28 May. Our next to last day of scheduled visits before two legs home.
It's a pretty good way to conclude our vacation. My brother Don is flying into Dallas from Chicago this morning at 0830. Don's being picked up by his son Patrick, his wife Angela and her son Austin. Patrick suggested last night we meet at our hotel at around 0915 and we'd all get together for breakfast. That's how it all worked out. Mostly.
Except for one thing. I mentioned how Ann and I are so much on the same wave length. Well, in a team effort reminiscent of some of the finest vaudeville of any era, we checked out, did the bag drag one more time to our car, and with great panache, I set the keys down and Ann closed the trunk. Teamwork.
So, the whole family shows up just as I'm contacting AAA to come unlock the car. Seldom in the annals of unscripted comedic art has a performance displayed such timing, such finesse. A round of applause, please.
Notwithstanding the opening act, breakfast is good and the visit terrific. Patrick is doing well as store manager at Party City where his business is steady in spite of the overall downturn. He still plays softball, and is gamely heading out to a tournament this afternoon in what is forecast to be over 100 degree temperatures. Don says he is finally retired from softball as his knees have gone on to a better place. All else is apparently well in Chicago. Angela is charming and sharp. You can see she is good for Patrick. Their son is due in August. Austin is smart and attentive with an active mind. An engaging young man full of ideas. We're looking forward to seeing them for a longer stay sometime, especially if they can come to PA to visit.
As they all have plans for later in the day, we are off to the airport once again for the usual drill. I get to fly my first departure procedure on the Garmin 430 getting out of Dallas airspace. Arrival and departure procedures seem to be big in Dallas Regional airspace. That's what they call it, by the way, Regional. Not Dallas approach or such.
In breaking news, while enroute to Memphis we obtained additional evidence of the conspiracy to kill trees in the center of towns. Carlsbad may not have had a choice, but what is their excuse in Stuttgard AR!?! Look at all that greenery surrounding the downtown area.
After taking a deep breath (maybe I should hook up the oxygen more often ;-), we continue on and see the lingering effects of the flooding that occurred a few weeks ago in the vicinity of the Mississippi.
We're at 9,500 feet, I don't think this is supposed to be lake front property,
and this is supposedly long after things have crested.
That is a lot of water.
If there are any geographers or geologists out there (Vickroy comes to mind), hopefully you can say whether this will be good for farmers in the long run. I seem to recall being told the Nile basin was very fertile because of periodic flooding. I suspect it is not so good for what appears to be a road that disappears in the murk below.
We finally arrive in Olive Branch MS, a nice little airport southeast of Memphis which suffered no impact from the floods. Luck is with us. The car is there and pulled right up to the plane again, bag drag is easy, we find our hotel west of the main airport (and get a pilot discount, no less), and we do not lock keys in any part of the vehicle (thank you very much ;-). Life is good.
So, we are off this evening to see two of the three reasons for coming to Memphis: The Peabody Hotel and the Rendevous rib place. We're not sure what to expect on this Memorial Day weekend, but we head off to the downtown area.
Not sure what to make of the twin engined aircraft located on top of this sign, but if anyone can help, feel free to comment below.
Target #1 in sight. Charlie Vergo's Rendezvous. Advertised as the best BBQ anywhere. If you are ever looking for this place, be sure not to get too wedded to the idea that it ought to be on a main street where its address says it should be. Ann, with a map, can be formidable and was leading the way to . . . a blank storefront. I had to admit, this was the address, so I could not fault her map reading skills. We backtracked to the corner and asked a policeman where the Rendezvous might be.
He pointed to an alley part way down a crossing street. The alley is actually named after the restaurant. The main entrance to the Rendezvous is located in an alley on the back side of the address. There are a huge number of people standing around in the alley waiting for tables, and an even larger number inside doing the same.
Of course, those on the inside have certain advantages.
This is somewhat of an icon in Memphis, and we have to agree, they have outstanding ribs. If you are ever in the area, this is a place you will want to try.
After dinner, we set out to see Target #2, The Peabody. Now this is a very nice hotel, and the theme of its associated ducks is everywhere. Once a day they bring a load of ducks down the elevator from the roof and they make their way through the lobby to an indoor pond. Later in the day, they reverse the process. We looked at staying here back when the trip planning was taking place, but at over $200 a night, we settled for a visit, an after dinner Amaretto Di Saronno and dessert instead.
As the evening wore on, we made our way to Beale Street, the "Home of the Blues and Birthplace of Rock and Roll". This was not on the original target list, but is now designated Target #4. Memorial Day weekend meant Beale Street and several streets in the vicinity were blocked off, multiple bands were playing,
and thousands of people were converging. It was still early so there was still room to maneuver, but it was filling even as we strolled along. I could not get a good picture of it, but there were gymnasts doing back flips the length of the street at one point.
That's BB King's place on the corner.
No particular reason for the following pics other than they added to the local color.
Just in case you think there wasn't enough going on in downtown Memphis this particular evening, there was also a minor league baseball game as well. The Memphis Redbirds have their ballpark right downtown -- looked like it had recently been renovated.
For the record, Memphis beat Omaha 6 - 5 in regulation with a 2 run home run with two out in the bottom of the 9th. It don' git much better than that.
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