Walking in Memphis

I always try to explore cities I've never been to by taking a long walk or run around the downtown on my first day there. So it was that a couple of Sunday mornings ago at 7:00 AM I slipped out of my hotel room without waking the family to grab some coffee and go walking in Memphis.

I wish, like Marc Cohn's song, that my feet could have been 10 feet off of Beale, because then the few people who were roaming the streets at that early hour wouldn't have been able to hit me up for money. It was a sad, unsettling experience.


Despite seeing several signs discouraging people to give money to the homeless, I handed out a few dollars. It felt like paying a toll.


Five seconds after I took this picture, a decked-out roadie cruised his bike through the fountains to cool off. It would have been a gorgeous photo but you'll have to use your imagination. Another near miss. "Wide Right" might be the title of my autobiography.


You can just feel the jazz and blues hanging in the air on Beale Street. Seems like it would be cool to spend a night wandering from bar to bar and soaking it all in.


This blues band's favorite song seemed to be, "Put a Dollar in Our Damn Bucket."


Home of the Memphis Redbirds by night and lots of guys who wanted money from me by day.


Parking might be the most fun you can have on a Sunday morning in Memphis. From what I could see, very few people were venturing outside. They all seemed to be gathering for breakfast in their hotel lobbies. I saw no coffee shops or diners open downtown.

Memphis seems to be trying — there are lots of new developments ranging from stadiums to art galleries — but the city still has work to do. Honestly, it was a good feeling to have a full tank of gas and Memphis in my rearview mirror. But not before a stop at Graceland...