This Short Tails is about a trip to Memphis, TN that Hannah and I took with our good friends Paul and Sasha in early 2023. What was meant as a pleasant sojourn from Nashville turned into a 3-day frozen blitz that we only just managed to salvage.
How Do You Get to Memphis?
After finishing two back-to-back house sits in Nashville over Christmas and New Year in 2022, Hannah and I were enjoying some pet-free time with visits from friends and family. We hit Broadway plenty and showed everyone the sights and sounds of Music City.
Towards the end of this stint in the US, we planned to head to Memphis for the first time. Being huge Elvis fans and passionate about country music it felt like a right of passage we needed to take. We hired a car in Nashville, packed up, and hit the road.
It’s only about a 3-hour drive between the two iconic Tennessee cities and we were informed there isn’t much to see along the way. However, our lovely Uber driver en route to picking up the hire car, informed us of a cool diner and rest stop about halfway in Jackson, TN.
Casey Jones and Things Are Getting Chilly
The diner our driver had told us about formed part of the Casey Jones Home and Railroad Museum. It was a cool spot for train geeks like me (and Paul) and featured a grand country store and diner. No, I’d never heard about Casey Jones either, but click here to read his story.
Stepping out of the car on a beautiful sunny day, it was around this time we began to concern ourselves with the gloomy weather reports. It was still hard to believe but apparently, an ice storm was coming. Temperatures were dropping at an alarming rate.
On entering the country store and diner a handmade sign informed patrons that due to weather warnings, they would be closing at 3 pm. It was a further concern but we were well in time for lunch and feasted on fried chicken, yams, greens, cornbread, and pecan pie.
The Reports Were True
Well fed and after a few photos, we hit the road again and still couldn’t fathom an ice storm hitting. That was until about 45 minutes further down the I-40 and our world went white.
15 miles from Memphis an ice and snow storm unlike anything I have ever seen hit. The roads instantly became an ice rink and visibility was practically zero. Thankfully we were within striking distance of our Airbnb but it was a perilous snail’s crawl for the last leg.
We made it safely as the snow continued to fall, instantly freezing as it landed. We couldn’t park the car on the slightly sloped drive as it simply couldn’t make the incline. Parked on the road and with the delicate footing of baby giraffes, we loaded our bags and supplies into the Airbnb.
Well I Guess That’s Off
We only had three days scheduled in Memphis and a pretty itemized list of things to tick off, such as Beale Street, Graceland, Sun Studio, and Rendevouz Restaurant. However, given the predicted weather reports it was becoming increasingly evident that none of this was going to be possible.
We were wondering whether we should even leave the house! But lacking any alcohol, Paul and I hit the road and drove the 1 mile to the nearest supermarket. Relieved that it was still open, we loaded up the cart like alcoholic preppers.
Our first night was certainly off, Beale Street would have to wait. Instead, we enjoyed our drinks and snacks and the many DVDs that came with the Airbnb.
Graceland – Closed Until Further Notice
A huge part of our trip was scheduled for the second day. A trip to Graceland is a pilgrimage for Elvis fans like me and I couldn’t wait to go. The tickets weren’t cheap but we had our slots booked. That was until they emailed us with news that Graceland was closed due to the weather.
We were gutted but resilient as we still had a whole day to tick off all the other things we wanted to do. If the weather let up, we could still ‘do Memphis’. But as the temperatures stayed below freezing and the roads remained almost unusable we braced for a second day inside.
Hannah and I managed to walk to a local Starbucks (of course Starbucks was open!). We watched a man drive on black ice and beach his car on the drive-through curb. The police were called and it was still there the next day! Paul and Sasha secured a rare Uber and made it to Sun Studios, it was closed but they got a token photo out front.
It’s Now or Never
With no answer from Graceland about re-booking our tour we were running out of time. As the temperatures ticked up slightly the roads cleared but left large amounts of slush that were still dangerous. On our final day in Memphis, we decided to go for it!
We were able to tentatively get across town, as things were evidently going back to normal. Pulling into the epic car park of Graceland it was disheartening to see hardly any cars. However, as we approached the entrance, it was open! But would they let us in with tickets for the previous day?
Very casually they said we could join the first tour of the day. So, with a handful of fellow brave souls, probably in the same situation as us, we were granted access to Graceland.
Graceland – Open for Business
What had initially been a disaster turned out to be one of the greatest experiences I’ve had traveling. Without any crowds or chaotic pushing and shoving we all got to fully embrace the Graceland experience.
Standing alone at Elvis’s grave, and with the flowers of the recently deceased Lisa-Marie Presley close by, it was a monumental and emotional moment. As well as the house itself, there are 7 hangars of Elvis’s clothes, cars, jewelry, film props, and other memorabilia. It’s a fantastic experience.
The last stop before exiting is Elvis’s personal plane – the Lisa-Marie. The retired Convair 880 is akin to an average international airliner and being able to sit aboard alone and take my time to ponder the people that had flown in it, and the things that had taken place at 36,000ft baffled my mind.
Memphis in a Day – Let’s Go!
After Graceland, we parked up somewhere near Beale Street and stumbled across Rendevouz. The 1940s basement restaurant is one of the most famous BBQ joints in the USA. Paul and I split a massive and delicious rack of ribs and Hannah had an epic pulled pork burger. Sasha (the veggie) commented that the melted cheese sandwich was very good too!
We walked along a still very icey Beale Street and by the historic Peabody Hotel. Sadly many of the bars remained closed but at least we got to experience the iconic street.
Time and treacherous paths meant we didn’t visit the Lorraine Motel, the site of Martin Luther King Jnr’s assassination. We also sadly didn’t make it back to the now-open Sun Studios.
The Final Night in Memphis
With the sun setting on our final night, temperatures were actually increasing slightly, meaning the ice was melting at a rapid rate. Uber drivers were back on the road so we high-tailed it to a strip of bars all open for business.
We found an awesome little hub along Madison Avenue that had live bands playing, happy hour deals, and great food. We had an absolute smash of a night, dancing until the early hours and cramming 3 days of energy into one evening.
It had been dicey at times but we managed to tick off most of our Memphis itinerary in one day, and we went out with a bang!
Driving Back to Nashville
The next morning you would hardly know the city had been shut down for 3 days by ice and snow. As the sun shined the roads were back to normal and we had an uneventful trip back to Nashville.
We stopped again at the Casey Jones Museum, purely because it was about halfway and the food was delicious. In true southern hospitality, the servers recognized us as those crazy English people who had visited a few days prior, content to ignore weather warnings and drive into an ice storm to get to Memphis.
They gave us the regular customer discount, a lovely bonus which nicely rounded off a crazy few days.
Conclusion
It’s said if you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans. Sure, it was disappointing to miss out on two-thirds of our time in Memphis because of the weather, but what could we do? We were grateful for the things that were open and for the company of great people to spend time with.
Traveling is full of twists and turns that can often be annoying and frustrating. Adapting and rolling with the punches is part and parcel of life and is especially evident when traversing the world.
Now and again you hope you’ll get a little refund in luck. For me, this was presented on the final day in Memphis with that personal walk around Graceland and finding that unknown hub of bars that for the life of me, I can’t find on Google Maps again! It’s all part of the fun.
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