My wife and I decided to escape from our jobs and our puppies to have a relaxing anniversary trip to Memphis, TN. Due to my wife being 10 weeks pregnant, she set a goal to keep food down and not have to bow to the porcelain god. We found a nice hotel located at exit 215 off of interstate 240. Exit 215 Popular Avenue, is where a majority of my exploring began. My wife was subjected to frequent naps and this providing those opportunities for me to go out to play and explore.
On my adventures of Popular Avenue, I found that on one end there were lots of steakhouses, ranging from Houston’s to Fleming’s. As I was heading out further past the steakhouses I ran into this great little bagel shop. The bagel shop was called The Bagel Company of Memphis.
The Bagel Company is like your favorite neighborhood diner. There were customers of all ages buying from their great selection of bagels or staying to dine in. My wife was in a better mood this morning after sleeping in an
d was able to enjoy the veggie omelet and I dug into my farmer’s skillet…….....mmm.......mmm..…Munch, Munch, Munch, and yum! Sorry folks the aroma of my breakfast got the best of me and I had to devour it because the customer next to me was eyeballing my food. Graceland the home of Elvis was our big stop for the trip. We heard that you needed to purchase the platinum tour and I would recommend it as well. The platinum tour consists of a tour of Elvis’s house, His airplane, The Lisa Marie, Private Presley, Elvis car museum, and Sincerely Elvis. The tour was well worth it and I will give you a hint dig up that old college id to get $4.50 off. My wife and I appreciated the tour but the heat and lots of walking took a toll on her, naptime was soon to follow. After dropping my wife off at the hotel and triple checking everything to make sure she was set for a great nap, I decided to venture out the opposing direction on Popular Avenue. I encountered the infamous Corky’s barbeque and next door was this small unique camping gear store called Outdoors Inc.
Now, You all know that I am a gear junkie. It is in my blood and I love to travel and visit small business and mom and pop gear stores. There is nothing like a personable and comfortable atmosphere and Outdoors Inc. was the place to be. This gear store was like walking into a wonderland of gear from floor to ceiling and it seemed that it would never end. I had to step outside to see how they were able to place some much in what appeared to be such a limited space. I meet with Jay and another employee, sorry I did not get the other employees name. I started meandering through the store admiring the layout before I asked the employee about Lotus Design life jackets. I was interested in what would be a perfect style for my wife for the future. He replied that Lotus Designs had stop producing products and that Astral and Stohlquist would be brands to look for. I helped him sell another customer webbing to go along with a pair of hiking boots, socks, and gaiters. You maybe asking why sell webbing? I educated the customer that if he used three quarters inch tubular webbing to thread his gaiter straps, it would help extend the straps life. Another bonus would be he would not have to do a mid-trail repair if a sharp rock happened to bite that strap in half. I gave the customer another hint that if he tucked his hiking socks below the gaiter it would help to keep his feet dryer when he said that he would be mostly running in fields and tall grass. Both the employee and customer were very thankful for the advice. This is where I bumped into Jay, I had to further my research on my replacement hiking shoes. My Salomon’s got their souls worn off, and my Garmont's had some major blowouts on each side of the toe box. Jay helped lead me towards several different types of shoes from Garmont, Vasque, North Face, Montrail, and Salomon. He was able to relate his own road running and half marathon experience to help me narrow down my shoe choices. Outdoors Inc was great by having shoes that local gear stores here in Nashville do not carry. I have read reviews on them but was unable to put my hands on them until Memphis. Bottom line: Outdoors Inc. rocks and is a place to visit if you’re in the Memphis area. If you would like to get more information about Outdoors Inc. check out there website at: http://www.outdoorsinc.com/
Oops! I almost forgot one of the best meals that I had in Memphis. Corky’s was my evening meal after spending a long evening at Outdoors Inc. The placement for Corky’s is great just about twenty paces from Outdoors Inc. I am sad to say that barbeque is my weakness when the smoke smacks you like a bad habit and pulls you towards the great menu that awaits. My wife had mentioned that she wanted to get the banana pudding and I finished out the order with a dry ribs and shrimp combo meal. The meal came with coleslaw and beans which increase that great flavoring of the Corky’s barbeque. Corky’s helped to finish out a great trip to the Memphis area. Here is Corky’s website information if your wanting to try the Memphis barbeque. http://corkysmemphis.com/
Bentley -VentureTree Team
Check out more about The Great Shoe Hunt in our next article coming soon.
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