After spending hours at the Elvis estate and museums, we headed to dinner at a place called Flights. What a fabulous place that offered everything in “flights”! Drinks (wine and bourbon):

Appetizers, salads and soups:

Entrees: and desserts (although we didn’t imbibe):

What a great idea! Wonderful, wonderful place!

When we finished dinner we headed over to the world famous Peabody Hotel for a drink:

What a fantastic space! This fountain was carved in Italy out of a single piece of marble! Beautiful!

After the drink at the Peabody, we headed over to check out Beale Street. Beale is akin to Bourbon Street in New Orleans, or Broadway in Nashville, with music playing in every other establishment. Even at the tail end of the pandemic the street was bustling:

Beale is the place where musicians come to make it big! You may have heard of the song by Marc Cohn, “Walking in Memphis” with the words “Was walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale”. This is the place!

After checking out the Beale Street scene, we headed over to a post-rehearsal party at Longshots. Longshots is a bar that is known for table shuffleboard. It was great getting to meet some of the wedding party and talking with Lane and Blair.

The next day, before the wedding, we decided to go back to the Peabody Hotel to witness the march of the ducks.

In the morning the ducks waddle down from their roof lodgings to spend the day in the fountain. Then in the late afternoon, the ducks are escorted back to the elevator and return to the roof. To learn why, read the napkin. Quite the march to behold!

After the ducks were secured in the elevator, we headed over to the Annesdale Mansion for Jessica and Casey’s wedding. What a beautiful, historic venue for a wedding! The flowers and cake were amazing! Look at the flower chandelier and row of flowers in front of the band!!!