Duck, Duck, Chicken.....

Memphis, Tenneesee/ Little Rock, Arkansas: Wednesday October 6, 2013

 

As promised, the pool at the Days Inn next to Graceland.....

I was genuinely gutted that we were unable to go for a swim, as this morning it was raining and far too cold to even dip a toe in. But a brilliant pool nonetheless!!!! We also bought some great, crap souvenirs at the Memohis Outlet next door....Elvis souvenirs of course!!!

 

Our next port of call was the Peabody Hotel to watch the duck march that happens every day at 11am and 5pm. In the morning, the ducks come down from their penthouse and cross the red carpet which is laid out by the Duckmaster.....

The red carpet goes all the way to the elevators.....

And there are stairs for the ducks to climb.....no seriously.....

The ducks come out of the elevator....

And, in our heads, the duck march was an orderly, slow walk to the awaiting fountain.....instead, it was like a mad sprint with a slight detour off the red carpet....I was lucky to get this shot:

Hi-lar-ious!!!

 

The Duckmaster has his own special jacket....

 

The ducks are then happily ensconced in the fountain until they do the reverse trip at 5pm. The ducks are "wild" and are replaced every three weeks.

Our best duck faces.....

And they are well fed.....but not hand fed so they can be realised back into the wild....

Mr. Pembroke was the Duckmaster at the Peabody for 50 years and there is a lovely painting of him in the hotel. The mayor also proclaimed a holiday to honour him when he died.

 

The convention centre in Memphis is a pyramid: the sixth largest in the world.

 

And Arkansas is just across the Mississippi.....

 

In Arkansas, it was our next Man vs Food stop: Gus' World Famous Fried Chicken. And oh. My. God. It was the BEST fried chicken I have ever eaten! The beans were also pretty bloody brilliant!

 

We've finally found some 'fall' colours here in Little Rock and it is a really pretty town!!

 

After lunch and a wintry walk along the river, we found the little rock!

 

We also found the Bill Clinton Presedential Library....

Which is conveniently on.....

 

There is a great statue of Harriet Tubman who was one of the conductors along the underground railway and was responsible for helping to free hundreds of slaves.

 

We found some great clothing in the Clinton gift shop.....

 

 

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