When I started planning our summer road trip, we had two main destinations: Colorado and Minnesota. The tricky part was figuring out which route to take and finding fun things to do along the way to break up the long drive. I kept reminding myself that this trip was just as much about the journey as the final destination, and so I got out a map and started circling cities we hadn’t been to that were between here and there. One of those cities was Memphis.
When you think of Memphis, you probably think of blues, barbeque, and Graceland. When I think of Memphis, I think of ducks, specifically the Peabody Ducks.
When the girls were younger, we came upon a book at the library titled John Philip Duck by Patricia Polacco. Based on a true story, it is a heart-warming story about a little boy named Edward, who has a pet duck that follows him everywhere, even to the fancy hotel his father works at in downtown Memphis. All of the staff at the hotel fall in love with this little duck and help to keep his presence hidden from the hotel’s general manager. The adorable duck even gains a reputation for marching up and down the hotel halls whenever John Philip Sousa’s march is played. When the little duck is discovered by the hotel’s manager, Edward makes a deal with him. If Edward can train the duck to stay in the hotel lobby’s fountain every day and march out every evening the manager will let the duck stay. Suffice it to say, Edward succeeds, and the little duck is such a hit with hotel guests that more ducks were added to Edward’s care and a Peabody Hotel tradition was born.
We were fortunate enough to get to visit the Peabody Ducks in person, meet the official Duckmaster in full regalia and check out the ducks’ residence on the rooftop of the hotel. The experience did not disappoint. When we arrived at the hotel, we immediately found the ducks happily paddling in circles around the ornate fountain. At 5 o’clock a crowd gathered, a red carpet was rolled out, John Philip Sousa’s march began playing and the Duckmaster ceremoniously guided the ducks from their fountain to the elevator that was waiting to take them to their penthouse for the evening.
It was amazing to see how much excitement and fanfare is still generated to this day from a little boy’s idea back in 1933. So, if you ever find yourself Walking in Memphis, be sure to stop and see the Peabody Ducks.
