BBQ, berries and Beale - oh my!

After completing TFA Institute on Friday, July 9, I drove back to St. Louis to meet up with my boo, Lyle. My day and a half in St. Louis spurred some serious reminiscing as I walked my favorite paths at SLU and met up with good friends; I felt like Bittersweet Symphony was playing in the background of my visit. Seeing roommates, friends and DGs (Katie, Emma, Christa and Jimmy, Kelly, Mary, Chris, Bopper, Colin, Paul, Nikki and Molly - great to see you all!) made me think again and again about the incredible people I have met during my time at SLU - and it was only a small handful! My roommates experienced some weepy Candace moments, but tears of love and sadness run together.

Lyle and I ventured south to my new ciudad. Though I was in Memphis earlier this summer for TFA Induction, my time was devoted to TFA-related sessions and events. Finally, this week, I had time to explore and explorin' we did!

Our adventures started at the cliche, but must-see, former home of Elvis Presley. Have you heard of him?
We read the thousands of messages, initials, love proclamations and shout outs to Elvis written on the wall surrounding his property. We even found the initials from our friend Megan Bowman's family!
Apparently, the Graceland gates are magnificently large and beautiful. We were pretty underwhelmed with them.
Wouldn't be a Memphis visit without scouting out some Memphis BBQ for the carnivore I am dating. Tasty spread, huh? And the portabella mushroom sandwich was delicious, too!
During our walk on South Main, we popped into this random nut store. The store is an original Planter's Peanut roasting store and only seven exist in the United States - two of them in Memphis. Pretty nuts, huh?
One of Memphis' touristy attractions is the River Walk, which is a half-mile replica of the Mississippi River. You can "walk" the Mississippi and see the cities, dams, bridges and other landmarks along the way.
Beginning our trek down the Mississippi...
Godzilla moment. Disclaimer: No dams were destroyed in the taking of this photo.
On hey there Michigan!
O hey there cooler state, Kansas!
On Wednesday, our mind turned to a berry different adventure: berry picking. We drove to Hernando, Mississippi to pick veggies and blackberries for a pie. These were the "fruits" of our labor.
As if our blackberry pickin's weren't enough, we drove to a blueberry plantation (family owned for more than 20 years) and strapped on our gear to pick ourselves some blueberries.
"One in the bucket, one in my mouth!" (Blueberries for Sal quote) The plantation doesn't use any pesticides so sampling was a must!
I spy with my little eye... a berry hidden bird.
My kinda man...holding the berries and my car keys.
Newly-legal Lyle enjoyed our night out on Beale Street - especially because it was biker night!!

I am now starting my "second round" of training, which is preparing me for my classroom this fall: setting my big goals, breaking down state standards, establishing my classroom management systems, etc. Post to follow with more updates soon!

Thanks for reading!