Saturday, June 10, 2006

Memphis Part 4

After the Children's Museum we went back to the hotel for another swim. Then it was on to downtown Memphis. I had heard of Beale street so this was our intended destination. We headed for downtown passing by a mansion that was previously owned by a cousin of Miss Sue's. We went down Madison to get us closer to town when we noticed a trolley station. Thinking it would be fun to ride the trolley we parked the car and walked to the middle of the road to catch the next trolley. After a few minutes it arrived.

Trolleys are a fascinating piece of work. They run off electricity from the cable above. They stay on the track. The driver can drive the trolley from both ends.

The worst of Memphis was previously mentioned. Here is the rest of the story. We had to get off the trolley to make a transfer on the the Riverside Loop. As soon as we stepped off the below gentleman went to work. What speaks tourist better than a video camara. He asked for me to take his picture, which I did. He then went on to tell us that he was from New Orleans. That he was now homeless, lost it all...which very well may be true. He wanted money...for food. We honestly did not have any...thankfully. We only had $2 in quarters which would be our fare back to the car. So we kindly told him. Then he went to guilt...I guess I won't get to eat lunch. His manner was of a total player. UGH. Then he went on his way.

A few minutes later a homeless drunk was passing by. He stopped and said I likened to his sista. He looked on for a moment then got teary eyed. He began to walk away and then turned to say something about the kids...about him having them and not doing it right. He never asked for money, just continued walking. Sadness and regret in his eyes. The riverside loop finally arrived. It was driven by a rude women, who had no tolerance. Her tone was short and mean. We didn't like her much. But the view on the loop was nice.

Here is a shot of the Mississippi River.

When the trolley came around to Beale Street we decided it was a place we didn't want to take the kids, be it daylight or not. So we headed back to the car. We had seen parts of Memphis, some we liked better than others. I would like to return someday with my hubby. He loves blues and I think we would enjoy Beale Street without the kids. Someday.

This is Panda Driven Mama saying so long Memphis...it's been fun.

4 comments:

Sooze said...

It's been so fun to see all the pictures that you have taken. We were just there in March to visit my brother and sister-n-law. (She works at St. Jude)

Did you go by yourself, with just the kids? If you did, I'm very impressed!

learner said...

Miss you when will you be back again can't wait to talk to you !

Christy said...

I am so sorry we didn't get to meet. Jeremy and I didn't get back until later and we drove 15 hrs the day we came home. I had to take time to get over that long journey... forgive me please. I hope you guys had a great time and all went well. Hope to hear from you soon!

Kellie said...

Nice car.