Residence Inn By Marriott Memphis East

... with ducks. The Peabody ducks march at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily when not on duty in the lobby they live in their duck palace on the roof of the Peabody Hotel.


After the concert we walked along the riverfront and then back into town for lunch and a quick tour of the Center for Southern Folklore that is dedicated to documenting and presenting the people, music and traditions of the region. The current exhibit is a fabulous collection of black and white ...

We hit a bit of a rough patch with Lola but I'm going to let it go unmentioned.

We blew through Memphis, over the Mississippi River (big and fast), and into Arkansas before taking the first exit back into Tennessee and into Memphis once again. But hey, now I've been to Tennessee twice, haha. We had a hard time finding where to park Lola but soon found something half managedable, although we're not entirely sure that place was legit ...

...Richard Powney has left the country.

I dropped him off at Dulles airport yesterday and did my usual thing of legging it as quick as I could. I don't like airports. You always have to say goodbye to people that you don't want to have to say goodbye to.

Anyway, his stay has been brilliant and it's flown by. I think that's a good thing. We've had lots of beers, booze and brewskies and the odd bit of food here and there too ...

... these great artists, some of their instruments and clothing, including Elvis's high school graduation certificate and social security card!

During the Sun studio tour we were allowed into the recording studio which had the actual microphone that was used for recording back in the early days of the studio. It had the lips and spit of all these great artists all over. You ...

... the musical landscape including Isaac Hayes, BB King, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and several others. It's a very active pedestrian-only street where you can wander along the cobblestones & bricks, drinking a Big-Ass-Beer while shopping for voodoo charms, distinctly Southern artifacts, Memphis souvenirs and experiencing the Blues atmosphere. We had fun! The 4 block long street really comes alive at night with big-name bands, street performers and acrobats until ...

... he was standing when he got shot and more eerily you cross the road opposite this and there's more exhibits to do with the shooting and you can see the view James Earl Ray had when he shot him. It was truly surreal to be standing there, because the Lorraine Motel hasn't changed in exterior since the shooting, the motel is now a museum so you can't stay there, but the attention to detail was phenomenal and you had chills when you saw the Martin Luther stuff. I will never forget ...

... 6th, 5th, 4th and 3rd rows from the front. We were sitting at the second row. I couldn't believe it! The show began and he did his act and as always he was incredible and the crowd loved him. After the show, we went outside, among the crowd waiting for him to come out to sign his autograph. Much to the astonishment and perhaps disappointment of the others, we were able to go backstage as the same lady with Eddie's T-shirt came out looking for us. She gave us a hug as though she knew us ...

... in couple of months (I know!) but there I will be exposed to a big variety of music and since last night, I found another person who is going, so I won't be on my own and have a travel buddy for the road trip! Well I will end this blog with a note to all my friends doing the London Marathon and Rotterdam Marathon...good luck...better you than me! I will be thinking of you all while I am having a giant bowl of ice cream, stretching my arm muscles as I take a mouthful of the ice cream!

... me a wonderful dinner one night, and she and her roommate made me speak in my pitiful broken Spanish for part of the evening since I'll be in Panama soon. I also returned to the Himalayan Art exhibit I'd seen on my last visit. The stay in NYC was short, and we then returned to DC where I'm writing this blog.



Looks like I'll be in NY, DC, and LA over the next few weeks before I return to Austin. There's also a chance I'll take the ...

... a standing ovation at the end of “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” The second half of the concert was as good as it had been anywhere on the tour, and the strong religious and patriotic sensitivities of the local audience led to additional standing ovations after “God Bless America,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and the encore “Amazing Grace.” This last number, which the Choir also sang in Nashville, provided an electric ...