Sunday 25th January 2015
We rose at leisurely pace at the Inn at Ole Miss, re-packed and walked into town. Most places were closed and the town was at church. We strolled around the square and then waited for City Grocery to open. It opened at 11 am and we sat down to brunch with a couple of good Bloody Mary's. The brunch was excellent with pork belly and shrimp and grits as well as some smoked tomato soup and ‘monkey bread’. This is a James Beard rated restaurant and the food met those standards.
At the end of the meal, MAC realized we were in the wrong place!! A sister restaurant called BBB (standing for Big Bad Breakfast), whose motto is ‘Lard have Mercy’ was the place we SHOULDER have had breakfast. Oh well!! Anyway, we then walked back to the Ole Miss campus and took a walking tour of the buildings. They are very impressive and the Lyceum still has a bullet hole in the top of the door a vestige of the troubles here in 1962 when James Meredith, the first black man to enter the college caused an outbreak of violence. On the campus there is a moving monument showing Mr. Meredith entering a doorway. The campus was eerily quiet, perhaps because it was Sunday. A recent graduate and his wife and small child asked us to take their photo on the steps of the Lyceum and we obliged.
After touring the campus which consists of mainly modern buildings, we drove out of town and found BBB. Well, what can you do?? Of course we had to go in and just order something with bacon in it. We just had a BLT which was excellent with bread and butter pickles and spicy Tabasco in it. This was about all we could manage after our brunch and was really more than we needed but you can't just leave without trying something……can you?
Then it was off to Memphis. It took us about an hour and a half to get there and we arrived at about 4.30 pm. This was significant as we booked into the Peabody Hotel just in time to see the procession of the ducks from the lobby up in the elevator to the roof which takes place at 5 pm every day. The reverse process takes place at 11 am in the morning. There is a red coated DuckMaster who is the master of ceremonies. He relates the history of the hotel and the tradition of the ducks migrating from the roof to the lobby and back. The ducks swim around in a fountain in the lobby. It is tricky getting photos of the procession as it is. Dark, flash is discouraged and everyone is leaning forward but I did get a few.
The tradition of the ducks at the Peabody started in 1933 with a tipsy prank by two hunters who kept live decoy ducks. One of them was Frank Schutter who was at the time the General Manager of the hotel. He and his friend Chip Barwick thought it would be fun to put their live decoy ducks in the fountain in the lobby of the hotel. This proved an attraction and over the years, an animal trainer showed how the ducks could be persuaded to parade across the lobby to their roost on the roof. The mallard ducks are bred locally and spend some time in the hotel after which they are ‘retired’ and released into the wild. There are usually four ducks and one drake. The ceremony which is conducted by the DuckMaster has been formalized and is now known all over the world.
The Peabody is a grand place and our room is large and old-fashioned grand.
After a short rest we went down to the lobby bar and had a cocktail. Then we had a very light dinner in the Capriccio Grill to give our stomachs a rest for all the heavy food we have had on the trip so far.
Then we moved the car from valet parking to self parking to save a bit of cost. This had us making a short drive around the block which allowed us a peek down Beale Street which was closed off to traffic. We had been told it would be busy but it seemed rather deserted on this Sunday evening. Parked we repaired to bed.
We rose at leisurely pace at the Inn at Ole Miss, re-packed and walked into town. Most places were closed and the town was at church. We strolled around the square and then waited for City Grocery to open. It opened at 11 am and we sat down to brunch with a couple of good Bloody Mary's. The brunch was excellent with pork belly and shrimp and grits as well as some smoked tomato soup and ‘monkey bread’. This is a James Beard rated restaurant and the food met those standards.
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| City Grocery Restaurant |
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| Shrimp & Grits |
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| The story of the town of Oxford |
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| Statue of William Faulkner in Oxford town square |
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| Maybe they stole this from Oxford, England?? |
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| The imposing Oxford Town Hall |
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| A recent graduate and his family posing in front of the Lyceum |
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| The doorway to the Lyceum, note the bullet hole at the top left of the doorway |
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| The story of the Lyceum and its role in civil rights |
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| The Lyceum Building |
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| The Civil Rights Monument which commemorates James Meredith's enrollment into Ole Miss on 10/1/1962. He had tried several times before to enroll but on this occasion, despite opposition, he was successful. |
After touring the campus which consists of mainly modern buildings, we drove out of town and found BBB. Well, what can you do?? Of course we had to go in and just order something with bacon in it. We just had a BLT which was excellent with bread and butter pickles and spicy Tabasco in it. This was about all we could manage after our brunch and was really more than we needed but you can't just leave without trying something……can you?
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| *BBB* !! |
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| Big Bad Breakfast whose mantra is " Lard have Mercy" - I got the t-shirt!! |
The tradition of the ducks at the Peabody started in 1933 with a tipsy prank by two hunters who kept live decoy ducks. One of them was Frank Schutter who was at the time the General Manager of the hotel. He and his friend Chip Barwick thought it would be fun to put their live decoy ducks in the fountain in the lobby of the hotel. This proved an attraction and over the years, an animal trainer showed how the ducks could be persuaded to parade across the lobby to their roost on the roof. The mallard ducks are bred locally and spend some time in the hotel after which they are ‘retired’ and released into the wild. There are usually four ducks and one drake. The ceremony which is conducted by the DuckMaster has been formalized and is now known all over the world.
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| Waiting for the ducks |
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| In their daytime playground |
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| The DuckMaster who conducts the ceremony |
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| Here they come!!! |
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| The Peabody Hotel Lobby |
Then we moved the car from valet parking to self parking to save a bit of cost. This had us making a short drive around the block which allowed us a peek down Beale Street which was closed off to traffic. We had been told it would be busy but it seemed rather deserted on this Sunday evening. Parked we repaired to bed.
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