Day 13: New Orleans > Memphis

We thought that leaving NOLA would afford us relief from the heat and humidity. This was only half right. The humidity was no longer unbearable. The heat, on the other hand, was horrible. It seemed like a band of heat had parked itself along the entire length of the Mississippi River. We were stuck in it given that this is the route we were taking north.

Adler in the orange t-shirt and Giant's hat

By the time we checked into the hotel the evening was fast approaching. As luck would have it our hotel was adjacent to the Peabody Hotel. The Peabody is famous for its resident ducks that live their. In the 1930s a group of men returned from a hunting trip and after a lot of whiskey decided it would be funny to put their live duck decoys in the fountain. They started a tradition that is still in place today. At 11 am each morning the ducks come down the elevator from their room upstairs and waddle down the red carpet to spend the day swimming in the lobby fountain. At 5 pm the reverse of the procession occurs. We arrived fifteen minutes early thinking that we'd catch a good spot. Think again. There were more than 800 people lined up to watch the duck procession. Thankfully they let kids have a front row seat on the red carpet and Adler got a great vantage point for the duck march.

Beale Street before dark

We then walked down to Beale Street famous for its blues clubs and restaurants. At night the street glows with activity from the neon signs at every store, club, and restaurant. Not exactly the place for a young kid but we found an old-fashioned soda fountain at A. Schwab for some cool and refreshing beverages. At the Welcome to Las Vegas sign there was an Elvis impersonator and I tried to explain who he was but Adler was curious if he died why he was standing next to us. So I opted not to visit Graceland. But everywhere you go in Memphis you're reminded about Elvis.

Big Bass Pro Shop

There is a Bass Pro Shop (BPS) in Memphis which is probably the biggest BPS in the world. I enticed Lisa and Adler to walk down the Mississippi River to see it. The walk looked shorter on the map but was actually 1.5 miles without any trees to shade us from the heat. Adler was not enjoying it. Eventually we arrived at the Pyramid which feels like the same size as the Luxor in Vegas. Going inside you learn that this mecca to outdoor activities even has its own hotel. Inside though, is a pond with live fish, ducks, and an alligator. There is a large aquarium and enough taxidermy wildlife to fill a small zoo. Two floors of merchandise, restaurants. It is utterly amazing. And if all of that isn't enough there is an elevator that takes you to the observation deck at the top of the pyramid. It's unlike any place we'd ever been.

Posing with a large brown bear

From there we took a car to Gus's Fried Chicken to judge if it was the world's best fried chicken. We entered and selected our own table each covered with checkered tablecloths. For an appetizer we ordered fried okra that was cut into bite sized pieces and served with a ranch dipping sauce. It wasn't anything special. Then it was time for the real deal. I ordered the three piece dark meat while Lisa and Adler shared four chicken tenders. Both of our meals came with coleslaw and baked beans. The chicken is advertised as hot and spicy. My chicken wasn't hot but did have a nice spice kick to it. Even so used the Louisiana Hot Sauce on the table to provide more of kick. The chicken tenders were enormous and probably better than my dark meat. Can I make better fried chicken? Yes. Have I eaten better fried chicken? Yes. Purists will probably argue otherwise but there are many different ways to fry chicken. Gus's interpretation was just one way to make it. They've selected one thing and do it really well. It was good but not transformative. But it was a solid meal for a cheap price and their canned beers were amazingly cold. I would return.

Outside Gus's