Friday-Sunday, October 6 - 8: Memphis! (Well, at least us!)

Hello from Dave and me in Memphis, Tennessee!  Notice I didn't say our boat, too?  Well, with the arrival of a THIRD hurricane near the Gulf in just the last six weeks, we decided to secure the boat and head for a side trip.  

The waterfront of Memphis.  The waterfront is actually a side canal that parallels the
Mississippi River.  This canal is home to many paddelwheelers and the local marina.

The Mississippi River to the left of the picture and the Memphis canal to the right.

Dave's finger is pointing to where the boat is at this time; the largest bay that extends west (closest to his finger).
The boat is about two miles onto the Tenn-Tombigbee waterway (more to come on that in the following days) at Aqua Marina in a covered slip.

Friday night enjoying Beale Street in Memphis!  So much live music and so, so many police officers!

We enjoyed great barbeque and music at Jerry Lee Lewis' Cafe and Honky Tonk Bar!  And yes, that is a REAL car hanging on the wall!

Today, in between raindrops, we enjoyed these sites.

Colorful guitars all over the city, just like Peanuts back home.

We are on our way to the glass pyramid in the background - "Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid"

The following are some of the inside pictures of this incredible store!  Memphis' Bass Pro Shop is housed in a 535,000 square-foot pyramid.  It includes the following: a 103-room wilderness hotel, spa, lookout on a glass observation deck (I FOR SURE wasn't going there!), 28-story freestanding elevator, restaurant, bowling alley, archery and pistol range, aquarium and fish feeding area, and an interactive wetland education museum.

A river runs through the store with live fish!

28 story, free-standing elevator; uggh!

Beale Street and B.B. King Blvd. from our hotel during the late afternoon.

Of course we had to stop at The Peabody Hotel to see the ducks!

We're off to see the "Rock n Soul Museum" and then to enjoy more of Beale Street tonight.  Tomorrow, "Graceland", and then back to the boat.  Monday is supposed to be sunny, so our plan is to begin making our way down the Tenn-Tombigbee waterway then.  We are hopeful that Hurricane Nate is nice to the Gulf Coast, as our plan is to be in Mobile, Alabama around the 16th of this month, and then continue our way around the Gulf Coast before crossing to Florida.  I wanted to get everyone an update to let you know where we were and that we are safe.  I have some pictures from our return trip from Joe Wheeler State Park on the Tennessee River, so I will make a separate post to update everyone on our last few days.

Until then, prayers for Mobile Bay and the Gulf Coast!