Knock, Knock – Who’s There?

That’s how it started.  Monday evening, not long after the latest edition of “Justravelin” hit the internet, there was a knock on our door.  There, right outside, stood John and Bridget (Travels  of John and Bridget)!  The last time we’d seen them was at the 2008 RV Dreams Rally in Branson, so we had some catching up to do.  It was a fun evening, with the end result being they decided to stay an extra day and run around Memphis with us.

So, yesterday morning, they made arrangements to stay an extra night and we all headed across the bridge to downtown Memphis.  We got the car parked and set out on foot for the day’s adventure:

First up was a stop at the Peabody Hotel to check out the ducks who live there.  Every day, the ducks ride the elevator from their penthouse to the lobby, where they run across a red carpet and jump in the fountain to swim for the afternoon.  Then they make the return trip back across the red carpet and up to the penthouse for the night.  We arrived at the hotel to join the waiting crowd.  Here’s the “Duckmaster” in front of the fountain where the ducks will spend their afternoon:

 

When the elevator doors open, the ducks are very quick to run out.  It’s a challenge to get a picture, but John was ready!  Thanks, John, for sharing your picture with us:

Next stop was to see about taking a tour of the Gibson Guitar Factory.  Some (ok, many) years ago, Jim was a guitarist in a rock band and has always maintained his interest in guitars.  We headed down 3rd street a few blocks and found the factory and store:

We all got signed up for an afternoon tour and decided to find our lunch spot.  I guess all that walking (must have been 8 blocks by this time!) got Jim and John’s appetites' working.

Back up 2nd street a few more blocks to The Rendezvous, another well-known and highly recommended Memphis BBQ restaurant:

This was a slight challenge to find, being as it’s located down this alley:

But, it seems it was worth the search:

The only thing on the menu at lunch is ribs – the full restaurant doesn’t open until 4:30.  So we all had ribs!

After lunch, our next stop was at the Hard Rock Cafe to help Jim add to the shot glass collection:

More exploring downtown Beale Street in the increasing heat led to an ice cream craving, and we finally settled on BB King’s Blues Club for a cool respite:

Then it was time to make our way back to the guitar factory for our tour.

The tour was very interesting, but they don’t allow any pictures, and we all signed a non-disclosure agreement, so I can’t give you any details!

We were all ready to get back to the river bank after all that touristing, so we headed back to Tom Sawyer’s for Happy Hour in our yard under the shade tree:

Bridget and John joined us and we followed the shade around:

Until sunset:

When the bugs took over the yard and we came inside to continue our visit. 

Bridget and John are heading out this morning, but what a wonderful surprise and a fun visit!  One of the best features of this lifestyle is getting to meet up with such great people, whether it’s planned or totally unexpected!  We wish them continued safe travel, and hope to see them again very soon!