No, don’t get too excited. With plans for a nice day hike dashed, I’m sitting here in the public library writing about my visit to the Riverfront, Outdoors Inc. and some BBQ. Who knows what’s in store for tonight? Tunica MS?
Yes, I must be bored. March 3, 2007.
This morning, we started our day at the Days Inn off I40 at exit 20, whatever that town was. We took I40 on into Memphis, and I dropped Donna off at 8AM at the Madison Hotel for an injectables seminar. OK, now I have 2 hours to burn before the outdoor store (Outdoors Inc.) opens.
OK, I know Outdoors Inc is on Union Street, but I couldn’t remember the address. So, I drove up Union until I found it. OK, a nice coffee shop, and turns out it had a great cafe’ mocha, my favorite. I doubt I’ll get the name of it.
Returning to the downtown area, I visited the Tennessee visitors center on Riverside Drive. It’s a pretty neat visitor’s center, with beautiful views of Mud Island – yes, that’s the naem. The nice lady suggested I try riding the trolley for a dollar, which circles the downtown area. OK, after sitting in the cold wind for 30 minutes waiting on it, I finally gave up.
After scoping out two hotels (since we don’t have a room for tonight), I took a walk down Main Street Mall. You can only ride the trolley or walk on this street, which is pretty neat in my opinion. Only problem is, half the businesses are empty. What a waste.
Finally, I returned to Outdoors Inc. for a good experience. The place is similar to Cumberland Transit, but it was smaller and crammed full of good stuff. None of their backpacks were on sale, nor were any less than $250. A winter clearance was happening, and I got a super good deal on a LG lightweight ripstop cycling jacket. My plan was to ask for a good day hike spot, but the guys in the store seemed very unexcited. They did give me directions to the library, and also recommended an excellent barbque restaurant, which I immediately headed off for.
Central BBQ is located on Central Avenue, between East and Cooper. I got a half slab ‘wet’ and a Miller Lite. The folks in front of me were raising hell about wanting a piece of their cheesecake, so I also ordered a piece. Rib meat was falling off the bone, and the sauce was excellent. Coleslaw was mediocre, beans were good when I mixed in some hot barbque sauce. Cheesecake was really good, but it turned out the group in front of me were tourists from Texas!
Off to the library, about 4 miles east of Cooper, on Poplar (if you ever need to find a VERY nice library!) This place has escalators, multiple floors, big windows all the way around. They have tons of books, music, magazines, videos, computers, and free parking. Looks like all the things that make a great library.
Donna is getting out of the seminar about 4:15, and it’s 1:20 now. I hope we can find a good reasonable hotel, dinner and something fun to do. We’ll probably go check out Beal Street if we don’t go to Tunica. More later….
UPDATED:
We went to Beale Street on Saturday night. Had a few Hurricanes at Pat O’brien’s. Yes, they have a purpose-built Pat O’s in Memphis, and it’s not so bad. It looks pretty much the same inside, except the poles aren’t in the way in the piano bar. Nice job Pat.
Tunica SUCKS! We went Sunday. The casinos are on the river, in a vast flat cotton field. The area is run down, everyone seems very poor. To get between casinos, you either have to get on a shuttle or drive, since they’re mostly so far apart. What a disappointment. We didn’t even get out of the car.
Long story short, Memphis is a nice place to visit at least once. It’s definitely not an outdoors destination.