Memphis and Graceland

 4/21-23

Today we drove from Nashville to Memphis.  It was a long drive (237 miles) but beautiful.  We crossed the Tennessee River and parked our RV right across the street from Graceland on Hound Dog Way.  It’s a bid windy but otherwise the weather is wonderful – in the low 80’s.

I have always been a big Elvis fan – Mike not so much.  He was a trooper though and didn’t put up a fuss about visiting Graceland.  This is something I have always wanted to do and I was not disappointed.   The mansion is not as big as I expected, but it has three levels.  The upstairs is not open to the public.  The property is 13.5 acres and beautifully landscaped.  Taking of photos was allowed but no flash so the inside photos are dark.  Along with visiting Elvis’ favorite rooms in the house there are other areas and outside buildings with displays of his gold records, costumes, photos and other memorabilia.  His grave is located at Graceland along with his mother, father, twin brother and aunt.  The tour is self guided with headphones that discuss each room and pertinent information.  It was very well done.  Across the street from the mansion is a huge area where we visited “Lisa Marie” Elvis’ private airplane, his auto museum and a few other interesting exhibits.  He was an amazing person, too bad he died so young.

After the Elvis experience we took a drive to downtown Memphis and visited Beale Street – home of the blues and rock and roll.  We also visited Sun Studios where Elvis knocked 'em dead with his rendition of “That’s Alright”.  Many other famous singers recorded at this studio including B. B. King, Ike Turner, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Ray Orbison. 

The Mississippi River borders downtown Memphis so we took a short drive along the banks.