Memphis Thanksgiving

Continuing our new tradition of making Thanksgiving a vacation trip, Ruthie and I drove north to Memphis on Wednesday, the 25th to spend two nights at the famous Peabody Hotel. It was a fine, easy drive of slightly over 3 hours on a clear, cool day. We made it to Memphis in plenty of time to visit some friends from my aircraft parts manager days, and I was able to finally see a friend I've known for over 25 years but have only spoken to on the telephone.

At the hotel we watched the Peabody Ducks do their daily elevator ride from the fountain in the lobby to their accomodations on the rooftop. The ducks' schedule happened to coincide with a nice sunset view of the Mississippi River.

Later that evening, we scouted out the Beale Street situation. There weren't many people out, though most everything was open. We made our way back to the alley where hides the home of the world-famous Rendezvous Ribs. With no waiting for a table, we enjoyed ribs and a pitcher of beer while watching the entertaining wait staff.

I was up early the next morning for a short run down to Lee Park by the river. It was cold and windy, but great fun, as always, running a new route in a memorable venue.

Our Thanksgiving meal was the grand buffet on the mezzanine at the Peabody. As we had hoped, there were all kinds of delicious items lined up around the rail in the hotel's beatiful silver. From scrambled eggs to prime rib, nearly anything you could imagine was there to choose from. We enjoyed Mimosas, champagne and coffee with our feast, and Ruthie inspected both huge tables full of dozens of dessert options. I think she fell just short of sampling everything available, and proclaimed each extra delicious!

We spent the evening at my friend Greg's home and enjoyed a light dose of turkey and some other interesting dishes. Back at the hotel, we watched more food in the movie Julie and Julia, a nice story if you are a fan of Julia Child or Meryl Streep.

Before heading home Friday we stopped at Macy's for a while, then pointed the truckster south and arrived back home before dark after another great holiday vacation.