Weekend Visitors!

So Saturday morning brought our very first house guests...MY SISTERS!

I was so happy to see them and to try to show them around Memphis.  We all know I am not too great with directions, so TRY we did.

Saturday after they changed out of their traveling clothes we loaded back into the car to head to see my new office, grab some lunch at a Memphis favorite, and then see what else I could stumble upon on the way.

As my life goes, none of the plan actually worked out.  The gate to St. Jude that I normally go through was closed and I didn't know how to get to the others.  The line for Gus' Fried Chicken was wrapped around the buliding and Jess and Al's rumbling tummy's, which were on Eastern time, could not stand to wait. So, after a brief,  arm crossing, foot stomping pout, I put on my Polly Anna tour guide smile and attempted to navigate to an alternative.

We ended up parking downtown and set out on foot to see what we could find.  1st bonus, we happened to park right next to the Gibson guitar factory and museum, of course I totally meant to do that... We wandered to Beale street in search of some kind of local deliciousness.  We walked up and down and then around and back down probably walking 24 miles in the same 5 block area before deciding on Huey's.  It was absolutely fantastic.  Believe me and if you go, get the sweet potato fries.  They are amazing. Not kidding, TRY THEM!

Then we headed to a place called Wet Willie's for some refreshing frozen cocktails.  I had the Pink Flamingo, a mix of strawbery and pina colada.  Al had the Easter Egg, which she kept saying tasted like fruit rollup, and Jess had a fresh fruit strawberry daiquiri.  Dear Chattanooga, I am sorry to report this is better than The Big Chill. 

Next, we took our drinks and started walking to the world famous Peabody Hotel to see the march of the ducks.  We got there 30 minutes early, but due to the heat and the holiday weekend, the lobby surrounding the fountain was packed with children and their fanny pack clad parents.  We took the stairs and got a pretty good viewing spot from the balcony to wait for the march to begin. 

For those not familiar with the ducks, they march from their rooftop home down a red carpet into the lobby and swim around a giant fountain for the amusement of the guests twice a day.  They are super cute and very well trained. For Rikki, they only work in this environment and then are released into a sanctuary to live out the remainder of their little ducky lives, so don't worry.

That night after a brief shower and change we went to grab some yummy dinner with RJ's parents at Central BBQ and then called it a night for some much needed rest.

Sunday we crossed our fingers, prayed for some luck and headed to Tunica to visit the casinos.  No one did too well.  Alex and RJ lost all their money, Jessica faired a little better and I broke even.  But, hey we got some free drinks and an afternoon worth of entertainment.

That night we headed back to Beale street where we drank the famous Diver out of a bucket from Silky O'Sullivan's, had jello shots out of giant plastic syringes, and somehow managed to get into some VIP third floor dance club. We all had an absolute blast!

So that was my looooooong weekend.  I recovered by falling asleep somewhere around 8:00 last night and completely missed all the fireworks.

Oh well, I've got plenty of sparklers for tonight! Happy belated birthday America?