Weekend birthday adventure with my two favorite boys took us to Memphis — Home of the Blues and the Birthplace of Rock ‘n Roll — and a stay on Beale Street!
Much of our visit revolved around exploring the history of both musical genres.
We started out at Sun Studio, one of the most famous recording studios in the world who is responsible for the first rock and roll single. Oh, it also launched the career of a guy named Elvis.
In addition to Mr. Presley, the studio launched careers of other artists such as Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Roy Orbison. It’s still an active studio — and guess who recorded a few songs from Rattle and Hum there a few years back?
Below is Tanner channeling his inner Bono.
After the studio tour, we headed back to Beale Street.
(This photo is actually just a corner of the entire street, but it’s all about B.B. and we love him. The Blues Club is where we had my birthday dinner.)
Lunch at the Blue City Cafe was our first indicator of how good the barbecue is in Memphis.
After lunch, we wandered around Beale Street. Countless horse-drawn carriages lined the side streets, one more elaborate than the next. Although the second photo below took the cake.
But one thing all of the carriages had in common was a canine partner up in the drivers seat.
Turns out that it’s a sales tool. The drivers depend on the dogs to make potential customers more willing to approach and engage the drivers in conversation. Smart.
The afternoon brought a trip to the Rock ‘n Soul Museum.
It was a fascinating place, but I was a little unnerved to see 8-track tapes in a museum.
Come ON. My sister had 8-tracks! We’re not that old!
The museum was right next door to the FedEx Forum — our evening destination.
But we had a few other stops to make first, including a tour of the Gibson Guitar factory.
They wouldn’t let us take photos on the tour, but the gift shop was fair game.
After more wandering and a great dinner at B.B. King’s place, we went to a Memphis Grizzlies game.
We were happy that the home team won, but our hearts still belong to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Sorry, folks.
Bright and early this morning, we headed to the Memphis Zoo.
We saw all kinds of wonderful animals as they lazed about in the morning sun.
(BIG kitty.)
(Another big kitty — staring intently at a few ducks who landed in his little pond. Seemed like an unfortunate navigational error to me.)
And then we saw the true object of our affection.
Now we’re home and I’m officially a year older. But I’m also now a little richer in memories and experiences after this weekend. A big thanks to my favorite travel companions for a wonderful adventure.
hey there, friends 
Love your pictures! That first panda picture is my favorite! I love the way he's looking over the bark. Looks like you had an amazing birthday weekend and I'm so glad.
LikeLike
We had such a great time! But that panda was a hoot! Not sure if it was the boy or the girl, but it was so silly.
LikeLike