DAY 8 - Walking in Memphis

Thursday started like most of the other days of this trip, Zena giving me sloppy wet licks on my face and Mom wanting to go to Starbucks.

With Starbucks in hand we made our way south along the Mississippi River to the world famous Graceland Mansion, home of Elvis Presley. It’s run like an amusement park complete with ticket booths, gift shops, shuttles, massive parking lots, and corny photos in front of a faux Graceland mansion gate. We took the tour and saw all the studded outfits, endless gold records, crazy decor and awestruck fans.

Front of Graceland Mansion in Memphis, TN

Elvis' grave site on the premisis of Graceland

The infamous jungle room inside the Graceland Mansion

The TV room inside Graceland Mansion

After the Elvis overload, we headed off to Cozy Corner for lunch (see review below), one of Memphis’ most talked about bbq joints.

The big lunch required a healthy walk so Mom, me and the pups took an hour stroll along the Mississippi River and through the South Bluffs neighborhood, a high-end part of town overlooking the riverfront park.

A view of the River Walk Park and the Mississippi River

Tug boats were going up and down the Mississippi while we walked along the shore

Scenic shots from South Bluffs neighborhood, just south of downtown Memphis

The pups were worn out after the long walk

After USC laid down a whooping on Penn State, Mom and I headed to dinner at the Mesquite Chophouse in downtown Memphis - www.mesquitechophouse.com. Being a non-bbq meal, I took the opportunity to have a spinach salad and some soup. While at dinner, we noticed Anthony Hopkins was at the table next to us. No clue what Dr. Lector was doing in Memphis and I could not tell if he was having liver with fava beans and a glass of Chianti.

After dinner, we walked up and down the famous Beale St. and downtown. The crazy New Year’s Eve crowd was gone and the streets were packed with East Carolina and Kentucky fans in town for Friday’s Liberty Bowl.

Mama D. and I having a laugh as we walk around Beale St.

Mama D. got exercise by kicking around an oversize soccer ball around Memphis

Beale St. was crowded on Thursday with ECU and UK fans

After exploring Memphis we can now say we’ve seen several of the sites mentioned in Marc Cohn’s 1991 song “Walking in Memphis” – Beale St, Union Ave., Gates of Graceland, Elvis’ tomb, and Graceland’s infamous jungle room.

On Friday we’re sticking around Memphis to grab an early lunch at Rendezvous, one of Memphis’ most famous bbq joints (it was closed New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day). Memphis is the furthest east we go, so after lunch on Friday we start heading back west.

Remaining itinerary:

Jan.2 – Memphis to Dallas
Jan. 3 – Dallas to Austin
Jan.4 – In Austin
Jan. 5 – Austin to El Paso
Jan.6 – El Paso to Phoenix
Jan.7 – Phoenix to Los Angeles