TRJF's 4,000-Mile Road Trip!!!

[TheRealJoeFish]

Week 2: Memphis, Tennessee and Northern Mississippi (Part 1: Non-Beale Memphis)

Heyyy everybody! I'm back and better than ever! Today was the midway point of my 4-week, 4,000 mile trip through the eastern portion of the USA, so I figured I'd show you all where I've been the last few days! As you can see on my itinerary (post 1), I've spent this week with my brother in Mississippi, just south of Memphis. I've spent two solid days in the city, and have pics galore! But, first, a little about Tennessee and Memphis:

Tennessee is a very interesting state, in a lot of ways combining the endearing parts of the south with a rather cosmopolitan flavor in its two big cities, Memphis and Nashville. As of 2015, Memphis (in the southwest corner of the state) and Nashville (the state capitol, in the center of the state) were the 24th and 25th largest cities in the USA; amazingly, Memphis's population is estimated at 655,800 and Nashville's at 654,700 (though the latter figure is growing faster). Tennessee itself is a long, skinny state, and most Americans are surprised to learn that the northeastern tip of Tennessee is closer to Canada than it is to the southwestern tip of Tennessee.

Memphis itself is one of the most distinctive cities in America, and is primarily known to the layperson - or, at least to me before I got there - for three things: fantastic food (the BBQ Capitol of the U.S.), fantastic music (the blues Capitol of the U.S. and home of Elvis Presley), and the civil rights movement (one of the most important cities in the struggle for equality, and the site of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.).

The most vibrant street in Memphis - at least from a visitor standpoint - is Beale Street; that will have its own post. For now, here are some pics of the rest of Memphis! If you like ducks, check them out!

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A view of the Pyramid, Memphis's most identifiable structure (recall, of course, that Memphis shares a name with a great Egyptian city). Originally a sports stadium, it was home to the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies for a number of years, as well as various college teams. It was essentially unused for most of the last decade, but was recently purchased by sporting goods outfit Bass Pro Shops as a commercial HQ and event center.

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A different view of the Pyramid, showing its current sponsor, its observation deck, and its relative height compared with the interstate in the foreground. At 321 feet tall and 591 feet on each base, it is the tenth-largest pyramid in the world.

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A Mississippi steamboat in the foreground, with Mud Island in the background. Right around 1900, an island started accumulating in the Mississippi River, and eventually grew at such a pace that it was feared it would alter the river's course. The city of Memphis shaped and developed the island, reforming it multiple times over the last century. Today, it is home to a couple very nice riverfront parks and gentrified housing developments.

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History abounds in Memphis; signs like this were ubiquitous.

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A portion of the Memphis Public Library System. I took this picture because I'm rather fond of buildings with multicolored lights. Looked even cooler in person.

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A view down Main Street. I am told that trolleys (or, at least, replica trolleys with wheels) do still run down the tracks.

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The lobby of Memphis's iconic hotel, the Peabody. Why is it so crowded? And why is there a man on the left side of the image (a little hard to see) wearing a bright red suit and black pants like a band leader? Keep reading to find out!

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But first, a view from the top of the Peabody, looking out towards the river. That's Arkansas on the other side of the Mississippi.

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I promised you ducks, and here's ducks! In 1933, the manager of the Peabody decided, after a long day of hunting and drinking, to bring back some ducks and place them in the fountain of his 5-star hotel. As the story goes, the next morning he awoke in a panic, and rushed down to the lobby expecting chaos. Instead, the five ducks were splashing gently in the lobby fountain, and the hotel's patrons were enthralled with the playful waterfowl. Ever since then, the Peabody has been home to 5 ducks who live in a roost on the roof of the hotel. Every day at 11 am sharp, the Duck Master leads them across the roof, into an elevator, and down into the lobby fountain. At 5 pm, every day, they follow him back into the elevator and up to their "duck castle" on the roof.

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And here they are, marching the red carpet back to their duck house! "Seeing the ducks" is one of the most famous things to do in Memphis, and the spectacle always draws a crowd. Having arrived 45 minutes before 5, we were only able to get a perch overlooking the mezzanine railing!

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I'll post my pictures from Beale Street tomorrow, as well as my pics from my trip this morning to Little Rock, Arkansas. Thanks for reading; enjoy!