Last Day in Memphis

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  West Memphis, Arkansas, United States
Saturday, March 14, 2009

Well, either Travis & I aren't adventurous or we're decisive.  I vote for decisive.  The food at Central BBQ was so good we didn't feel the need to go anywhere else to convince us of what we already knew.  A good friend of Travis' and My Precious' suggested we try The Little Tea Room for good southern style cooking.

The Tea Room is a little place downtown.  We were warmly greeted by the owner, a very nice Lebonese woman  I had meat loaf & brown gravy, okra gumbo, and mashed potatoes.  Travis had baked chicken and potato salad.  We both had fresh corn bread sticks.  Both of cleaned our plates - it was very good.  Then I had peach cobbler for dessert.  Sooo yummy, gads it was tasty.  We went back on Friday for another treat.  I had the chicken pan pie, and Travis had the fried catfish - which he ate without pausing for air.  This time we both ordered the cobbler, and Travis agreed that it had to be the best he's ever had.

We also went to the Peabody Hotel to see the ducks.  The hotel's website, www.peabodymemphis.com, gives the history of the ducks:
   "How did the tradition of the ducks in The Peabody fountain begin?

Back in 1933 Frank Schutt, General Manager of The Peabody, and a friend, Chip Barwick, returned from a weekend hunting trip to Arkansas. The men had a little too much Jack Daniel's Tennessee sippin' whiskey, and thought it would be funny to place some of their live duck decoys (it was legal then for hunters to use live decoys) in the beautiful Peabody fountain.

Three small English call ducks were selected as "guinea pigs," and the reaction was nothing short of enthusiastic. Soon, five North American Mallard ducks would replace the original ducks.

In 1940, Bellman Edward Pembroke, a former circus animal trainer, offered to help with delivering the ducks to the fountain each day and taught them the now-famous Peabody Duck March. Mr. Pembroke became the Peabody Duckmaster, serving in that capacity for 50 years until his retirement in 1991. Today, The Peabody Ducks are led by Duckmaster Jason Sensat.

The original ducks have long since gone, but after 75 years, the marble fountain in the hotel lobby is still graced with ducks. The Peabody ducks march at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily.

Ducky Facts Ducks were not the first residents of The Peabody's lobby fountain. Rumor has it that turtles and baby alligators each briefly graced the fountain in the 1920s. The Peabody Ducks have been a must-see Memphis attraction for Lisa Marie Presley, Michael Jordan, Nicholas Cage, Priscilla Presley, Don King, President Jimmy Carter, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Justin Timberlake, and Jeff Bridges. In addition, Patrick Swayze, Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King, Florence Henderson, Emeril Lagasse, Joan Collins, Molly Ringwald, Chris Matthews, Paula Deen, Larry King, and Kevin Bacon have been Honorary Duckmasters. The Peabody Ducks are five North American mallards - one drake (male) with white collar and green head, and four hens (females) with less colorful plumage. Duck is not served anywhere at The Peabody, and has not been seen on the hotel's menus since its 1981 reopening, quite possibly making Chez Philippe the only French restaurant in the world that does not serve duck. The Peabody Ducks do not have individual names. The hotel recognizes that its resident waterfowl are wild animals, not pets. However, the very first team of ducks were Peabody, Gayoso, and Chisca - named for the three hotels owned by the Memphis Hotel Company in 1933. The Peabody's lobby fountain is cut from one enormous piece of travertine marble made and shipped from Italy for the hotel's 1925 opening. The colorful flowers adorning the top of the fountain are changed out every other day in the middle of the night. When off-duty from the Lobby, the ducks live in their Royal Duck Palace on the hotel's rooftop. The Peabody Marching Ducks have appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Sesame Street, when Bert and Ernie celebrated Rubber Ducky Day, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and in People magazine and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In addition, they were once a question on Jeopardy. The Peabody Ducks are raised by a local farmer and a friend of the hotel. Each team lives in the hotel for only three months before being retired from their Peabody duties and returned to the farm to live out the remainder of their days as wild ducks."

We got there right at 11:00 and a crowd was gathered.  It was announced that the ducks were on their way down from the roof, and seconds later the elevator opened and there they were.  They waddled over to the fountain and climbed the stairs up and then jumped into the water.  It was fun to see.  It took no more than 15 minutes, and that made it better.

Since we got back from Indiana, the weather in Memphis has been cold and rainy.  The weather kept me from venturing out and seeing more than I did, which I didn't mind all that much.  It also kept me from sitting outside my trailer enjoying the river, and that I really missed being able to do.  But I was able to enjoy some really great food, get Travis some of his stuff from home, and retrieve Melissa's stuff from Indiana - something that would have been impossible without Travis' young back.

I'm ready to go home.  I miss My Precious, and my bed.  I've changed the routes, and stop overs, for my trip home.  I'm going to bypass Arkadelphia, and stay in Texarkana, TX instead.  From there it's off to Marquez, TX for my last stop.  I did this so I can avoid the road to Crockett and the re park I stayed at on the way up.

Maybe I can have a Fall Break and come back.  Just before it starts to get cold.

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