Click here to view our Picture GalleryMemphis, Tennessee!
For the past two days I have been touring Memphis with Dixie, Donna, and Dixie's husband Jeff! It has been so much fun and I have learned a lot about Tennessee!
We started by going to Graceland (pronounced "Gracelin")...Elvis Presley's house. We walked through the entire house and went to his grave site. Elvis is extremely famous throughout the United States (and world). He is a beloved cultural icon and memorable for his breakthrough rock and roll music. For years some Americans were convinced that Elvis was still alive. Graceland is a huge tourist attraction! Thousands of people come to see his house every year. There were hundreds of people there just the morning we were there! His house is now a museum filled information about his career and life. I like Elvis music, but I have never understood some people's fanatical obsession with him. The house itself was very interesting as far as interior decorating goes... a little bit tacky... but interesting. To learn more about Graceland and see photos, click here.
Next, we went into Memphis. We stopped by the Mississippi river coastline. A large bridge stretches over the water... from a distance the bridge looks like the shape of an "M" (for Memphis).
At one time, Memphis was a busy port for the transport of cotton up and down the Mississippi river. Although, Memphis is no longer a port for cotton, it is still a port of a different kind. Memphis is the location of the international FedEx headquarters. We drove passed the FedEx airfield and saw of all of the planes lined up in rows. Dixie, Donna, and I got out of the car to take a few photos of the airfield and FedEx building.
Within in moments a police car pulled over to where we were standing and asked us to stop taking pictures. The police woman said that people were not allowed to take photos for security purposes... I believe she said it was part of the Homeland Security Act or something to do with the Department of Homeland Security. The Homeland Security Act and Department were created after the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States in New York City. This act and department impose stricter regulations in an effort to better protect the safety U.S. citizens and the United States. Many people in the United States disagree with the implications of the Homeland Security Act and the actions of the Department of Homeland Security.
But, any way... so we stopped taking photos of the FedEx buildings and airfield.
Next, we went into downtown Memphis. We parked and walked to the Peabody Hotel. In the early 1900s the Peabody was known as the glamorous hotel where the rich and famous stayed. But, today it is better known for its family of resident ducks. What started as a practical joke many years ago has now become a tradition at the Peabody. Everyday the "Duck Master" goes up to a small house on the roof of the hotel known as the "Duck Palace" and escorts a collection of live ducks down the elevator, across the lobby, and into the hotel fountain where they spend the duration of the day! At 5:00pm the Duck Master escorts the ducks back up the elevator to their Palace. It is a routine and tens of people pour into the lobby to watch the tradition every afternoon! We were some of those observers this afternoon!
We also went up to the roof to look at the Duck Palace. From the roof of the Peabody you could see the entire city of Memphis! Donna and Dixie pointed out how Memphis is often intersected by patches of green...parks/forests. It is one of the greenest cities in the U.S. ...and until recently held the title of the cleanest city in United States. They also told me that Memphis has a lot of abandoned buildings...many of the large office buildings we were looking at were completely empty.
Next we took a street trolley to Beale Street. Blues music originated in Memphis...and Beale street is said to be the center of Blues. It is a street lined with small restaurants, bars/pubs, and tourist-shops. There are many illuminated signs on the sides of buildings. When we were there, we even saw a singer on the street singing blues music and playing a trumpet!
Today (Sunday) we started out by driving around the residential areas on the outskirts of Memphis. It was interesting because there would be a broken down house right next to a large mansion. Also, there are very poor sections of Memphis that back up to some of the wealthiest neighborhoods. At one point, one of the wealthy neighborhoods tried to build a wall completely around their development... to separate themselves from the areas of lower-economic housing... they had completed about 3/4 of their wall before the government stopped them.
We spent the rest of Sunday at the National Civil Rights Museum. I was extremely impressed with this museum! I had studied civil rights in school many times, but the experience of seeing video clips, hearing radio snippets, viewing photos, and reading actual letters/newspaper articles was far more impacting than anything I had ever read in a textbook. I learned so much! We spent hours walking through the museum. The museum is attached to the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and assassinated. The part of the museum about MLK's death was extremely depressing... I felt very emotional walking through that exhibit.
I would highly recommend that anyone interested in civil rights or studying the civil rights movement, visit this museum! It is very educational. Teachers- if you can, take your students to National Civil Rights Museum! To learn more about the museum click here.
Tomorrow morning I leave Memphis and fly home to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I am sad to leave... I will miss Dixie and Donna so much! Though, I am also looking forward to being home for a week or so! I have been traveling a lot lately.
Sincerely,
Jessica Rimington
We started by going to Graceland (pronounced "Gracelin")...Elvis Presley's house. We walked through the entire house and went to his grave site. Elvis is extremely famous throughout the United States (and world). He is a beloved cultural icon and memorable for his breakthrough rock and roll music. For years some Americans were convinced that Elvis was still alive. Graceland is a huge tourist attraction! Thousands of people come to see his house every year. There were hundreds of people there just the morning we were there! His house is now a museum filled information about his career and life. I like Elvis music, but I have never understood some people's fanatical obsession with him. The house itself was very interesting as far as interior decorating goes... a little bit tacky... but interesting. To learn more about Graceland and see photos, click here.
Next, we went into Memphis. We stopped by the Mississippi river coastline. A large bridge stretches over the water... from a distance the bridge looks like the shape of an "M" (for Memphis).
At one time, Memphis was a busy port for the transport of cotton up and down the Mississippi river. Although, Memphis is no longer a port for cotton, it is still a port of a different kind. Memphis is the location of the international FedEx headquarters. We drove passed the FedEx airfield and saw of all of the planes lined up in rows. Dixie, Donna, and I got out of the car to take a few photos of the airfield and FedEx building.
Within in moments a police car pulled over to where we were standing and asked us to stop taking pictures. The police woman said that people were not allowed to take photos for security purposes... I believe she said it was part of the Homeland Security Act or something to do with the Department of Homeland Security. The Homeland Security Act and Department were created after the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States in New York City. This act and department impose stricter regulations in an effort to better protect the safety U.S. citizens and the United States. Many people in the United States disagree with the implications of the Homeland Security Act and the actions of the Department of Homeland Security.
But, any way... so we stopped taking photos of the FedEx buildings and airfield.
Next, we went into downtown Memphis. We parked and walked to the Peabody Hotel. In the early 1900s the Peabody was known as the glamorous hotel where the rich and famous stayed. But, today it is better known for its family of resident ducks. What started as a practical joke many years ago has now become a tradition at the Peabody. Everyday the "Duck Master" goes up to a small house on the roof of the hotel known as the "Duck Palace" and escorts a collection of live ducks down the elevator, across the lobby, and into the hotel fountain where they spend the duration of the day! At 5:00pm the Duck Master escorts the ducks back up the elevator to their Palace. It is a routine and tens of people pour into the lobby to watch the tradition every afternoon! We were some of those observers this afternoon!
We also went up to the roof to look at the Duck Palace. From the roof of the Peabody you could see the entire city of Memphis! Donna and Dixie pointed out how Memphis is often intersected by patches of green...parks/forests. It is one of the greenest cities in the U.S. ...and until recently held the title of the cleanest city in United States. They also told me that Memphis has a lot of abandoned buildings...many of the large office buildings we were looking at were completely empty.
Next we took a street trolley to Beale Street. Blues music originated in Memphis...and Beale street is said to be the center of Blues. It is a street lined with small restaurants, bars/pubs, and tourist-shops. There are many illuminated signs on the sides of buildings. When we were there, we even saw a singer on the street singing blues music and playing a trumpet!
Today (Sunday) we started out by driving around the residential areas on the outskirts of Memphis. It was interesting because there would be a broken down house right next to a large mansion. Also, there are very poor sections of Memphis that back up to some of the wealthiest neighborhoods. At one point, one of the wealthy neighborhoods tried to build a wall completely around their development... to separate themselves from the areas of lower-economic housing... they had completed about 3/4 of their wall before the government stopped them.
We spent the rest of Sunday at the National Civil Rights Museum. I was extremely impressed with this museum! I had studied civil rights in school many times, but the experience of seeing video clips, hearing radio snippets, viewing photos, and reading actual letters/newspaper articles was far more impacting than anything I had ever read in a textbook. I learned so much! We spent hours walking through the museum. The museum is attached to the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and assassinated. The part of the museum about MLK's death was extremely depressing... I felt very emotional walking through that exhibit.
I would highly recommend that anyone interested in civil rights or studying the civil rights movement, visit this museum! It is very educational. Teachers- if you can, take your students to National Civil Rights Museum! To learn more about the museum click here.
Tomorrow morning I leave Memphis and fly home to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I am sad to leave... I will miss Dixie and Donna so much! Though, I am also looking forward to being home for a week or so! I have been traveling a lot lately.
Sincerely,
Jessica Rimington
