Walking in Memphis

We took a road trip to Memphis this holiday weekend. It was steaming hot and our days slowed down ... sticky soccer, southern good eats, and guitar dreams. instagram @groovininthesun {Ren Reiske © All Rights Reserved}

On a side note, I want to thank Matt for this spontaneous road trip and for being patient as he drove for 6 hours. My family travelled a lot when I was younger and I remember being car sick often and not seeing much of the landscape as we drove. While I don’t get nauseous anymore, I still often nap to deter any motion sickness. And when I’m awake, I thoroughly enjoy all the sites. Matt will attest to the many times I wanted to stop to take “the perfect photo” of multi-colored cows, barns, Oh those clouds! Yeah, yeah, this is the Midwest and they’re everywhere, but have you ever just stopped to SEE how incredible it all is? When you travel with M, he’s on this “schedule” and God forbid if we have to make a rest stop – which for me, is often. After twenty-some years, he knows this but he still gives me a hard time for having a bladder the size of a peanut. AND yes, I don’t have a problem with actually going to the bathroom if there is someone in the next stall! When nature calls, I GO! Ok, I think I’ve made a perfectly good case for necessary rest stops and going with the flow.

Front of Sun Studio — Elvis was here.

Hello Tennessee!

Rhodes College soccer field by the FedEx airport. The planes literally flew above us every five minutes.

Huey’s burger and brew. This was the beginning of a long, fried-carb-induced weekend.

The infamous toothpicks in the ceilings of Huey’s.

We didn’t go to Graceland. I couldn’t convince Matt that it was a good use of 3 hours, but he was everywhere. Elvis, that is.

My favorite sculpture at Rhodes College.

Ribs and BBQ at Corky’s BBQ — so, so good. And the brownie dessert was richly decadent.

Beale Street

Gibson Guitar Factory tour

One of my favorite Gibson guitars {gorgeous red detail}  I was a bit disappointed by the Gibson guitar factory tour. They forewarned us that since it was a holiday weekend, the factory workers would not be there to show us how guitars were put together – which is half the show. Instead, we walked around and saw all the parts in their stations while the tour guide fed us bits of information about the making of a Gibson guitar. Not to mention, I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures which would have made the tour well worth the $10. If you get a chance to go, do so during the work week.

Probably the most disappointing thing {for Matt} was the Peabody ducks. After the tour, we rushed to get to the Peabody Hotel to see the infamous ducks do their “walk.” Seriously, the crowd was bigger than the group that congregate at the Louvre for the Mona Lisa. There was a long, introductory oration which didn’t interest me enough to fight the crowd, before the four ducks jumped out of the fountain and walked the red carpet to the elevators. This took all of five minutes. I’m still amazed that people will go there to witness this. A mass of people came to see the ducks at the Peabody — but I found these dogs to be far more interesting.

Sunset at Sun Studio. Good night, Memphis! {Ren Reiske © All Rights Reserved}