Up to speed....
Been a while since I got on here, I was really motivated about doing this at first and then I got behind on it and didn't feel like doing it. But, here I am and will just update you on recent and "sorta" interesting events. I had to go to Memphis last week for work. So, we had planned that I would take the girls and Mom with me. I would be in meetings in the afternoon on Thursday the 28th and the first half of Friday the 29th. I also knew Mom could use my car and take the girls around while I was in meetings. So, we left early Thursday morning and headed up Hwy 78 to Memphis. APRIL 28 Got up there in good time, but missed the turn to the meeting site / hotel and spent another 30-45 minutes trying to get back due to a train and road being blocked. I called the hotel to inquire about early check in and she told me she would hold a room for us, so I could get changed. I walked into the meeting and they were just about to introduce the team from Human Resources. I made it in the nick of time! When the meetings adjourned, our hosts - the Trust Department, took us to a Redbirds game and then to Beale Street. We had BBQ from Rendezvous served up in a private area and we watched the Redbirds beat the Cubs. The stadium, the facilities and staff were all great. I loved the downtown atmosphere of the stadium and the design was great also. It turned out to be a much colder night than most of us expected. I was glad for closed toe shoes and my North Face Rain Jacket that Chad gave me for Christmas! We all left and walked to Beale Street. I did my usual people watching and walked on with the group. They chose a small bar to go into and do some dancing.....I opted for the souveneir shop next door. Soon, Richard, from the group and who is also a Memphis native, came looking for me. So, I joined them next door and entertained myself by people watching. We left to join others at the end of Beale by 10:00, so we could board our charter bus to take us back to the hotel. Most had boarded the bus and were waiting for the last ones to board....one of the ladies boarded the bus and she proceeded to do a "flight attendants demonstration of what to do in case of emergency" at the front of the bus. It was pretty funny and very spontaneous. I am sure she was "feeling good" after her time on Beale Street. We leave the area heading back and have been riding for about ten minutes when that same lady starts shrieking "my bag....my bag".....we think she must have lost her purse and start trying to figure out what she is screaming about. She says thru panicked breaths that she must have laid her bag of souveneirs down when she did her flight attendant demonstration. People are laughing and trying to calm her down....while others are looking to see if the bag is up in the front of the bus. She heads to the front and the driver barks at her to sit down. It was pretty funny! I was almost embarrassed for her. People were still talking about it the next day.....we later found out her bag was at Pat O'Brien's and some of the group that stayed behind found it and brought it back with them. APRIL 29 TRIP TO THE PEABODY: Mom took the girls to the breakfast buffet and I went to my meeting. They headed to the Memphis Zoo. We were glad to know the B'ham zoo membership transferred there to a discount and they got in half price. They made sure to see the Panda exhibit and took a shuttle around the zoo to take in other sites. They met me back at the hotel after lunch as my meetings were over. We headed to the Peabody to stake out the Duck's and so I could see the shops that I had passed the night before. I was so excited about seeing the ducks. I know everyone will be glad to know that I finally got to see the ducks! We bought Jessie two books related to the ducks and the hotel's history. She was wanting us to check out of our hotel and stay at the Peabody. We bought Shelby a little rubber duck for the bathtub fashioned after the Peabody mallards. We took some pictures while the ducks were still in the fountain and headed to Peabody Place. Killed some time in there and headed back to get a good spot to watch the ducks stroll down the red carpet. We got a great spot and watched the crowd start to pile in. The Duckmaster, Daniel Fox, was a great host for the viewing and moved all the children right down on the floor alongside the red carpet. We were more excited to learn that the walk that day was the first day on the job for that set of ducks. I cautioned (threatened-ha ha ha) the girls to not touch or reach for the ducks. Three ducks came out with ease and stalled halfway down the carpet, while two more were content in the fountain. Duckmaster Fox coaxed those out and they all headed onto the elevator. It was fun and after 12+ years of wanting to see those ducks - I DID! We headed up to the duck palace on the roof, enjoyed the view thru the misting rain and headed down. Down in the lobby, I wanted to check the remaining stores. I went into Lansky Brothers to see the guitars and pictures from celebrities that have paid them a visit. I was promptly greeted by Mr. Lansky himself, who used to be the tailor for Elvis. Mom took the girls out so I could look around. I thought about buying my Dad a tie because he would like to know it came from the store and man that personally outfitted Elvis. However, I decided against it when the ties were 95.00 and Dad would only wear a tie on special occasions. BRUSH WITH CELEBRITIES: The Memphis music festival was about to get underway and downtown was brimming with excitement and activity. Limo's were pulling up at the Peabody with great frequency and we saw several groups unload with instrument cases and musical apparatus in tow. While in Lansky Brothers, two guys came in to look at some hats. I was making my way thru the store and heard one say to Mr. Lansky that he was a songwriter, the other was on his cell phone seemingly talking to his girlfriend. I was looking at some shirts that caught my eye for Chad and the "songwriter" walked past me and asked me if I saw anything I liked - I said "yeah - lots" and thought nothing of it. When I left the store, I noticed several "younger girls" than me, who seemed very excited. I realized they were pointing at the two guys in the store and I asked who they were. One of them looked at me like I came straight from Neptune and said "uhhhh - that is Gavin Degraw and the other is his drummer" I was clueless and had to ask her who that was...thinking he might be a local singer....she looked at me like I had grown another head and told me he was from New York. So, I made matters worse and asked her what he sang....oh well....I felt really old! I #2 BRUSH WITH CELEBRITIES: Left Lansky Bros. and went into Lansky 126. Greeted by a super nice guy, who loved my outfit! We were laughing about my "killer shoes" as he called them and I told him how they were truly killing my feet. We stood there talking while I looked at shirts. There were two other guys in there shopping and I heard one say he was going to wear the jeans he was trying on when he was on stage that night. The guy helping me told me that guy was from Phish and he thought his name was Trey. I was still clueless! Thank goodness for the internet, so I could look up all these people when I got back to my room! RAINED OUT! We went on a carriage ride and then headed to Pancho's to eat. While in Pancho's it began to pour buckets....so that ruined any chance of getting to Beale before it got dark. I was going to get them to Beale before dark so Mom could say she had been there. I assured her she wasn't missing anything...but I know she would have found some street people to minister to! She had spotted plenty while we were on our carriage ride! Headed back to the hotel to get ready to leave the next day. IS ELVIS REALLY DEAD? Not that we were really wondering, but thought it seemed appropriate since we made our way to Graceland on Saturday. We booked the VIP tour and had the first run of the day. The house was much smaller than I ever expected and Mom said the same thing. It wasn't quite as outlandish as I expected and some of the rooms were strangely reminiscent of recent makeovers on Trading Space (ala Hildy!) Jessie enjoyed the trip much more than Shelby! We had the girls picture made with Elvis - digitally of course and it turned out really cute! I'll try and post it later. BASS PRO SHOPS Left Graceland and went to the Bass Pro Shops. I've never been to one and wanted to see how much stuff one store could have to sell to fisherman and hunters under one roof. Well, we got to see it and we even bought some stuff - imagine that! NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM: I really wanted Jessie to see the Civil Rights Museum as she is very interested in history. She also had a lof interest in Dr King after studying him in Black History Month. I was also very interested to see the museum after learning the Lorraine Motel was now the site of the museum. It was a very moving experience. It was very surreal to realize I was standing less than 10 feet away from the exact spot he stood and where his life was ended. I am glad to know it didn't end the work he started. Jessie has remarked since then that she can't believe she was standing there. We headed home and got home about 10:00 to Chad and Pops waiting for us! They helped us unload and Granny and Pops were on their way.
