Walking in Memphis (and Tennessee in general)

Noni had a meeting in Memphis last week. She thought it would be super fun if mommy and the kids went along for the road trip. Having only driven through Memphis myself I figured it would be a great chance for the kids to see some stuff - like the Mississippi River or the Smokey Mountains.

We decided to break the drive into 2 days over and 3 days back. In general we made sure we stopped at hotels with indoor swimming pools so the kiddos could get some energy out after being cooped up in the car. We also left time for fun spontaneous things like lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. The first night we stayed outside Knoxville and ate dinner right along the Tennessee River followed by a fun river walk (until the rain started).

Once we arrived in Memphis we had an awesome time. Our hotel was right on Beale street (think "walking with my feet 10 feet off of Beale"). The first night we were there we were taking in the atmosphere. There was blues/rock music coming from every restaurant (as well as beer everywhere but not so bad we felt uncomfortable with the kiddos). We were passing by one restaurant where one of the musicians was taking a smoke break. He was standing outside with a trumpet in his hands. My music buffs got excited about seeing a man with a trumpet and pointed at him. He gave them a smile, put the horn to his lips, and gave them their very own serenade. If I had only had my camera out to take a video. That is something they probably will never again experience.

There are TONS of museums in Memphis. We visited a Children's Museum which the kids loved. Noni and mom took time out for the Civil Rights Museum which is housed in the motel where MLK was shot. It was pretty powerful standing right there less than a week before the 40th Anniversary of his assassination. The kids didn't get much out of that visit, but they were a little young for it. They hung in as long as they could - long enough for mommy and Noni to see it. We had a couple of other Museums on the list that we didn't have time for and will have to go back again sometime to see.

Weather along the trip was pretty wet. We had rain almost every day. The one day that we were spared the rain we decided to take a riverboat ride along the Mississippi. The boat was a big old replica paddle boat. Jeff wasn't too sure at first but when he realized how big it really was he felt fine. Our tour was about 90 minutes long and we got lots of cool info on Memphis history and the river. The river was really high on its banks (about a mile wide where we were). The ride was windy and a little cool, but the sun came out for us near the end. Erin loved taking pictures of the boat and the barges on the river. Jeffrey got so relaxed he was sound asleep by the end of the trip. I was able to get him off the boat, into the car, and back into the hotel before he woke up completely.

That afternoon was the day we also visited the Peabody Hotel. It was just a block up from where we were staying. Every day at 5 PM, 3 ducks come out of the fountain in the hotel, walk a little red carpet and get into an elevator. I guess they've been doing this for years. We got there for one evening, and close to 100 people were in the hotel lobby. Erin squeaked her way up to the front to watch the ducks....which took about 10 seconds and then it was over. Cool to say we did it, but not a ton to see really.

The biggest hit of the trip was the Memphis Zoo. While Noni had her meeting, mommy took the kids to the zoo. It was a cloudy and cool afternoon and the animals were really active. We got to see pandas, elephants, monkeys, a rhino, ostrich...all the zoo basics. The kids favorite part was the "arctic zone" where the polar bears and the sea lions were. We watched the polar bear swim for about 30 minutes. Then checked out the sea lions for another 1/2 hour before catching the sea lion show. The show was very cool - the kids like how the sea lions jumped, but the best part was before the show when one of the sea lions was "talking". Erin barked back at it and it made the noise again. They had this conversation for about a minute, and Erin and Jeff are still talking about it.

We left Memphis on Wednesday morning. We took a route that brought us through southern TN for the trip home. We stopped at Shiloh (the Civil War battlefield) where both kids though the cannons and monuments were pretty cool. The next day we drove through the Smokey Mountains. What a gorgeous drive. Part of it ran along this mountain river that was one of the most beautiful natural things I've ever seen. We drove up to the top of Clingman's Dome (the highest point in TN) but it was pretty socked in with clouds. Not too much to see. Jeffrey thought the foggy-fog was pretty impressive though.

We had such a wonderful time and got to see and experience so many new things. There were even things that we missed that we're just going to have to go back for some day. We are very glad that Noni had this meeting that gave us the opportunity for such a fun trip. Hope you enjoy the little slideshow....there were just too many cool pictures to share.