Act 26: Travel Somewhere I Have Never Been Before

I had grand plans for this Act.  I actually got a form to renew my passport and everything!  However, life intervened and between a new job, a dwindling bank account, and other unexpected responsibilities, I found myself having to scale back on my grand plans.

Where did I want to go?  Finding a new place was tougher than it might seem!  I spent a good 15 years with The King of the Road Trip, so we had covered most of the interesting places that were within driving distance.  I've been fortunate that I've been to most of the major American cities:  New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Baltimore.  My heart is called toward the Pacific Northwest, but my bank account dissuaded me from heading that far, so I started looking regionally.

I thought that Nashville, TN might be a good choice.  My best, good friend Sarah had recently moved to Memphis, so I asked her if she'd be interested in meeting in Nashville for a weekend.  Unfortunately, that girl is even busier than me, so finding time for a getaway wasn't really possible.  So, in true Rhonda fashion, I got to thinking.  I really want to see Sarah.  I really need to travel somewhere...  I really need to limit my expenses...  Why not Memphis?  So, that's where I went.  Turns out, Memphis is a real gem!

Back in the day, if I was traveling somewhere, I would first make a pilgrimage to the library to check out the handy dandy Frommer's travel guide.  I would spend weeks learning about the place, making a list of things to do, places to eat, sights to see.  I'd meticulously plan out all the highlights of my trip.  This trip was a little different.  My planning went something like this.

Me: Hey!  You free Dec 3-5.

Sarah: Yep

Me: Cool.  Can I stay with you?

Sarah: My apartment is small, but sure.

Me.  Great!  Will you pick me up from the airport?

Sarah: Yes.  Text me when you get here.

I did do a tiny amount of advance planning.  I booked my flight, and then went to Groupon to find a cheap tour of the town for Act 16, but that's it.  I didn't even pack until the night before I left!  

That's not to say that there was no plan.  Sarah and I have traveled together before, and we have always had a nice dynamic.  We both like a moderate amount of tourist activity.  Nothing breakneck or crazy - but we get out to see the sights.  She's a good sport about my love for cheesy tours - we did a carriage tour in Charleston and a ghost tour in Asheville - and we have similar tastes in food (local, down home, nothing too fancy) and love beer.  Given that, Sarah did some asking around and had a few ideas for our visit.

First stop: The Cupboard for some amazing Southern cooking.  We were both so hungry that I didn't get any pictures of the food.  It was REALLY good.

From lunch we headed to the National Ornamental Metal Museum.  Right on the banks of the Mississippi River and only $6 to get into, this place was SO COOL!

As a bonus, there was a really creepy looking 1880s military hospital right next door.

I really wanted to climb the fence and go exploring, but the razor wire convinced me not to.

The view from the museum grounds.

Even the benches were cool!

I found some very interesting items in the blacksmith shop.  

Here's a sample of the things they were making in the metal casting workshop.

We showed up just in time to watch them pour some aluminium coasters.  

Sarah and I got a "behind the scenes" tour of some of the collection.
They even let us handle some pieces.

Check out the detail on this sword!

On the way to the Metal Museum, Sarah kept saying "I'm going to have to take you to the Bass Pro Shop."  Now, neither of us are particularly outdoorsy, so I was mystified at her insistence.  Until I saw this rising in the distance:

That is the 6th largest pyramid in the world.  And it's a Bass Pro Shop.  Really.

The inside really was quite something.  

We saw a family getting their professional Christmas photos taken.  At the Bass Pro Shop.

I think it needs more animal heads.

There were real bass ponds inside.  And an alligator, who
seemed slightly mortified to be associated with this operation.  Just sayin'.

I didn't think anything could top that outing, until Sarah got a text from a colleague of hers.  "She's offering me free tickets to a concert tonight.  Do you want to go?"  Heck yeah!  Let's do it.

Turns out, the concert was at 1034 Audubon Drive.  That's a house in a suburban neighborhood.  Strange place for a concert, until we found out the house used to belong to this guy:

Yes.  That's Elvis.  In front of the house we were going to.  WHAT?!

Turns out, we were attending the taping of an episode of "An Evening At Elvis'".  This series of concerts are sponsored by the Mike Curb Institute of Music at Rhodes College.  Not only did we get to hear some really great music in an intimate setting, but we got to hang out in Elvis' house.  (Actually this was doubly cool, because Elvis is a distant cousin of mine on my Mom's side.  My grandma's mama was a Presley.)  

That's me!  Sitting on Elvis' couch.

The house was bought for Elvis' parents with the profits from "Heartbreak Hotel."

This wallpaper was the height of cool in 1956.

And you can see where Elvis wrote his name on the wall!  

Here's the band: Mason Jar Fireflies

Free beer AND they fed us Gus's Fried Chicken - a Memphis fixture.  

Not too shabby for my first afternoon in Memphis.  I didn't think Sarah would be able to top that, but then the next day...

We hit downtown for a Crazy Dash tour of Memphis.  We ran all over that town!  (Read all about that in THIS post!)  

The Orpheum Theatre

Once we were finished dashing, we celebrated with a lovely beverage and decided to go check out Beale Street.  Turns out, the Memphis Christmas Parade was about to begin.  We snagged an outdoor table, ordered some appetizers and settled in for the parade.

We had prime seats!

We got lots of parade swag.

We even saw the man himself!

About halfway through the parade, we realized we were sitting a B.B. King's place.

There was no shortage of good music.  And great food!

Beale Street was so much fun!

After exploring Beale Street, Sarah and I decided to it was time to class it up a bit, so we headed to The Peabody.  While we missed the ducks, we did enjoy some highly sophisticated drinks in the extremely opulent bar.

After almost crashing an expensive-looking, but sadly lame office Christmas party, we made it to the roof!

The ducks have a nicer house than I do.

The view was quite lovely.

You can't take us anywhere...

After the swankiness of the Peabody, we headed to Ernestine & Hazel's, a former brothel turned dive bar. We were in dire need of food, so we ordered two Soul Burgers.  Oh my goodness, it was so good, and I was so hungry, I forgot to take a photo.

Clearly, I didn't enjoy my burger at all.

After our burgers, we wandered around the labyrinthine place.  We ended up in a tucked-away room upstairs where we found Nate the Bartender.  Nate was 71, had lived in Memphis most of his adult life, and was full of stories.

Nate's smile was infectious.

We ended the night on that high note and headed back to Sarah's to crash.

The next day, I accompanied Sarah to the church where she works in Young Adult ministry.  It was a grand and lovely church, with an extremely welcoming congregation.  Best of all, I got to see my dear friend in her element, doing her thing.  

The whole trip was full of all my favorite things: a great friend, ridiculously good food, amazing music, and unanticipated delights.  It was just what my heart needed, and I cannot WAIT to go back!