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Cootie Girl: field trip (part II)
5.3.2005
Ok so the pre-dinner drinks were at this martini bar called Swig. It was just the six of us to start (Rich, Gerry, Tisha, Duncan, Dana and me) and we were going to meet two people from the plant (Penny and Greg) for dinner at 7pm. Dana because of her upcoming motherhood was obviously not drinking so Rich drank for her and was doubling up on the Sierra Nevada's while Duncan and Gerry were downing double vodka gimlets (I think) and Tisha and I enjoyed this FABULOUS cocktail called a Raspberry Kiss. Let me tell you it was all yummy goodness and was like having dessert before dinner. It was raspberry Stoli, Chambord, Cream de Cassis (I think) and something else all with a stick with fresh raspberries and a chocolate rim. The chocolate was like that kind you put on ice cream that goes hard but melts in your mouth (get your mind out of the gutter). We had two of these before dinner. Now notice how all the men were drinking like they were college boys again - obviously they don't know that in order to be drinking for 7+hours straight you need to pace yourself.
We went to dinner at this BBQ place called Rendezvous which is apparently very popular in Memphis. We had some dry rubbed ribs and beer and it was delicious (although I should had ordered mine wet as I spent most of the time dipping the ribs into the various sauces on the table). Dana had arrived in Memphis the night before so she scoped out the nightlife and told us that we had to try this place on Beale Street called Wet Willies because it had nothing but alcohol infused slushes (kind of like Fat Tuesday in Vegas). OH and Beale Street is just like Bourbon Street in New Orleans as it is blocked off to traffic and people can walk around with beers - apparently the weekends it gets mad packed with bands at almost every bar. It was only Tuesday so it was just the way I like it, empty enough to get a spot at the bar and a drink real quick. All the frozen drinks at Wet Willies were infused with grain alcohol and the one that Gerry got which was called "get a cab" had the grain alcohol and 3 different rums. Needless to say Gerry was the first to get hammered.
Wet Willies was setting up for Karaoke so we said we would go back to sing when we were vocal ready (which really means when we were too drunk to know better). Next stop on this 2 block pub crawl was Silky O'Sullivan's where we got to sit in the back garden. After about 4 or 5 vodka tonics we had this old guy at the table next to us ask us if we had a camera and that we should follow him to the side garden. Being the drunk tourist we were we followed him to the side garden only to see him call these two goats down from their home up in this wooden tower. They walked down the ramp that spiraled down around their home and came right up to the gate. The old guy at this point was asking if we had the camera ready because we wouldn't want to miss this. He then grabs these two bottles of Coors light out of nowhere and gave them to the goats. Zackary and Maynard (that was there names) guzzled those beers down like two freshmen on their first night out with proper fake IDs. The picture was taken - I only wish I had a proper camera and not a disposable one as the goats both had red eyes (or was it that they were hung over). I think we had one more round there and went to try another spot when we lost Gerry (which was expected) and Rich (who had to make sure Gerry got to the airport in the am). We went to go try and sing at Wet Willies but the person that was singing was really singing. You know the professional karaoke singing so we walked in and walked right back out and ended up back at Swig because Penny and Greg were never there and we kept talking about that drink "Raspberry Kiss" that we just had to go back.
Down to 6 and we all (except Dana (with child) and Greg (designated driver)) had two more martinis. At this point I was taking pictures with my camera phone of my drinks and sending them to Tricia in NY to show her what she was missing. Duncan was telling some more tails of the good old days which had us all laughing. Dana left us around 10pm and not long after she left Greg dragged Penny out for their 2 hour drive back to Dyersburg. It must have been around 11pm at this point when the rest of us headed back to the hotel. Duncan was on the 10th floor and Tisha and I were on the 11th. When we reached our floor neither of us stepped out we just hit the button for the lobby and went back out. I am not sure of the name of the bar we went to, I think it was the Tap Room. I picked it because they were playing some indie tunes and it wasn't too crowded or annoying. We enjoyed two pints of beer and for some reason Tisha got me to call this bartender back in NY to see if he was working since it was his night to work and thought he might be missing us. I got a to-go cup for our beer since Tisha wasn't finishing hers I thought I might. The cup said BIG ASS BEER and yeah it was. We went into another place I think it was called the Black Diamond so Tisha and get a burger as she had the late night munchies. There we drunkenly were all over this local boy - I don't even know if he was cute or not - but we kept telling him to come to NY and meet us at NWP. Fifteen drinks or so later we get back to the hotel - I think it was around 1am.
Let me just say the beds at the Peabody were AWESOME and I might have had a great night sleep had the alarm in my room not gone off as 4:11 in the AM! Then I heard all the thunder storms outside I was up every half hour after that. Everyone else that was down on our business trip had flights back in the early AM - Tisha and myself were the smart ones to get an evening flight so we can get a quick tour of the city (aside from Beale Street). We were able to do a 3 hour city tour and have lunch all on the company dime as I was entertaining a client. The only thing that sucked is that it rained all day for us so by the time we got to Graceland I was tired and damp. Oh and the tour was a drive by Graceland we never got to go in and dance in the jungle room. The highlight of our tour was meeting Mr. Lansky who owned the clothing shops in the hotel lobby. He was Elvis' tailor and his store was filled with signed guitars/memorabilia from loads of different bands and celebrities. The whole day we were planning on our next trip back we loved it so much. (Double bonus would be if we could come back and see the Reverend and/or the Supsersuckers in Memphis.) Even our driver back to the airport was giving us tips and places to visit when we come back. So it is a must I go back (especially to go dance in the jungle room).
