The Traveling Steve's

I had a quick 3 day trip to Memphis this week.  It was quite an easy work week there as Monday and Wednesday were travel days, and Tuesday was supposed to be an all day meeting, but ending up finishing up early.

I did my usual Monday morning commute on American Airlines, this time Orlando to Charlotte, and connecting later to Memphis.

 I then rented a Dodge Journey from National Car Rental this week at Memphis Airport.

I had a fun dinner Monday night with a couple co-workers at Corky’s Barbecue; a Memphis tradition.  The brisket was delicious and the Bud Light a bargain at $1.99 Monday night special.

I stayed at the Doubletree Memphis East (as opposed to the one I thought I had booked downtown across the street from the Peabody), but it was very nice, and only a 20 minute drive from downtown.  There were also a couple restaurants next door, with Corky’s less than a mile away.

My meetings on Tuesday ended mid afternoon, so I ‘stopped by’ Graceland on the way ‘home’ to my hotel.  I have previously toured Graceland before, so just wanted to drive by since I was there.  I just wanted a couple quick pics, and didn’t want to pay the $10 Graceland parking fee for a couple quick photos, so just took a couple shots while stopped at the traffic lights.  You really can’t see the Mansion from the road as it sits back off the road quite a bit, but you can see the gates.

I’ll have to go thru my photo archive sometime and upload some of the Graceland photos, from my previous visit there.  It really is a must to see if you’re in Memphis and haven’t been, but you do need to allow plenty of time to see it.  You have to take the shuttle bus from the parking area to the Mansion across the street, and are then led on a tour.

You also want to save time to view Elvis’s two jets sitting outside, and the car museum, and of course save time to go to the multitude of nearby gift shops, or at least get a photo of the Heartbreak Hotel sign.

On Tuesday night I had a wonderful solo dinner at the Napa Cafe, which was next door to my Doubletree East Hotel.  This small and intimate restaurant was outstanding and casually elegant, with an eclectic wine list of wines, including a large variety of wines from the Northwestern US Coast; i.e. Washington and Oregon states.  My waiter helps select the ever changing wine list, and we had a nice chat about the wine regions, and even a ‘wine’ brewski.  I had a local brewski that was aged in wine casks, giving it a distinctive taste.  It tasted a bit sour at the first taste, but after a couple sips I was ready to buy some to go, only you can only get it in growlers, and it’s made in very small quantities.  Anyway, I had a wonderful dinner at the Napa Cafe, including my brisket sliders,

Napa Salad, and the special for the evening a delicious and differently prepared and served ribeye with potato cake and asparagas. I really enjoyed my meal and service there, and would stay at that Doubletree again, just to go back to this restaurant!

On Wednesday morning, I had an early flight back to Orlando, again via Charlotte. I took a few photos of the Memphis area paintings on display in the terminal.  These were newer (2016) from my last visit, so I guess they rotate these ‘Beale Street’ type paintings for display viewing.

By Wednesday afternoon though, reality was starting to set in as Hurricane Matthew is barreling it’s way to Orlando.  I’ll stop here for now, as it’s time for Hurricane preparation, and (hopefully) will be able to get out for our upcoming Hawaii trip on Saturday.