(A side note about the Mississippi: Our travels for the last few days has led us
away from the river: Once because of
construction and other times because the interstate was the chosen route. I never thought I would miss the River. But, I did!
It felt good to be back on its banks!)
What do you do when you are in Memphis? Our answer is “Beale Street”. While we have
an afternoon scheduled on Beale Street, we chose to go in right after we
arrived. Beale Street at mid-day is not
the Beale Street that we like. In the
light of day all of the low points of “the street”, its foibles, frailties and
flaws are more than obvious. At night,
the lights, the frenzy and all of the music hide it all. It looks and feels so much better at night! So, both Saturday and Sunday nights we have visited
Beale Street. And listened and danced to a
great blues guitarist and a fantastic Jerry Lee Lewis tribute band.
On Sunday, we wanted to find a brunch with some music. It was harder than I thought to find a
non-buffet brunch at a reasonable cost with music. But, I did find it, at Bosco Squared. The blues were great and the omelets were,
too! As were the mimosas! We also had a chance to attend church at the
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, cathedral of the diocese of Memphis,
home parish to Priscilla Presley when she first moved to Memphis and the
location of Danny Thomas’ funeral. It is
a spectacular church. I can’t quite
describe how it moved me. It was not of
the grand scale of the large cathedrals in St. Paul, MN and St. Louis, MO. It was not the spectacular craftsmanship of
the St. Louis mosaics. But, it was such a
large open altar area, one that draws you in the moment you enter the
doors. It has a great mural of the
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. It
just seemed so comforting, welcoming and calming. I was enthralled with it and its beauty.
The afternoon was spent at the campground listening to a
group of bluegrass musicians. They were
invited in to the campground especially on the weekend that our group was
visiting. Great way to spend a pleasant
afternoon sitting on the banks of the Mississippi watching the barges and tow
boats go by and listening to music, while sitting in the sun and enjoying the
spectacular fall day.
All in all Memphis delivered the music we wanted!
As always, there will be more to come sometime soon!
