EARNESTINE & HAZEL'S

Robyn did lots of (Google!) research before our Memphis trip (hence the reason we were able to hit so many neat places and restaurants in just a few days), and as we made our way through her wish list, we pondered our "dive bar" options... The pirate-themed bar was too far away from downtown (and our late dinner reservations), so we made the walk to Earnestine & Hazel's instead (which happened to be across the street from the Civil Rights Museum and the Lorraine Hotel, so we got to see that too).

 While "The Bar" looks to be hopping during Happy Hour on their website, it was a dark, empty place on a Sunday evening... Nevertheless, we ordered ourselves a Mich Ultra to share (they had 5 beer can options, no real bar, but we didn't want to be rude) and sat with the bartender for a while to chat (and learned the history of the place). Then we made our way upstairs to look for ghosts. That's right folks, this dive bar is supposedly haunted.

Apparently they open the upstairs bar on Friday nights. It was silent, dirty, destroyed, and someplace that Jay and Stephen surely wouldn't have allowed us in had they known ahead of time (not to mention the fact that on this far side of town - segregation laws meant that black musicians gathered separately to practice and socialize before performing in the fancy downtown establishments - there were very few people on the streets and it was very dark). We didn't see any ghosts, and didn't record any "orbs" in our cell phone photos (most of which turned out too blurry to bother sharing here), but we got a couple miles of (speed) walking in and left with a good story! Had we not had dinner reservations later, maybe we'd have tried the Soul Burger...

MEMPHIS ZOO CREW

After the Gibson factory tour, we walked (and shopped) Beale Street, then headed to Midtown for a street fair (music and craft/art booths) and dinner (we ate at the Beauty Shop). Since we'd taken Uber on our adventures, we were able to enjoy cocktails AND a beer at Memphis Made brewery. Well, I did, anyway. Robyn and Sandra are not beer fans. But of course I posed in front of the brewery and took pictures of the taps for Jay. I had their Scottish Ale, and it was good! We ended the night with "swimming" (the pool was freezing and so was the hot tub, but it felt good to "ice bath" my legs after the race and all that walking) and girl talk. The next day brought an awesome breakfast at the Blue Plate Cafe, followed by many miles walked and many cool animals seen at the Memphis Zoo!

Do not grab, undress, and kiss the animals. I bought one of these signs for my office. (And it wasn't until we were leaving the gift shop, after I'd seen the sign multiple places around the zoo, that Robyn pointed out to me that each warning was listed alphabetically. And no, I was not drinking at the zoo. Sometimes I am not Captain Obvious...)

 I really love Red Pandas - they're my favorite! The Memphis Zoo had two on display and we got to see them walk around, climb a tree, and hang out in the shade beneath the leaves. They're just so pretty and fluffy looking (though I hear their fur is coarse - I don't care, want to hug one...)

 Not to be confused with the only TRUE panda (the Red Panda, which is sometimes called the "lesser panda", just as you said Jean!), the Giant Panda does not walk around or climb much. We attended their keeper talk and learned that they basically eat or sleep. Nothing in between. We witnessed it first hand when Le Le (the male) sat and ate bamboo throughout the 15 minute talk, then promptly crawled up a rock and fell asleep. Ya Ya (the female) awoke from her THREE HOUR nap as we were leaving... You can check out the Memphis Zoo Panda Cams and see for yourself.

 One of the newer exhibits at the Memphis Zoo is Teton Trek, where we saw wolves and grizzlies. The day was overcast and not super hot, so the animals were all pretty active. We got to see the grizzlies chase each other around and play in the water.

I'm not sure any of us could look more awkward here, but... memories.

 Y'all, it was HOT, so we took advantage of every fan and mister we came across!

S'MORES PANCAKES

While mama's away, daddy gets creative to keep kids occupied and happy!

GIBSON GUITAR FACTORY TOUR

 After a drive north, a fresh cookie and hot coffee, and reuniting with Robyn and Sandra, my first Memphis excursion was to the Gibson Factory for a tour. 

 At this particular factory (they have 3, with the one in Nashville making electric and the one in Bozeman making acoustic) they make the hollow and semi-hollow guitars. Being the weekend, the workers (they have about 70 total) were not present and it was quiet enough (when the giant humidifier wasn't running) to hear our tour guide well. He gave us lots of interesting facts, let us ask as many questions as we wanted, and allowed us to hold guitars in all their various pieces and forms throughout construction. If I'm remembering correctly, he said they produce 60-70 guitars per day and that production time is about 50 days from start to finish for a single guitar (maybe it tells you in the virtual tour I linked above, if you're interested). He knew the names of specific workers in each section and is in bands with a few of them. There is ONE GUY who paints every single guitar (there is one sub, if he's sick) and one guy that does the final quality check (playing the finished guitars) before sending them off to the shipping guy (they had stacks and stacks and stacks and stacks of boxed guitars ready to go out on Monday). Some of the equipment they use is original to when Gibson used to be a furniture factory! Their most expensive (and time intensive) step is the 12-14 coats of high quality lacquer (which sets them apart from every other guitar manufacturer). I thought it was interesting that after the guy paints them, they go to 3 ladies who use a set of 3 specific scrapers to remove paint from the edges (before lacquering, of course) - no guides or extreme concentration necessary, they just chat away while peeling paint in perfect lines to give the guitar the signature Gibson look. (I would be so terrified of messing up the ONE GUY's perfect paint creation! But then, I'm pretty sure I'm not qualified to participate in ANY of the Gibson production steps... maybe the mummy-linen style wrapping they do after gluing the front and back pieces together before adding the neck?...) Anyway, pictures were not allowed inside the factory, so we took a few out in the lobby and gift shop (they had a few custom guitars in there that were priced over $10K!)

 I thought this Government Series guitar (pictured below) was especially interesting. It's made with the wood seized (and later returned) by the government during their raid of the Memphis factory in 2011. The color is called "Gunmetal Gray" and it comes with a Bald Eagle holding a guitar neck emblem and an Army green case.

300 OAKS AND 8500 BEADS

This morning I woke up at 4am and drove up to Greenwood (about 2 hours northeast of Vicksburg) to run the 300 Oaks 10K. This is the same location that I ran the Viking Half Marathon back in March (shorter, but similar route, and they sent me a coupon code for it after the half). The course ran along more of the Yalobusha River than the half course did (probably ~2 miles), through the pretty residential areas, and down Grand Avenue under the giant oaks before the big finish on the bridge. It was lightly raining for the first half of the race (and the second half of my drive, as well as the hour I was there pre-race to pick up my packet and warm-up), which meant that the humidity basically destroyed me (since it was 80 degrees). I was not trained to run 10K pace (I spent my summer doing long, slow runs), nor was I trained to race at all, really (like everyone else in the south, I get into the habit of taking 1-2 walk breaks every mile during summer runs just to survive the heat, since it causes heart-rate to skyrocket so quickly), but since I paid for it and I knew it would be a great speedwork session if nothing else, I went. (Plus, it was on the way to Memphis, where I would be spending the next few days.)

I started off too fast (for my current training/fitness level), skipped the first water stop (bad life decision), and was already bonking by mile 3 and wishing I was only running the 5K... I drank some water, dumped the rest over my head, then watched as my friend Lee went cruising by me. I then made it my mission to keep her in my sights and somehow catch back up to her by the finish line. I swear running/races are a mental game... I had another lame mile, but by miles 5 and 6 and I was pulling negative splits and was able to run most of the final mile with Lee. We kicked it in, and while our times were nothing to write home about, she won her age group and I took 3rd in mine. Not bad for a summer 10K, but I think I'll stick to fall/winter/spring races from now on.

We went across the bridge for free food (and beer, though I didn't partake - I had a 2.5 hour drive to complete ASAP), and ice cold water and Powerade, then I gave up on waiting for the awards ceremony (it was taking forever because they had kids' mile going on) and hightailed it up to Memphis. Lee was sticking around, so she grabbed my medal for me.

The kids' mile was a color run (which I had originally planned for James and Cora to do, before I knew that fall soccer was starting earlier than usual this year). As I walked back over the bridge to get to my car, I couldn't help but wonder whether this particular officer was amused or angry about their vehicle...

Meanwhile, back in Vicksburg, Jay was coaching two soccer games in the rain, spending hours at ChickFilA so the kids could play and socialize (small town - they always see someone they know, wherever we go), and going to Hobby Lobby for Cora to choose her little "good week" prize. Which ended up being a bucket of 8500 Perler Beads... They are making some very creative creations these days!

NOT ELSA

I wanted to try something different with Cora's hair this morning and she was not impressed. She refused pigtails (because those are "for BABIES", even though every now and then I can still convince her to wear them) and when I offered braids, I don't think she realized what I was doing because she was happy until she looked in the mirror. Then all I heard, ALL the way to school (good thing it's just a few miles...) was "MAMA, I don't LIKE my hair like this!" with lots of pouting and grumping and fussing. Why? "Because you put my hair in Anna braids and you KNOW I only like the Elsa braid. I don't even HAVE the brown hair!"

CHICKEN PANTS

I showed the kids a video of a chicken running around in blue pants a few weeks ago and it must have stuck with James because he made me a Perler Beads chicken wearing pants. And it now sits proudly on my desk at work.

READING AND SPELLING

The kids pulled out the old (30-40 years old!) box of flash cards that Jean gave us tonight and seemed very interested in working through them, so Jay had Cora read a word, then had James spell a word (without looking at the card, obviously). Hey, if they WANT to play learning games at home, we're on board! (Though Booooo-opoly is obviously more fun...)

BACK OF THE CLASS

Right next to the TA's desk, getting right to work on a Monday morning. I love that she gets out two pencils before she gets started (she's so OCD, you should see her desk - about a million times cleaner than the inside of James' desk...) Also, those are the Leader in Me "7 Habits" taped to the top of her desk (each kid has them, and they go over them at the start of each day, right after they say the Pledge of Allegiance, sing the national anthem, and recite the school's motto - I stuck around after the bell one day last week just to see how things worked).

The kids have insisted that we walk them into class each and every day this school year (unlike last year, where we dropped them off in the car rider line, even though last year our little Kindergartner had to walk herself through the school and out the back into her trailer classroom...), watching or helping as they drop off folders and lunchboxes and backpacks to their assigned places. Since we've been really good about getting to school early, it hasn't been a problem at all, and if it makes them happy to start their days that way, Jay and I are more than willing to come inside and get them settled. Plus, we get to see their new hallway artwork each week and speak briefly with their teachers, so it's a win all around.

SKYPING, CRAFTING, AND TEAMWORK

 Painting and coloring while Skyping with Grambot and PawPaw

 Checking out the wood pile that daddy and Mr. Nate started today (they're cutting up the big oak that fell behind the chicken coop earlier this year to prep firewood for winter)

 They're only 6 and 7, but they've already figured out that you go farther in life when you work together. (Their other bow apparently suffered dry rot from being left in the playset too long, and rather than continue to take turns, as I originally had them do, they decided that it was more fun to play together. I love their spirit and am so thankful for their friendship!)

 (This one flew so far that it crossed the entirety of the front yard and went deep into the ravine, where they were told not to go - it's copperhead season - so mama had to retrieve it.)

Finishing out their morning with root beer and bowls of cold fruit. Then we ate Elsa and Anna eggs with biscuits for (a very late) lunch. Nothing like a day outside playing hard to get the good vibes flowing for everyone!

DON'T CROSS CORA

CELTIC FEST 2016

(Yes, I wore my kilt too. With running shorts underneath.)

Guinness and Oktoberfest. The Oktoberfest was mine though.

Outdoor Celtic dancing lessons

Showing off the necklace she purchased. (pictured at the end of this post: the wooden sword James bought himself).

Indoor Celtic dancing lessons (so much more fun with AC!) We stayed in here for a long time because the kids were loving it (especially Will).

Cora sat out and pouted for a while. I had just thought she was tired (we had started the day very early and she'd already been in the sun for 6 hours due to soccer and the first hour of our time at Celtic Fest), but it turns out she just wanted to dance with Will ("a BOY, mama") for a few songs.