a sunday in memphis

i was up and at 'em early this morning. nothing was open until 10. the hotel shuttle didn't start til 10, nor did the trolley cars. so it was a walk along main street to the nearest starbucks - honestly, it seemed to be the only thing open before nine in the morning.

so after a bagel and frapp (i continue the tradition wherever i go) - it was onto the rock and soul museum. fine music played throughout.

the photo below is of the first all-woman radio station - i'm not sure if only in tenneesee, usa or the world. i should look into this. ;) the woman right in front is/was married to sam phillips (of sun studios fame).

gotta love the excesses of isaac hayes.

the photo below was taken for my friend alan, who happens to be a gibson. perhaps not this gibson, but a gibson.

ains, this one's for you. no, it's not commemorating your birth date - though it should, it was for a date in 1934, something to do with winning the vote against the privatisation of energy. maybe in today's climate we should look more at the history. hmm....

old man mississippi. 

this motel below is part of the national civil rights museum and is where martin luther king was shot and killed in 1968. across the road is the main museum which delves into not only the civil rights of the usa but also touches on world-wide issues - parts were under renovation when i was visiting.

a late meal and more wandering around the strange streets of memphis. great run-down architecture and streets and friendly people.

from nashville to tupelo to memphis

ROOOOADDDD TTTRRRIIIPPPPP!!!!

so from nashville tennessee i headed south west, kind of. could've visited my name sake if i wanted.

had a late breakfast at loretta lynn's kitchen - she occasionally drops by but didn't this morning. i tried grits. it wasn't nice.

i hadn't planned on driving into mississippi but since i was so close i thought, hey, why not visit the birth place of elvis. each town seemed to have at least one of these water tanks, this is for biggersville.

tupelo, the birth place of elvis presley.

the tiny house he lived in - it's bigger than the one my dad was born into and there were four boys in his family.

no, he didn't have a church in his backyard. they moved it to the museum site instead of tearing it down which was a good thing to do.

back on the road and back into tennessee and onto memphis.

after i had checked into my hotel i was starving, so headed down to beale street for music and food. there's about 4 blocks that are blocked off to traffic so that people can drift between the bars playing music with drinks in hand. 

great music everywhere, but a little too schoolies for me in a way. catering for tourists, the authentic memphis is probably out in the 'burbs somewhere.

a couple of trolley cars run through downtown. i caught this one back to my hotel and happily enough a great jam was in session. had all the riders singing along to mustang sally. awesome.

and i found a giant sandwich - tasted very similar to the west australian version. yum.