first on the list when nana and granddad arrived on friday was some yummy central bbq! mmm...no trip to memphis is complete without bbq! then, of course we had to give the vip tour of smith&nephew. they got to see where chris spends his days over in his building and then the grand vip tour of the research area where i work (i'm sure this was the highlight of their visit!)...i really do have a very interesting job testing new technologies to be used in knee and hip implants and i work with absolutely the nicest people around. there are no dilberts here in my engineering world!
saturday morning we woke up and made our way over to the memphis zoo, which tops our must-see list when family comes for a visit. first on our list was the sea lion show and the polar bears which have a beautiful new home in the northwest passage exhibit. one of the best things about this trip to the zoo (probably my 6th time there since moving here!) were the zoo volunteers found everywhere to share their bits of knowledge about all the animals. we learned the names of the polar bears, how to tell them apart, and that haley likes to give kisses through the glass. we also learned that two of the female giraffes are pregnant with one due in january and one in april...so we will definitely have to go back to see those long-legged babies!
here we are having a great time watching the polar bears swimming at the northwest passage and then posing for a photo op!
of course no visit to memphis is complete without a trip to pay homage to the world-famous Peabody ducks. i always have to laugh when we are there to see them march to the elevator, ending their day of swimming in the fountain. you wouldn't believe the numbers of people filling the lobby and balcony to watch the ducks pose on the red carpet for the waiting papparazzi! this is as close as we could get the celebrities... 
next, we hopped onto the trolley to take a loop around downtown and get a good view of the mississippi...don't jeannie and nana look like they're having a great time!
then something awesome happened...while riding the trolley around we happened upon a movie set! at first they were upset we were interrupting their filming, and then they thought we would actually make a great back drop rolling by as the actress (i think it was nora jones!) ran across the street into the Arcade (an old diner downtown). no kidding!! we would totally be in the movie if one lady in the front of our trolley hadn't waved out of the window at the camera crew! argh! well, you can still look for us in the movie "my blueberry nights" starring nora jones, with appearances by kevin spacy, jude law, rachel weisz, and ed harris :) i expect screen credit in my movie debut! here's a link to a bit about the movie http://www.empiremovies.com/index.php?id=10989 and a picture of the film set so you will believe me!
this next part i'm not making up either...we made our way over to our box seats at the redbirds baseball stadium (thanks to uncle smith & his nephew!) and while i was out loading up my bbq nachos with jalepenos an employee of the stadium walked up to me and asked if i was in movies because he was just sure i was...and i said "why yes i am! i just came from a filiming down the street at the arcade!" hee hee.... then i told him the whole story :)
we had a great time with family and we were so sad to see them leave at the end of the weekend...but i believe everyone went home utterly exhausted. mission accomplished!
1 comment:
I am so glad that your family was able to come and visit! It is so nice having people in your home, isn't it?
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