On the road again

...On the road again

Goin' places that I've never been.

Seein' things that I may never see again

And I can't wait to get on the road again....

- Willie Nelson, On the road again

the blues.

This photo has some real sentimental pull for me. First off, this was one of the few times I can remember not being afraid of what others were going to think of me when I took this shot. I got right up to the table and to the hostesses to get this shot. I felt like it was the "must take" shot for Beale Street on Memphis. I thought it was a very interesting way of reusing / up-cycling the neck of a guitar.

The real sentimental value in this photo though are the words. BLUES. I recently made a trip to the Twin Cities to visit family. While my grandfather has been gone for a little over a year, I always feel like I am waiting for him to sit down in his chair, pull out his atlas and start talking. He had all sorts of "grandpaisms," and I have to chuckle now when I find myself using some of his phrases. One of the many we were guaranteed to hear on any given visit was "You got the blues." He said it with such a sing-song manner, if you had the blues you couldn't help but to smile. Hence, when I saw this photo, I was reminded of him.

It's a great photo for the week because rainy, overcast weather seems to give so many of us the blues. It sure is amazing just how much a little sunshine can lighten the mood. I hope we will see some of that before the week's end.

Back flips, blues & beer on Beale St.

This photo say it all. And, in case you missed the title of this post, so does that.

You want to get a glimpse of what happens on Beale St. in Memphis - here it is. While we may not have had the weather on our side this day, but there certainly were plenty of people walking up and down this street. We planned our visit to Memphis on the same weekend as the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship, so, yes there were crowds. Most of our time in Memphis consisted of crowds. We couldn't see the Peabody Marching Ducks because of the crowds, and we had to wait more than an hour for ribs at Charles Vergos' Rendezvous. All in all, all the waiting was well worth it. In fact, we are still recovering from BBQ overload.

But anyway, back to the picture. I was intrigued with all the old ads painted on the buildings. (You'll see more posted to our Flickr stream in the weeks to come, no worries.) Beale St. seems to have a sensory overload of ads, whether they are painted on the building facades or right at your fingertips in the form of beer vendors. It is impossible to walk more than 10 feet without encountering a "Big Ass Beer" cart on this street. No better place than here for a street crew to come in and do back flips for change. (By change I mean $$.) Entertainment at its best - performers, beer, and charm.

Memphis was an interested city. A city that seems to be undergoing a lot of change, or at least somewhat in need of it. Don't know where else you can go for back flips, blues or beer? It's gotta be here!