Tuesday, July 5 – We're winding down our stay at Maumelle Corp of Engineering Park and the city of Little Rock. One sightseeing adventure we missed when downtown the other day was the Duck March at the Peabody Hotel. So this morning we headed to the Peabody to see the 11:00 morning march of the ducks from their upstairs room, down the elevator and into the fountain in the hotel lobby.
The twice-daily March of The Peabody Ducks has continued in unbroken sequence since the tradition began in Memphis almost 70 years ago, at The Peabody Memphis and at The Peabody Orlando, since November 1, 1986.
Being a little early for the show, we went up to their suite. It's a glass enclosed greenhouse type structure on the second floor balcony, equipped with a couple pools and a water spray mister.
Each morning, promptly at 11 am, the hotel's lobby is the scene of a remarkable ritual. The Peabody Little Rock Ducks leave their Royal Peabody Duck Palace, and arrive at a location in the lobby, where a crimson carpet has been laid out on the gleaming marble floor, leading to the marble fountain which was specially created for them. Three carpeted steps are in place.
The crimson carpet for the arrival of Peabody Little Rock Ducks.
From the elevator.
The carpet must be just right before the "March" begins.
The ducks are accompanied by their Duck Master, who is clad in scarlet-and-gold trimmed jacket, and carries a brass head duck cane.
Then, John Philip Sousa's King Cotton March fills the air, the The Peabody Little Rock Ducks march on their red carpet, climb three carpeted steps and dive into the fountain waters. They preen and play here all day, occasionally taking a little nap, and at precisely 5 pm, the march is reversed back to the duck palace, where a dinner of hand-shredded Romaine lettuce, grated (not chopped) carrots, live worm meals and Peabody Duck Trail Mix, awaits them for an evening of quiet repose.
March of The Peabody Ducks…drumroll please.
As you can see from the photos above, this is a very popular stop. The kids were a hoot to watch. The "March" happens pretty fast, so have your camera ready.
This evening we had our friends, Marc and Joyce, over for dinner of….HOT DOGS.
They arrived in the campground just this afternoon. This isn't there first stop at the Park. They are very "seasoned" full timers. We met the couple in Livingston. Marc has shared so many interesting places with Paul. He is our "personal tour guide." Glad you two could make the BIG dinner. Enjoy your next stop.
We very surprised when these guests showed up.
They quacked at us a few times. When we didn't give them a hot dog, they waddled away.
We are on the road tomorrow for Red Bay, Alabama, and the Tiffin Company. We will share more on our visit to Little Rock in future blogs. This town is a wonderful stop!
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!
I've always wanted to see the ducks at the Peabody. That is so fun and I bet the little ones were just entranced. We love hot dogs - just so you remember that. Travel safe. And I sure hope your repairs go faster than ours are.
ReplyDeleteAt least you didn't serve duck for dinner! That red carpet for the duck walk is a hoot!
ReplyDeleteWhere did you find out about this? I thought I was pretty good about finding things to see in an area that we visiting, but you beat me hands down.
ReplyDeleteBe safe
Hahaha...this is hilarious!! I love it!! Just my kind of wierd and funny event!
ReplyDeleteNina
Interesting post about the ducks. Hope you have good luck at Tiffin - hope we can stay away from there this year, so far, so good.
ReplyDeleteAs an elementary teacher this was always a cute story. Now I need to see the ducks march for real. The pictures are super!
ReplyDeleteJohn and Pam
We saw the Peabody ducks in Memphis. Although Paul knew, I didn't know that they were in Little Rock, too. We've added to our list for our next visit to Little Rock. I LOVE ducks spawned by the AFLAC duck. Thanks for introducing another Little Rock adventure! Safe travels to Red Bay. Guess we'll know from your next post whether you make that trip in one day or two.
ReplyDeleteInteresting Duck Walk......It's a great life for them....
ReplyDeleteWe love Little Rock and will be there in Oct to see my special friend that we traveled (RV'ed) with for years. he is in the Military nursing home.
Have fun at Camp Tifin!!
We were at the Peabody last November and saw the Peabody ducks but unfortunately miss the march. Would have loved to have seen that.
ReplyDeleteKevin and Ruth
www.travelwithkevinandruth.com
awww. . .you were lucky to see it. . .the ducks have been retired. . .http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/05/peabody-hotel-ducks-make-final-march-in-arkansas/
ReplyDelete