Memphis

On our way home from Nashville (Springfield), we planned to spend the night in Memphis like we had on our way there. Only this time, we were going to have some time on our hands. Well, it only made sense that we would change our reservation to stay downtown so that we could do some fun stuff and then not have to drive all the way back the way we had come. So, while I was taking a potty break, Rudy got us a room at the Doubletree in Memphis. Holy cow - we were right across the street from the Peabody. Other than the TGI Friday's in the lobby, we were livin' in high cotton! While Rudy was getting us checked in, Caleb immediately noticed the "alligators" (elevators) that were glass. He was all jacked up about riding in those and when we finally got in to go up to our floor, he held on for dear life and his eyes got as big as saucers. He loved riding those alligators. :) We got up to our room and changed clothes before walking over to the Peabody. I can remember being 5 or 6 and watching the ducks in the fountain at the Peabody. I thought that was the coolest thing ever! It was so important to me that Caleb get to see the "March of the Ducks." We got there waaay before the ducks even thought about marching, so we let him hang out by the fountain for a while. Don't ask about the hood...for some reason, he thinks he needs it.We also looked at the huge gingerbread house and Caleb was enthralled by the player piano. We tried numerous times to get a decent family picture in front of the gorgeous Christmas tree. These are the best of the worst:

And then we got this one in front of the fountain. It's easily one of the best pictures of Rudy I've ever seen, but what's up with the faces Caleb and I are making?
Anyway...back to the ducks. Because we were there so early, we staked out a spot right on the red carpet and right at the bottom of the stairs that the ducks use to come out of the fountain. Caleb was more patient than I expected with the long wait, but finally, the duckmaster started the presentation and we got up close and personal with the Peabody ducks. I swear, I didn't even use my zoom on these!
After all of the duck excitement, it was time to eat. We walked down to Beale Street and had dinner at BB King's. (I know...mother of the year, right?) Caleb was enthralled with the live music and did a little highchair dancing to prove it. He liked watching the drummer and tried to do his own drumming on the table. He may have eaten 5 bites of his dinner. Here's Caleb on Beale Street when he took off running out of sheer excitement:

We walked back to our hotel fully expecting to turn in early (7:15?) or spend then next hour riding up and down in the alligators. When we passed the Peabody, Caleb saw the horse-drawn carriages. He asked his Daddy very sweetly if he could ride the "hearses" (horses) then was so distraught when Daddy said no. I guess he got to Rudy, because the next thing I knew - we were at an ATM getting money to pay the carriage driver. We went on a very nice (but chilly) carriage ride through several of Memphis' downtown parks and saw some beautiful Christmas lights. (We had an interesting encounter with a homeless man in Confederate Park who greeted us with "I hate white people" and several expletives that I won't quote here. Caleb entertained us later by repeating "I hate white people" when we got back to our hotel room. At least he didn't repeat the expletives.) Here's a picture of us on the carriage:

We left Memphis around 9:00 this morning, headed for home. When we were somewhere around the Stuttgart exit, my cell phone rang. It was my Memmie, calling to tell me that my Poppie was in the hospital in NLR with pneumonia. I told her we would be there soon. When we got to the hospital, we found out that Caleb couldn't go in the room, so Rudy stayed in the lobby and rode the escalators with him while I visited with Memmie and Poppie. Poppie said that his doctor told him that he came to the hospital early enough this time that the pneumonia shouldn't be too bad and he should be able to go home in about 4 days. I'm praying that is true. I switched off with Rudy so he could go up for a quick visit and so Memmie could see Caleb. I left the hospital with a heavy heart. It's just so hard to see my Poppie sick and honestly, Memmie isn't feeling much better. She's has chronic and severe pain that is keeping her from doing the things that she enjoys doing. I hate being too far away from them to help. All I can do from here is pray. I'll call to check on them frequently and if I need to go back down there this weekend, I will.

We got home this evening around 5:00 after driving part of the way home in snow. It started snowing on us around Altus and stopped right before we got home. There were times when it was pretty thick, but nothing is on the ground at our house. We got everything unpacked and the laundry started. Caleb played and played with his toys when he got home and then I gave him a bath and put him to bed. He hasn't made a sound since I closed the door 2 1/2 hours ago. Now it's my turn to hit the bed too. Rudy is already asleep and I should've been asleep a while ago. A busy week awaits...