We had planned on going the 160 miles up the Cumberland River to Nashville to visit that famous city, but upon calling the only dockage facility within the city limits, we were informed that the approximately 4 potential slips were booked two months in advance. All the other Nashville area marinas would have required us Ubering/Lyfting 20 miles or so into town to visit. Not so good. Because it would have taken us a few days to get up there - stopping at Clarksville to and back, we thought well maybe this is an opportunity to make some alternative plan.

We rented a car! That way we could visit both Memphis and Nashville and give Salty a break. We've always wanted to visit Memphis and it was a shame that going there by the Mississippi by boat is so difficult. The Mud Island Marina is located there, but it is a lonely 220 miles downriver from the confluence with the Ohio - certainly doable, but if we wanted to go back tot he Ohio, we'd have to deal with debris, an 8 mph current and the need for more fuel than the capacity of our tank.

There is so much in Memphis - you HAVE to go there. It's a magical city because it has so much. From the honky tonk of Beale Street to the tree-lined Main Street trolley to the magnificent waterfront park, the city had many surprises in store. We stayed at the Peabody Hotel - where the ducks march through the lobby every morning and go up the elevator in the evening to their penthouse digs. There is much fanfare and lots of visitors creating a party-like atmosphere in the gorgeous wood accented lobby all day long.

This is a city of music - where African-American musicians came from Mississippi and up the Mississippi River to play and sing in the establishments on Beale Street - the main African-American main street back in the early 20th century. Rhythm & Blues made history here, but not only that, it was where Sun Records set up shop in the 1950's - attracting BB King, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis to create early Rock & Roll on the back of the musical traditions of the city. A tour of the Sun Records studio (still in business) is a must! Gibson makes its guitars in downtown Memphis. Multiple museums dedicated to music are here. Every night on Beale Street, musicians play their gigs in nearly every watering hole the half-mile length of the street.

And of course, there is Graceland... We were prepared for kitsch, but were surprised at the efficiency of the operation. The Graceland Mansion is surprisingly modest for someone that was so rich and powerful at the time. The decor of course is 1970s-dated (shag carpets, mirrors, etc.) but this is not a Liberace nor a hedge-funder scale palace, rather it is a place that clearly was designed to be lived in. The accompanying multiple museums in the modern annex across the street for the truly dedicated fan were interesting in that they were not merely hagiographic in nature, but focused on the huge impact Elvis had on the industry and a huge number of performers that followed him. Well worth the visit.

One of the iconic features of Memphis - is the M-shaped bridge crossing the Mississippi. Behind that bridge is a huge Pyramid - built several years ago for the local pro basketball team which spurned it - and now houses the headquarters and flagship Bass Pro Shop. The store includes on its main floor, a number of ponds including 8-foot sturgeons and alligators - as well as walleye, bass and a number of local game fish. A visit to Memphis also must include a visit to Mud Island where the Mississippi River Museum contains an outdoor quarter-mile long scale cement model of the topography of the Lower Mississippi River from the Ohio River to the mouth past New Orleans - including flowing water. Memphis is also home to the one of the largest medical complexes in the country including the St. Jude's Hospital.

We were also deeply impressed by the Civil Rights Museum, a really thoughtful series of exhibits examining and speaking to the history of slavery, Jim Crow and the rise of the civil rights movement - all housed at the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King. The Lorraine Motel facade is preserved as is the building from which the assassin's bullet was fired along with the story of his capture.

Of course there is the food. As the official beginning of the Mississippi River delta, it has the creole food tradition mixed with the country barbecue tradition - and there is high and low dining at every turn. And we indulged every night. Of course, you can't forget the whiskey - Jack Daniels distills a few miles away - and a Manhattan, a Sazerac, a Whisky Sour or just sipping neat is an indispensable nightcap.