Goal: Tour Memphis.
We drove the 20-minutes north to down town Memphis from the campground. There are several large affordable parking lots at the corner of Main Street and Beale. We arrived around 10:30 AM. As we cross Main street we note the railed trolly traveling down Main Street.
We head on down Beale street to see what is going on this early in the day. The answer is Not Much. We then walk back up Beale street, reading the menus and planning for later. On the way, music starts wafting from one of the Honky Tonks, and draws us in.
On entering The Rum Boogie club, we find a guitar player, sitting on the small stage playing and singing. He is very good and performing music we know. We take two seats at the bar, and order a large bowl of Gator Gumbo. The gumbo is a hearty roux based stew with kielbasa sausage, chicken, crabmeat, alligator, catfish, and shrimp. The delicious stew is mildly spicy, and both of us enjoy the savory flavor.
We spend about an hour listening to the music, until the end of the musician’s set, at which point we continue our exploration.
We decide to check out the B.B. King souvenir shop. We study the Tee-Shirts but decide to wait till more shops open.
While on our promenade, Deryl researches the price of the trolly. A dollar for a one way trip, or $2 for an all day ride. Well heck, at that price we can use it as our hop-on-hop-off transport! Two minutes after arriving back at the corner of Main Street and Beale, we board the antique trolley for the ride north on Main Street. The wooden body of the trolley is in very good and preserved condition. Since it is middle of the day, there are only a few passengers aboard.
As we ride the trolley along Main Street, we admire the various shops along the way. One of the sites along the way, is an enormous glass covered pyramid, with the words “Bass Pro Shop” on it. We ride the trolly all the way to the end of the line which is close to the Danny Thomas Shriners Children’s Hospital.
On the trip back south, we disembark the trolley at the 3rd stop, which appears to be near the huge pyramid building to see what we can learn about it. We walk the three blocks down toward the river, and across the double railroad tracks to reach an entrance to the building. Indeed, it is a Bass Pro sporting goods shop! The entire interior is hollowed out, and one large shop. There is a central elevator shaft, with glass walls. The elevator conveys people up to the hotel, restaurant, and finally the observation deck! While the elevator is free for hotel guests, or restaurant patrons with reservations, there is an $8.00 fee for anyone else. We decide that is more than we want to spend, and instead spend our time browsing the store.
This store has amazing displays, There is a 2 story aquarium with very large fresh water fish. There is a “river” flowing through the first floor level with more fish. Some are 3 foot long cat fish, some are small trout, and a number of other fish we don’t recognize. There is a “branch” of this indoor river serving as a live alligator pen. Another branch has various boats docked. Obviously the boats are display models for purchase. There is a section of the store dedicated to all-terrain vehicles. Fishing gear, hunting gear, hiking gear, jogging clothing, and even a Duck’s Unlimited museum!
While wandering around the store Deryl points out the large selection of shoes and boots. Rob had promised himself a new pair of work boots, having worn his last pair out while working on the house. This Bass Pro Shop has every sort of shoe one might want for outdoor wear. Boat shoes, sandals, off road running shoes, rock climbing sneakers, low ankle hiking shoes, high ankle tracking, backpacking boots, water proof shoes, and even waders, Oh My! Not only do they have this huge variety of styles, they have numerous in each size! We catch the attention of a salesman, who suggests three styles for Rob to try. Rob uses the foot measure to determine a size to start trying, and a few moments later, Rob is trying on three different pairs of shoes. In the mean time Deryl, reads the label of the shoes Rob is wearing. One of the pairs Rob had tried on were acceptable in the measured length, but the other two are too small. So the salesman returns with the size of the shoes Rob was wearing. The new shoes fit perfectly and are very comfortable. The purchase is made.
We exit the front of the building with the thought to walk down to the river’s edge. Once outside we realize that it would be a very circuitous route around the parking lots and highways to get to the river. Instead, we take photos in front of the pyramid.
We walk back through the Bass Pro Shop, and out the back entrance that we came in. On the way through we notice that the hotel must be on the 3rd, 4th and 5th floor levels, with each room having a balcony overlooking the store’s interior.
We walk the thee blocks back up to Main Street and board the next trolley that comes by. When we reach Beale Street, Rob stores his new work boots into Clyde, before we make our back down Beale Street.
So why Beale Street? After the Civil War, Beale Street became the center of the non-white commerce. Negro doctors, pharmacies, store keepers, Oriental markets, etc made their businesses along this street. There were stores and homes along its length. One home was that of W.C. Handy. W.C. Handy was a musician, and performer who is credited with fathering Blues music. His home is now a museum.
Today Beale Street is lined with restaurants where music is performed every day!
It is now around dinner time and we treat ourselves to some of Memphis best barbecue at the Memphis City BBQ Cafe. We share a full rack of their ribs, and accompany them with steak fries, green beans, and coleslaw. The portion size is HUGE! The ribs are very meaty and large, to the point where with the two of eating, we are unable to finish the meal. Luckily the truck is close by so we package up the leftovers, and deliver them back to the truck.
By this time, all of the Honky Tonks have live music. We walk down to Rum Boogie and pass the rest of the evening listening to the band from the 2nd floor balcony.