Cross Country – 2

On the road again making our way northward through a bit of Alabama and into Mississippi with our primary goal being Ridgeland, just past Jackson and our secondary goal getting away from all the rain! We arrived late afternoon and true to form thus far, our room was not ready, but, without asking, they offered a lower rate to compensate for our room not being ready. (Note: When we checked into the Hilton on Miramar Beach, I started to give the receptionist a bit of a hard time as it was already a half hour past the check-in time, and, with what this room cost, I thought that was not appropriate. Fortunately, I wasn’t rude as she advised me that they still had half an hour before the check-in time. What I had not taken into account was that there is a time change in the Florida Panhandle!)

So, back to Ridgeland, our hotel was located in an upscale shopping area, so, we easily found a nice Italian restaurant for dinner. Next morning, however, the rain was still with us as we made our way to Madison, a charming town just a few miles from Ridgeland. As it was raining and Sunday morning with all shops still closed, we just drove through and were on our way to Oxford, Mississippi. Our friend Jim Ziglar strongly suggested we would enjoy Oxford, and, he was right. Plus, the sun was now shining! Oxford is a college town and is where Ole Miss, also known as the University of Mississippi, is located. Oxford’s downtown is a large square block with shops and restaurants on the streets with the historic Oxford Courthouse in the center.

Just outside Oxford is Rowan Oak, which is also known as the William Faulkner House, pictured below. As with most sites, the home is currently closed for tours. Although William Faulkner is best known for his novels set in the American South and as a Nobel Prize-winning novelist, he was also a screenwriter in Hollywood.

From Oxford it was on to Memphis, Tennessee, and The Peabody Hotel, a luxury hotel, located in downtown Memphis. And, what is The Peabody famous for. . .The Peabody Ducks! Each morning at 11:00 a.m., the ducks march from the elevator on a red carpet to the fountain in the center of the lobby, and, each evening they march back on the red carpet to the elevator, where they ride to the top floor. Back in the 1930s the General Manager and a friend returned from a weekend hunting trip. Having had a bit too much Jack Daniel’s Tennessee sippin whiskey, they thought it would be funny to put some of the live decoy ducks (legal at that time) in the Peabody fountain. The guests loved seeing the ducks in the fountain. Then in 1940, a former animal trainer offered to help train the ducks and taught them the now-famous Peabody Duck March. Yes, it is absolutely silly, but, such fun to watch!

The next order of business in Memphis was to go to Graceland. Having been an Elvis fan (like every other female on earth!), this was an essential trip, and, I got us the “Elvis Entourage VIP Tour” tickets. That meant that we did not have to wait in line, which was a good thing. We toured the house, the planes and the museum. The array of gold albums was truly impressive. Although Elvis toured in Canada a few times, otherwise he never toured outside the country in spite of many offers.

Now for something really fun! Most of Elvis’ home was quite garish. The notable exception was the dining room, which has a great marbled black marble tile.

The actual home is quite gracious looking from the outside, and, the grounds are well manicured. Out back is a garden, and, there are several graves, one of them being that of Elvis himself. There is a reason I selected the picture of the dining room floor. That black marble tile is what we have our dining area in our Tacoma condominium. We both did a “double-take” when we noticed the floor. Apparently, that marble tile has been around for quite some time!

With no rest for the travelers we spent the evening on Beale Street, which is only a few blocks from the hotel. We waited in line to get into B. B. King’s Blues Club for dinner. As it was faster seating for four, we “hooked up” with the couple in line behind us and had an enjoyable dinner and time getting to know them! The barbecue for which Memphis is known lived up to its reputation, and, the music was great. We loved Memphis!