The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, and the drive to my niece's house near Huntsville, Alabama

 The National Civil Rights Museum is built around the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968.

Dr King was standing on the balcony outside room 306 when he was shot. A wreath hangs on the balcony where the tragic event occurred.

Inside the museum, Dr King's room has either been preserved or restored to how it was the day he was assassinated in 1968.

The museum is multi-level with lots of audio and visual exhibits, and a lot of reading material on the walls. It is actually overwhelming, there is so much information and the sounds from multiple exhibits hitting you at the same time. A few times, I plugged my ears to concentrate on what I was reading, so the other noises wouldn't distract me.

The exhibits covered a wide span of history... slavery, lunch counter sit-ins, school segregation and desegregation, Jim Crow laws, freedom riders and their brutal opposition,  peaceful protests, Malcolm X (the"X" in his name represent the fact that his African ancestry name was lost then his progenitors became slaves), theblack panther party, etc. There really was a lot of information, and I had to pace myself and pick and choose what to read or view or listen to, because there wasn't time for everything.

After the museum, as I was driving past Beale Street, I noticed an open parking space on the street and decided I might as well stop.

The street was very quiet in the middle of the day. I walked down the street and went into a couple of gift shops. The sky looked like a storm was brewing, and nothing much was happening on the street, so I left.

I had talked with my niece Danielle yesterday. I told her I was thinking of coming to Huntsville, and would enjoy seeing her. She invited me to stay at her house. She lives in Harvest, Alabama, which is a suburb of Huntsville, and I looked forward to seeing her and her family. Danielle and I plan on going to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center with her children tomorrow.

As soon as I started leaving Memphis, I saw lightning and it started pouring rain. I've been lucky with the weather so far, and don't mind the rain while I'm driving. The rain stopped before I got to Alabama and Danielle's house.

Danielle had a nice dinner prepared and I spent a nice evening with Danielle, her husband Russell, and their four children. We watched American Ninja Warrior on TV.