Today was very special for me as I finally got to go for a ride along the Cumberland river on a paddle steamer, something I’ve always wanted to do. The General Gordon looked just like the vessel in the musical “Showboat”. The old-time gamblers and their elegant ladies are long gone, but it’d be nice to think their spirits still grace the saloons. We got a meal and a show as part of our deal, and Lady Luck was smiling on us as we got the best seats in the Victorian Theatre - centre balcony at the front. We enjoyed our buffet food while the performers put on a great show. Then we had another 90 minutes to enjoy the rest of the ride and take in the beautiful scenery. Fantastic!
The day was hot but just as we left the boat the heavens opened. Mike drove in the pouring rain as we were now heading for the inspiration for the title of this blog - Memphis! I don’t know how he did it as conditions were awful for quite some time. Suddenly the rain just stopped and it was boiling hot again. I was so excited to be going to Memphis, the epitome of cool, and Graceland, but once again I was due for a bit of an upset - I never learn 😕
When we arrived at our motel we had misgivings: it looked scruffy ( echoes of Econolodge) and the other clientele were unprepossessing, to say the least. Not at all cool. Our room had a locked adjoining door, and we could hear loud male voices, which made us nervous. Then at about 11pm, there was knocking on our door, and a female voice claiming to be from reception said she wanted to check on a possible flood from upstairs coming into our bathroom. We opened the door and she marched in, and it was blatantly obvious she wasn’t from reception at all, as she moved all round the room very quickly and looked closely at what we had lying around. I don’t know if she had plans on lifting something herself or telling someone else who might want to break in later. We got rid of her ( I had to use a bit of my Ramsgate voice, that seemed to help) and didn’t hang around- we packed up straight away and drove to the Holiday Inn down the road, where fortunately there was still a room free, 😅 so we’re staying here for 2 nights instead.
Ah well, Graceland tomorrow- that’s got to be a bit of a treat all the same.