Memphis

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
We began Memorial Day at the former site of Stax Records, now the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. This was a great museum and a pilgrimage site for Joe. The museum included lots of neat exhibits on the evolution of soul music and Stax, as well as some crazy objects; one of the best was Issac Hays' Cadillac from the post-Shaft era, all the parts that would have been chrome were 24-carat gold, it had a fridge in the back and a t.v. in the front, and the floor was covered in white shag. To top it off, the car rotated beneath a disco ball. For musicians like Joe the re-created recording space was more of a draw, but for visual people like me, the costumes and objects were amazing.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
We continued our day by heading downtown for lunch at the Flying Fish, a great place to indulge in Southern-style (read: fried) food. They even had fried chocolate pie, which I have to admit, was pretty tasty.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Lunch time. The Flying Fish also had a wall of Billy Bass plaques. Interesting.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
After lunch we walked over to Beale Street, where we saw some live blues on the street and enjoyed some people watching.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
The last stop of the day was Graceland.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
While we found the ticket prices quite expensive, the mansion was well preserved, and the audio tour had interesting insights into life at Graceland.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Kitsch? Yes! The media room in the basement and the exhibition of costumes was fascinating, as was the narrative presented in the audio tour.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Elvis's grave, at Graceland.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
One last meal of Southern food, at Soul Fish in Midtown, before heading back to the hotel for some swimming.
-