We recently did the Historic Memphis Walking Tour. Mike was our guide on the day, and Larry drove the bus for the first part of the tour that required a brief ride up to mid-town.
I enjoy doing walking tours in a new city. If the tour is well-designed and the guide is enthusiastic, there is no better way to get a cultural and historical orientation to a place. This tour met both these criteria, and then some.
The tour starts outside BB Kingās Blues Club. It was drizzly day in Memphis on the morning of the tour. Mike greeted as (my partner and I and a lovely couple from Massachusetts) with a couple of umbrellas and a promise, that āNo rain is allowed on any of my toursā.
A quick trip up the hill in the bus and the tour starts at Court Square. Over the next couple of hours we walk and listen to the storied history of Memphis riverboats and the cotton trade; yellow fever; gangsters, gamblers and ladies of the night; the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement and the slaying of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, and social forces in contemporary Memphis.
Mike is a guide by choice, having retired from another industry wanting to share his city with those who visit. Heās a natural. Mikeās style is conversational and never once sounds scripted. As if you were talking a long walk with a new friend.
We made stops at the Peabody to watch the march of the famous ducks and to take in the view from the hotelās roof.
At Confederate Park Mike explains the tensions and controversies over the removal of a Confederate monument. He presents both sides of the argument with objectivity and sensitivity.
On Main Street there is an extended discussion of the currents and history of Memphis, including the economic history of the Mighty Mississippi and the stories of vice in past times. Mikes gives us a tip about the newly reopened Trolley service on Main being free. We took advantage of that particular bit of advice!
My partner and I really enjoyed the Backbeats tour with Mike. He made the tour educational and fun. As weād say down under, Mike is a top bloke.
Just as Mike had promised, it didnāt rain on our tour.