We left Nashville this morning & decided to come straight along the Interstate 40 to Memphis. We could have come the longer scenic route but decided on the direct approach. I’m glad that we did ‘cos the route was busy enough & there were several delays due to roadworks. It was a busy road but seemed to be even busier going in the opposite direction. I drove to get us out of town & then for about an hour more. Doug took over & then I took the wheel again with about 20 miles to go. We were doing quite well until Doug ‘lost’ the Google map on his Ipad. This then involved a pit stop somewhere with wifi & I chose an eatery called Hooters. At first I wasn’t sure that we hadn’t picked on a boy’s only establishment ‘cos I was the only female in it apart from the serving staff. The big difference between me & the waitresses was a) age, b) body size & c) they were wearing shorts soooo short that their bums were hanging out, pert though they were! However, despite our reservations the staff were friendly, the salads that we ordered were fine & the coffee was horrible as usual!! They did however have wifi & Doug was able to find his map again.
This time our sat nav lady seemed to want to go to the same place as we did & we entered downtown Memphis to find empty streets & our hotel without any difficulty. En route we had had a message in the car telling us that it was due an oil change soon. According to the handbook soon equals 600 miles—just about what we have left to do. On arrival we rang the car hire company who a) assured us that we would be ok to continue & b) logged the call & gave us a reference no.
We are staying in a hotel called The Peabody which seems to be a bit of a Memphis institution. It has a lovely but huge foyer with a fountain in the middle of it. Since the 1930’s this fountain has been home to generations of ducks who twice a day march in at 11am & out at 17h, using an elevator to & from the roof. This being America there is a story attached but the twice daily march has become a tourist attraction. We went down for some refreshment & to sort out things with the concierge & ended up with ringside seats for the duck march. What we didn’t have was a phone with us so no pictures this time but I will get some before we leave.
The weather is warm & sunny (77*F) & very conducive to wandering. We have Gracelands for certain tomorrow but will go into town tonight to find music/food. It seems that BB King also has/had an establishment here in Memphis so that is probably were we will head tonight.