Peter left for Guatemala on a Mission Trip with our church, and I had the week off to be with the kidlets. I debated what to do with them, where to go, maybe a couple of day trips. But ultimately, I decided to explore our fair city with them. Things would be less crowded on weekdays, and I'd let them make the itinerary. This idea became even more brilliant when we learned we'd be moving away from Memphis at the end of August. All the more reason to take in the sights before we left. The Newtons met us on a couple of the days, which was fantastic. The girls got to hang out with Sage, I got to hang out with Jen and baby Hazel.
The girls really wanted to go roller skating, which wasn't a Memphis-specific event, but something they wanted to do. It had been a good 20 or more years since I was on roller skates, but I rocked the rink after a few wobbly turns around the place. The girls all eased into it, too, and did quite well. I feel really old even thinking this, but goodness, the music the kids listen to these days is just nauseating. Either sugary-sweet or crazy-skanky, but all repetitious and processed and, ugh. I longed for the "Oh Mickey" days of old. Would a little "When Doves Cry" have killed 'em? Jeez. In any case, we had a blast.
Mud Island was great--insanely hot. Jen sent me a text later that night saying the heat index had been around 112. We're such good moms for getting our kids out in that weather! In our defense, they were wading/swimming in the water and fountains the whole time. We took 'em all to Beale Street, to A Schwabs and to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. My kids' disturbing affinity for the Justin Bieber song at the roller skating rink was redeemed a little by their excitement at seeing the U2/Bono memorabilia at the Hard Rock.
One morning, we went to the Dixon Art Gallery. The kids went on an art scavenger hunt, provided by the nice docent at the front desk, and sketched their own drawings inspired by some of the gallery's collection. We met the Newtons afterwards at the Botanic Gardens for lunch at the cafe (seriously yum) and some big-time play-time at My Big Backyard. The Farmer's Market there is top-notch as well, and we were introduced to the best Italian ice ever, as well as natural honey sticks we couldn't get enough of. Saw the sign about wine-and-tapas night, a few quick calls later and Jen secured a babysitter for all the kids so we could return later that night for grown-ups-night-out. Fantastic!
Other requests from Molly & Rebecca were the Fire Museum & The Civil Rights Museum. Another great day downtown. We rode the Main Street Trolley from one to the other.
Spent one morning at Sun Studios, learning more about the Elvis legacy in our city, listening to some great old grainy tracks, and posing with the microphone both Elvis and Bono used when recording there. We had lunch in a train car at the Spaghetti Warehouse. That night, took all three kids to see Mary Poppins on the big screen at the Orpheum. Despite multiple trips out for the bathroom, we made it through the movie.
We headed down to Autozone Park for the Memphis Redbirds game. Our kids were the stars of the show--Molly got to deliver the game balls to the home plate umpire at the beginning of the game, and Rebecca participated in a promotion for a dental insurance company by dressing up as the tooth fairy, who uses a giant toothbrush to "clean" the bases between innings. They "called" the game from the Fantasy Radio booth with Papa. To top it off, Redbirds won with a walk-off homerun!
We were all wiped out after our Staycation, maybe even more than after a vacation, but my appreciation for what Memphis has to offer is multiplied, and we have lots of memories and pictures to treasure as we leave the city for new adventures!
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