Our first stop was the Memphis Pyramid. Originally built in 1991 as a 20,142 seat arena on the banks of the Mississippi River, it was home to the University of Memphis Men's Basketball team and the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies until 2004, when the Grizzlies moved to the nearby FedExForum. Interestingly, on it's opening night in 1991, the floor flooded and crews were forced to sandbag the perimeter of the building. After the Grizzlies left, the 321 foot tall structure went dark until 2008 when the city of Memphis and Bass Pro Shops reached an agreement to renovate the structure into the worlds largest, by volume, Bass Pro Shop.
The observation decks at the top provide a tremendous view to the west and south.
While the entrance is impressive,
The largest stone fireplace I've ever seen is almost overwhelming!
Then we came to the Cypress Lagoon....
and the world's tallest free-standing glass elevator...
and the live alligators!
Kids had a great time testing their shooting skills at the arcade!
From the observation decks, where there is a restaurant, of course, the view upriver goes on forever.
And down river, you can almost see the Gulf...
A couple of small boats pulling tubers were playing in the estuary just below the pyramid.
The floor of the observation decks is glass, so it took some persuading to get D out to the edge....!
With a last look at downtown Memphis from the Pyramid, we headed down and out to our next stop.
Lunch time was upon us, so we stopped at the #1 rated Bar-b-que restaurant in Memphis, Central BBQ. Of course we had to wait in line to get in, but once in, the food and the service was good. It's a casual place, order at the counter sort of thing, but it was indeed an experience, as we sat at a table for six and struck up a conversation with a local couple that eat here every Sunday after church.
Our third stop was at the iconic Memphis Peanut Shoppe. Unfortunately the number one candy store in the city was closed for the holiday, so we'll have to re-think our departure date!
Our fourth and final stop of the day was inspirational and emotional.
St. Judes Children's Research Hospital in Memphis is a tribute to Danny Thomas, and considered by him to be his most important achievement in an illustrious career. Today, a small memorial on the hospital campus commemorates his work in founding St. Judes Hospital.
Founded on the premise that "no child should die in the dawn of life", the research hospital is credited with saving the lives of thousands of children, and with providing care at no cost to the family.
Born in Deerfield, Michigan, in 1912, as Amos Jacobs, Danny never forgot the ethnic Lebanese neighborhood he grew up in. An uncanny knack for telling funny stories about people in his town, together with the ability to mimic accents, brought him local fame in bars and nightclubs in and around Detroit.
Knowing that his career was stalled, and needing to make a change, he attended Mass in Detroit just as his new daughter, Marlo was to be born. He needed $70 to get Marlo and his wife Rose Marie out of the hospital, so he prayed to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes, saying that "if you will show me the way in life, someday I will build you a shrine". He put $7 of his last $10 in the offering bin, praying that he "needed it back, times 10". The next day he was offered a gig paying $70 and Danny never looked back. St. Jude opened it's doors in 1962.
Although named for St. Jude, the hospital is not a Catholic hospital, and is an accredited non-profit institution. The sole purpose of the by now huge facility is to further research in childrens cancer cures.
Danny and his wife Rose Marie are entombed in the garden adjacent to the golden-domed memorial building.
We returned home to enjoy a wonderful sunset while at the dog park.
Sasha didn't notice the sunset....
Just enough storm clouds in the distance to make the sunset interesting!
I'm writing this on Labor Day, in the afternoon. We've not done a great deal today other than take a long, long walk with Sasha through the neighborhood. We have some plans for this evening, so I'll post later on.
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