Captain's Choice blog: 2 Kings and 5 Ducks

Saw the ghost of Elvis
On Union Avenue
Followed him up to the gates of Graceland
Then I watched him walk right through
Now security they did not see him
They just hovered 'round his tomb
But there's a pretty little thing
Waiting for the King
Down in the Jungle Room
Lyrics from Walking in Memphis by Marc Cohn

We rented a car Saturday morning and headed for the home of "The King of Rock and Roll"...Mr. Elvis Presley and Graceland. The tour includes the mansion, an automobile museum, his 2 airplanes and tons of memorabilia. We LOVED it! The mansion tour was self guided with audio and an ipad narrated by John Stamos (Full House fame). It was so informative and listening to his music...it was just awesome! I might also add we did see at least one Elvis look a like.

About a block from our hotel was the Peabody Hotel ...have you ever heard of the Peabody ducks? Nope, well neither had we until Lola formerly of Sunny Days said don't forget to see the ducks when you go to Memphis. The Peabody is best known for a custom dating back to the 1930's of parading 5 Mallard ducks (one drake and four hens) at 11 am and 5 pm. The General Manager of the time had returned from a hunting trip and found it amusing to leave 3 of their duck decoys in the hotel fountain. The guests loved the idea and they substituted 5 real ducks that play in the fountain from 11 - 5. Everyday at 11 am they are escorted from their penthouse (newly renovated at a cost of $200,000) to the fountain and then ceremoniously escorted back to the penthouse at 5pm. What a hoot or shall I say quack?

Dinner was at the Rendezvous, which is known to have the best ribs in town...they did not disappoint. Next up...Beale Street...with bars lining approximately 2 blocks with live music in most establishments. We hit a few and were really impressed with one of the lead singers that sounded just like Johnny Cash but looked a lot like Ozzy Osbourne. I know, weird combination.

The Memphis visit would not have been complete without a visit to The National Civil Rights Museum. Sunday morning we got there just as it opened and stood just feet away from where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in front of room 306 at The Lorraine Hotel. The museum is a complex of museums and historic buildings that trace the Civil Rights Movement in the US from the 17th century to present.

On the drive back to Florence we stopped at the Shiloh National Military Park where you can explore the Shiloh battlefield. One of the most deadliest battles during the Civil War was fought here. They have a very informative film that describes the battle and then you can drive around the park and see where the battle actually took place. They have tablets, canons and monuments that actually depict where the troops were positioned and engaged in battle. In just 2 days, April 6 & 7, 1862 there were more than 23,750 casualties... to put that in perspective, to date in Iraq and Afghanistan there has been approximately 7,500 US casualties. One casualty is one too many but 2 days and over 23,000, its just unfathomable. Mark has always been intrigued by the Civil War and to say this day left us moved would be an understatement.

Today (Monday) we are at Grand Harbor Marina in Counce, TN. Just a stones throw away from the anchorage Zippy Cove where we stayed about 10 days ago. There are many looper boats and a bunch of us got together for docktails. Tomorrow we set off down the Tenn-Tom Waterway.