Mets in Memphis

Living in Nashville couldn't be better but it's not always easy to get our fix of some our favorite things from New York ... pizza, bagels, snow (OK - if we never have to shovel snow again, we will not shed a tear), and the New York Mets. When I looked at the Mets spring training schedule in January, I had an idea of jumping down to Florida for a weekend and to catch a game or two. But when I saw that they were wrapping up their exhibition schedule with a game in Memphis vs. the Chicago White Sox (annual National Civil Rights Game), a lightbulb went off in my head.

Since moving to Nashville, Jenn and I had talked about going to Memphis for a weekend. What better reason to make the 3-hour drive west than to catch the Mets in the afternoon and to hit Beale Street for some live blues music at night?!

Rather than telling Jenn about the game, I decided to make the trip a surprise. I told her that we'd be out of town on March 29 but kept a tight lip on what our plans were. I scored two seats 10 rows behind third base for the game and then reached out to our buddy, Joel Frey, for our 24-hour itinerary. Joel lived in Memphis for many years and works at Travelocity, so who better to ask for some of his local secrets?! Joel -- thanks to you, Jenn and I chowed down on the best ribs we've ever had at Cozy Corner, stayed at Talbot Heirs -- an incredible boutique hotel across from the renown Peabody Hotel, grabbed burgers and beers at Hueys and spent a few hours listening to an incredible blues band at Rum Boogie Cafe on Beale Street. A shout out also goes to Erin Hornsby for some great tips. Sorry we missed Silky on Beale, but there's always next time! Oh yeah -- the Mets won 3-2 and we had a blast at AutoZone Park (home of the Memphis Redbirds, the AAA team of the St. Louis Cardinals). Many more sights to see but we were short on time. The National Civil Rights Museum, Graceland, Sun Studios will have to wait until our next trip.

To check out our Memphis photo gallery, click here.

To keep our weekend alive, we spent Sunday night at the Sommet Center for the WKDF Birthday Bash, a Nashville country music station concert that NowPlayingNashville.com was a sponsor of. The show was great, particularly a surprise appearance by Tricia Yearwood and the chance to meet her backstage.

Until next time ...