14 Jul Memphis, TN

This post is based primarily on Don's notes, occasionally supplemented with MT's notes from our cruise in July 2025. When information from other sources is added—for further explanation to readers or to satisfy our own curiosity—that is set off in a text box (as this one).
Most of the photos that accompany this post are from Don’s camera (with a caption indicating the time it was taken); those from MT’s iPhone are indicated by “MT” placed at the beginning of the photo caption. Photos from any other source (such as the public domain Wikimedia Commons), occasionally used for clarification, indicate that source in the caption.

The Viking Daily newsletter showed today's weather forecast as "Mostly Cloudy 85° F" and "Sunrise: 5:56 AM | Sunset: 8:15 PM."

MT (already up) woke Don at 6:00.

At 7:00, we went to the River Café (Deck 5) for breakfast.

The Viking Daily newsletter said the Viking Mississippi was scheduled to arrive at Memphis at 8:00.

The Viking Daily newsletter has the following article on “Memphis Tennessee”:
“Situated on the Chickasaw bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, Memphis is revered for its blues music and barbecue. Some of the most famed names in blues, including B.B. King, got their start in Memphis, and the city has a well-deserved reputation as the home of this classic American music genre. Memphis is also celebrated for its culinary heritage and its renowned for its traditional barbecue restaurants serving flavorful dry rub ribs. Rich in history and culture, Memphis’s many notable museums include the National Civil Rights Museum and Elis Presley’s Graceland.”

 

Memphis (pop. 633,104) is a city on the Mississippi River in southwest Tennessee. This site’s position on the high Chickasaw bluffs rising over the Mississippi River made it a natural location for human settlement by various indigenous cultures over thousands of years. The Chickasaw people, believed to be their descendants, later inhabited this site and a large territory in the Southeast.
European exploration of the area began with Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto in 1541 when he encountered the historic Chickasaw. This was followed in the 17th century by French explorers. Its position on the high bluffs offered natural protection from river flooding, and it became a contested location in the colonial era. In 1795, the Spanish Governor-General of Louisiana negotiated consent from the local Chickasaw to erect a Spanish fort on the bluff. Eventually, a faction of the tribe signed the Chickasaw Bluffs Cession, and Spain provided the Chickasaws with a trading post.
In 1796, the site became the westernmost point of the newly admitted state of Tennessee. Modern Memphis was founded in 1819 by John Overton, James Winchester, and Andrew Jackson. They named it after the ancient capital of Egypt. The city thrived due to its river traffic and cotton-based economy, becoming one of the largest cities in the Antebellum South.
Tennessee seceded from the Union in 1861, and Memphis briefly became a Confederated stronghold. However, Union ironclad gunboats captured it in 1862, and the city and state were occupied by the Union Army for the rest of the Civil War. After the war, it remained a key hub for the cotton and hardwood industries.
Memphis is also notable for its role in the American Civil Rights Movement; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, was assassinated there in 1968, and the city is now home to the National Civil Rights Museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian. Memphis is also known for its music scene, with Beale Street central to the development of Memphis blues and a broader legacy that includes soul, rock and roll, and hip-hop.
Memphis is famous for the influential strains of blues, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll that originated here. Elvis Presley, B.B. King, and Johnny Cash recorded albums at the legendary Sun Studio. Aside from Graceland, other music landmarks include the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.

At 8:15, we went to the Explorers' Lounge (Deck 1) meeting place for the 8:30 shore optional excursion "Memphis by Foot."

 

The My Viking Journey web site described the shore excursion “Memphis by Foot” as follows:
$59 Per Person
Day 10 – Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Monday, July 14
8:30 AM
3 Hours
Moderate
Sightseeing
 
Mississippi Views, Beale Street, Cotton Row and More
Roam the storied streets of Memphis during a guided tour highlighting the city’s history and musical heritage.
You will meet your knowledgeable local guide, who will plot your course to several of the city’s most important landmarks. Set out on foot to admire views overlooking the Mighty Mississippi River from atop the bluffs that Memphis calls home. Stroll down iconic Beale Street, learning more about the city’s musical pedigree and its crucial role in the development of rock ’n’ roll, blues, jazz and R&B over the past century. Walk along Cotton Row, the historic hub of the important cotton industry, and gaze upon the historic neoclassical and Beaux-Arts style buildings that once housed merchants and brokers that line the waterfront. Cap your tour with an opportunity to browse the shops and assorted businesses along bustling Main Street.

MT Monday, July 14, ‎2025, 8:37  AM - Memphis: view, through bus window, of Memphis Pyramid.

The Memphis Pyramid, formerly known as the Great American Pyramid and the Pyramid Arena, and colloquially known as the Bass Pro Shop Pyramid, is a pyramid-shaped building in downtown Memphis, at the bank of the Mississippi River. Its structure plays on the city’s namesake, Memphis, in Egypt. It is by some measures the tenth-tallest pyramid in the world. Built in 1991 as a 20,142-seat arena, it was jointly owned by the city of Memphis and Shelby County until the county sold its share to Memphis in 2009. It has not been regularly used as a sports or entertainment venue since 2007. In 2015, it re-opened as a Bass Pro Shops megastore, leased from the city.

MT 8:37  AM - Memphis: view, through bus window, of other side of Memphis Pyramid, with sign over entrance for "Bass Pro Shops - Outdoor World."

8:50  AM (Cropped) - Memphis: view, through bus window, of churches in distance, on or near Beale Street.

8:56  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - Our guide Charlie and MT at intersection with street sign, overhead by green light, for "Beale St."; MT taking photo of that sign.

MT 8:51  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - street sign, overhead by green light, for "Beale St."; in background is a billboard sign for "Stax Museum of American Soul Music" (telephoto 129 mm).

8:57  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - Handy Park with statue of W. C. Handy at corner of Beale St. and Handy Circle.

William Christopher (W. C) Handy (1873-1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. He was one of the most influential songwriters in the US. He did not create the blues genre but was one of the first to publish music in the blues form, thereby taking blues from a regional music style (Delta blues) with a limited audience to a new level of popularity. He used elements of folk music in his compositions and was scrupulous in documenting the sources of his works. In 1909, Handy and his band moved to Memphis, where they played in clubs on Beale St. His first hit song was “The Memphis Blues,” written as a campaign song for a mayoral candidate in 1909. In 1917, Handy and his publishing business moved to New York City. He published the works of other black composers as well as his own.
In 1931, Handy Park, a public park with a stage for live music performances, was opened at 200 Beale St, in Memphis. The bronze statue of him was erected in 1960, still during the period of segregation.

9:01  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - statue of W. C. Handy in Handy Park (telephoto 68 mm). A photo on Internet shows that the brass plaque by the base of the statue reads as follows: "In Memory of - W.C. Handy - Composer, Music Publicist, Father of the Blues - 1976."

8:57 AM - MT Memphis: Beale Street - historical marker (No. 4E 183) about "Danny Thomas 1912-1991" with text that reads as follows:

"2000 copies of the record were distributed to jukeboxes and proceeds from the song benefitted St. Jude, where families never receive a bill for services. Because of Thomas' efforts, Mayor Tobey changed the name back to Beale Street. In 1960, when Thomas was in town to lay the cornerstone for St. Jude, he visited Beale Street for the Handy statue dedication and played a few notes from his song on Handy's trumpet. In 1962 St. Jude opened a mile from Beale Street, on a road later renamed Danny Thomas Boulevard, in honor of its founder."

Another historical marker (also part of the 4E 183 series) for “Danny Thomas 1912-1991” has text that leads up to this sign:
“Thanks to entertainer Danny Thomas, who founded St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital in Memphis, this road bears the name Beale Street. Created as an avenue in 1841, locals began calling it Beale Street after the African-American blues legend W.C. Handy, who wrote Beale Street Blues in 1917. By 1955, Memphis changed the names of east-west streets to avenues. Unhappy with the decision, Thomas recorded a song, Bring Back Our Beale Street, as an appeal to Mayor Frank Tobey to keep the street’s name. Because of Thomas’ efforts, Mayor Tobey changed the name back to Beale Street. ‘Memphis don’t own Beale Street,’ read one lyric.” ‘It belongs to the world.’”

9:02  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - intersection with "B.B King Blvd" with façade of Gallina Building propped up.

The Gallina Exchange Building, also known as the Gallina Building, located at 183 Beale Street, was built in 1891 in Romanesque Revival style. It originally housed a saloon, hotel, and casino with 24/7 gambling. Later, it was a hotel with 20 rooms and a marble fireplace in every room, which is why it was called the Pride of Beale Street. After a fire in 1980, the façade is still there, but the roof and side and rear walls are not. The building is a part of the Beale Street Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.

MT 8:58  AM - Memphis: Beale Street -street sign for "B.B. King Blvd." (mild telephoto 54 mm).

9:03  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - top of façade with the name "Gallina Building" (telephoto 68 mm).

9:04  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - arched entrance to "Silky O'Sullivans" and buildings to right of Gallina Building.

Silky O’Sullivan’s pub is the only bar on Beale Street with live goats. The bar’s most unique attraction is the goat pen. On the outdoor patio is a large tower with a sign reading “Beware Irish diving goats.” Happily lapping up lager and climbing their tower, the drunken goats add an odd feature to the bar. But you may not actually see any goats diving off the tower.
The pub’s “Irish diving goats” have become legends in their own right. Over the years, they’ve swilled beer, broken sports curses, predicted boxing matches, and weathered challenges by the health department and animal rights activists.

MT 9:00  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - "Beware Irish Diving Goats"(telephoto 105 mm).

9:05  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - "A. Schwab"  buildings at 163 Beale St., farther to right of Gallina Building; the windows on both buildings say "Estd A. Schwab 1876"; the one on the left also says "Soda Fountain," and the one on the right says "Dry Goods."

9:06  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - our guide Charlie with musical notes on sidewalk.

9:06  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - sign about "Beale Street" from "Center for Southern Folklore"; text on left, above photo of a clothing store, reads as follows:

"Saturday night was the fabulous night on Beale Street. Our parents kept the store opened late. We were children; we used to sit and watch. If we were sleepy, they would put us to sleep on a rack of pants until they took us home at one or two in the morning," (signed Erving Strauch).

Text on the upper right reads as follows:

"We used to have shoes sitting our front. A man came along and stole one shoe. So my Uncle Sam says, 'I'm going to catch him." He put the other shoe out there, and the man stole the other shoe. That's why in our show window there is only one shoe to this day." (signed Abe Schwab).

Text on the lower right, under photo of sign for "Lippman's Loan Office, Nat Epstein Mgr" reads as follows:

"Anything that was pawnable, they'd pawn--their false teeth, their toaster. They'd have breakfast and would go to the pawnshop with the toaster still warm. One fellow came out of a taxi-cab with an artificial leg and wanted to pawn the leg. I wouldn't take it." (signed Lou Rafael).

9:06  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - sign for "Circus Circus Casino" [in Las Vegas] with "1451 Sensational Slots" painted on side of a building.

9:06  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - musical note for "Booker T. and the M.G.'s" on sidewalk.

9:07  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - B.B. King's Blues Club on corner of Beale St.  and S. Second St., with part of sign for "[B.B. K]ing's [Company] Store" to the left.

MT 9:02  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - sing for "B.B. King's Blues Club." 

9:09  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - view further down Beale St.  to the arch that reads "Home of the Blues - Beale Street."

9:09  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - view back across intersection of  Beale St.  and Second St. to B.B. King's Blues Club, with sign painted on near side of building for the "B.B. King Museum," which says the following: 

"Dig a little deeper into the world of B.B. King

"Indianola, Mississippi - welcoming you with open arms

" bbkingmuseum.org "

9:09 AM - Memphis: Beale Street - another sign about "Beale Street" from "Center for Southern Folklore", with text that reads as follows:

"First there was a slope of woodland that met the Mississippi River. Chickasaw Indians hunted here until the early 19th century. Then there was Beale Street. It began as the main road of South Memphis and by 1850, when that separate town was consolidated with Memphis, Beale was already a major thoroughfare. At its western end, where it met the Mississippi, roustabouts piled cotton onto 200-foot steamboats; about a mile upriver as its eastern end gentry lived in mansions. In between was a growing community based on commerce and good times.

"Before 1900 Beale Street had an opera house, a fashionable hotel, a girls' finishing school, and one of the first large office buildings in Memphis. It was a place where Jewish, Italian, Greek, and Chinese immigrants lived and worked. And it was, especially, a place where African-American freedom came to make a world.

"By the early 1920s Beale Street had become the capital of Black Memphis and the Mid-South. It was a mecca for musicians, politicians, ministers, businessmen, gamblers, conjurors, and bootleggers. There were banks and bordellos, pawnshops and theaters--a few blocks of brick and cement where the well-heeled and down-and-out could hope and dream and have a life.

"By the 1960s, after civil rights struggles had provided new opportunities and after urban renewal had taken its toll, that flourishing Beale Street had vanished. Today, old Beale Street lives amid the rebuilt environment mostly as a memory for people who experienced it and as a symbol for those who've only heard its name."

9:12  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - building with "Lansky" on a gray rectangle at the top and a historical marker for "Lansky Brothers" at the far right.

9:13  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - historical marker for "Lansky Brothers -Clothier To The King" referring to Elvis Presley (telephoto 130 mm).

9:15  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - statue of Elvis Presley, in Elvis Presley Plaza on Beale Street.

MT 9:11  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - statue of Elvis Presley, in Elvis Presley Plaza on Beale Street, with small sign that reads as follows: "Please do not go beyond the guardrail. The railing is in place for your personal safety and for the protection of the statue. Passing within the railing will activate the alarm system." (telephoto 71 mm).

MT 9:11  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - sign for  "Elvis Presley Plaza" near statue at top left.

9:16  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - our guide Charlie leading our group toward arch with "Home of the Blues - Beale Street."

9:16  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - historical marker for "School for Freedmen" with text that reads as follows:

"The first free 'colored' school in the city was opened in early 1863 in a barrack building in South Memphis. In 1864 the U.S. Army issued a general order authorizing its officers to help with these schools for the education of freedmen. In 1865 there were 9 schools here. All were burned during the May 1866 race riot. In 1868-69 there were again 9 schools in operation in various locations in the city. One of these schools was located in this area."

Then we apparently turned off Beale St. onto Main St.

MT 9:12  AM - Memphis: Main Street - "Main Street Tolley."

9:30  AM - Memphis: Main Street - "Beale Street Station" on "Main Street Tolley" line.

9:30  AM - Memphis: Main Street -  a colorful building on the Main Street Tolley line, with part of the Peabody Memphis hotel at far right.

Next, we went toward the famous Peabody Memphis hotel at 149 Union Street.

9:31 AM - Memphis: entrance to "Peabody Place" at Peabody Memphis hotel.

The Peabody Memphis (called “The Peabody”) is a historic luxury hotel located at 149 Union Ave in Memphis. The hotel is famous for its Grand Lobby, marble fountain, and the daily procession of the hotel’s resident Peabody Ducks at 11 am and 5 pm. The ducks live on the hotel rooftop and make daily treks to the lobby.
The original Peabody Hotel was built in 1869 at the corner of Main and Monroe Streets. It was named for the recently deceased George Peabody for his contributions to the South. That hotel closed in 1923 in preparation for a move one block away and was demolished.
The current Peabody Hotel building on Union Ave, is an Italian Renaissance structure that opened in 1925. Deeply in debt by the early 1960s, it went bankrupt in 1965 and was sold in a foreclosure to Sheraton Hotels, becoming the Sherton-Peabody Hotel, which closed in 1973 after suffering financially. An Alabama investment grip bought the hotel in 1974 and briefly opened it under its original name, until they declared bankruptcy in 1975 and it closed again. Another investor bought the hotel in 1975 for $400,000 and spent $25 million renovating the landmark structure. It reopened in 1981.
 
The name “Peabody Place” refers to the connected retail and entertainment complex that used to surround the Peabody Memphis hotel and is now largely vacant.

9:32  AM - Memphis: Beale Street - historical marker for "The Lee Sisters" with text (apparently the continuation of another marker; see text box below) that reads as follows:

"The other Lee sisters soon joined the protest. In an August 1960 sit-in at lunch counters on Main Street, Ernestine and Ruth Elaine were arrested at Sheinberg's, Sandra and Brenda at Bry's, and Joan at Lowenstein's. The two oldest were taken to the city jail; Brenda, 17, Ruth Elaine, 16, and Joan, 14, to Juvenile Court. In 1965 Ruth Elaine and Joan, along with younger sisters, Peggy Jane, 16, and Susan, 12, were arrested while picketing against job discrimination.

"The sisters also were involved in national protests. Joan participated in the 1963 March on Washington, Ruth Elaine in Selma in 1965, and in 1966 five of the sisters, along with brothers Wesley, Lewis, Clifford, and Mark, joined the Meredith March Against Fear. In 1965, NAACP Executive Director Roy Wilkins presented the Lee Family an Award of Recognition. Memphis is a better place because the Lees stood up by sitting down in forbidden seats."

Internet sites show another marker for “The Lee Sisters” that had text that read as follows:
“During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Jet magazine reported in 1965 that members of the Lee Family of Memphis ‘have been arrested 17 times for civil rights activities and claim the title of the “Most Arrested Family” in the country.’  The seven daughters of Robert and Alversa Williams Lee were committed to the struggle for justice and equality at the forefront of the protests to break down segregation and Jim Crow laws. Whenever there was a Civil Right protest in Memphis, the Lee sisters were likely there in numbers.
“Ernestine, the eldest, and a junior at LeMoyne College, was one of the leaders who helped organize student protests against segregated public facilities. On March 19, 1960, police arrested students from both LeMoyne and Owen Junior College for sitting in at Cosset and Peabody libraries. These sit-ins sparked the desegregation movement in Memphis.”

9:35 AM - Memphis: large street art mural, possibly connected to the plaque in the following photo.

9:36 AM - Memphis: plaque for "Cora James" with text that reads as follows: In the 1860s,Madame Cora James claimed to give psychic predictions, recover stolen goods, and cure insanity and nervous diseases from her room around the corner on Main."

MT 9:36 AM - Memphis: more street art, including the Main Street Trolley.

9:41 AM - Memphis: view down Union Avenue to the neon sign for the "WDIA/WHRK" radio stations.

The WDIA AM radio station, based on Union Ave in Memphis since 1947, became the first radio station in the US that was programmed entirely for African Americans, including R&B, soul, and gospel music. The station had a strong influence on music, hiring musicians, including B.B. King, early in their careers and playing to an audience that reached through the Mississippi Delta to the Gulf Coast.

WHRK in Memphis an FM radio station that airs an urban contemporary radio format. The station first signed on in 1959 as WMPS and changed its callsign to WHRK in 1977. In 1985, Adams Communications bought Memphis's top AM station WDIA and top FM station WHRK.

9:54 AM - Memphis: building identified above the entrance and the accompanying plaque (see next photo) as "Dr. D. T. Porter" building.

The Dr. D. T. Porter Building is located at 10 North Main Street. The 10-story building was constructed in 1985 and was the city’s first steel frame skyscraper. Its architecture is eclectic, with elements of both Northern Italian Renaissance and Richardson Romanesque. It was originally used as a bank and was known as the Continental National Bank Building. In 1900, the family of Dr. David Tinsley Porter (1828-1898) purchased the building with money left to them after his death and renamed in after him as a memorial to his service to the city. He prospered in the wholesale grocery business and held executive positions in banks, insurance companies, cotton, and public utilities. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It was renovated in 1983 and converted into condominiums.

9:55 AM - Memphis: plaque for "Dr. D. T. Porter Building," saying it "has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior 1895." 

MT 9:55 AM - Memphis: Lincoln American Tower  building.

The Lincoln American Tower (originally Columbian Mutual Tower) is a 22-story building located at the corner of North Main and Court Streets. The president of the Memphis branch of the Continental Mutual Insurance Company (later renamed the Lincoln American Insurance Company) had it built overlooking Court Square. Completed in 1924, it was one of the first steel frame skyscrapers in Memphis.

10:03 AM - Memphis: sign for "Fourth Bluff."

Fourth Bluff Park is an urban greenspace atop a bluff at the edge of downtown Memphis. It offers benches, picnic tables, and movable furniture, and a 5-mile paved walking and biking trail that connects several river parks passes through it.  It overlooks River Garden Park and has scenic views of the Mississippi River, the Hernando de Soto bridge and Wolf River Harbor.
It was formerly known as Confederate Park and Memphis Park. It used to house authentic Civil War cannons, but they were melted down in WWII. After that, artillery from WWII stood here.

10:05 AM - Memphis: view of Hernando de Soto Bridge from Fourth Bluff park.

The Hernando de Soto Bridge is a tied-arch bridge connecting West Memphis, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee. The bridge is named for the 16th-century Spanish explorer who explored this stretch of the Mississippi River and died south of Memphis. Funded by both states, construction began in 1976, and it opened in 1973. Memphians also call it the “New Bridge”, since it is newer than the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge downstream, and the “M Bridge”, due to its distinctive double-arched shape.

MT 10:01 AM - Memphis: better view of arches of Hernando de Soto Bridge from Fourth Bluff park (mild telephoto 37 mm).

10:08 AM - Memphis: view, from Fourth Bluff park, of boats in harbor (probably Wolf River Harbor), with Mississippi River in background and Arkansas on the other side of the river.

10:12 AM - Memphis: sign for "Elizabeth Avery Meriwether 1824-1917" with text that reads as follows:
"Born in Bolivar, Elizabeth Meriwether spent much of her life in Memphis. A noted author, her more famous works include The Master of Red Leaf, Black and White, and Recollections of 92 Years. Mrs. Meriwether toured many states lecturing in support of woman suffrage and was granted the right to vote in the election of 1872."

MT 10:07 AM - Memphis: bust of the suffragette Ida B. Wells, the first of six busts of suffragettes in the Equality Trailblazers Monument (Memphis Suffrage Monument).

10:12 AM - Memphis: MT by bust of the suffragette Ida B. Wells, the first of six busts of suffragettes in the Equality Trailblazers Monument (Memphis Suffrage Monument).

The Equality Trailblazers Monument (Memphis Suffrage Monument) is the sixth suffrage memorial established in Tennessee to commemorate women’s suffrage. Tennessee had a special place as the 36th and last state to ratify the 19th Amendment, which gave American women the right to vote, in 1920. This memorial honors women and men from Memphis and Shelby County who fought for suffrage. The memorial, dedicated in 2022, stands behind the University of Memphis Law School overlooking the Mississippi River.
The Memphis monument features six busts of suffragettes and a 70-ft-long series of 9-ft-tall panels representing women marching. Twelve etched glass panels present portraits and biographies of 12 women who played a significant role in the suffrage movement and others whose careers were influenced by the suffragists’ victory.
Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) was a journalist, anti-lynching campaigner, civil rights leader, and suffragist. She started her activism work and journalism career in Memphis.

10:12 AM - Memphis: bust of "Ida B. Wells (1862-1931)'', the first of six busts of suffragettes in the Equality Trailblazers Monument (Memphis Suffrage Monument).

10:12 AM - Memphis: more busts of suffragettes in the Equality Trailblazers Monument (Memphis Suffrage Monument), with some of the glass panels behind them and Mississippi river at right.

10:14 AM - Memphis: our guide Charlie leading MT and others in our group toward a building with unique style.

10:15 AM - Memphis: that building with unique style.

10:20 AM - Memphis: Charlie and MT near intersection of Front Street (see next photo) and "Union Ave.", with small sign for "Judge Bernice Bouie Donald Street" on the pole below that and sign for "Cotton Museum" on building on left across street.

10:20 AM - Memphis: signs for "Front Street" and "Detour [for] Monroe St." at that same intersection.

10:20 AM - Memphis: MT at intersection of Union Avenue and Front Street, with Cotton Museum on left across street.

10:20 AM - Memphis: Charlie and Cotton Museum at intersection of Union Avenue and Front Street.

The Cotton Museum, at the Memphis Cotton Exchange at 65 Union Avenue, at the corner of Union Ave and Front St., is the only place in Tennessee dedicated to the story of cotton. The main exhibit of the museum is on the legendary Trading Floor of the exchange, where cotton traders once stood at the center of the global cotton economy. Once, only the elite members of the Cotton Exchange were allowed to enter. The museum opened in 2002. The Trading Floor was built in 1922 with ornate architectural detail, 30-ft ceilings, and beautiful arched windows. It has enjoyed a full restoration and is now used as a venue for rehearsal dinners, corporate events, and special parties.
Memphis was founded in 1812 as a shipping port for both cotton and the African slaves whose hard labor produced it.

10:21 AM - Memphis: bronze plaque on sidewalk in front of Cotton Museum for "Cotton Exchange Building", the text reads as follows:

"The Memphis Cotton Exchange was first organized in 1873 and is still operating today, though cotton trading is now done by computers. In the early 1950s a seat on the Exchange could cost a new member $17,000. Memphis was the largest spot cotton market in the world from 1880 to 1930."

MT 10:17 AM - Memphis: bronze plaque on outside wall of Cotton Museum for "John Grisham", the text reads as follows:

"Author John Grisham immortalized downtown Memphis, particularly Front Street, in his novel The Firm. In 1993, he became the first author to have four books on the best seller list at the same time. Rooted deeply in the South's rich literary soil, he was born February 8, 1955, in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and graduated from Mississippi State University in 1977 and University of Mississippi Law School in 1981. For ten years, he practiced law in Southhaven, a Memphis suburb. In 1990, he and his wife, Renee, and their children, Ty and Shea, moved to Oxford, Mississippi, where he continues to write."

10:23 AM - Memphis: Charlie and our group back at the corner with a view down Union Avenue to the neon sign for the "WDIA/WHRK" radio stations.

10:24 AM - Memphis: Charlie and our group back at the corner with a view down Union Avenue to the neon sign for the "WDIA/WHRK" radio stations by street sign for corner of Union Ave. and  November 6th St. (mild telephoto 58 mm) and a historical marker for "WDIA The Goodwill Station" with text too small to read.

10:26 AM - Memphis: sign on outside of "The Peabody," where we had arrived again in time to see the Duck March at 11:00 am.

The Peabody is possibly best known for the Peabody Duck March custom dating back to the 1930s. When the general manager of the hotel returned from a hunting trip in Arkansas, he and his friends found it musing to leave three of their live English call ducks in the hotel fountain. Hotel guests loved the idea, and since then, five Mallard ducks (one drake and four hens) have played in the fountain every day.
In 1940, a hotel bellman volunteered to care for the ducks. He was given the position of “Duckmaster” and served in that position until 1991. As a former circus animal trainer, he taught the ducks to march into the hotel lobby, which started the famous Peabody Duck March. Every day at 11:00 am, the ducks are escorted to the lobby via elevator. Accompanied by the King Cotton March by John Philip Sousa, the ducks then march on a red carpet to the hotel fountain, which is made of a solid block of Italian travertine marble. At 5:00 pm, the ducks are then ceremoniously led back to their penthouse.

Our guide took us to the mezzanine vantage point for the Duck March, but we had to wait half an hour.

MT 10:27 AM - Memphis: The Peabody - old-style telephones.

MT 10:28 AM - Memphis: The Peabody - old gauges below text for "Hotel Peabody," with plaque above that reads as follows:

"This Plaque Is Awarded to the Merchants and Patrons of THE PEABODY in Recognition of Their Continuing Effort to Beatify Our Community - Given With Appreciation by Memphis City Beautiful Commission April, 1984."

10:41 AM - Memphis: The Peabody - view from mezzanine of grand lobby with fountain.

MT 10:45 AM - Memphis: The Peabody - view from mezzanine of grand lobby with  woman in red coat (Duckmaster?) giving introduction to the Duck March.

MT 11:00 AM (VIDEO) - Memphis: The Peabody - view from mezzanine of woman in red coat and two children leading the ducks toward the fountain.

MT 11:00 AM - Memphis: The Peabody - view from mezzanine of ducks in the fountain (telephoto 103 mm).

MT 11:03 AM - Memphis: The Peabody - view from lobby of ducks in the fountain (mild telephoto 48 mm).

10:41 AM - Memphis: The Peabody - shop window with "The Elvis Wedding Jacket - Lansky Bros. Limited Edition Wedding Jacket Inspired by Elvis' Wedding on May 1st 1967"; jackets displayed  in the window include a motorcycle jacket with a photo of Elvis on motorcycle in the same type of jacket.

Then we returned to the Viking Mississippi, where we went to the River Café at 11:45 for lunch.

Back on our stateroom, we  found that a birthday cake had been delivered there, since it was Don's birthday. However, there was no time to eat it before our afternoon shore excursion. So MT took it to The Restaurant to be served with our dinner there, as she had previously arranged.

MT 12:49 PM - Viking Mississippi: Don's birthday cake.

MT 1:02 PM - Viking Mississippi: card that came with Don's birthday cake.

Then we went to the Living Room (Deck 1) meeting place for our (included) "Panoramic Memphis" shore excursion at 1:00 (by bus). We would see some of the same places we had visited on our walking tour in the morning, but several new ones.

 

The Viking web site described the Panoramic Memphis shore excursion as follows:
Duration: 3 hours 30 minutes     
 
Explore the Cultural Treasures of “Bluff City”
Visit the Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum and witness some of the city’s historic music-related landmarks. Travel by motor coach through the city, passing the Memphis Pyramid, the world’s sixth-largest pyramid, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Then, view legendary Beale Street, its nightclubs a melting pot of delta blues, jazz, rock ’n’ roll and R&B; and Sun Studio, the “Birthplace of Rock ’n’ Roll” where pioneers such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, B.B. King and Jerry Lee Lewis recorded their early records. Then, stop to explore the Smithsonian-affiliated Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum, its array of exhibits tracing the development of Memphis, Mississippi Delta and Midsouth music. At the end of your tour, you will have free time to explore on your own, perhaps visiting the historic Peabody hotel to watch the duck march.

1:31 PM - Memphis: view, from bus window, of Calvary Episcopal Church, identified by the following photo.

Calvary Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal church founded in 1832. The nave, consecrated in 1844, is the oldest public building in continuous use in Memphis. The tower was added in 1848.

1:31 PM - Memphis: view, from bus window, of  "Welcome Inn - at Calvary Episcopal Church." 

1:36 PM - Memphis: view, from bus window, of  Shelby County Courthouse on "[Adam]s Ave" (in reflection at right) at corner with "B.B. King Blvd.''

1:36 PM - Memphis: view, from bus window, of St. Mary's Catholic Church.

St. Mary’s Catholic Church, on Market St., at the corner with B.B King Blvd.,  was dedicated in 1870. It is in the Gothic Revival style.

1:37 PM - Memphis: view, from bus window, of St. Mary's Catholic Church, at right, and "Memphis First United Methodist Church" (sign on near side of church) down the street to the left.

1:39 PM - Memphis: view, from bus window, of apartments where Elvis' family lived.

1:49 PM - Memphis: view, from bus window, of  Sun Studio, with large guitar on far corner.

Sun Studio, on Union Ave., is a recording studio opened in 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label business. The Sun Records label that was housed within the studio played a large role in Elvis Presley’s early career. Reportedly, the first rock and roll single was recorded there in 1961, leading the studio to claim the status of being the birthplace of rock & roll. In 1987, the original building was reopened as Sun Studio, a recording label and tourist attraction that attracted many notable artists, including U2, Bonnie Raitt, and Ringo Starr.

1:49 PM (Cropped) - Memphis: view, from bus window, of  Sun Studio, close up of large guitar on far corner.

1:55 PM - Memphis: view, from bus window, of  another church near Sun Studio.

MT 2:06 PM - Memphis: view, from bus window, of building in the "Overton Square"  entertainment district (see sign at top left) with colorful mural painted on its brick front (telephoto 74 mm).

MT 2:28 PM - Memphis: view, from bus window, of building with colorful mural painted on its corner (mild telephoto 52 mm). 

Then we made a stop at the Memphis Rock n Soul Museum.

MT 2:32 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - Don with large guitar outside the museum.

 

The Memphis Rock n Soul Museum is a music museum opened in 2000 on Beale Street. The museum tells the story of musical pioneers who overcame racial and socio-economic obstacles to create the music that changed he cultural complexion of the world. The museum offers a comprehensive Memphis music experience beginning with the rural field hollers and porch music of sharecroppers in the 1930s; the urban influences of Beale Street in the 1940s; radio; Sun Records in the 1950s; the heyday of Stax, Hi Records, and soul music in 1960s and 1970s; the impact of the civil rights movement; and the music’s influence and inspiration that continues today.

MT 2:40 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - MT with large guitar inside museum entrance, with "Music Feeds the Soul!"

2:49 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - Sign for "St. Blues" with text that, in part, reads as follows:

"Saint Blues Guitar Workshop has its roots deep in the Memphis music scene if the 60's and 70's (see side panel for the Early Years). When Tom Keckler (TK) moved back to Memphis in 1983, he rejoined Chris Lovell and Charlie Lawing from Strings & Things to build custom guitars. Their first Generation guitars were called S&T Custom, named for the store. While other dealers liked the guitars, they didn't like the name. The name was changed to St. Blues in 1984 and the brand was born.

. . . . . 

"In 1989, when the Japanese Yen doubled against the dollar, St. Blues was priced out of the market. Without the capital to retool elsewhere, the guitar line stopped production.

"Interest in the line never died and in 2006, St. Blues was restarted by a local investor ... He bought the right and designs and got Keckler to come back to oversee design and quality control."

. . . . .

"The guitar on the right is one of the Eric Clapton prototype models. St. Blues actually negotiated the first endorsement Clapton ever did. Unfortunately, the deal fell apart prior to being executed ..."

MT 2:48 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - Sign near entrance for "Memphis Rock n Soul Museum" with overhead light fixture  of "Sun" record of "That's All Right" by Elvis Presley.

3:14 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - Sign for "Life and Leisure in the Rural South" with text that reads as follows:

"Southern farmers captured their trials, tribulations, hopes, and dreams in their music. Rural music--blues, country, gospel, field hollers, and worksongs--resonated with the rhythms of the land. Each generation added new instrumentation and styles, creating the songs that gave texture and poignancy to family, love, work, tragedy, and frustration.

"In the middle years of the twentieth century, Americans were burdened with economic depression and world war. Southern small farmers, in particular, were stung by low prices, mechanization, and government programs. Many left the land.

"Farm populations in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas fell from 3.7 million in 1930 to 965,000 in 1969. The fabric of rural life was transformed as displaced farmers moved to towns and cities across the country. A landscape that had been dotted with small farms was reconfigured to fit giant machines."

3:14 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - photos near that sign, showing a horse-drawn plow at the left and men and women field hands at right, with an actual plow in the foreground.

3:15 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - more of the photo at left (cut off in previous photo), showing the man guiding the plow and another, well dressed man (the owner).

3:16 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - guitar and washboard, with photo in background of black musicians.

3:18 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - three signs that went with the photos:

The sign at the left has text that reads as follows:

"Men from the countryside around Memphis [centered?] their lives around the cultivation of cotton. The cotton  cycle began in the spring when men broke the land with plows and laid out [rows?]. In May, men, women, and children planted the cotton. When the plants were [several inches?] tall, the family thinned and weeded the cotton with hoes. Throughout spring and early summer, they chopped weeds from around the cotton. Men used cultivators (plows) to [???] and kill weeds. These tasks [????], ended [?????] when the plants were full grown.

[last 2 paragraphs too hard to read.]

The sign in the center has text that reads as follows:

"Until mid-century, when machines and chemicals transformed rural life, farming was a family occupation. Women kept house and also worked in the fields chopping cotton in the spring and summer and picking it in the fall. Along with cooking, minding children, and cleaning house, rural women usually washed clothes in large wash pots heated over an open fire. Some bartered surplus eggs and butter in exchange for other provisions. Women and children often fed the chickens and cows and did the milking and churning. By then early teen children had adult responsibilities. Men focused on fieldwork and did nearly all the plowing."

The sign at the right has text that reads as follows:

"Farmers' wages hinged on the weight of cotton. Each picker's cotton was weighed on a portable field scale, and he weights were entered in the planter's ledger books. The cotton gin separated the weeds from the fiber. Sharecroppers customarily received cash for weeds, or 'weed money,' but landlords [controlled] sharecroppers' baled cotton fiber, which was sold later. 

"Wage workers were paid each day based on pounds picked. In the 1930s wages per hundred [?????] fifty cents. Since only experienced pickers recorded [100?] pounds a day, most [workers received?] between [???] and [???] dollars for a day's [work].

The last paragraph begins with "Planters," but the rest in unclear.

3:21 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - photo of family gathered around (kitchen) table with radio.

3:22 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - display with photo of "The Golden Star" female musical group.

3:23 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - display with photo of family at table with a bed; old phonograph displayed on table at right.

3:23 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - display with old phonograph.

MT 3:19 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - display with with neon sign for "Orange Mound Hotel and Restaurant Specializing in Bar-B-Q," over photos of men playing guitars and sign about Robert Johnson at left.

3:25 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - sign to the left in that display with text that reads as follows:

"Robert Johnson was born in Mississippi in 1911. After spending two years in Memphis with his father, Robert returned to the Delta. He then disappeared for a year. When Johnson returned to Robinsonville, he developed into the musician whose haunting songs would gain international acclaim, but not in his lifetime. A persistent legend suggests that he obtained this gift from the devil in some crossroads bargain.

"His skill set Johnson in motion in a larger circle--St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Arkansas, and always back to the Delta. He played the chilling blues so familiar on his now best-selling records as well as ragtime, polka, and songs popularized by Bing Crosby.

"In November 1936, Johnson recorded for Vocalion in a San Antonio hotel room and six months later (June 1937) in a Dallas office building. His twenty-nine recorded songs are filled with metaphors of travel, with restlessness, with being pursued by the devil, and with sexual innuendo. Johnson personified the troubled but untamed spirit of Delta music; he went deeper into self-doubt and restless despair than any of this contemporaries.

"In August 1938, Robert Johnson died at Three Forks, Mississippi, possibly a victim of poisoning. He was buried beside a small church near Morgan City, a popular pilgrimage site. He was twenty-seven years old."

3:26 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - display with photos of band identified in sign at right for "Jimmie Lunceford's All Stars."

Jimmie Lunceford’s All-Stars was a big band led by Lunceford (1902-1947). It was a top swing-era orchestra known for its polished, precision playing, and popular dance hits. Their two-beat feel made them ideal for dancing. During the apex of swing in the 1930s, the orchestra was considered the equal of Duke Ellington’s, Earl Hines’ ior Count Basie's. Even after the band dissolved in 1949, their music and arrangements were revived by groups like the Jimmie Lunceford Legacy Orchestra, honoring his lasting influence on jazz.

3:27 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - display about "Beale Street - 901" with separate doors for "Colored" and "White" and sign about "Hotel Clark."

Beale Street 901 refers to the heart of Memphis’ famous entertainment district, especially during “901 Day” September 1st), a city-wide one-day celebration of local culture, music (blues, soul, hip-hop), art, and community, featuring live performances, vendors, and family activities on Beale Street, Handy Park, and beyond, embodying Memphis’ iconic “901” area code.
Hotel Clark is a historic, segregated hotel for African Americans on Beale Street during the 1930s and 40s. African Americans travelers to Memphis could depend on good lodging there. It is no longer a functioning hotel, but its history is preserved in photos.

3:27 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - sign with photo of "Hotel Clark - The Best Service for Colored Only" and text that begins as follows:

"Arriving in Memphis

"When the last generation of sharecroppers arrived in Memphis, ... [rest too hard to read].

3:28 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum -  display with photo of a jug band and text that reads as follows:

"Many of Memphis' blues artists played in small ensembles known as jug bands. These groups featured guitars, banjos, [fiddles?] and harmonicas as well as instruments adapted from everyday [???] washboards, kazoos, washtub bass and jug. Cannon's Jug Stompers, the Memphis Jug Band, and Jed Davenport and his Beale Street Jug Band worked in Memphis and the Delta. Their infectious, high-spirited, and rhythmic music enjoyed popularity in Memphis and the mid-South. While their music enjoyed its greatest favor in the 1920s and 1930s, jug bands continued to play in the area through the postwar years."

3:28 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum -  WDIA radio display with photos and signs

3:31 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum -  Elvis display with photos and military uniforms.

MT 3:31 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum -  RCA Victor record of "Love Me Tender" by Elvis Presley.

3:33 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum -  display with performing costumes (suits) worn by Johnny Cash.

MT 3:34 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum -  neon sign with "Records - Popular Tunes" and "Welcome to Memphis."

3:34 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum -  sign for "American 

Bandstand."

3:38 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum -  display  about Charlie Rich and Jerry Lee Lewis; at top is a "Silver and Turquoise Belt and Firebird Necklace Worn by Charlie Rich"; below is a sign with photos of Rich and Lewis and text that reads as follows:

"Both Charlie Rich and Jerry Lee Lewis had [????] eclectic tastes. Both found lasting success in country music, although they had very different approaches.

"Jerry Lee Lewis had been recording country tunes since his first Sun session, and he did songs associated with artists as different as Hank Williams, Moon Mullican, Ray Price, and Gene Autry. When his career flagged due to personal scandal and changing tastes, Lewis revived it by recording country tunes. He continued to play rock 'n' roll hits in his stage shows but adapted his style to fit country audiences. He remained a country favorite through the mid 1980s.

Charlie Rich originally was drawn to jazz and blues. He pursued a mix of jazz and country through the 1960s. Despite two national hits, 'Lonely Weekends'  and 'Mohair Sam,' and critical acclaim, stardom evaded him. Rich attained substantial success with blues-laden country tunes dressed up in pop arrangements. In the early 1970s, Charlie Rich crossed stylistic boundaries and became one of country music's most successful entertainers. His being named Artist of the Year by the Country Music Association marked an important milestone."

MT 3:41 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum - jacket with sign for "Gold Sequined Jacket and Turban Worn By Sam the Sham (Domimgo Samudio)" with text that reads as follows:

"Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs lived and recorded in Memphis in the mid-1960s. They produced a tough brand of rock 'n' roll that influenced thousands of garage bands. Critics dismissed their biggest hits, 'Wooly Bully' and 'Li'l Red Riding Hood,' as novelty songs, although they were widely popular. Artists as diverse as Joan Lett, Canned Heat, Los Lobos and the Chipmunks have performed 'Wooly Bully' over two million times. Sam the Sham wore this jacket and turban in the movie, [sic for'] When the Boys Meet the Girls['] (1965).

"Courtesy of Sam the Sham."

MT 3:41 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum -  front page of Memphis newspaper "The Commercial Appeal," with headline "Dr. King Is Slain by Sniper."

MT 3:42 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum -  front cover of Life magazine with photo of Martin Luther King below text that reads: "Exclusive Pictures - The Murder in Memphis."

MT 3:44 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum -  entrance from outside.

MT 3:45 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum -  MT by entrance.

3:51 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum -  sign outside entrance.

 

3:54 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum -  historical marker in front of entrance for "The Blues Trail from Mississippi to Memphis," with text that reads as follows:

"The bright lights of Beale Street and the promise of musical stardom have lured blues musicians from nearby Mississippi since the early 1900s. Early Memphis blues luminaries who migrated from Mississippi include Gus Cannon, Furry Lewis, Jim Jackson, and Memphis Minnie. In the post-World War II era many native Mississippians became blues, soul, and rock 'n' roll recording stars in Memphis, including Rufus Thomas, Junior Parker, B.B. King, and Elvis Presley."

3:54 PM - Memphis: Memphis Rock n Soul Museum -  other side of that historical marker  with text that reads as follows:

"Memphis blues was discovered by the rest of the world largely via the works of Beale Street-based bandleader W.C. Handy, who began using blues motifs in his compositions shortly after encountering the music in the Mississippi Delta around 1903. By the 1920s many musicians from Mississippi had relocated here to perform in local theaters, cafes, and parks. The mix of rural and urban musical traditions and songs from traveling minstrel and medicine shows led to the creation of new blues styles, and record companies set up temporary studios at the Peabody Hotel and other locations to capture the sounds of Mississippians who came to town to record, such as Tommy Johnson and Mississippi John Hurt, as well as some who had settled in Memphis, including Robert Wilkins, Jim Jackson, Gus Cannon, Memphis Minnie, and Joe McCoy.

"In the decade following World War II musicians from around the Mid South descended upon Memphis, and their interactions resulted in the revolutionary new sounds of R&B and rock 'n' roll. Riley King arrived from Indianola and soon became known as the 'Beale Street Blues Boy,' later shortened to 'B.B.' Many of King's first performances were at talent shows at the Palace Theater, 324 Beale, co-hosted by Rufus Thomas, a native of Cayce, Mississippi, who like King later worked as as deejay at WDIA. King and Thomas were among the many Mississippi-born artists who recorded at Sam Phillip's Memphis Recording Service, where Tupelo's Elvis Presley made his historic first recordings for Philips's Sun label in 1954. The soul music era arrived with the Stax and Hi labels in the 1960s, and again many Mississippians were at the forefront: Sfax's roster included Little Milton, Albert King, Rufus Thomas, and Roebuck 'Pops' Staples, while Hi producer and bandleader Willie Mitchel, a native of Ashland, oversaw recordings by soul and blues artists Otis Clay, Syl Johnson, Big Lucky Carter, Big Amos (Patton), and others with Mississippi roots.

"The revitalization of Beale Street as an entertainment district, beginning in the 1980s, resulted in new performance venues for Mississippi natives including Daddy Mack Orr, Billy Gibson, and Dr. Feelgood Potts. The Mississippi-to-Memphis blues tradition has also been promoted by the Center for Southern Folklore, radio stations WEVL and WDIA, and labels including Inside Sounds, Icehouse, Memphis Archives, Ecko, and High Water. Mississippi has been well represented in the Memphis-based Blues Foundation's International Blues Competition and Blues Music Awards (formerly W.C. Handy Awards), ant thirteen of the first twenty artists inducted into the foundation's Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 were born or raised in Mississippi."

4:07 PM - Memphis: side of "The Peabody" hotel building.

4:08 PM - Memphis: entrance of Cotton Exchange building.

MT 4:08 PM - Memphis: view, through bus window, of arches of Hernando de Soto Bridge (telephoto 68 mm).

The Viking Daily newsletter said that everyone had to be back on board by 4:45, as the Viking Mississippi prepared to depart for our next stop at Greenville, Mississippi. 

After returning to the Viking Mississippi, we went to The Restaurant (Deck 1) at 6:00 for dinner. For dessert, they served Don's birthday cake.

MT 6:58  PM - Viking Mississippi -  Don with birthday cake.

At 7:15, we went to the Living Room (Deck 1) for the Destination Performance, which the Viking Daily described as follows: "Join Memphis Jones, direct from B.B. King's on Beale Street for his show 'Walking in Memphis'."

MT 7:20 PM (VIDEO) - Viking Mississippi: Memphis Jones show.

MT 7:29 PM (VIDEO) - Viking Mississippi: Memphis Jones show.

MT 7:34 PM (VIDEO) - Viking Mississippi: Memphis Jones show.

MT 8:03 PM (VIDEO) - Viking Mississippi: Memphis Jones show.

MT 8:33 PM - Viking Mississippi: sunset.