Columbus to Memphis, TN
So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
1 Peter 5:6-7
We woke up to the most beautiful sunrise this morning!
Barbers Motor Sports Museum. The museum started with Mr Barbers private collection of over 200 motorcycles. Now this place is loaded with motorcycles, scooters, a few cars and other random stuff. It was laid out immaculately. Very clean and easy to get around. They used alot of stainless steel and glass. The elevator was all glass with a black fast looking car sitting on top of it. But then they also had gradual sloping circular ramps (think streets going up a mountain) to get from floor to floor. The pictures don’t do it justice. The bottom floor was also an event space. Plus they had a track out back which I think was also used for people to train to get their racing license. There were a few cars zooming around it while we were there.
While we were in Birmingham we drove by the Rickwood Field, the oldest baseball stadium in the US. Or maybe the oldest still being used. I believe it was built for the black baseball league. I took a quick picture as we drove by, assuming that we would actually stop and I could get a better one. Not so. For unknown reasons we just cruised on by. OK, well thanks.
For lunch we served a potato bar. We weren’t sure the best way to do a “bar” on a moving bus, so we put up a table by the bus at our bathroom stop and had everyone load their potato as they got back on the bus. While they were off the bus, we set the tables in the bus. It worked perfectly. We made this chocolatey gooey mess for dessert and served it with vanilla ice cream.
We arrived in Memphis in the rain which made it a little complicated to get everyone and all their luggage off the bus and into the hotel. We got a little tour of the area as Saul tried to turn around and get us lined up closest to the hotel on the one way street that went along side it. At one point we turned onto a street with a sign indicating 2 way traffic and drove about a block before it turned into one-way the OTHER way with no place to turn off. People in cars parked right where it started being one way were flashing there lights and waving at us. But seriously what choice did we have? No oncoming traffic, no place to turn, cars parked all along both sides of the street. We were in a giant bus, so we just slowly motored on through. It was only about a block, so not really a big deal. Just kinda annoying that they thought it was a good idea to change the status half way down the street.
After our several wrong turns and around-the-blocks, we finally ended up along side the hotel. We had all the passengers get off and go on inside and then brought all their luggage in for them to grab. One of the disadvantages of a hotel built in a small area, we had to go up 2 sections of 3-4 stairs to get to the main floor with the front desk. This was a little difficult for some of our passengers, so we were trying to help get all the luggage up to the front desk. Another guest saw us and started grabbing luggage and taking it to the top. I love nice people!!!!
Most people opted to eat in the hotel restaurant instead of venturing out to Beale Street in the rain. But not us. Mary and Saul and I headed out with umbrellas and ponchos. My pretty little plaid umbrella was pretty much worthless because it kept blowing inside out, but at least it kinda kept the top of my head dry. As we were going in, there was a couple coming out of Blue’s City Cafe with no rain gear of any kind. I said, “Would you like to have an umbrella that’s not very good, but better than nothing?” They happily accepted it. Which worked out well because by the time we left the restaurant it had stopped raining. Thanks God!
Our waiter suggested the ribs and the catfish, so we got an order of each and a bowl of gumbo and all 3 shared them. We listened to the band in our restaurant for a bit and then wandered down Beale St to the Rum Boogie Cafe. We stayed there a bit and then I hit a wall and had to head back to the hotel.
When we had first gotten to the hotel, my key didn’t work to open our door so I got it reprogramed before we left. When I got back to the hotel, my key opened the outside door into the hotel, but not my room door. So I went back down and got it rekeyed again. Went back up. Still wouldn’t open. This time I decided to take the stairs down, just to mix it up a bit. Unfortunately when I got to the first floor, the door was locked and you couldn’t get out. So back up I went (we were only on the 2nd floor) and then came down the elevator. Got the key programmed again and went back up. Still no luck. The next time I went down and said, “This will be the 4th time I’ve had this key reprogrammed. Can I have a different key card?” The guy threw my card away and reprogrammed another key, but also called maintenance. When I got back to my room my door was open and there was a guy working on the lock. He said it needed a new battery. Who knew these things were battery operated. I just thought it was magic.
