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!

Creamy Wild Rice Soup (A Comfort Food Recipe with Options)

This is a creamy, hearty soup that hits the spot if you've been working outside in the cold.  I originally got the recipe from the mother of a girl in my daughter's Girl Scout troop.  It's quick and easy, especially if you use leftover rice, prepackaged shredded carrots, and frozen mirepoix vegetables for the onion and celery.  When I fix long grain and wild rice for a side dish, I always make twice as much as I need so I can use the leftovers to make this soup.


Creamy Wild Rice Soup

6 T butter
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped celery
1/2 c flour
3 c chicken broth
2 c cooked wild rice OR long grain and wild rice blend
12 oz cooked chicken OR 1/3 c chopped cooked ham
1 c milk OR half-and-half
1/2 c shredded carrots
3 T chopped or slivered almonds
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 t white pepper

In a 3-quart saucepan, melt butter and brown onions and celery.  Stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Blend in broth, bring to a boil and cook 1 minute, whisking smooth, until thickened.  Add the remaining ingredients and heat to a simmer, then serve.

NOTE:  If you want, use 2 12-oz cans of chicken breast, reduce the broth to 2 cups and add the broth from the cans with the broth specified in the recipe.

Chicken with Cream Biscuits (A Non-Trendy Comfort Food Recipe)

This recipe is inspired by a blogger I follow, The Frugal Girl.  I tweaked her version some because I'm lazy (!) and didn't want to make the biscuits for the topping completely from scratch, plus I like to make roux for sauces in the microwave because it's easy to control and doesn't burn.  If you want something more like a biscuit-topped chicken pot pie, you could add a package of frozen peas and carrots with the chicken.

The first time I made this, the biscuits for the topping were a surprise super hit and elicited specific positive comments; they are tender and creamy and delicious.


Chicken with Cream Biscuits

2 c Bisquick baking mix
2 t sugar
1 c heavy cream
6 T butter
1/3 c flour
1 1/2 c chicken broth
1 1/2 c milk
1 T chicken base
1 t salt
1/2 t white pepper
3 c cooked, diced chicken

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix together Bisquick, sugar, and cream until completely moistened.  Roll or pat out on a lightly floured surface to about 3/4 inch thick.  Cut into rounds with biscuit cutter or small tumbler.  Let the biscuits rest while making the filling.

[This step can be done either on the stovetop or in the microwave]:  Melt butter, stir in flour, and cook about 1 minute.  Stir in remaining ingredients except chicken.  Bring to a boil, whisking frequently.  Cook until thickened.  Add chicken and bring back to a boil.

Pour chicken and gravy into a buttered or sprayed 2 1/2-quart casserole or baking dish.  Arrange biscuits over the top.  Bake 25-30 minutes, until biscuits are browned and filling is bubbling.  Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

NOTE 1:  Instead of cutting the dough into rounds, you can shape it to fit the dish, covering it edge to edge.  Personally, I like the individual biscuits.

NOTE 2:  If you want to use canned chicken breast, you'll need 3 12-oz cans.  Drain the chicken, reserving the broth to replace some of the broth called for in the recipe.

My June Vacation in September (Part 3) - Hot Springs, Arkansas, Continued

If you haven't seen the previous two 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 intervened and we postponed it to September.  We went to Nashville first, then to the main event, Hot Springs, Arkansas.  This post continues the Hot Springs saga!

Taking the advice of one of our cousins who had visited Hot Springs before, we went to the Buckstaff bathhouse for an authentic traditional Hot Springs mineral bath experience.  We weren't allowed to have cameras during the process, so you'll just have to use your imagination!

We checked in, made our way to an upper floor where we waited on benches for our names to be called.  We undressed, were wrapped in sheets toga-style and led to our individual bathing cubicles where we literally climbed, via a step stool, into the biggest bathtubs I've ever seen.  These tubs are long enough that I stretched my legs out straight and had to have a spacer placed behind me so I wouldn't slide down too far!  And they were deep enough that only my head was above the water.  The water, cooled to a temperature of about 110 degrees before being piped to the bathing area, gushed out of a 2-inch pipe to fill the tub.  The attendant turned on an old fashioned whirlpool machine and left me to cook for half an hour with two cups of hot mineral water to drink, which she replenished several times.  "Be sure to keep drinking!"

When the stewing was finished the attendant helped me out of the tub, wrapped me in another sheet and took me to a table where she placed towels soaked in the hot mineral water and had me lie back onto them.  Then she added more hot towels on my legs and arms, wrapped some ice in a cold towel to put on my face, and gave me a cup of ice water to sip.  The whole time I was on the table, the attendant insisted that we all drink our water, and she kept our cups filled.

After the table, I got ten minutes in a sitz bath - basically, you sit your rear end only in a miniature version of the bathtub.  The first few seconds were the hardest - hot seat!!!  After that, it became bearable.  After that, three minutes in the "vapor cabinet."  They don't call them steam cabinets because it's just the "vapors" from the hot spring water, which isn't hot enough to be "steam."  Three minutes was plenty, though!  I must have looked ridiculous, with just my head protruding from a big white box.

After the sitz bath, it was time for a lukewarm "needle shower."  This is an early version of the trendy shower tower panels of today.  There are vertical pipes mounted in the corners of the shower stall with tiny nozzles that make a needle-fine spray over your body, part of the cooldown phase.  After the shower, I could have had a Swedish massage, but there was a long wait, so we decided to skip it.  The attendant led us back to the changing room, where we dried off and got dressed.

After that treatment, we were basically worthless.  Completely relaxed, but worthless.  It was GREAT.

About twenty miles north of Hot Springs is Hot Springs Village, a gated community (the largest in the world!) of mostly empty nesters and retirees.  It's been around a LONG time.  I mean, I remember going to the state fair when I was in high school and seeing a booth in the Exposition Hall with pamphlets about Hot Springs Village.  It was kind of a big deal.  We'd seen a couple of writeups in the tourist information magazines we'd picked up along the way that basically said that if you wanted to visit, you had to enter by the east gate.  So, being the nosy Parkers we are, we decided to drive up there and scope out the place.  We drove on two-lane highway most of the way, and it looked like there was nothing ahead but the boonies, when we started seeing signs to the East Gate.  All right!  Here we go!  It turned out you can't go in without a sponsor - someone you're visiting (and who is expecting you!) or a real estate agent.  We had neither, so we had to turn around and go back to Hot Springs.  It was fine.  We had a nice drive and we got to gripe (but good-naturedly) all the way back about the people who had written those misleading articles.  The one bust of the trip.  If that's the only thing that went wrong, that's not too bad.

Ronaldo's outside area

One of the restaurants we hit was Ronaldo's Speakeasy - delicious Guatemalan fare.  Another was the Ohio Club, a REAL historic speakeasy.  During Prohibition, it was turned into a cigar store up front by the street, but behind was the speakeasy.  We also visited a coffee shop, Kollective Coffee and Tea.  All of these buildings are directly across the street from the bathhouses, so were backed up to the rock face of West Mountain.  Ronaldo's has a back entrance where you climb up some stairs to the back door and an outdoor seating area that's on the mountainside, level with the second floor of the building.  Kollective Coffee and Tea has big windows that overlook the "alley" behind the building.  There are about three feet between the outside wall of the building and the mountain's rock face, so from inside, it looked like the rock face was right up against the window glass.

OH!  There was ONE other thing that didn't pan out.  We had wanted to take a boat tour of Lake Hamilton, but the one day we could go and there was space available it rained.  All day.  All night.  So we missed out on the boat ride.

All in all, Hot Springs was a pleasant surprise.  Plenty to do.  Relatively inexpensive.  We had FUN!  And we never even went to the casino and horse track - HA!

Next, we drove to Memphis, but that's the next post.  Until then...