Ready for the ScranBarre Invasion?! (Memphis, Germantown: apartment complexes, rent, hotel)

[SteelCityRising]

Well it's official. Early tomorrow afternoon I'll be descending upon Memphis like a locust for two weeks on business! I'll be staying at the Homewood Suites in Germantown, and I was wondering if anyone could tell me what sorts of "fun" things there were to do in that immediate vicinity? Others have told me it's basically a bland suburbia with a lot of wide roads and traffic, but I was hoping there might be SOMETHING worthwhile to see there over the weekend I'll be there. I won't have a car, but I will have access to the hotel shuttle. Any "special" places to grab a bite to eat (NON-CHAIN?!!) My aunt and uncle from Atlanta MIGHT also be coming into Memphis next week, so if they do then we all plan to scope out Graceland and/or Beale Street.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

[UofMGrad92]

Not much fun things to do where you are staying. Several chain restaurants within walking distance, and one Mexican Deli (I don't recall the name), a Walgreens and an Office Depot, a Germantown Park with a lake and a walking trail, and Campbell Clinic if you need orthopedic attention.

If I were you, I'd rent a car at least for the weekend. That's about the only way to get to anything fun from where you are staying. The good news is it is a safe and nice area.

[SteelCityRising]

Thanks, UofMGrad92, for your helpful suggestions. I ended up walking from my hotel, the Homewood Suites along Poplar Street, into Downtown Memphis and back, which was probably a roughly 7-mile walk each way, on Sunday. I saw part of the boat races on the river and teared up a bit to see the Mississippi River for the first time in my life. This has been my first jaunt in life out of the Eastern Time Zone (I wasn't financially "advantaged" growing up and never had the chance to travel until now), and this was also my first time on a plane. I'll be leaving Memphis on Friday, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed your lovely city. One complaint would be how uneasy I felt walking down the 1000-block or so of Poplar Street nearing downtown. I'm not a racist and have African-American friends, but there was a large group of African-Americans, mostly younger males, congregating near a building around noon on Sunday, one of whom kept yelling at me from across the street with "HEY!!!", "HEY YOUU!!!", "YOUUU!!!" It was very unnerving, and I just kept walking and didn't stop to see what was up as I felt like eyes were just watching me pass rather maliciously. It was a very unpleasant experience that I corrected by walking home from Union Avenue up to Central Avenue to Poplar. I appreciated the VERY strong police presence throughout the city, even though the cops were NOT present along the stretch of Poplar (as they should have been, as I felt like I was a walking "duck" to get mugged, which was INEXCUSABLE for a neighborhood on the edge of a tourist-oriented downtown).

Other than the personal safety issues Memphis was a great time. People are so friendly!!!

[Pearlbob]

Let me get this straight: you walked from Germantown to downtown Memphis along Poplar Ave?

I'm not sure it is the police's responsibility for ensuring the safety of people who walk literally from one side of a town to the other without having any knowledge of safety in the areas and neighborhoods they are blindly walking through. No offense, but what did you expect? If you really did walk that distance and back, I am in total awe. I would not suggest that to anyone, for a myriad of reasons. I'm pretty positive I know what stretch of Poplar you are speaking of, and there is a large police presense...aka 201 Poplar, about 2 blocks over.

[BWM]

The area where you felt "uneasy" is by homeless shelters and halfway houses. I am amazed you walked the whole way. WOW

[strumpeace]

That's a crazy walk! You could have taken bus #50 from Germantown to Downtown along Poplar. I'm not a big MATA fun, but I'd take a bus any day over walking that route.

Glad you enjoyed your stay. Sorry to hear about the thugs yelling at you. With regard to your comment regarding the police, they can't be everywhere all the the time. You were on a well-traveled street just a few blocks from the police building. That's about as good as you can ask for when you take such a risk.

[Tigertate]

You must have walked by the homeless shelters. The guy yelling probably wanted to bum a little money from you

I never understood why the city did not relocate these shelters to another location, maybe on the northern edge of Downtown near Chelsea. It makes no sense to have those very ugly buildings with several homeless men lounging in front of them right as you enter the entertainment district.

[Tigertate]

Upon further inspection, the 1000 block of Poplar is near Bellevue. That area does have a lot of people walking around especially farther east near Poplar and Cleveland around the Kroger. I probably would not have wanted to walk through there. You are a brave person.

[Pearlbob]

The main area is between Bellevue and Danny Thomas. There are some soup kitchens and similar things located along there. More towards Bellevue, you are right, there are several halfway houses and drug rehab centers.

[UofMGrad92]

Glad to hear you had a nice time. I'm guessing you were at the Homewood Suites on Poplar near I-240 instead of the one I thought (near Germantown and Wolf River Boulevard). There is certainly more to do in that area and the walk downtown was several miles shorter. However, I'm definitely impressed you made that walk. Most folks drive their car to the mailbox at the end of the drive.

I'm sorry about the rough time you got from the Memphis chud. That is about the only part of Poplar that is bad (between Cleveland and Danny Thomas) due to the number of halfway houses, drug treatment centers, and some seedier apartment complexes. I'm sure it is a bit better now that Dixie Homes (an old housing project) has been torn down, but it still can be a challenge. Glad to hear you found the Union route back east. It's not far from Poplar (and they actually cross about halfway back on your long, long walk), but as you found out, a block or two can make a huge difference in Memphis.

I remember flying for the first time at age 23 (my first real job paid for the ticket). I had always wished I could afford to fly and travel in style like I saw in the movies. Unfortunately, my idea of flying was way off base from reality. It certainly is faster, but for me (I'm kind of tall) it is misery stacked on misery for anything more than about a 2 hour flight.