We have somehow all adjusted to living with the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the limitations, restrictions, losses and challenges we have each and all encountered.

I want to begin this article with the reminder that Methodist EAP is available to you and your household members for personal, confidential, supportive counseling that is free as a benefit from your company. If you realize emotional support would be helpful, please call 901-683-5658 to schedule an appointment.

One of the many changes that the pandemic has led to for most of us is the practical need to cancel, postpone or delay travel plans. We need to be cautious, wear masks, social distance and stay current with vaccinations. Is there also another way to safely satisfy our need for adventure?

I want to remind everyone that “staycations” can help us feel refreshed as we experience culture and new food without leaving town.

According to Billboard Magazine, MEMPHIS is mentioned in more than 500 song lyrics and titles – more than any other city in the world? (Paris and Nashville, I’m looking at you!) While people travel from around the world to visit Memphis, I decided to list some of my favorite treasures of our city as a reminder for us to get out and experience what we have to offer.

Memphis attractions you should see

Explore the Mississippi River and all the treasures Downtown Memphis has to offer including:

Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid  
Beale Street (especially A. Schwab’s and WC Handy House and Museum)  
Belz Museum of Asian & Judaic Art  
Blues Museum  
Cossitt Library  
Downtown Farmer’s Market  
Fire Museum of Memphis  
Historic Clayborn Temple  
I AM A MAN Plaza  
Main Street Trolley  
Memphis Railroad and Trolley Museum  
Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum  
Peabody Hotel  
Riverboat cruises  
Slave Haven Underground Railroad  
The Cannon Center, the Orpheum, Halloran Center, Autozone Park, and Fed EX Forum  
The Central Station Hotel  
The Cotton Museum  
The Mason Temple  
The Metal Museum  
The National Civil Rights Museum  
Urban art all over the city – (thank you Paint Memphis)   
WEVL Radio Station 

Do you want more? Spend a weekend experiencing all that Memphis has to offer from entertainment centers, festivals and family-friendly attractions.

Agricenter International 
Al Green’s Full Gospel Tabernacle  
Amro Music Store windows  
Ballet Memphis  
Beale Street Landing  
Black Lodge, Spillit Memphis (at Black Lodge currently)  
Broad Avenue  
Brooks Museum  
Burke’s Bookstore 
C. H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa
Center for Southern Folklore  
Central Library (free film series and WYPL radio and TV stations)  
Champion’s Pharmacy and Herb Store  
Cooper Young Festival  
Crosstown Concourse (Crosstown Theatre, Church Health Center, the Green Room, WYXR – another community radio station)  
Crystal Shrine Grotto  
Dixon Gallery and Gardens  
Elmwood Cemetery  
Flashback Memphis windows  
Germantown International Festival  
GPAC  
Graceland  
Hattiloo Theatre  
India Cultural Center and Temple (Eads)  
India Fest  
Indie Memphis  
International Goat Days in Millington  
Jewish Film Festival at Memphis Jewish Community Center  
LeMoyne-Owen College, Sun Studio  
Levitt Shell  
Malco (HD Opera and plays)  
Mallory Neely House  
Memphis Barbecue Festival  
Memphis Botanic Garden  
Memphis Flyer  
Memphis Greek Festival  
Memphis Greenline Bike Trail  
Memphis Health + Fitness Magazine (and all gyms!)  
Memphis in May Festival   
Memphis Symphony Orchestra  
Memphis Zoo  
MOSH (Museum of Science & History)  
Novel Memphis  
Opera Memphis  
Otherlands Coffee Bar  
Playhouse on the Square  
Stax Museum of American Soul Music  
Summer Avenue (including Jerusalem Market)  
Tennessee Shakespeare  
The Children’s Museum, Circuit Playhouse, Theatre Works  
The Commercial Appeal  
The Drum Shop  
The Evergreen Theater  
The Memphis & Arkansas Bridge  
The Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commission  
Theatre Memphis  
Tiger Lane  
University of Memphis (Italian Film Festival), Christian Brothers University, Rhodes College, Memphis Theological Seminary  
Winchester Farmer’s Market  
WKNO  
Woodruff Fontaine House Museum 

There are also 150 parks in Memphis!
I really appreciate Tom Lee Park, Overton Park, Shelby Farms, Shelby Forest, Mud Island River Park and the Lichterman Nature Center.

Staycations are a practical and affordable way to add joy and zest even during a pandemic. I hope you take the time to visit some of your old favorites, or to venture out for some new adventures and to see some of the reasons tourists come here!

With Spring just around the corner, it’s a perfect time to explore! Happy March!

In May 2022, I plan to retire after 32 years working at Methodist Healthcare and am so grateful that I live in the extraordinary city of Memphis. I love this city and especially the people! So for all of you who have made a beautiful difference in my life, I thank you!

Susan Erdman, LCSW, CEAP

COUNSELOR

Susan Erdman has a master's degree in pastoral studies from Loyola University in New Orleans and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Tennessee in Memphis. She has worked as an EAP counselor since the 1990s. Before her work in the EAP, she was a mental health specialist at Methodist University Hospital in the eating disorder and dual diagnosis programs. Previously, she worked as a Catholic sister in a retreat center and as a personnel manager in a department store in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is an avid reader and yoga and fitness fan, and she loves to travel in the Mid-South and beyond.