Day 88 - Thankyouverymuch

Author - Grant
Based In – Memphis, TN
Interesting Elvis Fact – More Americans watched his “Live From Hawaii” concert than the moon landing.

Today's Photos - http://www.flickr.com/photos/32017704@N03/sets/72157613166922453/

No time for a clever introduction today. We have lots to cover, the Super Bowl starts in 2 hours and I have no interest in being sober when it begins. So let’s get straight into it…

First thing to note is that we had a great day today but Molly most certainly didn’t. Our “pet-friendly” hotel is a little Gestapo-like with its pet policy and made us sign a hugely unreasonable piece of paper saying that Molly can’t be left in the room alone. Now usually we would completely ignore such warnings because we exercise her into unconsciousness before leaving her meaning that she silently sleeps until we return. However, the paper I signed mentioned a $250 fine and the hotel manager seemed anal enough to monitor our every move so Molly spent the day in a boarding kennel whilst we took on the best of Memphis in one action packed day.

First stop was Graceland, Elvis’s preserved home which he bought when he was just 22. It is considered a shrine to all things 70’s with green shag carpets, velvet curtains, a 15 foot white leather sofa, a glass racquet ball court, mini-bars everywhere and barely a window pane un-stained. It was surprisingly small but that retained a real cosy feel to the place which made it very liveable in…which, I guess, he did. The grounds aren’t so small though and there were a good number of horses roaming around with horse sunglasses on, presumably in homage to their late owner rather than for any medical reason. The grounds also contain the reflective garden where Elvis, his parents and a couple of other Presleys are buried. Apparently the mansion receives dozens of bunches of flowers a day from fans around the world…haven’t these people heard that New Kids on The Block have reformed? There are also a couple of his aeroplanes on show which are also fully decked out by Austin Powers and contain equally needless touches such as 24 karat gold safety belt buckles. Now correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t gold quite soft and would just bend when stressed? Perhaps Elvis is of the same school of thought as me that if you’re on a plane that’s going down, odds are that the waist strap will be about as useful as a chocolate kettle. Perhaps that’s why he always wore jump-suits (of which hundreds from his collection were on show)? Or maybe that just helped him to get serious amounts of tail? Either way, I have concluded that Elvis and I would have been best buds if we were around at the same time.

Next stop, the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King was assassinated. There’s not really a lot to say about this as it’s a motel which is now the Museum of Civil Rights. It’s a bit tough to know what to do with photos in places like this. We were pretty sure that doing the famous “pointing at the shooter” pose was unacceptable but is smiling OK or should we have looked sombre? We took the smart route and didn’t include either of us in the photos but then we’re left with a photo of a shitty motel balcony which isn’t very good. I guess what I am trying to say is that it wasn’t really worth more than a few minutes reflection before realising that we hadn’t eaten for more than seven hours.

Cue Redezvous. Jenny, our saucy waitress at Famous Dave’s rib joint in Nashville, had whispered to us that the best ribs in Tennessee can be found down an alley in Memphis. I was excited to discover this local secret but the reality is that it is a legendary place mentioned in every guide book which might explain why it’s the size of an aeroplane hanger and yet there was still a still a 25 minute wait for a table. The phrase “worth the wait” may actually have been coined about this place through as the two slabs of ribs that arrived were pure rib perfection. All the rib adjectives can be accurately applied (juicy, fall off the bone, incredible dry-rub etc) but the attribute that took them over the edge for me was the crust that resembled pyroclastic rock (that’s the crust that forms on magma when it is cooled by exposure to air…trust me, I looked it up). Cooking school taught me that such a crust is caused by the amino acids and proteins reacting to heat which is called Maillard Reaction but this crust was so good it must have been created by magic. I felt clinically depressed when I finished my last bite and I could have easily eaten another rack but I am in danger of turning into a pig so we reluctantly left. I fear having my next helping of ribs (probably for tomorrow’s breakfast) as they just can’t compare to these beauties. If you’re ever in Memphis, go to Rendezvous…even if you’re a vegetarian; it will cure you.

There’s not much to say about that evening’s entertainment. We hit Beale Street which is blocked off to traffic and lined with bars pumping out live music. We did a typical Grant & Kate bar crawl which involves going into one bar and crawling out several hours later. I can’t even remember the name of the bar but there were a couple of bands playing and not one member of either band had to pay for bus rides. Kate felt especially silly begging the 107 year old lead singer for beads but it was well worth it.

Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday and it appears we are detouring to Little Rock to watch it solely to cross Arkansas off the list of states visited. Go Steelers.