ScottM
Taxi to Parking
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- Jul 19, 2005
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iBazinga!
Headed of to Blues city for a few days of music and relaxation. I decided to fly to M01. This airport is just north of the city and is named after a WW2 Gen. Dewitt Spain. It is a vibrant GA airport right on the Mississippi river. I flew in VFR and without asking the fine folks at the Memphis TRACON told me cleared into the bravo so that even though M01 is just under a 1800 MSL shelf I could still stay a bit higher and in the smooth air.
Upon arrival there was plenty of tiedown spaces and several offers to give me a tow to fuel and then back to parking. But I just parked and would get fuel before I left. There is no tie down charge unless you stay for more than 9 days and it is easy to get a cheap cab ride into downtown.
I stayed in a hotel across the street from the famous Peabody hotel. But I cannot recommend it. I got it off of Orbitz and they called it a 3-star but it was more like a 1-star. The first room had no AC and this was a problem considering the temps were in the high 90's with 60% humidity. 2nd room toilets over flowed, but the third room was a sorta charm. That was until I found the beer cap in my bed. So I had house cleaning come back in and re-clean. I was looking to save a couple of bucks and I paid dearly for that. Next time I go back to my 5-star tastes and stay at the Peabody. There were a couple of other hotels, Doubletree, Hampton Suites, etc. that looked much better.
Day one started with a walk down Union st to the Sun Records. This is the place where rock and roll was invented. In this studio Johnny Cash, Wilson Pickett, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc. all recorded and many were discovered. The studio itself is very small but it is exactly how it was in the 1950's when those legends played there. During the tour I sang a little 'I walk the line' with a Johnny Cash instrumental track, stood where Elvis recorded his first song and had a very good time. Like most things in Memphis there will be a gift shop and I did buy some records (CDs) and a jacket.
The next day we headed out to Graceland. I am not an Elvis fan but I felt I had to see this place and was more than ready to be a smart ass and make fun of everything I saw. But it was actually a really neat tour. In spite of revisionist history about Elvis' demise and a complete refusal by anyone to admit that Elvis had several girlfriends that had lived there after Priscilla divorced him it was a good time.
Driving through those famous gates and then walking into the house was very cool. Once through the front door I knew that just above my head the "King" had died 29 years, 2 weeks, and 4 days ago on 16 August 1977. The house was pretty neat and you could see how Elvis needed this place to really get away from the fans. I did enjoy the jungle room and seeing his Grammies. The costumes were a little over the top for my tastes but his two airplanes were cool to tour. I spent a little over 5 hours there including lunch.
The next day was spent at the Civil Right Museum. This museum is built onto the old Lorianne hotel. That is the hotel that Martin Luther King was assassinated at. The museum is organized in chronological order and when I got the middle 1960's it no longer seemed like a history lesson. I started remembering the events I was reading about. The end of the museum walk is a surprise. You find yourself looking right into the room that MLK stayed at and right out the window onto the landing where he was killed. It was a powerful experience.
Another tour was the Gibson semi-hollow body (archtop) guitar factory tour. Very cool to see how they make them and we got a chance to play a few of the models.
Memphis is also the place for blues. We did spend a bit of time listening to some great bands and players. Beale st is great until about 9 or 10 then it tends to get a little crowded with drunken idiots. So we would bug out.
Some other things that we did was to see the ducks at the Peabody. Since the 1930s this hotel has had live ducks in the fountain. At 11am they march them down from the roof duck palace and through the lobby into the fountain. They reverse this at 5pm. It is great fun to watch them.
We also took a tour of the city in the DUCKs or DUKW WW2 amphibious vehicle. Also great fun and a good way to get the lay of the land.
Departure from M01 was easy. Again Memphis volunteered a class bravo clearance and a I took a straight north route to avoid conflicts with another airport that had some class D airspace.
Upon arrival there was plenty of tiedown spaces and several offers to give me a tow to fuel and then back to parking. But I just parked and would get fuel before I left. There is no tie down charge unless you stay for more than 9 days and it is easy to get a cheap cab ride into downtown.
I stayed in a hotel across the street from the famous Peabody hotel. But I cannot recommend it. I got it off of Orbitz and they called it a 3-star but it was more like a 1-star. The first room had no AC and this was a problem considering the temps were in the high 90's with 60% humidity. 2nd room toilets over flowed, but the third room was a sorta charm. That was until I found the beer cap in my bed. So I had house cleaning come back in and re-clean. I was looking to save a couple of bucks and I paid dearly for that. Next time I go back to my 5-star tastes and stay at the Peabody. There were a couple of other hotels, Doubletree, Hampton Suites, etc. that looked much better.
Day one started with a walk down Union st to the Sun Records. This is the place where rock and roll was invented. In this studio Johnny Cash, Wilson Pickett, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc. all recorded and many were discovered. The studio itself is very small but it is exactly how it was in the 1950's when those legends played there. During the tour I sang a little 'I walk the line' with a Johnny Cash instrumental track, stood where Elvis recorded his first song and had a very good time. Like most things in Memphis there will be a gift shop and I did buy some records (CDs) and a jacket.
The next day we headed out to Graceland. I am not an Elvis fan but I felt I had to see this place and was more than ready to be a smart ass and make fun of everything I saw. But it was actually a really neat tour. In spite of revisionist history about Elvis' demise and a complete refusal by anyone to admit that Elvis had several girlfriends that had lived there after Priscilla divorced him it was a good time.
Driving through those famous gates and then walking into the house was very cool. Once through the front door I knew that just above my head the "King" had died 29 years, 2 weeks, and 4 days ago on 16 August 1977. The house was pretty neat and you could see how Elvis needed this place to really get away from the fans. I did enjoy the jungle room and seeing his Grammies. The costumes were a little over the top for my tastes but his two airplanes were cool to tour. I spent a little over 5 hours there including lunch.
The next day was spent at the Civil Right Museum. This museum is built onto the old Lorianne hotel. That is the hotel that Martin Luther King was assassinated at. The museum is organized in chronological order and when I got the middle 1960's it no longer seemed like a history lesson. I started remembering the events I was reading about. The end of the museum walk is a surprise. You find yourself looking right into the room that MLK stayed at and right out the window onto the landing where he was killed. It was a powerful experience.
Another tour was the Gibson semi-hollow body (archtop) guitar factory tour. Very cool to see how they make them and we got a chance to play a few of the models.
Memphis is also the place for blues. We did spend a bit of time listening to some great bands and players. Beale st is great until about 9 or 10 then it tends to get a little crowded with drunken idiots. So we would bug out.
Some other things that we did was to see the ducks at the Peabody. Since the 1930s this hotel has had live ducks in the fountain. At 11am they march them down from the roof duck palace and through the lobby into the fountain. They reverse this at 5pm. It is great fun to watch them.
We also took a tour of the city in the DUCKs or DUKW WW2 amphibious vehicle. Also great fun and a good way to get the lay of the land.
Departure from M01 was easy. Again Memphis volunteered a class bravo clearance and a I took a straight north route to avoid conflicts with another airport that had some class D airspace.
