Beale Street, Memphis, TN - June 6th

Daddy & Mommy went out on a "date" while in Memphis. 
I had to stay at the hotel . . . all alone . . . in a strange city . . . all by myself!!!!
They went to Beale Street for Bar-b-que and Blues.
The building of Beale Street started in 1841. It was a place for merchants and farmers who traded with the ships that traveled up the Mississippi River.  As time went on, Beale Street became a popular place for traveling muscians and eventually became the "Home of the Blues."  It's also a good place for Southern Bar-B-Que.  Every restaurant on the street has live music.  There's also a hint of Louisiana that can be found in the food and music of Beale.

BB King's Restaurant.  Wait -  Is that Elvis?  No - it's just a photo of Elvis.
The Gibson Guitar company is right around the next corner.

Daddy getting ready to hit the streets (looking for Bar-b-que).

Wonderful place to eat and catch the flavor of Beale.

Harley owners ride to Beale. Notice the sign above the bikes?

Recognize where you've seen it before?  That's right - VEGAS!!!!

I know most everyone believes Elvis died in August 1977.
Then there are those that believe Elvis is alive in Vegas.
Well - they're all wrong.  Elvis is ALIVE in Memphis, TN on Beale Street!!!!

Meet the Louisiana Mojo Queen. You ought to hear her sing.

Beale is steeped with a rich and wonderful history.

There's hardly anything that Rufus Thomas, Jr didn't accomplish when it came to music.

Hollywood may have its "stars", but Memphis has it "notes".
Sleepy John Estes was a songwriter, guitarist, and singer.  He had the ability to sing blues and country blues.
Yes, in the South, there's a difference between blues and country blues.  Trust me.

Stax started as a small record store in an old movie theater and became one of the biggest music labels in the world for blues and soul.  Recognize any of these folks?  Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, the Staple Singers, Luther Ingram, Bill Cosby, Moms Mabley, and Richard Pryor. They all recorded on the Stax label.

If you look closely at the Stax Museum sign, it reads, "Nothing Against the Louvre, But You Can't Dance to Da Vinci."

I think there's a Hard Rock Cafe everywhere!
And across the street from the Hard Rock Cafe is  . . .

Daddy standing at the entrance to the ORIGINAL Coyote Ugly.
"Go Daddy . . . Go Daddy . . ."

As I said at the beginning, Beale Street dates back to the mid-1800's.  There are several buildings where only the facade remains.  The architecture of these buildings is beautiful. This is the facade of Silky O'Sullivans. The Irish restaurant spans across three buildings.

Daddy & Mommy ate bar-b-que at Silky's.  Kinda strange that they ate Southern bar-b-que at an Irish restaurant on Beale Street. It's wrong on so many levels, but it was the only restaurant Mommy & Daddy found that was non-smoking. By the way, Mommy said the bar-b-que was pretty good.  She should know - she's Southern.  BTW - she's not in the south for a full day and her Southern is flowing out like a bass in a river (whatever THAT means).

I was told this guy was a good pee-ing-est (oops - I meant pianist).

Does everyone multi-task or just this guy?

Here's one of Daddy's great photos - Hard Rock Cafe, Wet Willy's Bar, and the FedEx Forum (sports dome)

Talking about romantic. Wow!  My Daddy took Mommy on a horse and carriage ride (excuse me, I'm suppose to say "horse and buggy ride").

If you saw the original Ghost Busters movie and you thought the big tall building was in New York, well - not so.
It was in Memphis, TN just south of Beale Street by the Mississippi River.

The carriage route also went by the Orpheum Theater which was originally built in 1890 as the Grand Opera House. Unfortunately, it suffered a fire in 1923 that burned it to the ground.  It remained in ashes for five years before being rebuilt.  In 1940, the Orpheum became a movie theater.  In 1976, the Memphis Development Foundation purchased the Orpheum and invested five million dollars to renovate it back to its original elegance.  In case you can't make it to New York City, you can catch a Broadway play here.

By the banks of the Mississippi River, the debris from its latest floods could be seen. Maggie, the carriage driver, said the waters crested 45 feet and flooded the lower streets.

Here's Mommy with Teddy - the faithful steed.

Eventually, my parents came back to rescue me.
Tomorrow, I'll tell you what my trip from Oklahoma City to Atlanta was like.