Cliff Notes Version

A quick update.....
My wife and I went to Memphis last Monday, and it took pretty much the entire day to get there. We checked into the Peabody Hotel, which is a very nice hotel with many characteristics similar to the Davenport Hotel here in Spokane. Although it was late in the evening, we walked down to Beale Street and sat in a tavern and listened to some live music for a while. When we got back to the hotel, the nice lady at the desk reminded us that the duck procession is at 11am and 5pm each day. So if you have stayed at the Peabody, you already know about the duck procession, but this will be our first time of seeing the ducks.

Our group met in meeting rooms at the hotel, which was very convenient. But at about 10:30 on Tuesday morning, all of us in attendance went out to the lobby or the mezannine level to watch the ducks, and this is quite a sight. The lobby is packed full of people, and then the second level is packed about four deep as well, with people leaning over the railing to get a good look. There is a bright red carpet that has been rolled out that leads from the elevator directly to the fountain in the middle of the lobby. People line both sides of the red carpet all the way up to the fountain. Many are jockying for the best vantage point, and the noise level and conversation level and anticipation level are very high. Promptly at 11am, an elevator opens and out comes a group of ducks that walk single file over to the fountain. The crowd is somewhat hushed but the camera flashes are unbelievable. The ducks waddled with a swagger, but I'm certain they are well paid and probably set for life. They stay in the fountain until 5pm, at which time another ceremony happens as they waddle single file back to the elevator and back to their home. Now speaking of their home.....that evening we had a reception on the roof of the hotel, and that is where the duck penthouse is. Although we can't actually go into their penthouse, they have quite the view of downtown Memphis and the river and they can hear some of the music being played down on Beale Street. There's quite a bit of fowl language! It sounded to me like they use the "Q-word" frequently, especially when trying to make a point or when startled. We all heard a Q-bomb when one duck bit another duck.

The next evening, our group loaded buses and visited Graceland for the evening. We enjoyed the tour of the mansion and the grounds and gravesites. They also have two of their jets on display and all of the cars that Elvis owned.

Then we made it back to Spokane on Thursday. I have now "ran" on both Saturday and Sunday at the track, but there is some making up time ahead after being gone last week. This upcoming week is very important in terms of getting back on track with the training. This was the Cliff Notes version for this past week, and am anxious to have a good week starting tomorrow.