Walking in Memphis...

You guys, we loved the Memphis area. No one is more surprised than we are. We really thought it would be a scary, dirty town. It wasn't. At all. Now, in an effort at full disclosure, I must admit that we stayed in the fanciest suburb, Germantown, but still. It was awesome.

We got up somewhat early and headed down to the hotel's lobby for breakfast. It was so nice out that we took our meals outside and dined by the pool and soaked in the early morning sun. It was lovely. Life gets so busy sometimes that I forget to stop and appreciate the simple pleasures in life. The sun hitting my face is one of my favorite feelings. It just makes me feel alive. I already had on, of course, sunscreen. More on that later. ;) We finished our leisurely breakfast and decided to try to find a park to walk in before the heat of the day really set in. We found one and wandered around for a bit. We'd passed some awesome neighborhoods between our hotel and the park so we went back to one of those neighborhoods and walked through it.

The neighborhood was still under construction and Jackson made himself right at home by visiting the worker's portable toilet. Yep. That's my husband. He fits in wherever he goes. ;) HA! Anyway, one of the homes we walked by had a Briarcrest Christian School sign in its yard. Jackson mentioned that Michael Oher, the guy on whom the movie The Blindside is based upon, went to that school. I promptly decided that we just HAD to find the Tuohy's house. (If you've not seen the movie, you simply must. Also, none of this will make sense to you until you see it.) I am always amazed at the power of Google and within 3 minutes we were on the road headed to see their mansion.

Jackson was in charge of getting the photo. He wouldn't let me get out and go to the door. He said something about not wanting to see the inside of Memphis' jail?!? It was so strange. ;)

After we finished stalking  visiting Michael Oher's family we decided to spend the afternoon at the hotel's pool. This meant we'd have to swing by Target to get some sunscreen because now that I'm 29 I cannot take any chances on sun damage. I'm going to get wrinkles soon and I don't need the sun speeding up that process. Jackson thought I was kidding in the Turks when I said that my days of unprotected sun worshipping are over. I wasn't. My new motto is "she without the sunburn wins!" HA! :)

What a day at the pool looks like when you get old. Sigh.

It was a gorgeous day to be beside and in the pool. Jackson finished his book that he started reading in the Turks. (HE FINISHED READING A BOOK! FOR FUN! HE READ A BOOK FOR FUN!) I started reading a book on my Kindle called, "The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life." We both got a chuckle when another pool-goer (an older lady) asked us what we were reading. Jackson was reading a book about the Boston Marathon in 1982 and I was reading about organizing your life. She made a funny face and said, "those are weird books" and kept moving. I wanted to ask her what she was reading that was so darn normal, but I didn't. HA! Anyway, after staying at the pool far longer than Jackson wanted to (people say it is me who doesn't sit still. They've not been on vacation with Jackson. I don't need a child. He is as needy as one.), it was time to get some lunch and head into Memphis to explore. 

There is a huge debate in the Memphis area about which restaurant has the best BBQ. We chose to go to the Germantown Commissary (http://www.commissarybbq.com/) at the recommendation of the ladies working at the Coach store. We were not disappointed. It was the cutest place ever, too.

Jackson's ribs- He won't stop talking about them. Still. 

My pork stuffed potato- SO GOOD

Once we finished with dinner we headed to downtown Memphis to go to the National Civil Rights Museum.I don't have words to describe how moving it was to stand where MLK Jr. did when he was assissinated.

The museum now owns the old Lorraine Hotel/Motel (depending on which sign you read- as seen in the photos above and below). They're currently building a new section of the museum, but I was happy to just see what we did while it was under construction. 

It was so incredible to see something that you've only seen in history books. I must admit, embarrassingly enough, that I have managed to forget 97.98% of the historical information I was taught throughout my academic career. I had it etched in my memory that MLK was giving a speech from his balcony when he was shot. That isn't true. He was on his way to give a speech. 

The museum has painstakingly restored the room to its EXACT condition on the fateful day. It was fascinating to see how much hotels have changed and how much they've stayed the same. 

The hostel where the shots came from (supposedly. The entire museum lends itself to conspiracy theories and tells you to decide for yourself what happened. I refuse to do this. I don't have the time or desire to doubt what I've been told happened. Bah. Bah. I know. I am a little American sheep. Sorry.) that killed MLK in 1968 is also part of the museum. This is the window from which the shots were fired. 

This is the view back from the Lorraine towards to hostel. It was SO creepy to think about someone shooting you from that far away.

"I always wondered what was in that white water fountain they didn't want me to drink out of...but I found out once I grew up that the white water fountain was cool water...and the colored water was warm."- David L. Acey

It really struck me how 1968 was not that terribly long ago. Some of my readers may even remember this time. I am amazed how how far we've come in that I cannot imagine treating one race as the lesser. I know that we've not accomplished everything that MLK wanted us to, but we're on the road to it. I hope.

The museum was incredible. I cannot recommend it enough. It may be a little more enjoyable if you brush up on your history. Or you could just go with a handsome man who loves that stuff and pump him for information. I selected option two. ;)


We left the museum and headed for Beale Street. 

"No trip is complete with a stop at the Hard Rock for Deb's pin."- Jackson

We loved this area, too! It was a warm, but not miserable night, so there were TONS of people out and about.

Sleepy pooch

Don't mind the scaffolding...ha!

Quite an appropriate sign since I just read "No Easy Day"

ALL of the runners

We realized after walking around for a bit that a 5k was going to be starting in a few minutes. We were bummed that we didn't read about it and sign up ourselves, but then we decided that it was too warm for a good run. HA! :)

We grabbed a beer and a Sprite and watched them run instead

The bar's band played "Walking in Memphis" and I loved every single second of it!

We enjoyed wandering around Beale Street for a bit longer before heading back to Germantown for the evening. We drove by the University of Memphis campus and some other landmarks on the way back. We still didn't see any rough areas! We were looking, too!
Imagine my surprise when I saw a map listing, "Jenna Road" near our hotel. This was an obvious stop for us. Jackson has whole cities named "for" him, but I never get anything. If I were still young and wild I would have stolen the sign. Instead I just snapped a photo and headed to bed early. Goodness me this old age thing isn't anything to be taken lightly. ;)