Day 6: Memphis

Memphis, you could say, is the city of “why”. Why is there a huge empty glass pyramid in the middle of the city? Why do the arches on the bridge connecting TN to AK have only two arches that are only about a third of the length of the bridge? Why is it that one street over from a row of gorgeous mansions you can be totally sketched out? Why do “Dentist/Outdoor Pool” stores exist? One can only wonder… We have found Memphis to be completely charming, and we’ve been won over by its seemingly endless mysteries. We think all cities should have this much character.

In the morning, we drove to an island close to the city called Mud Island to go for a walk/run along the Mississippi river (fun fact: Arkansas is on the other side of the river). It was really pretty to see the natural area and see a little bit more of Memphis. Rebekah described the Mud Island area as slightly reminiscent of the neighborhood setting of The Truman Show – and we agreed. The houses were beautiful, the yards impeccably maintained, and there didn’t seem to be a spot of dirt or piece of trash in sight. It was cool to see, but we much prefer the character of Rebekah and Courtney’s house and neighborhood any day.

Later that day we had lunch at Café Eclectic, which we don’t need to go into too much detail about except that Meredyth and Ashley bought some of their homemade granola to go (which Rebekah had heard rave reviews about), which ended up costing $6 EACH for a lump of granola the size of a tennis ball. All we have to say is this granola had better taste like gold.

The next stop was the National Civil Rights Museum in downtown Memphis, which is housed at the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot in 1968. The museum itself was fascinating – we only regret that we couldn’t spend more time there. One interesting part about the museum was actually a lady who was sitting outside who had been protesting the museum for 22 years and 228 days. We asked her why she was boycotting the museum and she told us that she felt that Dr. King would have wanted the space for the museum to be used for a community center that served the city, and that he wouldn’t have wanted a museum dedicated to his work, but rather would have preferred that the money it took to build be put toward serving the Memphis community. We weren’t sure if we bought her argument, however, because the museum does bring in money and business for Memphis due to tourist visitation, and it employs city residents. Hers was an interesting perspective that we had to respect, but selfishly we were glad the museum existed because it was so great.

We then strolled toward Beale Street and the famous Peabody Hotel. We checked out the pen of ducks kept on the roof of the Peabody (again, WHY?) and we were able to see a great view of the city. These ducks live in “Duck Palace” on the roof and every day are carted down the elevator to spend the day in the hotel’s lobby fountain, and then return to their roof roost each evening. Beale Street was also entertaining – it probably would have been even more of a rousing experience had we been meandering down the street at 3AM instead of PM… the area reminded us a bit of New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, but with more of an emphasis on barbecue than bourbon…

That night, we finally got to meet Rebekah’s roommate Courtney, and we had the pleasure of making dinner and dessert (cookie crack…duh) for them while they lesson planned. We also got to help Rebekah grade some of her students’ math quizzes, which was highly entertaining.

It was a pretty light day for postcard giving – we handed out a few on Beale Street and one at the Peabody gift shop, and actually ran into a “Triple Hoo” (someone with three UVA degrees) at Café Eclectic who we also gave a postcard to. We definitely want to try to give a postcard to every UVA alum we spot along the way.

Rebekah told us that when she drives around Memphis, she never ceases to find something that makes her laugh out loud. Whether it’s Happy Tummy Fried Chicken, or November 6^th Street, Memphis has offered us many reasons to laugh, and we’ve left the city not so much wondering “why?”, but rather “why not?”

Miles to go: 2,913

Total Post Cards Given Out: 43

Post Cards Received: 0

States Traveled: VA, MD, WV, PA, OH, KY, TN