Going to Memphis

I've been to Memphis several times in the past year, but I haven't had too many great experiences. The first time included the stress of driving to grad school interviews in a rented car. The other time was just missing getting my parents to the airport in time for a flight home. And the last time I was there, Abby and I got lost trying get back on the interstate after we had dinner.

But last Thursday when I made the trip I finally got the chance to really experience Memphis. Abby was training for her new job as a Memphis Teaching Fellows interviewer (it's an awesome gig and I recommend contacting Abby to hear more about it) and I decided to tag along with a couple of my friends Jared and Eu Gene. With 4 1/2 hours of free time until Abby was done with the training we had plenty of time to see some sites.

We started with Sun Studio. Sun Studio is probably most famous for being the first studio to record Elvis, but they actually have recorded many great artists. Just to mention a few: Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, B. B. King, Howlin' Wolf, and U2. Most of the artists were blues or rock fused with the country sound that permeates the South. It was a really fun tour and the tour guide happened to be from Charleston, WV!

Next we headed to Beale St. in downtown Memphis. Beale St. is to the blues what Bourbon St. is to New Orleans Jazz. There's lost of clubs and shops and the street is blocked off so that you can walk through, carrying your beer of course. We ended up at one end of Beale St. in a pool hall. It was a lot of fun to just hang out and shoot a few games with Jared and Eu Gene. It's amazing how you can go to school with someone for a few months and not get to spend much time just hanging out.

After a couple of beers at another bar, we met back up with Abby. We headed to a local resturaunt, Memphis Pizza Cafe for dinner. I had a pizza called the alternative (imagine that!) with no sauce, just the way I like it. Abby had a delicious cal-zone. Overall a great trip and a wonderful way to start the Thanksgiving break.