One week ago today I returned home after five great days in Memphis. For this year’s annual pilgrimage to my favorite city, I played tour guide to my friend Allyssa on her first trip to the Bluff City. We had an amazing time and a lot of laughs. We ate all the fabulous Memphis food, talked with all the friendly Memphis people, listened to the magnificent Memphis music and saw all the super Memphis sights. We literally had a fantastic time!

MEMPHIS DAY 1:

I left my house at 9:30am for my flight at 11am. Dad drove me to the airport. I met Allyssa at the gate. We arrived in Memphis at 12:30 cst, a half hour early, where as we came down the escalator we heard “Walkin in Memphis” playing on the intercom – fate. An hour later we finally had our rental car after the second try. There was an empty space where the first car was supposed to be, so I had to walk back down, get in line and get another car (the escalator did not work so I had to take the elevator). I had reserved the cheapest car, which was the smallest never thinking there wouldn’t be enough leg room, but I put the seat back and down and it was fine. But for the rest of the trip, we referred to our Ford Fiesta as our clown car – Aribbaaaa!

On the way from the airport to our hotel, we passed by Elvis Presley Boulevard so of course I had to do a Graceland drive by. Then we went to Walgreens to get snacks for the week and boy did we get snacks, all we could carry. Along the way, a song by REO Speedwagon and came and Allyssa said, “OHHHHH!” She said she always thought it was Reo (like Rio) Speedwagon. We laughed about that for a while – this would not be the last gem from Allyssa. We finally reached our hotel, the Gold Strike Casino in Tunica, Mississippi. As we got out of the car and walked toward the entrance, we hear U2’s “Sweetest Thing” playing over the loudspeaker – fate again. We got in line to check in and had a bit of a tenuous check in process. Trainee Jane couldn’t talk to us while incorrectly making our keys. We had to tell her three times we wanted two beds on a non-smoking lower floor. (the floor was non-smoking, but the room smelled like it had been previously smoked in not to mention the intense incense coming through the bathroom vent from the room next door – oh and there was no soap dish in the shower and no fan in the bathroom. but other than that the room was great, except for the terribly slow rooms-cox wifi)

Trainee Jane had told us we could eat at the Buffet or Pickle and Jam, which I kept referring to as Pickled Pete’s because I couldn’t remember the name). We didn’t want to eat at the cafeteria style Pickle and Jam. We wanted a sit down meal, since it was almost 3pm and we hadn’t eaten all day. We walked to the back of the casino and the buffet had closed at 2pm and wouldn’t reopen for dinner until 4pm. So we walked next door to the Horseshoe Casino, but their buffet closed at 3pm for lunch. We ended up going to cafeteria style place anyway called 8 oz, but they were the best, biggest cheeseburgers with amazing french fries and bottomless sweet tea – or we were just REALLY hungry. We went back to our room in a food comma to relax and unpack. I mentioned to Allyssa that I leave all of my spare change (because I don’t like carrying coins) for the housekeeper’s tip at the end of our stay. Her response, “You’re supposed to tip the housekeeper?” Allyssa gem number two.

Around 6pm, we left for Beale Street – downtown Memphis is about a half hour from Tunica. We parked in the parking lot next to the Orpheum, where we would park each day throughout our time in Memphis. We walked past the Elvis Statue then into my fave shops on Beale Street (each of us buying a Beale Street tee shirt) before settling in on the Rooftop Deck at Alfred’s. We ordered the traditional Sausage and Cheese plate and BBQ nachos and a few adult beverages to celebrate the start of our vacation. We had a fantastic waitress names Bobbie McGee, who was not named after Janis Joplin or Kris Kristofferson, but rather her father Robert McGee. We were back in Tunica by 11pm (midnight est). 25 year old Allyssa went to bed and I, the 43 year old, went to the casino to play the slots and luckily won $500! It was a great night!

Memphis Day 2:

there for almost 15 years, each year when I visit. I used to eat there all the time when I lived in Memphis from 2008 to 2011 as I lived right down the street. I got my usual four veggie platter with green beans, eggplant casserole, mac n cheese and corn pudding. It’s really a four side platter, but in Memphis mac n cheese is considered a vegetable. All meals are served with mini cornbread muffins, which are warm and buttery. Friday’s dessert was my favorite banana pudding (with nilla wafers), but I was too full from all the yummy food and many sweet teas, so I got it to go. We then drove down the street so I could show Allyssa my old house. I was surprised and excited to see they had finally finished the development (that was started back in 2008 when I first moved in). We drove through Evergreen (the nice historical neighborhood just two streets over from my not so nice neighborhood) and then through Overton Park by the Gold Course, the Zoo and the Levitt Shell.

Our next stop was Sun Studio, the holy grail, the birthplace of rock n roll (not Cleveland!). In case you don’t know your music history, it was Sun Studio where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Howlin Wolf, Ike Turner, Roy Orbison and many others all got there start. Musicians like Ryan Bingham, Elvis Costello and U2 still record there today. I visit Sun every year, but only take the tour about every other year since I basically give the tour. I just like to go there, just to be in the building. Allyssa had never been to Memphis, so we took the tour and I loved it again – to be in the actual studio where both Elvis and U2 recorded – the same tiles, the same mic, the same drums! I did learn something I didn’t know – drums were not allowed in the Grand Ole Opry until the mid-1970s.

Even though it had stopped raining, there was still plenty of mud at the Beale Street Music Festival. Luckily the Gin Blossoms were playing the closest stage to the entrance. They played from 7:35 to 8:40, and we were front row for all the hits including “Follow You Down,” “Alison Road,” “Found Out About You,” “Til I Hear It From You,” “Hey Jealousy” and “Until I Fall Away.” They sounded great, although the mic could have been louder. Lead singer no longer has that 1990s bob, but I did flashback to my babydoll dress and birkenstocks of the early 90s. We really lucked out it did not rain during the show, but we didn’t want to brave the mud and were very tired from all that we had seen that day, so we headed back to Tunica.

Day 4 may have been my favorite of the first four days in Memphis, or did each day just keep getting better? We stayed in the room until almost noon when we left for the unveiling of the Johnny Cash historical marker in Cooper-Young. The marker was placed at the old Galloway Methodist Church, on the corner of Cooper and Walker, where Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two played their first show back in December 1954. They were unveiling this marker on the 60th anniversary (not 160th as Allyssa may have said – gem number 4) of the release of “I Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash at Sun Records on May 1, 1956. During the ceremony, they announced that May 1st is now Johnny Cash Day in Memphis.

We then hightailed it over to Central BBQ, which still had a line out the door, but we there was some parking available. It began to rain – again. We ordered our scrumptious BBQ, the best in Memphis in my opinion. I ordered my old usual – the BBQ Portobello Sandwich, mac n cheese and sweet tea (the best sweet tea in Memphis in my opinion). After stuffing our faces, we went down the street to Flashback – probably my favorite store (all 1950s treats). I bought an “I Walk in the Line” metal record ring – fate. On our way to Sun Studio, we had to go back there even though we had already been on Friday because it was the 60th anniversary of “I Walk the Line” – I just had to be at Sun that day to pay respects, we stopped at the I Love Memphis mural to take pics. (see the cover pic of this post) We then went to Beale Street and did one of my most favorite things in Memphis – sat out on the patio at Rum Boogie and people watched and listened to the great, free Blues music coming out of all the bars. Oh yeah we may have partaken in some adult beverages and apps. 

We spent our last day in Memphis at Graceland. We arrived at Graceland by 9:30am, toured the exhibits, grabbed at snack (fried peanut butter and banana sandwich) at Chrome Grille, toured the mansion, shopped and was at the airport by 2:30pm to return our car and wait for our flights – mine at 4pm, Allyssa’s at 5:30. As I sat on the plane ready to take off, I reflected on our day at the happiest place on earth (Graceland) and our trip in Memphis in general. It was amazing to be back at Elvis’ home and to see it through for the first time through Allyssa’s eyes. I’m not sure why we didn’t take a selfie in front of Graceland or in the living room (my favorite room in Graceland), but we did take a picture of the picture they took of us before getting on the shuttle. I talked Allyssa into recreating Dad’s photo in the meditation garden from my first trip to Graceland back in 1999. We had an amazing time in Memphis, and I got to share all of my favorite things about Memphis with Allyssa – and I think she enjoyed them almost as much as I did. I wasn’t as sad as I usually am when I leave Memphis, probably because I already have a flight and hotel booked for October when I return for the opening of the new Graceland resort. I was home just before 7:30pm – exactly a week ago from the time I finished writing this blog post.