We had been in contact with Josh and Aleks (two guys we paddled with briefly just north of MPLS) the past couple days to see where they were at and if we could meet up again. They were in Memphis for two days so Josh could do some interviews for his PTSD awareness cause. We didn't think we would stop in Memphis because our plans had us averaging 65 miles a day to finish by July 25th. This changed after a somewhat tough, windy day, some persuading by Josh and Aleks, and the promise of a hotel and place to stash our boat. Also, we had been on the river for 10 days with no shower and very little civilization. It was time for a much needed cleaning and short break from river life.
We got some food at Beale St. Landing, met the man donating a hotel to Josh and Aleks (and also us for the night) and then paddled over to the marina that their boats were at. Aleks and his friend from college who now lives in Memphis, Dawn, met us at the landing and drove us to the hotel to clean up. I'm surprised Dawn even let us in her car. We showered at the hotel and then attempted to wash some clothes in the bath tub. The water turned black. Our clothes were filthy.
As Josh was going to be doing interviews for awhile, Ders, Aleks, Dawn, and I went to a bar for $3 beers. It was called the Flying Saucer and it was pretty great. A Loras grad who lives in Memphis, Erika Hansen, randomly met us there. It was fun to be somewhere so far from home with people that weren't complete strangers. We then ventured to Beale St. and, although it was a Monday night, it was pretty busy and exciting. Live music thumped out of almost every bar entrance. We listened to one group who played Citizen Cope's "Sun's Gonna Rise," which is an awesome song. We then got food and called it a night around midnight.
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