Our destination was the Peabody Hotel, with it's world famous Duck Revue. Every morning at eleven, a flock of ducks that live on the roof of the multi-story hotel take the elevator down to the lobby and jump into the fountain, there to frolic all day long. Well, until five pm, anyway, when they reverse the procedure. We arrived about a half hour before the morning stroll, and the lobby was already full. We were lucky to score a couple of chairs in the back corner near the bar.
As expected, we weren't able to see the waddle from the elevator to the fountain, but did get to see them after the ducks were in the fountain!
That small black square in the fountain is where the food is placed for the day. After the ducks enter the fountain, a uniformed bellman brings their food on a silver tray with a silver cover, places the food on each of two "plates" with a silver scoop, then places the scoop on the now empty tray, covers it, and marches off. And this has been the daily routine since the '30's!
We took off for Beale Street after the duck performance, but on the way out of the Peabody, we stopped at the restroom, where imprinted paper towels with the texture of bath towels waited for guests use.
And stopped to check out the menu at one of the restaurants in the Hotel:
Just two blocks from the Peabody, Beale Street in Memphis is a jumping, loud, home of the Blues kinda place. For three blocks, on both sides of the street (which is closed to vehicular traffic), bars, honky tonks and restaurants are pressed in side by side. BB King, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis all started their careers in the smoky bars of Beale Street.
Just behind one of the last of the "big name" clubs, the Jerry Lee Lewis honky tonk,
Is a small, rather inconspicuous club:
With a tiny little shotgun house behind that.
WC Handy is universally known as the "Father of the Blues", and in this house, and in the neighboring club he wrote many of the songs that started a musical movement.
Leaving Beale Street and the panhandlers, we headed for the Mississippi River and the Memphis Riverwalk.
Back up to Main Street, which parallels the River, and runs through the heart of Memphis, we walked through several very nice parks and another pedestrian zone.
We saw the "Pyramid", a former arena for sports and special events in the Pinch District, which is Memphis' first commercial neighborhood. The Pyramid is being converted by Bass Pro Shops into a 220,000 square foot wonderland, with a zip line, indoor gunnery range, hotel and indoor and outdoor elevators to the observation deck.
We also learned that Memphis was the location of the first self-service grocery store in the nation, Piggly Wiggly!
Back in the Peabody after a seven mile walk, we were determined to get a good seat for the duck ramble at five. The mezzanine seemed to be a perfect place, so we took up residence there while our feet recovered!
We were just in time for the red carpet!
And, after a brief introduction to the history of the ducks, the show began!
That's the Duckmaster in the red jacket, followed by his "assistant", chosen from the audience, with their duck guiding canes. The canes weren't needed, as the ducks zipped to the elevator and their penthouse residence! There were only four ducks today, because the fifth duck, a hen, was being treated for a condition that prevented her from laying her eggs, and she was very, very uncomfortable. Normally, five ducks make the daily pilgrimage.
Just across the street from the Peabody, and down an alley,
and just past the intersection with General Washburn's Escape Alley, is one of the most impressive BBQ joints in the city, The Rendezvous! The address in on Second Street, but you can't get there from Second Street, you have to go 'round the back to the alley, walk down stairs to the basement, and….enjoy!
Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous has been in business for decades. Charlie isn't with us anymore, but his family continues the tradition of honest, dry-rub bar-b-que. Donna and I have eaten here on past trips, and were looking forward to completing our day in Memphis at the Rendezvous. It's an eclectic affair, with all manner of stuff on the walls and hanging from the ceiling. Most of the place looks like it would do good with a thorough cleaning, but hey, we're not here to eat the memorabilia! We had already scoped out our choices: Gramma's Greek Salad, and two small slabs of ribs. This is the part that my doctors need to skip over…..
Beans, cole slaw, and to-die-for potato salad completed the meal. Oh yeah, we did bring a few bones home! We got a peek into one of three smokers that were chuckling to themselves in the back room. Each smoker contained a minimum of 25 full slabs of ribs, with another smoker devoted to pork shoulders and brisket! No wonder it smelled so good outside!
After dinner, our walk back to the parking garage took us, once again, by the Peabody Hotel, where a Princess' carriage was waiting to take guests on a leisurely tour of the area.
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