Walking In Memphis (also Driving)

 Wednesday/Thursday, August 25-26,2021

I didn't plan well enough for this vacation, I think. This was our 3rd time through Memphis, and we've seen the most compelling museums-- Graceland, and the National Museum of Civil Rights, and the Rock and Soul Museum. So I started searching the Internet and finally decided we would go to the Stax Records Museum of American Soul Music. But meanwhile, we realized we had a number of items we needed, and that finding a Walmart might help.

So we decided we'd go to Walmart, then to lunch, and then to the Stax museum. The park is about 15-20 minutes away from downtown, but it is the same distance also from Walmart (in a different direction.) We went to Walmart, where besides picking up what we needed, Joe was able to dump the old oil he'd drained a week earlier at Betsy's. That was all successful, but we messed up our plan by buying meat. We couldn't leave the meat in the car while we went elsewhere, so instead we went back to the RV, unloaded all the stuff, and had lunch there, opting to put BBQ off until dinner.

At about 2pm, we went back into town to go to the Stax Museum. It turned out to be a really good museum. There weren't many people there, and they were being active about cleaning everything all the time (the entire county was under a mandatory mask order--so you can't go ANYWHERE in Memphis at the moment without a mask, including restaurants.) In any case, almost no one else was with us in the museum. So we weren't worried as we wended our way through exhibits on the history of Stax Records, the development of soul music in Memphis, the impact of stars such as Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes, and wonderful stories about the founders of Stax Records. There were also exhibits about soul music from other cities, and a cute area with a dance floor which was playing vintage video clips from Soul Train. It was almost impossible not to dance along with the audiences on the screen!

Ike and Tina Turner Memorabilia

Isaac Hayes's Gold-Plated Cadillac

Soul Train (dance along and Express Yourself)

"Soul Man"

When we left the museum, we decided it was too early to eat dinner. But we didn't feel like calling it a day. So we drove to Beale Street. We'd been there two years ago, at night, when the place was jumping in neon and music and energy. But at 5pm, the souvenir shops were already closed, but the restaurants and bars hadn't gotten started yet. Other than a few other tourists like us wandering aimlessly, there was not much to do or see there, although i did take a few photos. It was STILL too early to eat dinner (although the menus posted in restaurant windows made Joe think he COULD eat, so once again, we went back to the RV for about an hour. We had a big discussion as to which BBQ place to go to, and eventually, after looking at 10 Best and 16 Best lists, decided on Central BBQ, which appears on all the lists and which we hadn't tried last time. So for the third time in one day, we drove back into the city. 

Central BBQ has a few locations, but we went to the one in the center of town--just a block from the Museum of Civil Rights, and a block from where we'd driven only a few hours earlier. The restaurant had tables split up so there was plenty of space to eat. But despite the fact that Central is rated high on all the Best BBQ lists, we were totally underwhelmed. We thought it was really just average, nothing special at all. My best "bite" was my collard greens, and Joe's was his baked beans. The ribs were very disappointing, he said, and my chicken was just average. I took half the latter home, but without much enthusiasm. I was wishing we'd just gone back to the BBQ Shop, where we ate last time we were here, and loved. Or even to someplace on Beale Street (none of those restaurants are ever on any lists--I guess they are just for tourists) where at least it would have been lively. But we just drove back to the RV again, the exact same route we'd taken a couple of hours earlier.

Joey on Beale Street

Thursday, we woke up determined to get some good BBQ at the BBQ Shop, but other than that, I could not find anything at all we really wanted to do! The museum we wanted (The Mississippi River Museum on Mud Island) was closed, and nothing else sounded that exciting. We frittered away the morning with a very late start, so we decided we'd 1) go for lunch, and then 2) decide what to do. 

We headed for the BBQ Shop, but were SO upset when we got there-- it was closed this week so they could refinish their floors!!!!  Besides being disappointed and hungry, we were then at a total loss. We got back in the car and looked up the Best Lists yet again, and finally decided that we'd go to wherever was closest. That turned out to be Payne's, about a mile away.  So we headed that direction.

 Payne's is a tiny place in a cinderblock building with peeling paint in a very decrepit part of town. Inside, the place had 4 tables set up around the perimeter and a small counter with a menu containing about 12 items (all pork, which i don't normally eat) and only 4 side dishes. And yet..... WOW!  The raves were absolutely correct-- the chopped pork sandwich (which is what we both got) was FANTASTIC. It was served on a bun with sauce and slaw. I had them hold my slaw, because i'm not a big slaw fan, but we got it on the side. It was a bizarre yellow color, and upon tasting it, was sort of mustard-vinegary flavored. It was fabulous, and I quickly piled some onto my meat where it "belonged." I didn't eat my bun (extra calories) but the meat was amazing. Joe was moaning with joy, and he proclaimed his baked bean side dish to be "not just good--SPECTACULAR."  (Even I liked them.) This was definitely the kind of place where, if it was local to us, Joe would eat at a couple of times/week. The whole time we were there, a steady stream of customer came by the little service window and left with bags of BBQ. Our only regret was that we had not tasted the sausage and cheese, which was also highly recommended. But I know Joe will want to go back there (he was ready to go back at dinner time!) So our disappointment meant that we'd found a new favorite place.

After leaving, we had to decide what to do. Our choices were 1) the zoo, 2) another small music musuem, and 3) return my dress to JJill, and then go to an antique mall. It was stinking hot again, making the zoo an unappealing option. And we weren't really up for another museum. So we drove further east, found a JJill, and I returned a dress I'd bought before we left home (an errand which had been following us since we left the beach.) Then we drove 10 more minutes to the antique mall. Although I did see some Roseville, none of it was appealing, and there was nothing else to be had. And so, after frittering away the entire day in Memphis, we drove back to the RV. It's hard to find things to do when it is 100% outside, and we just wanted to relax "at home." So that is what we did.

Two New State Stickers!

 

Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021

Our day started a bit inauspiciously. Joe opened the refrigerator, and a jar fell down, hit the bottom shelf (which sits over the produce drawer), and shattered it. Glass was all over the kitchen floor, inside the refrigerator door and shelves ON the door, and most of all, inside and all over the produce drawers. It took us about an hour to thoroughly sweep (5-6 times), get the chips out of the cracks in the refrigerator, and take the entire produce drawer outside, empty it, get rid of the glass, and wash it all out. What a nuisance!!

After that, though, we left to drive to Memphis. I had wanted to leave by 9:00-- due to the glass catastrophe, we left at 10:00. But soon after we got onto the interstate, I saw a sign: "Central Time Zone." AHAH! We got our hour back!

The drive itself was unremarkable, but since the most direct route was through northern Alabama and Mississippi, we got two of the four missing stickers for our map! We also maintained our record of always needing some kind of repair in every state. In Alabama, we stopped for lunch and discovered that one of the hubcaps was coming loose. So Joe fixed it. Then we had to pull over in Mississippi because we were hearing a loud thwacking noise coming from our roof, and Joe (who was the passenger--I drove the whole way) said he could see something hanging off. He climbed up and sure enough, the wide strip of rainproof tape was coming loose. I tossed him up a scissors, and he cut off the tape (which will need to be replaced asap) to stop the noise. 

 And that was the entire trip! Two new states (we also passed through Georgia briefly, but we've been there before years ago with Mo), two small repairs, and a shattered refrigerator door. We arrived at T.O. Fuller State Park in Memphis at about 5:00 local time. I had specifically reserved a site that was described as "fully shaded," but at that time of day, the sun was shining RIGHT on the parking pad, and I could see from the way the trees grew that the afternoon sun would be unimpeded by trees. So I went and spoke to the camp host, and he called the rangers, and supposedly they officially changed us to another spot I saw, which was tucked way back in the trees. It also happened to be a bit slanted (the other site was perfectly flat), which is kind of a nuisance. But I'm more worried about Cassie being cool during the day than about being perfectly level. It was brutally hot and humid all day, and leaving the air conditioned RV was like stepping into a wall of heat. Yuck!

I seem to have brought NO info with me about sightseeing in Memphis, so tomorrow we may have to be tourists and look for a tourist center. Meanwhile I will use the internet-- it's very important to find out WHICH BBQ place we'll be eating in tomorrow!

The National Civil Rights Museum

2019-08-21 Wednesday

We started today with a trip to see the National Civil Rights Museum, which was closed yesterday. We decided to extend our visit in Memphis for a day in order to see this museum, which sounded fantastic from the descriptions I read. It did not disappoint. In fact, from before we even stepped foot inside, it was already an amazing experience. We were looking for a place to park, and between the buildings I could see a 1950’s style motor hotel—2 stories high, with a railing along the second floor. I realized immediately that it was the Lorraine Hotel, the site where Dr. Martin Luther King was shot. It is part of the museum, but seeing it as a building on a street, it looked both out of place and natural at the same time.

Protest at Woolworth’s Counter

We parked in the museum parking lot, across the street from the hotel, which still has the original sign and facade. The marble plaque in front of the hotel has MLK’s name, and includes the quote from Genesis 37: “They said to one another, Behold, here comes the dreamer...let us slay him...and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” It was very moving, and an ideal introduction to the museum. We 

It is easy to describe the museum, but hard to describe the emotional impact of the visit. The displays begin with slavery, explaining how Africans came to the Americas, and where they were “settled” (which is a nice way of saying, sold.) The room was a waiting area before the short film began, and I didn’t quite finish reading all of the panels in the room—a precursor of things to come.

The film was interesting, but it was only the merest introduction to the idea of “all men are created equal.” The next room began to explain how, from the very first, Africans were NOT “equal”.... and this, of course, was the theme of much of the museum. It took us through the civil war, and the aftermath (Reconstruction, the beginning of Jim Crow laws in the South, and the legal decisions which allowed these laws to flourish.) There were exhibits on every facet of life in America as a black person experienced it. And then, at the advent of the civil rights movement in 1950, the displays became much more intense and specific.

Montgomery, Alabama Bus Boycott

There were amazing displays (entire rooms) on the non-violent protests and sit-ins in retail establishments such as Woolworth’s; the bombings in Birmingham; the Freedom Riders; the brutality at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma (complete with us walking up a “bridge” as we read what happened), etc. And throughout, the intensity and extent of the white resistance to equal rights, the outrage and violence with which they opposed the enforcement of laws supported by the courts. There were many examples of specific protests and marches in different Southern cities, and also displays on how the rest of the world viewed these protests, how the media covered them, and how the Kennedy (and then Johnson) administrations responded to them.

March on Washington

There was one room which dealt with the March on Washington, where MLK gave his “I have a dream” speech. The set-up of the room and display allowed the visitor to feel as if they were in the crowd at the event. The gigantic photograph of the crowd in front of the Lincoln Memorial dominated the room, while a video played in the corner with the sound of Dr. King’s speech and visions of the reactions of those in the crowd.

The final rooms dealt with the garbage strike in Memphis, which

Memphis Garbage Strike 

brought Dr. King to the city to encourage the strikers and help them with their cause. Video footage of the strike were projected on the side of a garbage truck, with strikers in the corner marching with signs proclaiming, “I AM A MAN”. And then, then, walking through this sequence, we suddenly found ourselves inside the Lorraine Hotel, in the very space that King and those with him had occupied—we could look out the window and see the plaza where we’d first approached the museum. Rooms 206 and 207 were recreated there, and we read panels describing King’s last minutes in that very spot.  

View from Room 206

It’s hard to remember what displays came after that— of course the struggle for civil rights was not over, and there were more displays of the aftermath of the assassination and the many changes and protests in society in the years that followed. By this time, we’d been in the museum for over 3 hours— all in all, we stayed for 3.5 hours and rushed through the last rooms because it was so late and Joe needed to eat something. 

But more than that, it was draining and exhausting on an emotional level. The intensity of the events was so well presented that I felt utterly drained.  Beyond that, I was both amazed and humbled by the overall effect I was left with— that of the courage of the protestors, many of them children, who quite literally risked their lives because they insisted on a life of dignity and respect, education and voting rights, and the belief that the promises of the US Constitution that “all men are created equal” should apply to them too. It was an opportunity to look at the civil rights movement from the inside out, rather than from the outside in, which (as a white person, and as a fairly young person when all this was taking place, was my previous point of view.)

We slowly made our way out of the museum, and realized we didn’t even have the strength anymore to go to the second part, which was across the street in a completely different area. We needed to eat, and time was starting to become an issue, since we also wanted to travel today. So we drove back to the RV, had a quick lunch of leftovers, and hooked the Jeep up so we could leave our cozy spot under the bridge.

Crossing the Mississippi River

The rest of the day was the drive to the suburbs of Little Rock, Arkansas. We are now in a state-run Corps of Engineers park, Willow Beach Recreation Area. With our America the Beautiful pass, it only cost $9.50, with electricity to run our air conditioner, and best of all, a SHOWER!!!  Joe and I made a beeline for that, and we are feeling so good now that we’re all clean again. Sponge washes are simply not the same.

So it was a very memorable day. The emotions of the museum didn’t leave us while we were driving, and we found ourselves discussing the history, what we remembered of it ourselves, and how the displays had made us feel. Both of us were profoundly moved by the experience. I wish everyone could go to this museum— it is important for all Americans to understand this history, because, sadly, we seem to be living out the next stage of the epic struggle again now.

Getting to Know Memphis

2019-08-20, Tuesday:

We woke up this morning having slept remarkably well underneath our highway bridges. (I’m feeling a bit like a gnome, living under the bridge.) Our generator ran the AC all night, and it was very comfortable.

Joe went out early to see whether our tire was still experiencing a slow air leak. It was, so he decided that it would take only a short time to remove the tire, put on the spare, pop the removed tire on the back of the Jeep, and onward we would go. However, the same problem we had with the RV tire a couple of weeks ago came up again—the lug nuts were simply on too tightly. He managed to get 4 off, but with the 5th, he stripped the nut. In great frustration, we called AAA to get professional help with the problem.

Our “campsite” under the bridges

The AAA guy arrived at about 10:10 or so (not too late—we called at 9:30) but unfortunately was unable to do anything to help. He advised calling a tire shop. So for the second time in 2 weeks, we found ourselves looking for a good tire store. We found Steepleton Tire, a complete service, family owned company, which looked very competent. They told us on the phone that they could probably help, although we might have a short wait. So we put our books and my iPad into a bag, and we drove to Steepleton Tire.

We did indeed have to wait for perhaps 30 minutes before they took our Jeep.  After quite a bit of difficulty, they were able to remove the stripped nut and remove the tire without doing any further “surgery” to the wheel structure. They agreed that the nuts had been torqued on much too tightly at Freedman Tire back when Joe had the new tires put on. So they retorqued all the tire lugs while they were at it, as well as fixing the leak in the old tire— they said it was a very tiny hole, even smaller than a nail. (No idea how we got it!). 

The only further snag was that they didn’t have a nut to replace the old stripped one. So they removed our spare tire, used one of the nuts holding it on, and put the spare into the back of the Jeep! The cost for all this time and help was an astoundingly low $17.00 plus tax. I was kind of disbelieving, but I didn’t argue with them. In NJ, this would have been 5 times more, I bet! The only thing to do at that point was, we had to find an auto parts store, so we could buy a couple of new nuts so we can put the spare tire back on the back of the Jeep.

By the time this entire process was finished, it was 1pm, time for lunch. I had made a decision as to which BBQ place we ought to try next, so we drove to the Bar-B-Q Store, which appears on almost everyone’s Top Ten list of Best Memphis Barbeque. Joey had ribs, and I had a combo plate of brisket and their famous “spaghetti Barbeque”. All of these choices were 1) fantastic, and 2) far more than we could eat. So we now have TWO  Barbeque leftover meals in our refrigerator. Joe said the ribs were absolutely the best, although I MIGHT have liked last night’s brisket better. The spaghetti, unique, was totally yummy (and there are no leftovers of that!)

“Home of the Dancing Pigs”

When lunch was over, we drove back to the RV so Joe could check his sugar, and I could make sure that the Bass Pro Shop hadn’t decided we were squatters and towed us. We decided to go into the store and make sure they were okay with us staying a second night, which had become our updated plan due to our unexpected morning disruptions. They were fine with it. 

While we were in there, we looked around and shopped. The store is, indeed, what they call an “immersion retail experience.”  It’s a store devoted to fishing, hunting, kayaking, and other outdoor sports. Inside there is a lagoon with cypress trees and fish (and the boats for sale are docked in the lagoon). There is an alligator tank with about 5 alligators. There are fish tanks, and there is a corner of the lagoon which has trout and ducks. Another fun thing about the store is, dogs are allowed in! So we had Cassie with us, and we discovered that she likes fish and ducks! She got herself into the pool before we realized this, and she was happily barking at the ducks too. For once she looked like a “real” Golden retriever! Needless to say, all of us enjoyed the store.

Cassie enjoying the ducks

When we came out, we realized it was already 4:00, and we still hadn’t gone to any museums or anything in Memphis other than restaurants and tire shops. So we put Cassie back into the RV (we were leaving the AC on all day for her) and drove back downtown to the Museum of Rock n’ Soul. This museum (a Smithsonian adjunct of some sort) relates the history of soul music, while explaining also the cultural realities around the sharecroppers and other poor people who came up from Mississippi looking for more opportunities, and brought their rural-style and influence with their music as well. 

The museum was VERY well done, and we really enjoyed it. After viewing an introductory movie, we were given headsets and a self-guided audio tour. Each exhibit had a number which could be coded in for background information. Each explanation also had music which could be heard after the explanation. In addition, each section or room had a vintage jukebox, and above the jukebox was a list of songs with their own numbers, reflecting the period of music of that exhibit. So all in all, there were dozens of songs to listen to as well as all the historical background on the musicians, the music studios, the people who produced the music. Plus of course interviews with many of these folks. And of course, plenty of Elvis! We spent almost 2 hours in the museum and were very impressed by the entire thing. It sure made me want to go buy some soul music!

Joey enjoys an exhibit at the museum

By about 6:45, we were both quite tired, so we left the museum and went back to our car, and drove back to the RV. We’re now finishing up having some dinner. We do have plans for 9 PM, however. Last night on our way home, we noticed that the I-40 bridge over the river (which we are sleeping under) was putting on a fabulous light show! We only caught the very end of it, and it was the last show for the evening. So since we are still here, we are going to make a point of going over to the riverfront to watch the light show before we go to sleep. (I added a photo of the bridge. I have more photos, but I’m having trouble with the software so this is it for tonight!)

I have to say we are really enjoying Memphis, and noticing a lot of things which must make it a quite livable city. It’s a place I could certainly spend a week exploring—we will definitely be back in the future, I suspect.

Tennessee

2019-08-19 Monday

We woke up this morning in Tennessee, drove all day (over 400 miles), and we are STILL in Tennessee! But if we just walked over the bridge which is over our heads at the moment, we’d be crossing the Mississippi River into Arkansas. That’s for tomorrow.

But today was all about getting to Memphis. It was in the 90s and felt like 100–I don’t know how we would have survived without air conditioning, frankly. We left our interstate rest stop at 9am, and didn’t make it to Memphis until about 7pm— and that was with the extra hour we gained someplace during the day. So we were driving for about 11 hours today. We made 3 stops for gas, because we want to always have a full tank (and besides, a few of the fills cost a mere $2.16/gallon, which is ridiculously low lately.) We also spent almost 3 hours at a Walmart in Lebanon, TN (a little east of Nashville) to have some lunch and do some shopping—we needed groceries, and that new Jeep battery. Joe handled the battery purchase, and then he left me to finish the food shopping while he went back to the RV to pick up the new one in. Like I said, the stop took a very long time, but we sure needed some food in here!

Lots of Orange at the Walmart (Go Vols!)

During the drive, we of course tried to decide what to do about a place to spend the night. I think maybe i need to get over my aversion to paying for “expensive” campsites, i.e. regular privately owned campgrounds, until the weather cools down. This is the 2nd night we opted for no electricity. I am amazed, however, we are doing as well as we are— our campsite is in the parking lot of the Bass Pro Shop, which is inside a vast pyramid which is a landmark in Memphis. We are, as I said, RIGHT next to the river, and we are under a maze of highways converging on the I-40 bridge which goes over the Mississippi. We found the opportunity for this location on an app called “free parking”, and everyone who recommended this location said it was exceptionally noisy because we are directly under the highways. They were right . But we won’t hear them that much, because we set up the RV with our generator running the air conditioning for the night. It is really quite cool in here! There are 2 other RVs near us, and security guards patrol the lot (they know we have permission from the Bass Pro store to be here, so they are just an added safety measure for us, not a problem.) The Pyramid is very cool— it even has an observatory at the top.


We unhooked the Jeep so we could park the RV in some regular painted parking spaces. After Joe set up the exhaust for the generator (it makes sure no CO2 gets in here), we cleaned up and decided to go get some of that famous Memphis Barbeque for dinner. We drove the Jeep to Beale Street, immediately getting into the tourist thing (hard not to, when we saw all the neon and crowds and music pouring out of all the restaurants!) Many places, however, stopped serving at 9, and it was already 9. So we went into BB King’s, and had dinner there. I have to say, i was not impressed with the atmosphere, but the food was delicious. I had a NOLA Po’Boy sandwich (beef with bbq sauce on a roll) and Joe had a pulled pork platter. We both brought half of our meals home—they were VERY generous!

After strolling down a couple of blocks of Beale Street (which is a closed-off pedestrian plaza), it was time to get back home. I had to finish yesterday’s blog (which I wrote in the car today) and quickly write this one! I’ll add some photos and then it is BEDTIME!