Friday, November 5, 2021

West Memphis, Tennessee-Arkansaw Tom Sawyer RV Park 11/05 - 11/07/2021 Travel Tour

                                        From: casarollnotes.blogspot.com                                                                                                            Tim and Linda Bunyan

Tom Sawyer RV Park is located across the Mississippi River from Memphis in West Memphis, Arkansaw.  2 nights $40/night full hookup.  We arrived in Memphis and crossed the Mississippi to our Tom Sawyer RV Park campsite.




We set out to see the Ducks at the Peabody Memphis!

Union Ave. Contrary to popular belief, Union Avenue's name has nothing to do with the Civil War.  The street was the southern boundary of Memphis until 1850 when the city consolidated with the rival city of South Memphis.  The street was named to commemorate the union of the two cities.




National Register of Historic Places.
Peabody Lobby: The Mississippi Delta begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel and ends on Catfish Row in Vicksburg.  If you stand near its fountain in the middle of the lobby, where the ducks waddle, you will see everybody who is anybody in the Delta.  The world-famous Peabody Duck March takes place daily at 11am and 5pm in the Grand Lobby.

    When it is off-duty the ducks live in their Royal Duck Palace on the hotel's rooftop.       The Hotel holds many memories and history elegantly blending the city's rich history with modern amenities for an unforgettable experience.
In the first half of the 20th century, it was customary for luxury hotels to have their name emblazoned on everything from china and silverware to towels and toiletries.  Silver-soldered and Sterling silver flatware and serving pieces were created for the hotel by the International Silver Company.
Menu sample: French Fried Potatoes, Chef's Salad French or 1000 Island Dressing, French Pastry or Individual Baked Alaska.  Broiled Filet MIgnon, Fresh Mushroom Sauce $5.00, Fresh Brook Trout Saute, Amandine.
Honeymoon Suite Key 1958   
Square Grand Piano custom made for Francis Scott Key (circa 1838 with rosewood.

Rose Elizabeth is 3 months old.      Just across the street, down the short alley is the famous Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous Circa-1948 BBQ sport in a basement serving up racks of ribs and sausages cooked over charcoal.  For over 75 years, the Vergos family has been serving their signature dry rub ribs in a basement through a downtown alley across from the Peabody Hotel.....and while the world outside has changed considerably, very little has changed in that magical basement.


The Cotton Museum is a historical and cultural museum that opened in 2006 on the former trading floor of the Memphis Cotton Exchange.
Touted from its early days in the 1820's when as many as 500 flatboats a day moored at the cobblestones that banked the Mississippe River.  Memphis has long been a regional cotton market and home to many cotton-related businesses.


Today more than 8 out of every 10 consumers recognize the Seal of Cotton.  Cotton can be found on store shelves of more than 600 companies that carry cotton appeal and home furnishings.

The University of Memphis is a public research university located in downtown Memphis.  Founded in 1912 with an enrollment of more than 22,000 students.

"The Great American Pyramid" The Memphis Bass Pro Shop the 32-story steel Pyramid houses the Big Cypress Lodge hotel, restaurants, multiple aquariums, waterfalls, a cave, a bowling alley, live alligators, and a cypress swamp containing 'nearly 600,000 gallons fo water.



Grandpa Tim hunted for a jacket.  The perfect lavender down jacket for Grand Daughter Rose Elizabeth, now nearly 4 months old.
Neon within the store.

Stax (Est. 1957) is synonymous with Southern soul music.  

Otis Redding, Rufas and Carla Thomas, Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, Alb ert King.

Struggling from a backstreet garage (1957) to become a multi-million organization.
Stax Music Academy exists to nurture and present the next generation of great soul communicators.

Booker T. and the MGs (an interracial instrumental quartet that served as the company's rhythm section and house band).  Stax Records is critical to American music history as it's one of the most popular soul music record labels of all time....second only to Motown in sales and influence.
Isaac Hayes spawned a new crop of hit-makers.  (1977)

Down around the corner, we realized we had reached an area of town that holds the Lorraine Motel with its stylized exterior, the Lorraine was also the site of important history.  The motel became a destination for blacks and appeared in the Negro Motorists Green Book or "Green Guide" which welcomed black travelers.  The Lorraine Motel was forever etched in America's collective memory with the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. 
Street side mural



sites around town
SUN Studios
A recording studio opened by rock-and-roll pioneer Sam Phillips On Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee 1950.  Musical legends of the 50's from B.B. King and Elvis Presley to Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis; from Blues and Gospel to Country and Rock 'n' roll.  The museum spreads the story of Memphis' history and culture through the music that put Memphis on the map.
Memphis Recording Service SUN RECORDS - National Historic Landmark


S
Sidewalk Marker 

It is time to say goodbye to the historical, enchanting Memphis, Tennessee to cross the Mighty Mississippi for our last night at Tom Sawyer RV Park.   Then we are off to 
Moussouri to visit our SYC friends who have recently relocated north 168 miles to West Plaines. MO



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