Late again... I know it's my own timeline but I dislike
missing it. Life has been hectic. Hopefully next week I'll be back
onto my Thursday night publishing. So without further ado...
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| Photo by Craig Morris - Hernando De Soto Bridge |
Memphis,
Tennessee brings to mind
barbeque, music and the King, Elvis Presley.
I couldn't go through Memphis
without trying barbeque or stopping at Elvis's house.
My first introduction to Memphis
is on I-40 the glorious Hernando De Soto Bridge. With it's metal arches overlooking the Mississippi river it's almost a car stopper, but the
police seem to frown on that.
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| photo by www.jaunted.com |
My first stop was a little barbeque place on the outskirts
of Memphis. Where I could buy my barbeque ribs by the
bone. They were amazing. Tender, dry, perfect pieces of meat that
melted in my mouth. The place was a
little hole in the wall, but totally worth the chance. When the locals turn around to see who has just
walked in and the waitress sits with you at dinner you know
you are in a great place. I ate more than a belly full of ribs and
beans. I spent the night in a Hampton
Inn and headed to see Elvis the Pelvis the next morning.
Directions weren't great. You assume you'll see signs Elvis's house,
but you really had to look for it. Looking for ticket prices see http://www.elvis.com/graceland/tours/tickets-reservations/default.aspx. I took the self-guided tour with the headphones and toured the auto museum for $33 and change. This included my $5 worth of pictures in front of the gates of Graceland.
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| photo by www.spinsouthwest.com |
Along Elvis Boulevard across the street from Elvis's
mansion is what I'd call the Graceland
strip. Buy a ticket to tour the King's
house, tour the automobile museum, buy Elvis memorabilia. I
stood in line for almost an hour waiting to see Elvis's house. Thankfully the couple in front of me were
chatty. A nice couple from Arkansas out traveling
on their empty nest honeymoon. I told
them about my road trip and they gave me additional places to stop and in see
in Arkansas
next time I have a long weekend.
As we made our way to the buses our pictures were taken in
front of the Graceland gates. These are interesting wrought iron gates with
music symbols on them made specifically for the King. The bus took us
up the drive to the front of the house and dropped us off. I was thankful it was September not so hot
and humid. The front living room had some ornate stained glass and all white sofas. WHITE!!! And they still looked clean! 
I loved the purple bedroom. I couldn't believe the carpets. This house cost Elvis
The basement has three whole televisions and
some odd yellow and monkey decor. It's said that Elvis liked to watch all the stations to keep up with the news that's why there were three televisions. Three TV's would be nothing now!
Out back is room for horses and a building
with a large portion of Elvis's outfits from his performances, movies and life.
At the right side of the house the family is buried and an
eternal flame burns. There's a seated area for mourners that still come in droves. You have to wonder is the King secretly standing somewhere watching as well?
My all time favorite story of this trip was my shopping excursion to the Harley Davidson store down the road from Graceland. I have one of those little Voodoo dolls on my purse. It's the Crybaby. Protects you from emotional upheaval, or it's suppose to. Anyway it was jingling all through the store and the salesperson was rather rude to me. Well, until I went to pay and she asked me what the heck was jingling? I told her "oh, that's just my voodoo doll." She turned pale and took a full step back from me asking if there was anything else that I wanted or needed. I thought it was odd, but realized maybe she believed in voodoo.Memphis was a great stopping place and I only scratched the surface of the city.
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