Chris' birthday fell on the Saturday that we were in Memphis and he wanted to check out some blues music on Beale Street. Since it's right off of the Mississippi, Beale Street was originally established as a main commerce strip around the mid-nineteenth century. Even back then, black musicians played on Beale, and eventually it became the major center of blues music. Also, pretty impressive for the deep south, many of the businesses on the street were owned by African Americans over the last 130 years.
Nowadays, Beale is a tourist strip which features large neon signs naming various blues bars and even a Wet Willies. I thought it might be a bit South Beach, but fortunately it had a character all its own that was enjoyable. A few blocks are roped off so that you can wander the streets as drunk as you like. They sell "big ass beers" on the street in gigantic cups. A la NYC subway style, little boys tumbled down the street for money and the entertainment of gawking tourists. We went to a place called Mr. Handy's Blues Hall to see an old dude and his eclectic band perform, Dr. Feel Good and Potts Band. It was fun and bluesy, and I was really into the Asian guitarist with long hair and Bret Michaels bandana.
I drank too much, started in on the $2 jello shots and wandered about. That's when I made a friend, Disco Felix, a comedian (below). He told me some amusing jokes, none of which I remember. Beale had a really mixed crowd racially, but it was mostly black. There were these sheets hanging, spray painted with Memphis images in front of which a photographer would take your picture and print it out on the spot. I, of course, wanted one, and I waited a good half hour, made friends with a dude who was definitely on the DL and got one of the funniest pics of my life. I'll share later once I find a scanner.
After many drinks we ate some ribs at a place called Miss Polly's Soul City Cafe. It was scrumptious.
That last picture down there is for my brother. In Miami, our mannequins have gigantic boobs, but in Memphis, they have humungous booties. Either way, extremely amusing.
After sitting in traffic for an hour and a half we made our way to Memphis. Nashville is more of a traditional American city in the sense that it's attractive, livable, there's stuff to do and it has it's own character and also the character of a typical U.S. city. Memphis, though, is a southern city. From the first houses I saw off the highway, I recognized The South. This is to me a fabulous thing. It seems to have a thicker personality than southern cities back east. I'll try and describe the vibe through my next few posts.
Because I didn't want to end up hanging myself from the rafters in sadness, we ended the day at Sun Studio which is where Elvis first cut a record. For $12 they show you around the studio, and it's worth it because it's such a historic place. It's on the National Register of Historic Places. One anecdote told to us by the cute, blond tour guide with a chest tattoo that said "Honky Tonk Girl," was that Bob Dylan came in recently just to kiss the X on the ground that marks where Elvis stood when he first recorded a hit song. 
If you guys were wondering what about my mode of transport, please check out that black beauty below. That's my mom's Saturn station wagon. It is hungry for gas. Compared to my Toyota Camry, it might as well be an SUV. As you can see, I by chance ended up in the 69 space right here in Chattanooga- radical! On our way from Orlando to Swanee, GA, where we rested our heads, we checked out the 
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