Oct. 20th Saturday Flew Sacramento-Chicago-Memphis
Left for the airport at 8. Thanks Cathy for driving us...we still owe you that Cinnabon ;)
Luckily our flight out of Chicago was delayed or we would never have made it to our connecting flight. From the time we got off our plane there was maybe 25 minutes to take off and in ORD that’s not nearly enough time even though the gates were ‘close’...nothing is that close.
But we arrived and took a taxi to our motel. Vista Inn, only a couple blocks from The Peabody and Beale St. It was nothing special but adequate for one night pre-luxury tour/cruise. We dropped stuff and then went and had dinner at BB King Blues Club on Beale. It was delicious! BBQ ribs and shrimp & grits with live music ranging from Blues, Soul, Funk and Southern Rock. We caught a couple dances and then managed to sleep solidly for 9 hours after all that travel
Oct. 21st Sunday Memphis
We did so much today it feels like 2 days!
After a meh breakfast at the mediocre motel we walked 2 blocks over with our luggage and checked into The Peabody Hotel. Not only a Memphis landmark and Historic Hotel of America but the home of the Peabody Ducks! Not a sports team, actual ducks that ride the elevator down at 11 every morning to march across a red carpet (to music) and into the center fountain. They spend the day there in the fountain and at 5pm they march back to the elevator to ride up to their ‘duck palace’ on the roof. Now I know it might also be famous as the place Elvis signed his first contract with RCA records and bought his suits, but I'm more impressed by the high class hotel waterfowl. Oh and the hotel overall was so awesome..1st class for sure! I just was nostalgic for the dances they had back in the day with big bands like Tommy Dorsey etc!
We arrived just before 11 in time to see the dramatic duck entrance, checked in to our gorgeous room and then set out walking. 
Ostensibly our goal was to walk along the riverfront to the Bass Pro Shop to see about getting Kim a warmer coat. The forecast for tonight is down in the 30’s. So we walked out to the riverside and along to the giant pyramid that houses Bass Pros, Ducks Unlimited, a huge hotel and restaurant at the top with an observation deck that costs 10 dollars just for the elevator up. We only shopped around for a bit and didn't even buy anything before getting super hungry and needing to head to lunch. Central BBQ was delicious and way too much food between the ribs and the appetizer bbq pork nachos and dry rub spicy chicken wings! We couldn't finish and made a pact that dinner would be a small salad. 
By the time we got back to the hotel, Kim’s folks Kim and Gloria had arrived, and it was 5pm, just in time to watch the ducks leave for the night, check in for our cruise the next day and go out with them for dinner. We stuck to our small salads, for the most part, but then had dessert. I had fun photographing all the neon along Beale street and hearing all the various musical venues up and down the street. Blues, Rockabilly, Country, Rock and Folk were all represented live in the clubs and most were audible from the street or had a speaker outside so you could hear what was being performed inside. 
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