Monday we walked down to the riverfront before getting on a
tour bus in the afternoon. The city has done a good job of interpreting its
riverfront and, of course, there is one of the great rivers of the world before
you.
Then back to the hotel to pick up our tour. The frontline
tour company for the city was booked (the cost of spontaniety). So the
concierge booked us with Blues City Tours. The tour was OK, but not much more
than that.
That evening we went back to Beale Street to B. B. King’s
Blues Club. Gotta say that Beale Street rocks. Music pours from every crevice,
sometimes cacophany, sometimes in harmony. It’s cool. Images barely convey the
energy. On a Monday night, the club offered two house bands, Memphis Jones and
the B.B. King’s Blues Club All Star Band. Both were good, a solid notch up from
what we had seen the night before. Just after they came on stage, the All Stars
welcomed the Reverend Jesse Jackson. We had not known he was in town, but it
was no surprise, since Monday was the 48th anniversary of the
slaying of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (See previous entry), and he was there
to lay the wreath. It was a nice highlight to end a low-key day and just after he left we
walked back three blocks to our hotel, The Peabody.
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| The riverfront area has a nice array of buildings dating back to mid-late 19th century. Some are in nice repair, some less so these are a couple of the nicer early buildings. |
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| This Cotton Exchange building dates only to the 1930s |
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| Two views of the American Queen, which still plies the river carrying passengers |
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| Downtown from the river |
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| A reminder that this is still a working river |
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| Dinner at BB King's |
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| Memphis Jones, musician, rock historian and preacher |
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| The BB King Blues Club All Stars |
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| Rev. Jackson. |
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