Tennessee Studs

I was the last one to get to sleep and the first one to wake up.  I took advantage of the extra few minutes and the hotel's wifi to order my textbooks for Fall semester (I'm working on a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics at UMass Boston) and make sure everything else with my student account is in order.

When I mentioned we were staying in the Hill neighborhood after our gig last night, a man we had met suggested we try a place called Anthonino's Taverna for lunch before we left St. Louis.  This guy had enjoyed our show and bought a CD, so we figured he must have good taste!  It was a great suggestion.  The Greek/Italian restaurant is right in the middle of an otherwise residential district.  We arrived just before the lunch rush, and the place soon started buzzing with patrons around us.  I had the falafel sandwich and zucchini salad, Mikey opted for the meatball pasta, and Brett tried the gyro pizza, the remainder of which he would take "to go" and share later.  Everyone was pleased.  Apparently, Anthonino's was featured on a TV show called Diners, Drive-ins and Dives; I can see why.

I wished I didn't have to leave St. Louis so soon, but I was grateful for being able to visit at all.  I had been warned about recent riots in the area, but didn't personally witness or experience any trouble.  I hope I can return someday.  We hit the road and started the four-and-a-half hour drive to Memphis, Tennessee.

We made it to Memphis and found my friend's house.  Phil and I had gone to Cross Junior High and Canyon Del Oro High School in Tucson together, and we reconnected at our class reunion four years ago.  It's great to see him again and catch up.  Phil had a jar of his buddy's moonshine for the boys.  He was aware that I'm on the wagon, so he also bought a carrot/orange juice for me from Whole Foods.  What a guy!

Phil prepared an amazing dinner of grilled chicken breast, corn on the cob, sweet potato and spinach salad.  It was perfect.

Phil took tomorrow off from work, and we discussed some ideas for what to do before our gig tomorrow evening.  I hear Memphis is fairly bicycle-friendly and that it has a few designated paths.  We also talked about getting some Memphis barbecue, driving by Graceland, hitting up Beale Street, and checking out Sun Studios.  It happens to be Elvis Week right now, so there are various events taking place around town honoring "The King."

As for tonight, it felt right to forget about exercising or exploring and just stay in.  We spent the rest of our first night in Memphis hanging out at Phil's house, eating, talking, and watching the boys take turns playing Xbox -- and having a marvelous time.

That's how we roll.

- Jon