I’ve been in the ol’ hometown for the past week on a work assignment. It’s kind of weird staying in a hotel in Memphis when my family lives here, but it’s given me a chance to enjoy downtown in a way that I haven’t in a while.
I haven’t had a lot of free time, but I did get to go for a run Friday morning which took me down Beale Street (on a Friday morning –scandalous!), past the Gibson guitar factory, by the Civil Rights Museum and up the Mississippi River bluffs. I was so struck by all the sights that I’ve often taken for granted that I ended up retracing my steps with my camera trying to capture it all. I thought I’d share a few …
Main Street mall and trolley
Who knew?
I think we’d all agree that is a REAL river.
This isn’t actually Beale Street — my camera ran out of battery power before I was able to shoot Beale Street, which runs between B.B. King’s and the Blues City Cafe.
Memphis: it has standards, despite what you’ve heard.
He lives.
How many of you can say you graduated high school IN A PYRAMID?
You might think Elvis is the only king in Memphis, but you’d be wrong. Cotton is king.
I’ve loved, loved, loved being here, even if I’ve been working most of the time. You never know who you’ll run into. The Southern hospitality really is second to none. I’ve conversed with more random strangers in a week than I probably had in several months. Sure, Memphis has it’s dark side of crime and controversy, but every city has it’s share. I might feel differently if I lived here again, but for now I’m proud to say it’s my hometown.
That’s so funny! My friend from nursery school has been in Memphis all week – leaving status updates on Facebook about BBQ.
I’ve never been, but it sounds like a neat place to go. And a neat place to come from.
I guess you can’t really compete with the Mississippi River. I mean, is it the Tennessee River or Fort Loudoun Lake that runs next to downtown? I’ve always been confused. If that’s the case, we are a city by a lake, not a city on a river.
And B.B.’s has great bbq and fried pickles. That man knows how to eat. (among other things)
You’ve got me missing Memphis and I don’t even live there!
Great pictures! I love the “parking can be fun” sign and the trolley car will always make me smile regardless of where the trolley actually goes. I can see how it would be a strange experience to stay in a hotel in your hometown, but always with the positive you are finding the fun in it.
Totally unrelated, I was meaning to ask, did Modern Mom like Twitter? Start her own account? Think it was too newfangled internet-y for her?
Great photos! I went to Memphis a couple years back with my sister on the way to Little Rock and I quite enjoyed it! We went to Mudd Island.
Allie: There’s something about this city that compels people to update their Facebook statuses about barbecue 🙂
Max: I’ve given up on trying to figure out how a river can be a lake. And yes, the fried pickles are divine.
V: MM was just curious to see how Twitter worked. She knew I was an addict and wanted to know what it was all about. She was amazed at the way everyone responded so quickly. Thankfully, she’s not quite yet interested in joining the Twitterverse, which is fine by me because I’m not ready for that.
Emma: Mud Island is great place to watch the river and the world go by!
Love the photos! Reminds me that I need to get out more. =)
Memphis seems much prettier than I had imagined! Actually, I don’t know that I’ve ever imagined Memphis before, but I’m happy to know it’s a good looking place.
I’ve never been to Memphis, but I’ve always wanted to go. It seems to have a lot of character. Now I will know what to expect!
I went to Memphis for the first time last month. We were on a road trip and this was our last stop before coming home. I really enjoyed it. We went to Ernestine and Hazel’s, which I loved. And we had Neely’s. It was yummy. I also saw the Peabody ducks. I think your hometown is a nice town. People don’t say that about my home town, but they are wrong, because it is a nice town too.
Great pictures of Memphis. I’ve only ever driven thru – traveling btw Knoxville (current home) and Dallas (previous home).
Glad you enjoyed the trip even if it was for work.
I’m glad you are as fond of Memphis as I am.
Graduating in the Pyramid and then dinner at Rendezvous – one of my happy memories.