Memphis, Tennessee, is the city that riverboats, B.B. King and Blues Music and Elvis Presley and Rock and Roll Music built.
In addition to ocean cruises, river cruises are a large part of my and B. J.’s travel adventures. However, until the past week, we had never cruised the Mississippi on a genuine Mississippi River paddle wheeler. Memphis would be the place.
James Boyd
Memphis
We arrived in Memphis early allowing time before the cruise to take the historic downtown trolley tour. Before that, though, we visited the Elvis Presley/B.B. King Museum dedicated to Elvis and B.B. King on the bank of the Mississippi River; it was awesome. We had visited Graceland on a previous trip.
After the museum, we made our way to the trolley stop, within walking distance, for our tour of downtown Memphis. We wanted to exit the trolley, do a walking tour of Main Street and dine at the world famous B. B. King Blues Club and listen to the music and be back in time to board the Island Queen.
Riding the ancient trolley through downtown Memphis is a fun-filled event. As we traversed the historic city, we were whisked back in time. Memphis is beautiful and enchanting.
Downtown Memphis is the oldest part of the city and includes the riverfront and bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. The founders of Memphis dedicated the riverfront to the public “now and forever” for as long as the public use continued.
The land overlooking the riverfront was originally planned to become a “public promenade” to be called Mississippi Row. The upper riverfront became the site of the river landing where steamboats were loaded with cotton and other goods in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
B. J. and I got off the trolley at a scenic stop on Main Street about a block from B. B. King’s Blues Club. We would sit for a while in this celebrated place and savor some of B. B. King’s favorite dishes while listening the best of Memphis Music.
We were thrilled as we entered the popular Blues Club. The lights were dim and the beguiling music and tantalizing aroma of cooking food whetted our appetite to no end.
We were cordially escorted to a choice table right in front of the stage. There could not have been a better location. We were keyed up and hungry.
We were presented with menus. I ordered the Mississippi River Catfish Po Boy and B. J. got a whopping chilidog. Since there would be food on the Island Queen, we would probably over-indulge.
Our lunch at the B.B. King Blues Club replete with “Rhythm and Blues” was stimulating. The Catfish Po Boy and B. J.’s hot dog stuffed us.
After lunch, we took a short walking tour of Main Street, stopped in some shops and returned to the trolley stop to catch the trolley to the boat landing. Our conductor would drop us off within two blocks of our paddle wheeler, the Island Queen.
When we returned to the landing, the adorable Island Queen was taking on passengers. We purchased our tickets, went aboard and found choice seats on the bow where we would have a great view of the mighty Mississippi as we cruised along. We were right next to the stairs that descended to the dining room. We liked that.
We chatted with some of our fellow passengers for a while. Shortly, our captain eased the boat away from its moorings and toward the big Mississippi. B. J. and I tingled with anticipation--a long time dream was being fulfilled.
We had fun. We cruised the Mississippi, both on the Tennessee side and the Arkansas side, aboard the authentic paddle wheeler for a momentous tour that conjured up visions of the river’s golden years, the years Mark Twain celebrated in his writings. From the Island Queen, we saw the Memphis Pyramid and the Mud Island River Park while the friendly crew made sure that we had a fun time.
After our fantastic river cruise, we mounted Big Red, who was having a ball, and crossed the Mississippi on I-40 and headed for Little Rock in the foothills of the Ozarks where we would spend the night.
After the museum, we made our way to the trolley stop, within walking distance, for our tour of downtown Memphis. We wanted to exit the trolley, do a walking tour of Main Street and dine at the world famous B. B. King Blues Club and listen to the music and be back in time to board the Island Queen.
Riding the ancient trolley through downtown Memphis is a fun-filled event. As we traversed the historic city, we were whisked back in time. Memphis is beautiful and enchanting.
Downtown Memphis is the oldest part of the city and includes the riverfront and bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. The founders of Memphis dedicated the riverfront to the public “now and forever” for as long as the public use continued.
The land overlooking the riverfront was originally planned to become a “public promenade” to be called Mississippi Row. The upper riverfront became the site of the river landing where steamboats were loaded with cotton and other goods in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
B. J. and I got off the trolley at a scenic stop on Main Street about a block from B. B. King’s Blues Club. We would sit for a while in this celebrated place and savor some of B. B. King’s favorite dishes while listening the best of Memphis Music.
We were thrilled as we entered the popular Blues Club. The lights were dim and the beguiling music and tantalizing aroma of cooking food whetted our appetite to no end.
We were cordially escorted to a choice table right in front of the stage. There could not have been a better location. We were keyed up and hungry.
We were presented with menus. I ordered the Mississippi River Catfish Po Boy and B. J. got a whopping chilidog. Since there would be food on the Island Queen, we would probably over-indulge.
Our lunch at the B.B. King Blues Club replete with “Rhythm and Blues” was stimulating. The Catfish Po Boy and B. J.’s hot dog stuffed us.
After lunch, we took a short walking tour of Main Street, stopped in some shops and returned to the trolley stop to catch the trolley to the boat landing. Our conductor would drop us off within two blocks of our paddle wheeler, the Island Queen.
When we returned to the landing, the adorable Island Queen was taking on passengers. We purchased our tickets, went aboard and found choice seats on the bow where we would have a great view of the mighty Mississippi as we cruised along. We were right next to the stairs that descended to the dining room. We liked that.
We chatted with some of our fellow passengers for a while. Shortly, our captain eased the boat away from its moorings and toward the big Mississippi. B. J. and I tingled with anticipation--a long time dream was being fulfilled.
We had fun. We cruised the Mississippi, both on the Tennessee side and the Arkansas side, aboard the authentic paddle wheeler for a momentous tour that conjured up visions of the river’s golden years, the years Mark Twain celebrated in his writings. From the Island Queen, we saw the Memphis Pyramid and the Mud Island River Park while the friendly crew made sure that we had a fun time.
After our fantastic river cruise, we mounted Big Red, who was having a ball, and crossed the Mississippi on I-40 and headed for Little Rock in the foothills of the Ozarks where we would spend the night.
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