I have been to Memphis several times but as often happens if you are showing dogs you don't go to the actual sites that an area may have to offer. Years of doing that have convinced me I need to wake up and do things a bit differently now. Went to Memphis area in July for the Southaven MS dogshows (actually ended up staying in West Memphis AR) so how is that for interstate commerce?
At any rate I'd never seen Beale Street so Archie and I left Tom Lee park and walked up Riverfront the few blocks to get to the Beale intersection. Poof we were there! Very interesting place with music I could stand around and listen to all day. Above you see one of the street bands that the area is famous for. Hey they were really good too. There was also a guy playing in one of the pavilions on the street doing a great job of it.
Mostly though I walked around and noticed signs. Now I LOVE neon and there are some great neon signs like the love, peace and chicken grease sign at Miss Polly's Soul City Cafe.
No bar on Beale is complete without the BIG ASS BEER sign. Hmm?
Rum Boogie Cafe has a great sign compared to the famous Hard Rock Cafe which looks pretty lame by comparison.
Wet Willies' also has a great neon sign. My friend Les I am sure has been here, he's a signmaker so I know he'd appreciate this glasswork.
Ah, the Rendezvous Memphis most famous BBQ spot! Of course Archie and I had to have lunch there. The pork shoulder is to DIE FOR!! YUM!
Archie had a chicken breast sandwich I think.
What could be better than having your photo taken with Elvis on the walk back to your vehicle? Well, a big bronze Elvis anyway. We found this handsome guy standing in a small pavilion on second street I think on our walk back to the van. Oh yeah my doggie Radi did win that day she picked up 1 pt of the 2 she needs to be a champion. Unfortunately she didn't win the next day but we still had fun, met and socialized with friends, ate well and did the tourist thing so it was ALL GOOD!!
Tom Lee Park in Memphis is right on the MS river. The link in this post's title takes you to the wikipedia entry explaining who Tom Lee was. It is an amazing story how one man ( who could NOT SWIM) in his 35 foot skiff saved dozens of lives when a steamer went down around 20 miles South of Memphis. The park is in his honor and there are two memorial statues there, one is the obelisk and the other a fabulous bronze that shows Tom Lee and his boat saving one of the many people he saved that night. The view up the street from the park of downtown is great. Archie and I parked at Tom Lee and walked up to Beale street ( it was a damn sight easier than the 12 mile hike in the Smokies the weekend before no matter what the heat and humidity was).