Day 21: July 3, 2019 Memphis Sidetrack Comment via blog

Prev Next

As I searched online for some place to eat, I stumbled on the fact that I was actually pretty close to a blues museum in Memphis that I'd been meaning to visit. Why not now, I asked myself and myself had no answer. I probably once knew that my target museum and the Arcade Restaurant wer practically neighbors but this morning it came as something of a surprise. Despite having eaten at the Arcade barely two months ago, I decided to do it again. This time I tried the sweet potato pancakes and added a little to the wear on the counter.

I recall being in Memphis when the Blues Hall of Fame was set to open but can neither remember nor uncover the details. I do know that I did not get inside then and have been looking forward to it ever since. There is an actual hall here where the inductees are listed but the real attraction is, of course, the artifacts. That blue jacket in the third picture is from Muddy Waters' 1982 tour. The white hat in that same picture belonged to Willie Dixon and shares a case with his handwritten lyrics to Hey Hey Pretty Mamma. Other pictures show some things associated with Johnny Winter and Eddie "The Chief" Clearwater and Otis Spann's piano.

When I left the Hall of Fame, I grabbed a picture of the plaque because it references the Blues Hall of Fame, the neon sign because it references Memphis music, and the street car just because.

The National Civil Rights Museum was only about a block off of my path back to the car. Jaqueline Smith, the Lorraine's last resident, continues her protest and it's difficult to disagree with her (that there is a more practical use for the motel) but it is also difficult to ignore the museum.

I've passed several of these signs marking Tennessee's first road but they've slipped by before I could catch them. It appears the State Route 1 has largely been converted to US-70. I moved back onto I-40 shortly after encountering a little rain about ten miles from Nashville but that wasn't the reason. It's a move I had planned when I had thoughts of making it home today. The time I spent in Memphis caused those thoughts to fade and they completely vanished in this accident triggered traffic jam near Goodlettesville on I-65. It would be another night and day before I reached home. That day even included taking in the Fourth of July parade in Lexington, Kentucky, but I considered the road trip officially ended when I pulled into a motel just north of the Kentucky line.

[Prev] [Site Home] [Trip Home] [Contact] [Next]

democrat