Let's talk about getting out of our comfort zone. Learning opportunities. Brain health. Experiences that make a person feel alive. Along with excited and scared. All in the same breath. Getting out of your comfort zone is good for so many reasons! If you need convincing, here are 5 reasons to get out of your comfort zone. Grab a cuppa, let's go!
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The long awaited weekend arrived. Brad & I left the comforts of home. Entrusting the care of our beloved animals to others. We flew to Memphis, TN. Never ever in my life have I said "I wish I could go to Memphis". You don't know, what you don't know and I am SO glad we went!!
We got common responses when sharing our up coming adventure "why Memphis" and/or "why such a short time". I'll tease out both answers, in my roundabout wordy Aurora way.
The short (er) backstory that led us to Memphis: A few years ago I stumbled across a Spanish style guitarist. During shutdown. A time that was tough for all of us. Life was extra hard, as I watched my mom slowly fade away.
Discovering Jesse Cook has been pivotal. He is an extremely talented classical guitarist out of Canada. The music he shares with the world is similar to what I grew up listening to.
I longed to hear Jesse play live. I knew it would be so healing, for my head and heart.
When the world opened back up, his "Libre" tour hit the road. Libre means "Free" in English. This tour was the music written during shutdown. I've danced around the fire pit, cried, smiled and healed while listening to these songs. Personal processing, while absorbing his heartfelt rhythmic messages.
I really wanted to hear this specific music set.
I thought we could go to Canada to see him! or maybe Denver!! All options presented less than ideal scenarios. I accepted the reality that I would never see the Libre tour live. We are not regular travelers. The last time I was on a plane was 2018. Jesse only plays key venues, in larger cities. Certainly not the Midwest. Not a single person I know has heard of him. Sad but true.
2024 is a year of big anticipated change for both Brad & I. The start of new chapters. A year of growth. To release. Live dreams. He proposed going to Memphis for my birthday for a concert. Not just any concert. A Jesse Cook concert!!!
The idea was met with a lot of concern and research. The minute I said yes, Brad booked the flight and a very us kinda hotel. Let me tell you, the hotel was ducky!!
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heading out for an adventure
and also when flying back
I LOVE watching clouds from a different view
We stayed at The Peabody a beautiful historic hotel. Have you heard of it? There is gobs of the hotels history online. Click through if interested. We had two things planned, watching the concert and seeing their famous ducks. We booked our trip last year. Unfortunately the lobby fountain was under repair. We missed watching the ducks swim in the marble fountain all day long, in the middle of a fancy hotel by 3 weeks. Totally okay. The ducks still marched out/in.
Sometimes even ducks have to learn new tricks.
a very charismatic Duck Master
look at the joy on all the faces
quack, quack they all marched back
We watched the march twice from two different vantage points and Duck Masters. There are duck motifs absolutely everywhere in the hotel! From the artwork to towels to desserts. I'll spare you my ducky snapshots.
Our son checked in, so I sent these trip photos of day one:
touring Memphis in style
terrible wide angle photo of us, but even Brad is smiling
We said "put him back here with us" and Brad made an instant friend.
Our son said: "Of course you guys find horses & dogs" .
What can I say? It was meant to be. The very first time we walked out of our hotel, they found us. We really enjoyed the company & city night sights. It was the perfect ice breaker and intro to Memphis.
When on vaycay we seek out the friendly native folks to learn the ropes. Memphis is not only a music town, it is a foodie town ~ and the people of Memphis are incredibly kind!!
A bit of artwork:
large riverside confederate display
(sorry about the carriage light flair)
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street mural
Saturday it sprinkled off/on during the day. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast and walked around the city between the drops.
Elvis plaza
I've answered 999 times, we have no interest in touring Graceland. Sorry, not sorry. However, I did come home with the above Elvis photo. I think that counts ;) For some, it is a bucket list reason for visiting this great city.
Beale Street during the day
(also not our jam, nothing to do with the music)
There were many other endearing experiences, that revolve mostly around the local people we connected with. So many shared laughs!
We are far from big city lovers. A weekend is long enough for us to enjoy city life. This answers question #2. We would both go back, now that we know what Memphis is all about. Someday.
Post 2 of 2 coming soon, with more trip thoughts. Including the incredible concert.
6 comments:
I am not familiar with that musician but I will look him up. The ducks are quite incredible. Glad you had such a great trip.
Jesse Cook is amazing. What a great experience
Trust you to find such a unique place to go! I will have to check out Jesse Cook.
I was raised on classical music. It has always been a big part of my soul so I can understand why this resonated with you. So much solace in music.
My son and his first wife went to see Jesse Cook so I do know who he is.
One of my favs is Azul.
He actually is one of the artists that plays on my Pandora lists with a mix of others! How cool that you got to see the concert! My father would have loved this.
Whoo Hoo! Comfort zone be gone!
I'm so happy for you. And...all the critters survived too!
The duck march is a big attraction Marie. The Peabody Ducks have been featured nationally on Johnny Carson and apparently even the cover of Playboy. We had never heard of them before researching for this trip.
Completely agree, Teresa!
Shirley, you have felt what I am trying to share with words. BTW, I think of you every single time I think of Canada. Someday...I am going to convince Brad to travel to Canada. I've been twice. He will love it! Maybe even for another Jesse Cook concert :)
Val, I am so happy to read that others in my general area love his music!! I was beginning to wonder why on earth...especially since he has been playing & sharing his talent for a long time.
What an amazing adventure and a great way to start off your new retired life together. The ducks! Just wow. I also understand the draw of music and have a couple of people I'd like to travel to hear, when it works with my schedule. Most everyone comes through Seattle at some point, and that's pretty close. More fun to go to Memphis though! I haven't been since I was a kid. My family is from TN, and so we used to go back and visit every now and then.
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