It was about a ten minute drive from Graceland into town. Parking wasn't too difficult and before we knew it we were right in front of BB King's Blues Club:
Beale St. is only two blocks long but it is packed full of blues joints, bars, restaurants, and souviner shops.
As we passed BB Kings Doreen spotted the Company Store and asked me to run in to buy a postcard. As I entered I heard some hot blues emanating from inside the club. I had to go in. I fetched Doreen and in a minute we were seated inside. This turned out to be a fortuitous decision. Just seconds after ordering drinks sheets of rain came down in a fury. We listened to some music had a light bite to eat and drank some of the local brew. We always like to sample the beer where ever we are. The local brew of Memphis is Ghost River Brewing.
For $10.99 you can have a specialty cocktail:
After BB's we walked down to Silky O'Sullivan's. Apparently Silky was a pillar of the community and his bar is a favorite.
The front of the building is propped up:
There is a nice courtyard with two bars, a firepit, and plenty of seating but everything was soaking wet from the rain. I wouldn't eat the food here. The kitchen is out in the open and the inside is quite dusty due to the high open ceiling with exposed rafters and lack of dusting.
I could clearly see a thick layer of dust on the fixtures. We had one drink and scooted out. Doreen made a couple of friends going to the restroom though and they chatted all the way out:
Our next stop was the Hard Rock. We always make it a point to find the Hard Rock and have at least one drink in every city that has one.
A photo of Elvis' last concert in Indianapolis:
I love the artwork on the sides of buildings; although this looks newer it is done in an old style:
We ready for dinner and Doreen is ready to whip out her list of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. Sure enough she found one on Main St. called South of Beale. Main St. is an interesting area. From what we learned it was the first suburb of Memphis even though it is only several blocks from the center of town. Many of the original store fronts from the early 20'th century still survive and the area is seeing a resurgence with an influx of empty nesters, hipsters, and retirees.
Street cars ply the path to town
As two men play a game of bocci ball across from our alfresco table
We met a really friendly local couple who joined us at our table for a good hour. They were lifelong Memphians and filled us in the local flavor. As the sun began to set we made our way back to the truck.
We returned a few nights later for an evening visit. I forgot my camera so I had to use the phone. It was a rainy night so that didn't help.
We had dinner at the Blues City Cafe and we were seated in the Band Box to see Earl The Pearl perform:
Earl is the one seated with the white hat playing the guitar. They really jammed for a bunch of old guys and the crowd enjoyed it while eating some lip smacking good ribs which is what we had.
It wasn't raining too hard when we got there but it was really pouring when we were ready to leave so we headed back to the truck and the campground.
I have got to say that I was impressed with Memphis. For a city of about 600,000 it seemed quaint and charming. Unlike in many cities the economically depressed areas are in the suburbs; especially south of Memphis and the inner city is prosperous and resurgent. I enjoyed our stay and would return again.
Miles this leg: 232.8
Total miles: 2877.
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