I'm Goin' Graceland

Ok, so I didn't actually visit Graceland (not an Elvis fan,) but I did road trip to Memphis, Tennessee with a group of friends from work this weekend. My good friend, Chaney, and I tore through a box of Cheez-It's, chatted a mile a minute and checked into the prestigious Peabody Hotel after 5 hours on the road.

After corraling our group of about 12+ in the lobby, we headed out to experience Beale Street. Now, as most of you know, I'm a bit of a morning person and prefer to go to bed early and literally bounce out of bed by 8am. Seriously, Kyle likes to call me "Grandma" since I fall asleep anytime we decide to watch a DVD at home. Well, it was after 11pm when we left for the bars, and I'm proud to say I hung with the group the whole night!

We started off at a piano bar to experience "The Diver." Basically, a plastic pail of alcohol, flavored with juice. [Please Note: the Diver is pictured without any actual drinkers. I'm trying to honor my parents wishes to eliminate potentially incriminating photos. Yes, Mom and Dad, I'm 29 and still listen to what I'm told ... most of the time!] Please read on to learn why there is a little white duck figurine on the edge of the pail. :)

The piano players sang to Chaney as the clock struck midnight and she turned 24. Happy Birthday, Old Lady! We even got them to salute Ohio with a little Hang on Sloopy. Thankfully, I have a coworker who is also a Buckeye and her friend lives in Memphis, so there were at least three of us that knew the O-H-I-O drill.

Luckily, the diver's weren't too strong so we were able to jump to another bar later in the night (or should I say early in the morning.) We decided to shake our groove-thang's at Club 152. On the way home, we stopped by a popular restaurant for tamales and chili and a sausage and cheese plate. I know, you're thinking heartburn city, but somehow, I slept like a baby when we got back to the hotel.

Let it be known that I didn't get back to my hotel room until 4am! Yes, amazing, I know. I'm pretty sure I haven't seen that hour of the day in several years.

We woke up surprisingly early and hit up The Blue Plate Cafe for ... as my father would say ... the best breakfast I've ever had. No joke. Huge portions, amazing pancakes of all flavors (we're talking banana chocolate chip with peanut butter syrup) and homemade biscuits to die for. Check out the pure excitement on the faces of my friends Greg and Amber, about to dive into their pancakes.

We spent the day Saturday taking in the sights of Memphis. We toured the Sun Studios - famous for discovering Elvis and recording stars like Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and many others.

Greg and I, standing by the very mic that Elvis used in the studio. Pretty cool. The tour guide had to ask people to refrain from kissing or licking it ... are you serious?!?! Who are these crazy Elvis fans?!?!

... visited the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Very eerie how it was frozen in time on the edge of downtown Memphis. Sort of takes your breath away.

After some blues at BB King's, we took in the tradition of the Duck Walk at our hotel. The Peabody has been around forever and has a ton of charm. The lobby is even known as the living room of Memphis. Well, since 1933, they have been orchestrating the Duck Walk ... 5 little ducks are ushered down from their palace on the roof, walk a red carpet and jump into a gorgeous fountain in the lobby. They swim there all afternoon, entertaining the guests until 5pm, when the show starts again to usher them across the red carpet and back upstairs to their palace. Crazy, but an interesting experience, and a must see if you're ever in Memphis.

As seen earlier in the blog, the hotel takes the duck theme very seriously and even gives you soap in the shape of a duck. We thought it would be funny to take him with us for the weekend and take his picture in front of everything, like the gnome. The stars even aligned at Sun Studio when Sammy the Duck met his inspiration.

We ended the night with some amazing BBQ at The Rendezvous. You can tell by the big smiles and the bibs! (that's me in the middle in the green)

Thanks to Greg, a Memphis local that works in our office, who orchestrated the whole trip. I had a blast hanging out with the gang and Memphis did not disappoint!!

You may be asking why I was flying solo in TN ... Kyle left on Saturday for his week of work in Minneapolis and ... get ready for it ... I'm meeting him there tomorrow night! We are actually in Minneapolis for work at the same time for once. So, we'll get to share a rental car and hotel room for the rest of the week. Looking forward to more excitement up North!