My June Vacation in September (Part 4) - Memphis, Tennessee

A photo op at Mud Island Park - more
about this later.

If you haven't seen the previous three posts in this series, my sister and I try to take a vacation together at least once a year, and this year, we had originally planned to take the trip in June, but life happened and we weren't able to go until September.  We went to Nashville first, then to Hot Springs, Arkansas, and on the way home, we stopped in Memphis, Tennessee.

And no, we did NOT visit Graceland!  There are other things to do and see, believe it or not.

Kids were fascinated by the
ducks - indoors!

Our first evening, we drove downtown to the Peabody Hotel to see the ducks in the lobby fountain.  Yes, there really are ducks inside the lobby, and they spend all day paddling around the Italiante marble fountain.  The ducks parade on a red carpet to the fountain at eleven in the morning, and back to their "palace" on the roof at five in the afternoon.

Hi, Duck Master!

We were there Monday afternoon, expecting to avoid a crowd, but we were mistaken!
After finding a great vantage point, the whole lobby started filling up.  By the time the "parade" started there was standing room only!    About a half hour before starting time, the Duckmaster gave some of the hotel's history, including how the lobby ducks started.  Supposedly, in the 1930s, Frank Schutt, the hotel's general manager returned, well lubricated, from a weekend duck hunting trip and he and his friends left their LIVE decoy ducks in the hotel lobby fountain for a joke.  The ducks entertained the hotel guests so much they were allowed to stay!

The front facade of the Duck Palace.  In the
 back is a fairly pedestrian, but roomy and
super clean duck pen!

North American Mallards replaced the original ducks, and that's what kind of ducks you'll see today - one male and four females.  In 1940, the first official Duckmaster, bellman Edward Pembroke, a former animal trainer with the Barnum and Bailey Circus, volunteered to care for the ducks and trained them to march to and from the fountain.  Pembroke retired from the post in 1991, after 50 years.  The ducks are raised by a local farmer, serve for 3 months, and then retire to the farm.

The lobby gift shop is stuffed with duck-related souvenir items, including rubber duckies, playing cards, tote bags, arty decoys, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and books (Make Way for Ducklings, for example).  Duck is not allowed to be served in the Peabody, including Phillippe's, possibly the only French restaurant anywhere without duck on the menu.

The fountain was is one piece
of travertine.  I'd like to know
how much it weighs!

After the ducks had ridden the elevator to the roof, we followed in their web-footed steps to see this alleged Duck Palace.  Well, it certainly LOOKED like a palace, but that was the front.  Around back is a nice big comfortable duck pen where you can watch the ducks do whatever it is ducks do in their off hours.  Here's where they have their food dishes, a couple of duck "houses" for privacy, and a mini-pond for more swimming.

Besides the ducks, the lobby itself is something to see.  The centerpiece is the ducks' fountain, carved from one piece of travertine marble.  The ceiling is carved and painted wood.  We walked around the mezzanine craning our necks at the craftmanship above our heads.  Even the elevators were unique, each one with a different design on its floor, and on the "skyway" (actually the thirteenth floor), the elevator doors each had a different floral motif.

The Peabody was a totally different experience from what we'd expected!  Definitely worth the effort.  If you get a chance to go to Memphis and you're in the mood for some good old fashioned fun, go see the duck parade!