Blogging today comes from the Ramada Motel in Marietta, in the outskirts of Atlanta Georgia. We have some 4,000 miles on the clock now.
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Hot, steamy weather; occasional heavy downfalls; BBQ pork a local favourite; a grand old hotel; rickety old trams; a rowdy bar and entertainment district; neon signs. Memphis should be twinned with Hong Kong.
We caught three blues bands - one at Morgan Freeman's joint, one in the park, and one superb band in the Rum Boogie bar, which has hundred of signed guitars suspended from the ceiling.
Mrs H and I invested significant time in learning about the struggle for civil rights in the US and were deeply touched by a museum on the site of Martin Luther King's assassination.
On a lighter note - this might make our parents jealous - we also visited the birthplace of rock n'roll, Sun Studios, where we learned about the discovery of Mssrs. E. Presley, J.Lee Lewis, B.B. King, J. Cash, and many others. Listening to Elvis' first ever recording, along with "Great Balls of Fire", in the original studio were notable highlights.
And we swung by Graceland to pay our respects to the King. We took some tips for our future home - in particular green shag carpet, for the floors, wall and ceiling. "Uh huh!"
One unusual Memphis event is the procession of the ducks at the Peabody Hotel. At 9am each day, five mallards arrive in an elevator and waddle across a red carpet into the fountain in the lobby where they spend the day splashing about. At 5pm - in front of throngs of tourists - they waddle back to the elevator and up to their "palace" on the roof.



