Our foreign exchange student and Spanish son, Pau, loves basketball. Like, a lot. He plays on a team back in Spain, and he made the local high school team here as well. In fact, there aren’t enough kids to make up distinct JV and varsity teams, so he gets to play on both.
When we were exchanging emails and WhatsApps over the summer, prior to his arrival, we learned that this favorite basketball team is the Memphis Grizzlies. Well, living in Nashville, we said we had to make that happen. So as soon as tickets went on sale, through the generosity of my parents, we grabbed some for a Friday night game in December. My mom, a major basketball fan, got a ticket for herself as well so she could join in the fun.
We surprised him with the ticket upon his arrival — which may have been a touch overwhelming given that he’d just arrived but hey. Throw ’em in the deep end, eh? He was thrilled! It felt like the night was far away, but suddenly December was upon us and we were packing up for our fast overnight mini-adventure to Memphis!
Memphis Trip Details
Hotel
To make this trip super affordable, we used free IHG Hotel nights and Chase Ultimate Rewards to book 2 rooms at the Holiday Inn Express Memphis Medical Center Midtown by IHG. (I’m all about the credit card points game, so if you ever want to nerd out about it, leave a comment!) Boys in one room, girls in the other. This hotel was a short 5-minute drive away from downtown and offered free breakfast, which is great when your teenager can eat seven meals a day.
Itinerary (the plan!)
Friday | Day 1
- 11 am – depart Nashville
- 2:30ish – check in to hotel
- 3ish – park downtown and wander around
- 4:45 – arrive at the Peabody Hotel early for the famous Duck March!
- Find dinner, walk up Beale street to the stadium
- 7 pm – the game!!!!!!!!!!!! Grizzlies vs Clippers!!!!!!!!!
Saturday | Day 2
- 11ish – checkout and drive to Arkansas so Pau can add another state to his list
- Go to the world’s largest Bass Pro Shops, ride the Sky High elevator, and enjoy the lookout
- Eat lunch
- Hit the road back to Nashville!
What we did in Memphis
Wander around downtown
Downtown Memphis is super cute, very walkable, with lots of interesting things to see including beautiful old architectural details, parks, and murals and street art. We didn’t see the street trolley in action because many of the streets were already shut down, prepped for the big marathon happening the following day.
The famous Peabody Hotel Duck March
Every single day, at 11 am and 5 pm, visitors can witness the cutest little pilgrimage at the Peabody Hotel. Every morning, the Duck Master leads the ducks from their rooftop suite down to the lobby fountain, where they spend all day splishing and splashing. Then every evening, the Duck Master leads the ducks from the fountain back to the elevator so they can retreat to their home for the night.
We underestimated how many people show up for this iconic event. We got there at 4:40 and should have gotten there at like 4 pm to grab a better viewing spot. Luckily, they allow small children (and one accompanying parent) to sit alongside the red carpet for an up-close view.
The atmosphere was festive and there was much fanfare. The whole thing takes only a few minutes once it begins, but they certainly make a big spectacle of it, bringing big smiles to everyone’s faces. Definitely recommend as a family-friend activity!
The Peabody is a beautiful building with lots to look at and explore as well, including a “magic” piano and an impressive Gingerbread village version of Memphis!
Eat dinner at the famous Rendezvous BBQ joint
Our original plan had been to try to get into the Majestic, a restaurant inside an old movie theatre. But when we arrived in Memphis, we learned that the St. Jude’s Memphis Marathon was happening the next day, so tens of thousands of people from all over the world had descended upon Memphis and every restaurant was full. When we left the Peabody, we decided to hit up the world famous bbq joint just around the corner. Since they dont take reservations and they’re used to dealing with hordes of tourists, we figured it was our best chance for a pre-game dinner on a Friday night. We were right! This place is HUGE!!!! And the service was FAST. We got seated right away and had our food within ten minutes of ordering. Easy peasy — and super delicious!!!
Beale Street
Since we had two minors with us, we weren’t about to go into any of the blues spots on Beale Street, but we did get a sense for the vibes as we made our way to Fedex Forum. It reminded us of a very small chiller version of lower Broadway in downtown Nashville, with some Bourbon Street vibes thrown in.
Grizzlies game
The whole reason for our trip! Now, I’ve not been to many professional sporting events (or any sporting events for that matter) so I didnt really know what to expect, nor did I expect to have as much fun as I did. IT WAS A BLAST!!! So much energy! I didnt realize how much activity is happening in between plays or during commercial breaks. My face hurt from smiling and my throat from yelling so much. Skyler and I loved booing the opposing team and dancing crazy in an attempt to get on the jumbotron (we didnt make it).
The best part was how happy Pau was to be there. It was his dream to see his favorite team to play and Im soooo glad we were able to make that happen for him. What a treat, for all of us. <3
Cross the river into Arkansas
The next day, after a lazy morning, we checked out of our hotel and drove across the river to Arkansas. Why? Simply so Pau could say he had been to another state! We stopped at a Love’s, bought souvenirs, and headed back to Memphis. lol.
Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid
The last touristy thing we did was spend a couple hours at the world’s largest Bass Pro Shop in the Pyramid, a former basketball stadium. It is a 535,000-square-foot megastore featuring a 100-room hotel, restaurants, a bowling alley, a pistol range, an aquarium, and a cypress swamp with alligators and lots of fish including massive sturgeon (which we learned can grow up to 30 feet long)! We all had a fun time exploring the store before riding the elevator to the lookout at the top of the pyramid, and eating lunch at Wahlburgers.
The drive to and from Memphis is easy and goes fast when playing car games. Pau, coming from a continent with a robust rail system and a country where a long car trip is anything over an hour, was new to the concept of a road trip. In my mind, 3.5 hours barely counts as a road trip, but we brought the spirit by playing games (road trip bingo, I’m going on a trip…), listening to tunes, and eating junk food. We were fortunate to have good driving weather (no rain!) and to have no unexpected obstacles pop up along the way. It was seriously one of the easiest, smoothest mini-trips we’ve ever taken, and I know we will all cherish these memories for years to come.
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