We walked into a great lobby, with all kinds of Christmas decorations and a great beautiful Christmas tree 20ft high. There were diorama's of a gingerbread town, and everywhere was green designs and a nice rocky floor. It was truly a beautiful hotel. All the nice decorations and marble rocks into the walls and ceilings, and all the green, it was truly nice. We saw in the middle all chairs and couches around a fountain, and a red carpet leading from an elevator facing the fountain to the actual fountain. The fountain was a green one, it had water spurting out and a circular pool, I'm sure you've seen some like it. We were told the ducks, a 78 year tradition at the Peabody, were going to come down from the roof to the lobby in the elevator and then waddle on the red carpet and jump in the fountain. We were told the next show was at 11. We were also told not to distract the ducks, and to stay behind a rope. The man who told us all of these things was a man with pushed back black hair, a handsome appearance, a ridiculous red imperial looking uniform, with a black cane. He was called The Duck Master. He said that when two guys went hunting they used little ducks and strapped their wings down and used them as bait. They had a little too much to drink and left the ducks in a fountain somehow. It became an instant hit, and the ducks never left, they just stayed in the fountain. An old German gentleman stated he could train the ducks to march into the fountain, and ever since they have, although the gentleman has since passed. It became a Peabody tradition, and they've been doing it ever since. This is what we were about to see.
It got really crowded, and we had to sit down, people right beside us. I read my Innocents Abroad book as we waited for a long time. All on our side and the other side, were kids sitting down, playing on either a camera, ipod touch, iphone, ipad, or some other electrical device. I asked myself, what has this world come to? Then the master came back out and selected two girls two be duck masters with him, and he gave them rubber ducks, canes, and a certificate. He told them to follow him back up to get the ducks. He left. It was weird those girls were selected, but I suppose that they payed for it or something. They went up on the elevator, followed by a gruff looking man, whom I suppose to be their father. The elevator went to 1, and then 2, 3,4,5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and then 10. It stayed there for a long time. After that it went to 9, 8,7, 6, 5 (this is when I turned my video camera on) 4, 3, 2, 1, L.
The doors opened. The ducks, four female mallards(brown and ugly) and a male(green and pretty) ran(I guess you can't say ran, but they went fast by.) out. They all just raced right by us, and everyone were like "Wow" "huh" and other things. It was so soon over, I was amazed I even got a video of it. They all went up the red carpeted stairs to the fountain, and then jumped in. One female was distracted by a child saying hi to it, but after the duck master said "O!" it jumped in. Then they splashed around and quacked and moved around, and the duck master took a black board and blocked the entrance from the ducks.There was stairs on their side too. It was unbelievable. And it went so fast as a move of a finger or the blink of an eye. We watched them, talked to the master and asked him questions like how long it took to train them(two weeks!) and then went up some stairs to where signs said was the brunch room. We were about to eat our Thanksgiving Meal. We went into a reception room where you eat like salmon and cheeses and other fine delicacies while waiting for them to call you. The appetizers, I believe they can be called, were very good and we did not have to wait long before we were called. "Bourne, party of four" they said. We followed an old man around a squared balcony that looked over the lobby. We saw so many large tables, with all kinds of food I just wanted to try. The lobby was of the same beauty, and as we went to the far end of the room on the left side of the balcony he led us into a room, a large room, which was of the Venetian Style, with paintings of orchards and gondolas. There was even an old man in a suit and glasses, who was playing the harp. We were seated close to him, to the right of him. The walls all had gold trim and white milky solids. Our table had a white tablecloth, and it was rectangular and big. Every individual had two forks, a knife and a spoon, and a napkin. This was truly royal dining. I felt even English.
An African-American lady with big hair told us her name was Tina and recommended doing all the traditional thanksgiving things first and then making room for other things.
"Let's split up, we can cover more ground more easily. Andrew, you go with mom. I got Rebecca," Dad said. Mom and I went the long way from our end to the other one and left , and Rebecca and Dad right and upward. At first we saw fruits, cantaloupes, oranges, strawberries and blueberries; and then we saw all different kinds of cheeses. Their was also pasta salads, Caesar salads, and all other kinds of salads. I didn't get one, but did get some cheese and fruit. We then saw sea food. I saw seared scallops, and got two of those, which were circular little fish things. I got a little salon, crab pinchers, shrimp, and even little seed looking things, which are black or red, called caviar. I had heard it was a rich people food, so I got some. Little did I know it was called fish eggs. I then looked around, but, as my plate was full, I just went back to my seat, and waited until everyone else was there, to say Grace. When they did, I saw Rebecca had mostly breakfast foods, like pancakes and eggs, and Dad had only an omelet. I said a prayer, saying we were thankful to be on this trip, thankful that we were coming home, thankful for our loving family, thankful for a lot of things. We ate. All of the fruits were good, and the scallops were the best. The salmon, shrimp, and crab were good. Crab and shrimp were cold and fresh, and the salmon was hot and rich. I said, "Okay, here's the first time I'm eating caviar. Here's to being sophisticated."Then I picked up a red mouthful and put it in my mouth.
It tasted terrible. Like salt, solid seedy salt. The worst. Ever. Never trying it again.
I then got Asian chicken, turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and yams. They all tasted good. I had a good Thanksgiving meal. I was full and listened to the beautiful music of the harp. We all talked about how this was the best food we had had and that it was awesome we were going home for Christmas in a day or two. I had a great time with my family.
Now since it was Thanksgiving I said to myself that I could be okay getting a desert. I looked at three full tables of desserts. It was crazy. There were cupcakes, cake, cookies, and all kinds of designs and displays. Three whole tables dedicated just to dessert. It was so amazing, and very hard to choose, but I got a chocolaty thing with cream and a piece of chocolate on it and a jello shaped strawberry custard with a strawberry in red goo with a kind of cracker with sprinkles. The former was very rich but good, and the latter was sweet and good. We then left the floor, going down and looking at the gift shop. There wasn't much we liked in there. Oh well. We basically went through all of those rooms and stuff and got to our car. We drove out of the Peabody Hotel. I had a great time there. My Thanksgiving Meal was wonderful. And I had a wonderful time with my family.
We went through Arkansas, and I talked to a few more people through the phone. There was mostly farms and neighborhoods there, and after a time we went back over the Mississippi River into Tennessee. We went back to EZ Daze, and Rebecca and I rode bikes. At one point as we were singing "Blue Suede Shoes my brown shoe got stuck into my bike and I fell down, scraping up my knees, elbows, and hands, a little. Rebecca went to get Mom and a guy with a baseball cap came over, asking if I was okay. I got up, uneasily, and made it back to the R.V. "Thank you sir," I said to the guy. "Happy Thanksgiving." I went inside, took off all my clothes, mostly, and looked at my wounds. I relaxed on the bed, watched T.V., and put a hot wet rag on the spots that hurt. I was fine after a while. I after that blogged while Mom and Dad watched crime shows, which I kind of watched too. Then we watched Person of Interest, and the Mentalist. We also saw The O'Reiley Factor, and it had a special quiz night where Bill O'Reily quizzes his co-stars. I took part in the multiple choice questions too, and got most right. It was fun.
I then went to sleep. I had a great day. Thanksgiving is about being grateful for what you have. And, I definitely am.
I'm writing this as we have one hour left until we get home. We're in GA. So excited! You'll find out more about that in the next blog post. Goodbye, for now.
Don't ever try caviar,
Andrew.
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