Memphis Summer Nights

posted Tuesday, 4 July 2006

I didn't realize how overdue I was for some fun until I got to Memphis. I had such a blast!

Beale Street is fun! There was so much high energy flowing, I was giddy with excitement. Like New Orleans , you can walk down the street with alcoholic drinks. There was a small sidewalk stand called the VooDoo Bar. I rarely drink mixed drinks because I'm more of a Corona with lime girl, so I told the bartender to surprise me. I don't know what she mixed up but it was good. In fact, it was so good I went back again...and again...

To sum up Beale Street: You've got barbecue joints, nightclubs, and souvenir shops. On the street there are vendors, painters, and street musicians. The highlight of the night was the outdoor nightclub though. We slow danced under the stars to a local band playing a mix of blues and soul. Now that's romantic! And the band was good. Not your typical mediocre local band either. They had real talent and skills, and played like professionals.

I took a lot of photos, but almost all of them taken the first night turned out to be blurs of light and people (see below for example of that), even with the NightVision feature.

There's so much to do in Memphis that it was impossible to fit everything into a couple days. So, we decided we are definitely going back again.

And the barbecue? Oh yeah, it was good. I recommend Corky's. Each BBQ restaurant had a Wall of Fame. Tons of celebrities have been through Memphis for the music and barbecue, or to pay homage to the roots of rock-n-roll, blues, and soul. But, there was one person who had a photo in every single BBQ joint we visited: Bill Clinton (giving his little thumbs up too). Hey, the man likes his barbecue.

Update: November 30, 2006 - When my hard drive crashed, I lost all my Memphis photos. The only pics that survived are those that I posted on my blog (I'm SO glad I posted at least some of them).