Memphis Memories

We've been to 5 Bass Pro Shops now and it's definitely on our must-see list when there's one anywhere close to where we're traveling! Bass Pro at the Memphis Pyramid has topped them all!

The first night we went downtown to have dinner and could see the Pyramid in the distance. Even from blocks away it's huge! 

You really can't miss it as you cross the bridge from Arkansas to Tennessee, I could almost touch it! At 321 feet tall (about 32 stories) it’s considered to be the seventh largest pyramid in the world.  

The first thing you notice is the sheer size of the place, approximately 220,000 square feet.  Aside from the square footage on the first two floors, just look up and it's 28 stories to the top! 

You feel as if you are in a Cypress Swamp; there are huge ponds, towering Cypress trees and an 84,000-gallon alligator habitat.

The aquarium in the middle of the store is a 24,000 gallon aquarium that showcases native Tennessee fish.

A quick trip to the top on the tallest freestanding elevator in America, it's open on all 4 sides by glass panes! 

Once we got to the top, the lobby opens out to a beautiful restaurant called The Lookout at the Pyramid .

"Steam Punk" style décor with gears and metal sculpture, another impressive aquarium in the middle of the restaurant. 

I can't imagine how exciting it would be to dine there looking out onto the lights of Memphis!

Speechless, we just stood there taking in the magnificent views more than 300 feet above Memphis and the Mississippi River! The glass-floored observation decks are patterned after the Grand Canyon Skywalk. I have to say it was a little scary at first, then the Awesome Factor kicks in! 

  

 

No matter which direction you look, the view is spectacular!

One more video, I promise it's worth watching... Big Cypress Lodge, the first hotel inside a Bass Pro Shop! There are 103 rustic rooms and tree-house cabins inspired by vintage duck hunting camps. After watching this video, you may think you've been missing out on "rustic" accommodations!

Rendezvous BBQ Memphis

Memphis is a great place to visit, a trip to the iconic Charles Vergos Rendezvous was first on the list! It was everything we expected, aside from our rib dinners being out-of-this-world good, the place just oozed character! Sometimes it's the history behind a place like Rendezvous that elevates it to Stardom Status!

The restaurant has been designated as an All-American Icon by Nation's Restaurant News magazine, they don't just give that to everyone! In 1948 Charlie Vergos took an old coal chute from the wall of his smoky basement tavern in Downtown Memphis and created barbecue history. Over the years he served those famous bbq dry ribs to equally famous guests, including Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and former Vice President Al Gore, many entertainers such as Bill Cosby, Justin Timberlake and Mick Jagger.

Charlie Vergos is gone now, he passed in 2010 but the city of Memphis owes him a great deal of gratitude for his stand to make the downtown area a destination. He refused to relocate the restaurant to the suburbs. 

"When others gave up on Downtown, he stood firm," said his son Nick Vergos, who co-owns the Rendezvous with his brother, John, and sister, Tina Jennings.

The son of Greek immigrants, Vergos was a World War II Army veteran who fought in the European theater. Later on, he was transferred to the Philippines in preparation for the planned invasion of Japan when the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the war. When he came back to Memphis, he married Greek wife Tasia.  

In 1948 they opened his tavern and sandwich shop in the November 6 Alley, near where Rendezvous is now. 

Twenty years later, he moved the business to its present location. From tourists to locals, it's a favorite place to go for BBQ. 

I couldn't help but notice the wall of portraits on the backs of paper restaurant plates. One of the waiters has the gift and practices his talent on customers during breaks. That's the thing about a place like the Rendezvous, it's a stepping stone for others to realize their dreams!