Going West 2013

The last two days have been busy between museums and Beale Street. Yesterday we began at the National Civil Rights Museum, created from the Lorraine Hotel, where Martin Luther King was shot and killed in 1968. The Hotel is undergoing restoration but the boarding house from which James Earl Ray shot King is also part of the exibit and is excellent in itself. We did get to walk up on the balcony and across in front of the room where MLK stayed.

Next was lunch on Beale St. We chose the King Palace Café. We went back for lunch today, and have decided it’s one of the best places to eat on Beale St

After lunch we went to the Museum of Rock and Soul, affiliated with the Smithsonian. It houses a great many exhibits and is self-guided with headphones and a self-prompted narrative and music. It gives a great overview of the history of Memphis music and the different recording studios that did and do exist in Memphis.

After some more refreshment – it’s hot! 92 degrees yesterday – we walked to the Mississippi River for a look. They’re in the process of creating a riverside park at the foot of Beale, but unfortunately it’s not done, and the river parks that are there were just too far to walk to, so we went back to Beale by way of the Peabody Hotel Grand Lobby. On Beale we listened to some music in the park, then to BB King’s for some more music, then to the Courtyard at King Palace Café for more music, then back to BB King’s for dinner and yet more music, then home.

Today we first visited site of a Chucalissa Indian village archeological dig and museum where we viewed a video and walked around the site and on a nature trail.

Following that we went to the STAX Records museum, music institute, and charter school. The museum tells the story of the record company and the artists that recorded there. STAX is part of the Rock and Soul Museum story, this museum focuses on the STAX story.

Next was the Sun Records Studio, the birthplace of rock’n roll. This is in the original Sun recording studio building where they still record artists after the tours are over. Again, the focus is on how Sun records came to be and how Sun Studios contributes to the Memphis music scene past and present.

Lunch time back at the King Palace Café. Sharing Gumbo and a.Shrimp Po boy. Then to Silky O’Sullivan’s to listen to some music, back to the King Palace Courtyard for some more music, then back here for a swim and laundry. Dinner was down the street at Marlowe’s, supposedly Elvis’ favorite BBQ restaurant. I no longer need a belt to keep my pants up.