The Fourth Chickasaw Bluff

Before leaving Tupelo, Mississippi, we visited the house where Elvis was born.  They have his house and the chapel where he prayed and sang, a museum filled with Elvis stuff, and Elvis' outhouse where the King sat on his throne.  The museum had Elvis pencils, Elvis tee-shirts, and  a wide assortment of things that someone in China had printed with Elvis' name.  Elvis lived in Tupelo until the age of 13 when he moved to Memphis.

Elvis' Outhouse and Throne

We left Tupelo and headed west.  We are now sitting atop the fourth Chickasaw bluff, otherwise know as Memphis.  Yes, this elevated bluff helped the Chickasaw Indians harass the French trying to use the Mississippi river for commerce in the 18th century.  As there was no high definition television or Netflix in the 18th century, harassing the French was a great pastime for the Chickasaw.  Memphis was named after the capital of Egypt on the Nile river.  How this town in Tennessee is related to its sister city over 6,500 miles away is a question for more inquisitive minds than the one possessed by this writer.

We were in Memphis visiting our friends Putty and Terry who recently moved here from Omaha, Nebraska.  Fed-Ex is based in Memphis and Terry has been transferred here to fly out of their hub.  Sue and I keep Terry busy with all of our Amazon orders, half of which seem to be delivered by FedEx.  Putty is an excellent cook and I plan to give their establishment a 5 star rating in Trip Advisor.

On our first day in Memphis we went to the Bass Pro Shop to see the pyramid.  The Memphis Bass Pro Shop has an aquarium, a fake swamp, fancy bass boats, and the tallest free standing elevator in the US.  All of this is situated in a pyramid.  From the top of the pyramid, after a ride in the 28 story elevator, you can see all around Memphis.  You can see the Dolly Parton bridge, so called because of its resemblance to the well endowed country star.

Dolly Parton Bridge over the Mississippi

After the Bass Pro Shops, we went to Beale street to see the birthplace of the blues.  We visited The Pig on Beale for some barbecue with attitude.  The attitude of the famous Pig that day seemed to be one of toughness as our meals were dry and tasteless. 

The Pig on Beale for Dry Tough Barbecue

Since we were still hungry we decided to go down the block for some duck.  In this case the famous Duck Walk at the Peabody Hotel.  I say famous even though I had never heard of it.  It seems that for the past 80 plus years, the Duckmaster has brought down 5 ducks from their penthouse digs to swim in the hotel lobby fountain from 11 a.m. until their departure at 5 p.m.  The ceremony of their arrival and departure is a delight for tourists that crowd each day to the Peabody for the spectacle.  Your traveling duo couldn't miss checking another important item from their bucket list (added only earlier that same day).

Duck Walk at the Peabody with Honorary Duckmaster

On day two in Memphis we visited Graceland, the home and final resting place of Elvis.  The average age of the visitors seemed to be just a few years older than the dirt now under Elvis.

Graceland

The tour of Graceland begins, after the ticket office with a bus ride across the street.  You enter the Graceland estate and walk through the very rooms that Elvis walked as he gained and lost weight.  You get to see the kitchen famous, I'm sure, for many peanut butter and banana sandwiches.  These grilled delights were made from bread, butter, peanut butter and mashed bananas.  Yumm, I can just hear my arteries clogging.

Elvis' Kitchen

We then returned to Putty and Terry's place to watch Blue Hawaii, in honor of The King.  Tomorrow on to Chattanooga.