Fat Guy Went Walking In Memphis....

Yeah, okay, I promised I'd check in at least once while I was on vacation and didn't.  So, sue me.  I decided to actually ENJOY my vacation instead of documenting every little detail of it while I was there.  Never mind the fact that I checked in on Facebook from pretty much every location I was at.

Anyway, I'm back, and I wanted to reflect on the beautiful city that is Memphis, Tennessee.

First stop we made was at the Memphis Zoo.  While I'm in agreement that the animals seem to be much closer to the visitor than at the St. Louis Zoo, I also have to say that's the only thing I liked about the Memphis Zoo more than our own.  Well, that and the lack of hills to walk up and down.  Otherwise, the St. Louis Zoo kicks the Memphis Zoo's ass.  After all, I was down $30 before I'd even SEEN an animal, since the Memphis Zoo charges $15 a head for adults to get in.  In the 'Lou, that cash could have been spent on a few sodas, some water, and some snacks in order to keep the engine on the Fat Guy running.  I'm just sayin........

Went to Graceland the next day.  I can now say I've been there, though I have no desire to go back.  It was cool to see the house that Elvis built, but I'm not the type of Elvis fan that needs to make that trip more than once.  The car collection was also cool, as was the Lisa Marie (the plane, not his daughter, you perv), but, again, these are things I could have read about online, so to have seen them once in person is as many times as I need to in my life.

The trip to Sun Studios, on the other hand?  I could do that again in a heartbeat.  It was something for someone who spent time in the music business to stand in the exact recording studio that the greats of early rock and roll did:  Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison.  This was also the same studio that blues greats such as BB King recorded in.  I'm telling you, the history that oozes from the place is HUGE for such a small place.  Should you ever be in Memphis and only have time for ONE tour, do this one.

Should you only have time for TWO tours, however, the National Civil Rights Museum should be the other one.  Located at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, which is where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was assassinated in 1968, the entire place just has that "hallowed ground" feel to it.  We had the opportunity to stand on the very spot Dr. King stood on when he was killed, and that felt very weird to me.  By the way, if you want to be able to stand in that spot, you need to hurry, since they're doing a renovation of the area that will eliminate that option in early 2014.

While I'm on the subject of the Lorraine, there was someone outside the property protesting that we were entering "The $27 Million Memorial to James Earl Ray".  While I didn't get the chance to ask what the hell this numbskull was protesting for, I still felt the need to mention it here.  I totally disagree with their premise, however, as the point of the museum is to discuss the history of Civil Rights and to discuss in detail Dr. King's assassination, which only makes sense since this was the place where he was killed.  You can even stand in the place James Earl Ray was presumed to have been standing in when he fired the fatal shot, to see the perspective.  And, yes, I do understand that Ray probably didn't kill Dr. King.  That, to me, wasn't the point.  We were standing in history, and that was all that mattered to me at the time.

We also made it to the Peabody Hotel to see the ducks.  You've probably seen them on tv or read about them, and we were there to see them escorted from their fountain to the elevator for their trip to their "accomodations" on the roof.  It was nice, but, as with other things, it's something I don't have to see again.

Also saw the Pink Palace, which was originally conceived as a mansion for the person who opened the Piggly Wiggly chain of grocery stores.  Now, it's their museum, planetarium, and IMAX theatre.  Cool, but I could get the other two here in St. Louis.  The exhibits, however, were pretty neat.

Of course, a trip to Memphis wouldn't be complete without barbeque, and we hit up two Memphis standards while we were there:  Corky's and Rendezvous.  My personal opinion?  We should have gone to Rendezvous first, because after having Corky's, nothing else compares.  'Nuff said.

So, that's my Memphis experience in a nutshell.  I enjoyed the time with my wife and my friends, and I'll probably be referring to it more in the coming days and weeks.

This Is What I Do When I Can't Sleep....

So, here I am at nearly 3am, knowing I'm leaving to start vacation in less than 12 hours....

And I can't sleep.

Nice.

Hey, I know things could always be worse.  But, since I have a blog to bitch about the little things that bother me, I'm choosing to whine about not being able to sleep.

So there.  *sticks tongue out at monitor*  *realizes he just stuck tongue out at inanimate object.  feels shame*

So, since I seem to have a few extra minutes to BE AWAKE, let's fill them with something productive (yeah...like anything I say is fucking productive).....

An impromptu "random thoughts" blogging!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Tell me again why the hell it's so damn great to be a Cubs fan?  Last time I checked, my Cardinals have the number one record in MLB.

-Score another one for the communist state of Illinoistan:  Legislation legalizing concealed weapons?  Pass.  No problem.  Legislation legalizing same-sex marriage?  We need to "think about it" for a while longer.  Fuck.  Time to move my fat ass back across the river.  Pronto.

-By the way, I'm all FOR legally carrying a concealed weapon.  I just find it interesting that the state has no problem with giving anyone who can pass the class, background check, and pay the fee a permit to conceal a gun on their person, while two people who love each other, want to get married, and happen to be the same gender can't do it in this state.  There's a reason I still call Missouri my HOME state......

-On a very serious note:  To all our friends in Oklahoma who've been through two rounds of the absolute WORST Mother Nature can throw at you, all my thoughts and prayers are with you.  But, I know y'all are the toughest S.O.B's I've ever met, so you'll pull through, as you usually do.

-Have you watched infomercials recently?  Holy Shit!!!!  Some of this stuff looks really cool, but some of it makes me understand why infomercials are the hot scam of this century.  At least the Ginzu knives we saw when we were kids ACTUALLY worked.  Then again, we also saw the Ronco commercials for the spray-on hair, so maybe the scam just got a bit more sophisticated.

Okay.  Enough randomness.  Next time I check in, I SHOULD be in the beautiful city of Memphis.