Why West Tennessee:
I saw a $75 roundtrip flight deal to Memphis, Tennessee. While I have passed through Memphis a couple times during college, I have never spent any significant amount of time here.
I then reached out to my friend Keyon who grew up 90 minutes east of Memphis in Jackson, Tennessee for advice. It turned out he was going to be home. So, I pivoted my trip from a Memphis city excursion to some Memphis and some surrounding areas using Jackson as our base. I looked forward to learning more about Keyon by visiting his hometown and meeting his mother.
When planning trips to large American cities, I try to plan around a pro sports game. In Memphis’s case, this would be their lone Big 4 league team: the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA.
January 26, 2024: MEM
My Spirit Airlines flight from Los Angeles landed on time at 17:20.
Keyon was there to pick me up at the airport, which has a gorgeous new concourse. While the passenger terminal at MEM is 1/3 of its former size, the cargo operations are staggering. Memphis is the global headquarters of FedEx and their massive fleet of planes. Memphis vies with Hong Kong for having the most cargo tonnage of any airport on earth.
With a 19:00 tip off, we did not have much time to get food outside the arena. Luckily, I was able to find a famous fried chicken restaurant called Uncle Lou’s. The neighborhood was not great, the restaurant had bars on the windows and many cars in the area had visible problems such as busted windows or missing lights. However, inside I knew we found a gem because one entire wall was covered in awards and recognition from their numerous appearances on TV including Guy Fieri’s Diners Drive-Ins and Dives.
I ordered a two-piece white meat combo which included a side of mac & cheese and a lemonade. The chicken was doused in their “corruption seasoning” which is basically a mild hot sauce. It was delicious!
Memphis’s basketball arena, the FedEx Forum (obviously) is downtown a block off the main bar street Beale Street. You would think that tickets to the only game in town would be expensive, but a mediocre team, injuries to eight players including four starters and an unexciting opponent (the Orlando Magic) all put incredible negative pressure on ticket prices. We got our nosebleed tickets for just $9 a pop.
Much to Keyon’s delight, our tickets happened to be right in the middle of a massive group of attractive mostly blonde girls in their early 20’s. Was it a church group for Faith & Family night? Was it a sorority outing from Ole Miss or University of Memphis? Was it a group event for young working professionals? We will never know. However, a few things stuck out to me with the group: 1. 100% of the women wore blue jeans and boots to the game – it looked like a uniform. 2. The women did not care one bit about the game and 3. They were not interested in talking to us – sorry Keyon.
We ended up befriending the group of six guys sitting to our left. They decided to attend the game and bet on Memphis for both the money line and the over on total points. We were told that between all the bets, $1200 was on the line. It was quite entertaining to see their wild range of emotions as the game unfolded.
Most NBA gameday experiences are homogenous (not a bad thing!!!) and Memphis was no exception. After a hype video and other pregame festivities, the game started. During the game, there were standard promotions and pump-up segments including most notably a deluge of parachutes sponsored by FedEx. The most distinguishing feature of the Grizzlies game was the grizzly bear mascot. Most sports mascots are friendly caricatures, but the grizzly bear was MEAN!! During the 4th quarter, he transformed into a “Super Grizz” and during a timeout did slam dunks while front-flipping off a trampoline.
Memphis won a nail biter of a game where Orlando missed the buzzer beater and the over hit by one point. Overall, it was a wonderful experience and among the best $9 I have ever spent.
After the game, we drove to Jackson. Keyon’s mom Zohreh was awake, so we chatted for an hour or so before going to bed. Keyon’s parents moved to Tennessee from Iran in the 90’s. His father was a computer science professor at a local university and his mother was a primary school teacher. Keyon’s father passed away when he was just two years old, so Zohreh raised him on her own. Since it was always a two-person household, Keyon and Zohreh have a stronger bond than a typical parent and child. Their knowledge of each other and banter is more akin to close siblings.
Numerous members of Keyon’s extended family are prominent doctors and academics around the world. This tradition will continue when Keyon goes to medical school in August. It was special to be staying with such impressive people.
January 27, 2024: Slidin’ and Ridin’
Our main activity of the day was to visit Shiloh, a major Civil War battlefield one hour south of Jackson (and the only National Park Service site in West Tennessee). Keyon had never been to Shiloh so it was exciting that it would be a new experience for both of us.
After an easy drive on rural highways, we made it to the battlefield visitor center. I got my National Parks Passport stamp and chatted with the ranger to figure out how to best visit the site. He recommended taking the 22-stop scenic tour around the battlefield.
The Battle of Shiloh occurred on April 6-7, 1862 – less than a year into the war. Union General Ulysses S. Grant was attempting to control the Mississippi River Valley and therefore the flow of goods up and down the river. After capturing Fort Donelson and Nashville, Grant set his sights on the Confederate rail hub in Corinth, Mississippi.
To set up the assault, he and his 40,000 soldiers steam shipped to Pittsburgh Landing and set up camp while waiting on reinforcements from General Don Carlos Buell’s Army of the Ohio. Attempting to seize the moment, Confederate Arthur Sidley Johnson and his 44,000 men surprise attacked Grant just before dawn on April 6.
During the first day of fighting, the Confederates pushed the Union back all the way to the edge of the river. However, by the end of the day, the Union reinforcements arrived in the form of 40,000 men and two massive gunboats, holding the line. Moreover, Gen. Johnson was struck by a stray bullet and died.
On the second day of fighting, the now 80,000-strong Union force regained all the lost territory and more. After six hours of fighting, the new Confederate head, General P.G.T. Beauregard signaled the retreat to Corinth. While the Union did not pursue, they would eventually take Corinth a month later.
The scale of the battle and its destruction is staggering. 27,000 died, which was more than in all of America’s wars (Revolutionary, War of 1812, Mexican-American War) up to that point.
Just 500 meters north of the visitor center is Hagy’s Catfish Hotel. In 1825, the Hagy family started their catfish farming operation and built a shack to store their goods. The shack was almost 40 years old when Union soldiers occupied it during the Battle of Shiloh. In 1935, the family opened a restaurant in the shack. While the shack burned down in 1975, the restaurant is still around, still run by the Hagy family and very popular. It is one of the oldest family-run restaurants in the United States and if you use the 1835 date, it is the oldest operating business in Tennessee.
As expected, catfish was the highlight of the menu. They served it either whole or filleted plus their famous coleslaw and hushpuppies. I got a sweet tea too. It was quite a meal!
We returned to Jackson and Keyon drove me around the city. Jackson has about 70,000 with 180,000 in the greater metropolitan area. The city is very spread out with no walkability. Most businesses are stretched along four-lane roads.
The houses varied in size, but there were some enormous mansions. Many of the fancier neighborhoods were in gated communities.
Jackson does have a historic center, but there are only a few businesses there. I don’t know whether this stems from historic white flight, (real or perceived) crime, the desire for more space/privacy, but Jackson is too spread out for people to do normal daily activities in the center. Additionally, the main tourist draws, roadside services to motorists traveling on Interstate 40 between Memphis and Nashville and the Casey Jones Museum, are ten minutes north of the historic center. This is too far of a distance for the city center to benefit from the tourist traffic.
For dinner, Zohreh cooked a delicious Iranian meal of chicken and rice with barberries.
I wanted to do something memorable in Jackson and asked Keyon if there were any interesting nightlife spots. While Keyon had actually never been out in Jackson, he heard from his redneck friends that a bar called the Slide And Ride Rodeo has live bull riding. This was the most absurd thing I have ever heard and convinced Keyon to go.
According to the bar’s Facebook page (they don’t have a website), there was going to be bull-riding at 22:00, 23:00 and midnight. We decided to go at 21:30 to see the first round of bull riding and then head home.
We arrived at 21:30 and the place was packed with people from 21 up to their 60’s. After paying the $15 cover, we were immediately approached by a grizzly man Keyon knew from playing soccer as a kid. Keyon was shocked the guy recognized him, but I suppose being in the 1.4% of the population that is not White or Black helps. The man said that he now is an apprentice with the ranch supplying the bulls and that the first riding session won’t happen until 23:00 (90 minutes from now).
The Slide And Ride is humongous. The main room has a dance floor with line dancing and the indoor bullring. Smoking was allowed in this room. In another room there were pool tables. Behind that was a room with a live band playing and behind that is a small room full of couches where I’m certain lots of questionable make-outs occur.
Not knowing what to do for 90 minutes, Keyon and I sat down on a couch in front of the band. Soon enough a very intoxicated man in his mid-20’s sat down next to us. He said he had been drinking since 8:00 am and had cheated on his girlfriend with her identical twin sister. I LIVE for this type of gossip.
After hearing about this man’s insane life for an hour, it was time for the bull riding. The DJ played “Rodeo” by Garth Brooks and then the riding began. The five riders were competing for a $500 cash prize…a pretty low number given the dangers of bull riding. While most of the riders looked professional (or semi-professional), it appeared that patrons in the bar could also enter the competition.
The bulls won all five rounds with the longest rider only lasting 5.1 seconds. We left right after the first round to go to sleep. Hopefully the riders improved for the midnight round. The bar more than lived up to the hype and will go down as one of the most interesting bars I have ever visited.
January 28, 2023: Soulsville
Despite having a late night, we started out the morning with an early drive to Memphis. There, we met up with my mom’s summer camp friend Louis, his wife Marilyn and daughter Rachel (who just returned from Costa Rica). They are native Memphians (yes, that’s the word) and had great insights into the city.
After breakfast, they suggested we visit the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and then at noon we would all meet up to go rock climbing across the street at Memphis Rox.
The museum and climbing gym are in a neighborhood called Soulsville due to the presence of Stax, an iconic soul record label.
Stax was founded in 1960 and was the recording home of many greats including Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Booker T & the MG’s, Isaac Hayes and Sam & Dave. Compared to rival Motown, Stax’s sound was more raw and less polished.
The label survived until 1981 at which point the building was sold to a church and eventually demolished.
The Stax Museum was built in 2003. It is a replica of the old building. The two highlights of the museum were the recreated Studio A where most recordings occurred and the very real Cadillac once belonging to Isaac Hayes. Sex on wheels!
Directly across the street is Memphis Rox, a non-profit climbing gym, actual gym and community center. Rachel, my new friend, is a yoga teacher here. Additionally, she and her boyfriend Phillip are avid rock climbers. For the next hour, they taught me how to boulder and even belayed me on some of the walls. The gym is beautiful and a great community resource.
It was then time to head to the airport to catch my flight back to LA.
Final Thoughts:
With a pro basketball game, Civil War battlefield, Iranian homecooked meal, indoor rodeo, soul music museum and indoor rock climbing, I had quite the diverse range of events this weekend!
Memphis and its surrounding are one of the richest cultural regions of the United States. There is so much history, music, entertaining people, and excellent food and it all feels authentic. It is also one of the cheapest cities in the US.
Memphis the city has probably two days’ worth of major attractions: Graceland, Stax, the Civil Rights Museum, Sun Studios, the Bass Pro Shops Pyramid, and Beale Street are all must-sees. Obviously, there is a lot more here but those are the basic sights in my opinion.
South of Memphis, northern Mississippi has the Delta region (Greenville, Clarksdale, and surroundings) and Oxford and Tupelo in the northeast.
Shiloh can be done as a day trip from Memphis or northern Mississippi.
Jackson, while a focus of my trip, does not have much to offer the typical tourist beyond the Casey Jones Museum and a place to sleep. However, for me it was the highlight because Keyon was there to show me around, giving me a much deeper level of understanding of both life in Jackson and of my friend. Additionally, the Slide And Ride was one of the funniest nights out I have ever had.
Memphis is a sharp contrast to Tennessee’s other major city: Nashville. Nashville’s music scene is dominated by the white-dominated country music while Memphis’s music scene is dominated by the Black-dominated blues and soul. Nashville is 26% Black while Memphis is 65% Black. And in the last 10 years, Nashville has grown at a rapid pace and is becoming very wealthy, but arguably at the loss of its authenticity and charm. On the other hand, Memphis has remained more or less stagnant. In college, I always thought of Nashville and Memphis as similarly relevant cities, but now with the passage of time, I can see the stark differences. Both cities are worth your visit so if you have been already to Nashville and think you have “seen Tennessee”, don’t discount Memphis.
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