Seven Hours in Memphis

I know I sometimes have a warped view of my world... For example, for the past several years, I've flown over 100K miles per year on United, which has bestowed upon me the status of "Premier Executive 1K". Which basically means I'm that schmuck you hate as you're boarding, who's usually seated in Business Class with a glazed look in her eyes, trying to remember which city she's heading to next.

There are, of course, some nice perks to this program -- the aforementioned upgrades usually clear, I get treated pretty well if there are irregular operations (e.g., weather, equipment problems, etc), and... and... OK, maybe that's mostly it.

But the thing is, once you get used to the perks, it's really hard to think about going back to a lower level of status. Like I said, a warped view.

What does this all have to do with Memphis? Well, United was running a double-miles promotion, and I've always wanted to eat at C's favorite barbeque joint, the Bar-B-Que Shop, so on a total whim, we booked a ticket that would put us on the ground in Memphis for almost exactly seven hours.

It was an exhausting journey (we were in the same clothes for exactly 28 hours), totally indulgent (three meals in 5 hours), and totally invigorating. It was one of those days that leaves you marveling at how amazing the world we live in is, and was a reminder to throw caution to the wind and take life by the balls sometimes.

 

Tags: Food, Food & Drink, BBQ, Beer,Photography,United,Travel,Memphis,Oakland,San Francisco

Comments

[j-feld]

I once made a similar trip to eat pizza in NYC. :)

What's an Avery White Rascal?

[Fatemeh]

J- it's an unfiltered Belgian-style white beer. Avery is one of the top 5 US brewers today.
NY pizza is totally worth this kind of trip. :-)

[Fatemeh]

J- it's an unfiltered Belgian-style white beer. Avery is one of the top 5 US brewers today.
NY pizza is totally worth this kind of trip. :-)

[Jennifer BB]

Up until this past February I used to get to Memphis at least annually for a meeting with hardly anytime to get out and eat. I finally made it to the Rendezvous last year while staying at the Peabody (is that the hotel you photographed--and if so, did you see the duck walk?) Anyway, with all my frequent flier miles tied up in Continental I keep looking for a free weekend to fly out west on the same kind of trip (maybe more than 7 hours though!)

[sam]

you know what - I was WONDERING about that crazy trip but i didn't like to ask in company as to its purpose in case the answer was incriminating or was not apt to talk about publicly. Now I can say: 'yes the answer is incriminating, but perhaps not in quite the incriminating way I had fictionalized in my head' ;)

[Genie]

Holy camoly...I didn't know anyone else but me thought these kinds of trips were not only fun, but occasionally necessary. I mean, really, it was a mileage run combined with a food extravaganza -- awesome!

So glad to have met you, and will see you tomorrow night!