Memphis Again

Day #19

On our last day in Memphis

I told Monte we HAD to see the ducks at The Peabody Hotel downtown.

At 11:00 and 5:00 daily, the hotel staff parades the ducks from their rooftop palace

yes, they live in the penthouse,

to the fountain in the lobby for a little swim.

We checked out of our hotel in plenty of time

but then Monte had Siri on his iPhone direct us downtown.

She must have sensed my presence 

because she took us turn 

after turn 

after turn 

into increasingly terrible parts of Memphis.

I almost became convinced that she was leading us to our deaths

when we saw a huge angry looking dog eating a hamburger and fries off a real plate on the side of the road.

How did he get this meal on a real Pottery Barn looking plate?

What did he do to the person that intended the meal for themselves and not an angry looking dog?

I started to sweat until I saw downtown in the horizon.

We had to run to the hotel.

We missed the ducks coming off the elevator and parading into the fountain.

But considering the number of people in the lobby, 

we probably wouldn't have gotten close enough to see them anyway.

There are only like 5 ducks!

Look at the mosaic tiles in the bottom of the fountain.

They look headless but were just all tucked up napping
even though 3,000 people were shoving cameras
at them snapping pictures.

This hotel was ornate and beautiful!

We watched them roll up the red carpet that was put into place for the duck parade.

We decided to go to the roof to check out where these 5 ducks live.

They live in a palace!

Not sure if you can tell, but there is a duck
fountain in their living area.

They live in a replica of The Peabody.

I'm sure it is lost on them, but they have quite a view from the rooftop of The Peabody hotel.

We checked out a few of the fancy shops in the hotel that were just brimming with all things fancy and duckish.

Monte loudly asked no one in particular where he could find something with a duck on it

which was my cue that he was bored 

and it was time to leave.

We saw these bronze dog sculptures on the way out of the hotel.

That is the same look as the angry dog eating the food off a real plate on the side of the road!

What possesses an owner of a hotel to commission and install two angry dogs into ones lobby?

We read on a plaque that the entire duck parade started quite a few years ago by the hotel owners who had been on a hunting trip and had partaken in a bit too much "sippin' whiskey". 

They thought it would be hilarious to bring their live duck decoys into the hotel's fountain.

The guests loved it so they kept doing it.

Having the ducks in the fountain,

not sure about the "sippin' whiskey".

We passed Sun Studios on the way to the airport and decided to eat at the Sun Studios Cafe to check out the memorabilia.

As Monte was eating his burger and fries,

I pointed out that he was eating the same exact meal as that angry dog on the side of the road.