Southern Extravaganza

Friday, February 12, 2010

Memphis

                So, here we are in Memphis!  Cool city so far.  But, let me start at the beginning:  we left yesterday morning around 10, making for a pretty easy drive, and no traffic issues at all.  I think we saw 2 or 3 cops the entire time, and 1 was right by the airport in Indy, so we were pretty happy with that. 

                We were concerned about getting into the city in time to see anything, but we forgot about a little thing called “time zones” and unexpectedly gained an hour.  Woo-hoo!  We checked in to our hotel (I’ll call it “minimalist”, but it is close to downtown and half as expensive as the Holiday Inn around the corner), and after some minor issues with internet connectivity, we headed to Sun Studio for the tour there.  Places that require guided tours always give me some pause, because if you have a crappy tour guide, the experience can really be ruined.  Luckily, this was not the case at Sun.  Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the studio, and clearly cared about the music she was telling all of us about.  Even if you’re not into the guys who recorded there (Elvis, Johnny Cash, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Carl Perkins, etc.), and hopefully you’ll give them a try if you’ve never heard of them, it was super cool to be in a place so full of musical history.  And I got to stand at the SAME MICROPHONE Elvis used when recording in the studio.  Sorry, Ash!  We’ll come back to see all of the Elvis goodies soon!

                After the Sun tour, it was well past dinner time, so we headed to Corky’s, a place known for their ribs.  Did I mention Memphis is all about the barbecue?  And that a vegetarian would probably starve to death here?   It’s true!  I’m not much of a barbecue fan, but that must be due to NEVER having ribs that tasted that good.  Corky’s seems to be most famous for their dry ribs, which are rubbed with spices and cooked, without any “wet” sauce.  Pat enjoyed a pulled pork sandwich, and after washing everything down with a beer, we headed to the Young Ave. Deli for trivia!  If you’ve never experienced bar trivia, you’re missing out, seriously.  What’s better than geeking out over trivia while drinking a delicious beer?

                We did not do well in trivia.  We were in last when we left at halftime.  But to be fair, every round had a TV question, and we don’t have cable or watch TV much at all, period.  Also, all of the halftime bonus questions were about quotes from TV shows (anyone know which show frequently utilized the phrase “kiss my grits”?)   We would have rocked a movie category, but what can you do?  We played some pool, had a couple of beers from the expansive tap list, and headed back to the hotel to turn in relatively early (still kind of late for us J). 

                Lots of things to do today, and the forecast is no longer calling for snow, which is great!  Even though the high here is only 41, it already feels WAY better than it did when we were packing the car at home yesterday morning.  Apparently we may be going to Wild Bill’s tonight, an uber-authentic blues bar at which things don’t really get going until “midnight or so” according to our sources.  Maybe we can go to bed at the usual time, set the alarm for midnight, then head out?!?  Check in tomorrow and find out!

Jessica