Day 6 – "Walking in Memphis"

Lorraine Motel In Memphis

We drove 4 hours to Memphis, checked-in early and had lunch at Corky’s on Poplar.  They were conveniently near our hotel and known for pulled pork which we both enjoyed.  After lunch, we went to the National Civil Rights museum which turned out to be very interesting.  The centerpiece is the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King was killed in 1968.  You get to stand on the balcony on the exact spot where he was shot and also look into his room, which was left exactly as it was on that day, complete with newspapers on the bed and cigarettes in the ashtray.  Part of the museum is across the street and includes exhibits in the boarding house where James Earl Ray stayed under an assumed name.  You can look through the window where he fired the fatal shot and very much visualize the scene (see photo – white wreath is were Dr. King was standing and his room is to the left, with the curtains open).  All in all it was pretty shocking but it is still part of our history.  

Next we drove downtown to watch the ducks’ parade at the Peabody Hotel. Crowded and a bit overrated, but it is one of the iconic things that Memphis is known for and you kind of have to do it.  In the evening we went walking on Beale Street and to B.B. King’s restaurant for some food and listen to blues.  The house band (B.B. King’s All Stars) was playing and they were great.  They even played some of the famous “Memphis soul” music with a couple of Sam and Dave numbers.