Memphis Soul Stew

 That title really is the title of one of the many songs written about this fabulous city. I just wish the Mississippi River were closer to the coast so I could visit more often! On Thursday we packed up from our Louisville room and took another drive, to visit our good friends, Melissa & Josh and their son, August. These were the friends who accompanied us to Florida, if you remember.

We enjoyed the hospitality of Melissa's parents during our stay. The accommodations not only included room and board, but complimentary kid-entertaining services!

Borrowing August's grandpa

We made heavy use of their pool!

I got to read to three kids. I love it!

We kept Miles busy even while the 2 year olds were napping.

On Friday, we got to accompany genius baby August to his Spanish class. They allowed us to "visit" and take a class for free! Miles & Adele were a little shy at first, but by the end of class they were practically racing to the front of the room each time she wanted kids to demonstrate. They learned some basic vocabulary (letters, numbers, colors, etc) as well as some ocean animal names, most of which I've already forgotten. Should we move to Memphis, we will surely look up Miss Claudia!

That evening after a good swim and a hearty dinner, we took a stroll to the nearby playground next to a lovely little pond. Just at sunset, the lighting was too good to resist taking pictures.

Checking out the gorgeous clouds. 

See? gorgeous. 

The sun went down over the water... if there's anything I like to photograph better besides the kids, I don't know what it is.

I love this shot of August, Miles, and Adele.

On Saturday, we started with a visit to the Memphis Public Library's downtown branch. I do love that gorgeous kids' section. 

August loves it too!

Next, we scurried downtown in the middle of a dramatic downpour to participate in a musical bus tour of Memphis! Check out Mojo Tours' site: http://www.backbeattours.com/tours/mojo.cfm Does that not sound like the perfect way to see Memphis??

Our tour guide had deep musical roots in Memphis. She is a singer/guitar player herself, and her big sister used to sing backup for some local greats. She'd weave songs into storytelling as we saw the sites, listed on Mojo's page:

• Sun Studio
• Beale Street
• Stax Studio
• The Lorraine Motel
• Cotton Row
• Peabody Hotel
• Overton Park
• Historic Central Gardens
• St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital
• Early homes of Elvis, B. B. King, and Johnny Cash

We heard songs from Johnny Cash, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Otis Redding, Carly Thomas, Memphis Minnie, and many more. Everyone got a shaker or a tambourine and we were encouraged to participate.

What a blast!

I got very few good pictures of the city from the bus due to the downpour, sadly.

Eventually it cleared up.

Elvis' old apartment. 

St. Jude's Children's, a Memphis institution. 

Sun Records

Art Museum... Oh dear, I don't remember its name..

Just a few moments with us on the bus. :-)

Once again, the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. King was shot.

Beale Street, through the bus window. 

Beale, already partying at 1pm!

Melissa loves her home city, and with good reason!

We loved it too!

On the way back to the parking garage, we took a detour when we saw this sign:

This we had to see.

Apparently they really do drink beer!

Back at the house, the kids learned to be very independent in the pool.

You know we had mixed feelings about leaving. We love seeing other cities and learning about what makes them each special, and seeing family and friends we rarely get to see.

Still, it was good to get on the road again. We missed our town, and I think it's fair to say Papa was missed even more.

Blazing by Nashville at sunset. 

On Monday morning, we arrived at the border. Virginia at last!

Once again, I couldn't resist a photo shoot:

We made a great little team, but I daresay we make a better one when it's all four of us. Fortunately, Papa will be with us as we start our third and last trip of the summer. This time, we're going north!