Dad Keller in Memphis

Hello!

Not only do I love a good roadtrip, but my Dad does too.   He left MA on September 6th on his way out to visit his brother in Albuquerque and seeing as how we were going to cross paths he stopped in at Memphis to visit.   This was well timed as he arrived on my birthday and was able to come out to dinner with us.
I was expecting him to need to hit the road early the next morning but as he's not pressed for time he stayed the next day and we went to do a little sightseeing.

We started our day with, you guessed it, a meal! We went down to Beale street and had a BBQ lunch at the Blues City Cafe. We ordered the platter to share: a half-rack, a catfish filet, coleslaw, baked beans, french fries and texas toast.  At Matthew's recommendation we also ordered the Beef Stew. Everything was good.  Not over the top awesome, but tasty.  The ribs were tender, the coleslaw tasted fresh and the beans were cooked with peppers-a unique flavor.  The atmosphere, however, was festive and fun.

After lunch we wandered around Beale street be-bopping in and out of all the tourist shops selling Elvis tee-shirts, shot glasses with drinking slogans on them, bedazzled hats, "My aunt went to Memphis and all I got was this lousy shirt" shirts.   You know the store.   We went into a music store owned by Clyde Hopkins, The "Godfather of Blues".   He was standing outside saying hello to people and inviting them in.  I linked someone else's video of it. 

After wandering the half block of Beale street we got hungry and wandered into a store with an ice cream parlor where we got Milk Shakes, ice cream and root beer floats. While sitting there I convinced them of the excitement to be had at the Peabody hotel and we wandered over there next.

Peabody Ducks and the DuckMaster

                                                             














The Peabody Hotel is home to the Peabody Ducks.  The Ducks live in the hotel lobby fountain.  The attending DuckMaster (not kidding) brings the ducks down in the elevator every day at 11am and then brings them back up at 5pm.  They roll out a red carpet, play a loud orchestral number with trumpets and drums and march the ducks out with as much pomp and circumstance as possible.  The DuckMaster then hovers around the fountain all day making sure people don't poke or harass the ducks.  I chatted with him and this is what I learned:  The ducks are wild.  They come from a farm outside of the city. The owner puts out feed to lure wild ducks down and from the ducks that come he picks out the ones that are around 1 year old and seem to have the right temperament. He trims their right wing and brings them to the Peabody.  The work there for about 90 days and then he brings them a fresh batch of ducks and takes the other ones away to be released.  He tags their legs so they won't get accidentally chosen a second time.   Fascinating.