Memphis!

Long distance information, give me Memphis, Tennessee...

Memphis is famous for three things:

1. Beale Street
2. Barbecue
3. Elvis

This was our third trip to Memphis. Graceland is a must see -- once. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Graceland several years ago, but we've never had any desire to go back. There's no need, nothing has changed there since Elvis died.

But Beale Street is a vibrant, lively place. While it is a regular city street by day, the barricades are put up in the evening and you can eat, drink, watch the street performers, or just watch people being people. Sometimes a band dominates the airwaves and sometimes it's just a cacaphony of sound.

Then there's the barbecue. What is the diference between Texas barbecue and Memphis barbecue? For starters,they barbecue pork instead of beef. Mark loves ribs. When he orders a full rack of ribs in Texas it hangs off all sides of the plate. Not so with a full rack of pork ribs. Let's face it, even that big hog they show off at the Texas State Fair every year is nowhere near the size of a cow. The other difference is that Memphis-style barbecue relies more on a dry rub than on mopping sauces. I'm really undecided about that. I think they dusted everything on the plate with the dry rub, including the potato salad - good if you like spicy (and I do), probably not that great if you don't.

But the highlight of this year's trip to Memphis has to be the marching ducks at the Peabody Hotel. We got there an hour ahead and snagged a really good table. For those who are unfamiliar with the ritual, the ducks march in every day at 11 AM and stay in the lobby until 5 PM. The Duckmaster, who has a uniform somewhere in between that of a bell captain, a ringmaster, and a beefeater, announces the schedule of events: There wil be a brief history of the Peabody Hotel and the story of how the ducks came to be there. Then the Duckmaster will bring them in. They will exit the elevator and walk across the red carpet to the fountain, where they will stay until 5 PM. The red carpet is rolled out and the stairs are set up. We all wait in anticipation until the drums roll, the elevator doors open, the marching music starts, and here come five mallards down the red carpet heading for the fountain. Now, I should mention that in addition to the Duckmaster, there were four "men in black" for security. It's really so much fun to think that all of this fuss is made over some ducks. And the souvenir shop is full. Well done Peabody! I don't see how you could possibly get any more out of that!

And now we're headed for Nashville...