I'm goin' to Graceland . . . .

Paul Simon wrote about it back in 1986, but it took me another 28 years (almost 11 of which were spent living in Tennessee) to get there myself.



 

The kids were spending the weekend with GG and Gus in Pigeon Forge (more on that another day), in place of what was formerly known as "Camp GG and Gus."  Now that my parents are living in TN, the week of Chicago adventures is no more . . .but they were up for a road trip, so off they went. 

A couple days kid-free, Bassam and I decided to have our own road trip, although ours was just a quick overnighter to Memphis.   And let me tell you, Graceland is everything I thought it would be . . . a tacky time-warp of mirrored walls and shag carpet.   And you know what?  I loved it!

I'm not going to lie.   Bassam was not thrilled by my suggestion of Memphis.  He's seen Graceland (and admittedly, you only need to see it once), but when planning process moved to where we might eat and we talked about ribs at the world-famous Rendezvous, he came around.

The Rendezevous was also everything I thought it would be. . . . a bit of a dive, packed with locals and tourists alike and serving up AMAZING ribs.  Even Prices William and Harry ate there when they were in town earlier this year.  It's a thing.

We stayed at the Peabody Hotel, which is southern institution. Built in the 1920's, it is a grand old hotel AND it has ducks.   Since the 1930's, the Peabody has had 5 ducks who swim in their lobby fountain (obviously, different ducks now than back in the 30's!).  At 5 pm, the ducks march, yes, MARCH from the fountain through the lobby to the elevator and ride up to the roof to the $200,000 Duck Palace.    Then at 11 am, they march down to the lobby and take their place in the fountain and the start the day over again.  We should all be so lucky to only work from 11 to 5.  The Duck Palace is a 24 by 12 foot enclosure with granite flooring, ceiling fans, and a fountain decorated with a pair of bronze ducks.   Pretty good living for 5 ducks in Memphis.

The rooftop "Duck Palace"

The march of the ducks is a huge to-do!  People start scoring places to sit in the lobby well before 4 o'clock, which undoubtedly means lots of customers like us at the bar!   The whole thing only lasts a few minutes, but it was worth it.  Besides, when in Rome . . . .

 

We didn't get to cruise Beale Street, because shortly after dinner the skies opened up and it stormed all night long, in fact it was still pouring when we left at 8 am!    Despite that, we had a great time.  Not sure we'll be back any time soon, but now I can say I've seen Graceland!