Day 2.44: Memphis, TN to Nashville, TN

We woke up and worked out in the fitness center before having breakfast and packing everything up. Our first stop was in downtown Memphis, where Arielle was beyond ecstatic to attend the twice-daily duck march, where a bunch of ducks come out of the elevator and strut across a red carpet to the fountain in the center of the lobby. Our 11am duck march was attended by a huge crowd which was gathered there well in advance of the event, which lasted only about a minute or two, but Arielle still had a blast!

We got on the road for Nashville, stopping along the way at a Pilot where Abe got a surprisingly tasty vegetarian tomato soup and Arielle made a turkey sandwich with the meat she was still carrying.

We made it to Nashville in the early afternoon, circling for a bit before we found a meter that looked like we could park there. We walked about fifteen minutes to Broadway, where we heard musicians performing and saw many people swarming around. After sampling some pralines and exploring the streets, we walked into Nudie’s Honky Tonk and sat for a while listening to the live music, then walked a few blocks over to Honky Tonk Central to catch a few more songs.

We tried to walk up to a bridge but realized it was too high, so we went back to our car instead. Arguably the best move of our day was to follow the advice of Arielle’s friend, Kevin, who highly recommended a restaurant out of downtown: Mas Tacos. We parked in a neighborhood down the street and walked into the relatively small establishment. Arielle got a quinoa and sweet potato taco and a fish taco, fried plantains, and street corn. Abe got a fried avocado taco, a fish taco, and street corn without all the stuff on it. It was a phenomenal meal, and we got to sit outside, which was beautiful.

We drove to the suburb of Goodlettsville to check in to our hotel, the Wingate, which we were relieved to find proved to be a good choice (it was much less expensive than many neighboring hotels). After relaxing at the hotel for a bit, we went to the Kroger supermarket across the street to get a few food items, then drove back to right near where we had dinner to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams (also recommended by Kevin), which was quite an experience. After sampling many, many flavors, Abe went for one large scoop of darkest chocolate. Arielle went for the three half scoops and a waffle option, choosing salty peanut butter with chocolate flakes, rainbow buttermilk frozen yogurt, and the goat cheese with red cherries. She loved it – Abe’s more basic flavor was very good too!

We returned to the hotel and went to sleep before our last drive for a few days.

Approximate number of miles covered: 225

Day 2.43: Little Rock, AR to Memphis, TN

We got up and worked out and then enjoyed some breakfast in typical Best Western style.

We packed our car and drove about ten minutes to our second presidential library, this one created to honor Bill Clinton. It was interesting to read about events that we remembered happening or hearing about, and also enlightening to see parallels between a divided government then with Congress often at odds with Clinton and now. There was also mention of former First Lady Hillary’s Senate win and move into politics, though nothing about either of her presidential runs.

We spent about two hours at the library and then got on the road for the two-hour drive to Memphis, crossing into Tennessee.

We went straight to the National Civil Rights Museum, which is housed mainly in the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot. This museum features countless exhibits about the history of slavery and the South, and we spent two hours there and still feel like we could have done much more.

We drove about five minutes and parked our car near Beale Street, which was mostly empty and quiet but still fun to walk. We left to drive to our hotel and stopped briefly to walk along the river, which was very nice.

We checked in to the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Memphis Airport Elvis Presley Boulevard, which was perfectly nice. We were then picked up by Murray and Karen Riss, who took us to a lovely dinner. Murray is Arielle’s father’s first cousin and has lived in Memphis for decades. They brought us to an incredible place called Tsunami. Arielle got the goat cheese and fried eggplant Napoleon with tomato-basil sauce and Abe got the roasted sea bass on black Thai race with soy beurre blanc. Both dishes were amazing, and we had a wonderful time catching up. We finished with a delicious creme brulee. Back at the hotel, we relaxed and went to bed.

Approximate number of miles covered: 140