Memphis - May 9 & 10, 2023
The travel day (May 8) started bright and early. 4am taxi pickup - ugh! No rain at that time, but it was coming down pretty steadily by the time we boarded the flight. That's a good thing - over 100 wildfires currently burning in Alberta and the province has declared a state of emergency. This is my first time travelling with AirTags on my belongings and it is comforting to know that both the bike and the luggage have made it as far as Salt Lake City (first flight). But - a little bit of anxiety going on as I wait in SLC for my second flight. The bike and luggage are both in the airport, but are not in exactly the same location. Hope this is normal handling......... All good - bike and luggage arrived successfully in Memphis on time. Good flights; no issues. A bit of a wait for the hotel shuttle, but that too went smoothly.
I checked in and returned to the lobby for a "bistro" dinner. Hmm - not exactly gourmet, but it filled the hole. Best part was - Cindi and Kelly were there having dinner too. Cindi was a SAG driver on our Sierra Cascades ride in 2016. She has been a guide with WT since 2017. We'll be in great hands!
I got the bike put together reasonably quickly and had no leftover parts - always a good thing. Even though the baggage inspectors messed the packing job up a bit, nothing was harmed and it seems to be running fine.
I woke up on Tuesday without much of a plan, but when I asked the front desk staff at the hotel about the safety of wandering around downtown on my own her response was less than encouraging. So - I booked a bus tour for Wednesday and caught the hotel shuttle over to Graceland, "the home of Elvis Presley".
The little purple part on the lower right is the Graceland home. The big beige area on the lower left is the tourist centre - over 200,000 square feet of "exhibits, attractions, two-themed restaurants, and shopping."
 |
| Gladys was Elvis's mother's name |
After watching a short introductory video we were herded onto shuttle busses to take us over to the Graceland Mansion. Everything moved pretty quickly, but I don't think I would want to be here in the peak tourist season. I opted for the audio tour, which worked quite well. Here are some of the many, many pictures I took.
 |
| The music room addition is the white section on the right |
 |
| Living room |
 |
| Looking through to the music room |
 |
| Picture in the living room |
 |
| The parents' bedroom on the main floor |
 |
| Front foyer |
 |
| Dining room |
 |
| Kitchen |
 |
| Kitchen |
 |
| Stairs to the basement. A few mirrors......... |
 |
| Downstairs bar |
 |
| Downstairs bar |
 |
| Downstairs den |
 |
| Downstairs den |
 |
| Downstairs den |
 |
| Downstairs pool room |
 |
| Downstairs pool room |
 |
| Ceiling of the downstairs pool room |
 |
| Back to the main floor. The jungle room |
 |
| The jungle room |
 |
| The jungle room |
 |
| The jungle room |
My tour did not include any access to the second story; Elvis's personal quarters. I'm not sure if any of the pricier tours did. Found out later that no one is allowed up there - "the second floor was sealed shut out of respect to the family, and also to avoid any macabre attention at the scene of his death."
Then out into the backyard and the outbuildings full of more exhibits and memorabilia.............
 |
| Back of the main house |
 |
| Vernon's office |
 |
| Memorabilia in the trophy building |
 |
| Young Elvis with his parents |
 |
| One of the many paintings received as a gift |
 |
| Another one of the many paintings received as a gift |
 |
| And another..... |
Then, finally, on to the pool area and meditation garden which also happens to be the final resting place of mom, dad, Elvis and grandma. I read later that his grandson (2020) and daughter (2023) are also buried here but I didn't notice their graves.
Then it was a shuttle bus ride back to the main tourist centre. First up - the automobile exhibit. There were about 20 high end cars and a bunch of motorcycles, trikes, etc. on display and all polished up. Mostly Mercedes, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Lincoln, Cadillac. Had to have my picture taken in front of the famous pink Cadillac......
Did a (virtual) trying-on of one of his famous jumpsuits.
There was a big section on his time (1958-1960) spent on his compulsory service in the army.
I found the number of photos and objects on display to be staggering. Seems there are many more in the wings. No wonder they had to build such a big building!
I was too young to be a real Elvis fan when he hit his prime, but I certainly enjoy and appreciate his music. A few years ago I uncovered another unlikely fan. When I got my new Subaru in 2019 I had a Sirius subscription included for a few months. I had my 90+ year old mother (who to my knowledge never proactively listened to any popular music in her life) out for a ride and when given the choice of what channel (if any) she wanted to listen to, she didn't hesitate at asking for Elvis. Who knew??
And then there was the jumpsuit room...........
By the time I was done at Graceland in the afternoon the temperature was well into the 30s. That first day of 125km is going to be challenging for me for so many reasons; this is just one more to add to the list. I think I'll spend a lot of time in the next 2 days pre-hydrating!
Back to the hotel and saw that Emily (our wonderful chef; my third tour with her) had arrived after having her flight cancelled yesterday. She and Cindi were hard at work getting the vans and trailer ready for the tour ahead. These two are dynamite!
And that was it for Tuesday. I had a city bus tour booked for Wednesday morning, so checked into Uber fares - $43 to go 7 miles; I don't think so. I ordered a cab instead. He was about 5 minutes late, the car was a bit banged up and quite dirty inside. The driver was, shall I say... detached.... When we got to the destination he turned around to get on the proper side of the street. As he was doing that, he turned the metre off and then charged me $5 more than the metre read; probably thinking I hadn't been looking. Valuing my life, I didn't argue. The tour bus driver was quite pleasant. Before we got going I asked her to please talk slowly because I have a hard time understanding the accents down here. She kindly obliged. Although I would have preferred to explore on foot I wasn't prepared to go it alone. When I googled Memphis safety, here's what comes up.... "Rising crime levels have made Memphis one of the most dangerous cities in America. The city ranks in the top five of the most dangerous cities in the U.S." Okey dokey, then......
Our first stop was the Peabody Hotel and the Peabody Duck March. So - the tour was advertised as 3 hours. It took about 10 minutes to drive to the hotel. Then we waited from 10:10 until 11am for 5 ducks to walk about 50 feet from an elevator to a fountain. This is a big tourist draw so our driver got us there in good time to get front-row seats. But people - it's 5 ducks. Just get outside in nature for a while and you can find more interesting things to see. But - when in Rome...... The Peabody Duck March has been going on daily since 1940. The Peabody Ducks are five North American mallards - one male and five female. When off-duty the ducks live in their Royal Duck Palace on the hotel's rooftop. The $200,000 structure is made of marble and glass and features its very own fountain with a bronze duck spitting water. Lots more trivia is available about the ducks, but that's enough to include here. The hotel is lovely, though. It has been open in this location since about 1920 and is definitely a classic. I was able to get a front-row seat by joining a table of three very friendly tourists from Alabama. A pleasant young man acted as MC and entertained us for about 15 minutes before the big event.
Next stop - tiny Sun Studio, where Elvis made his first recording in 1954. Other artists who got their start here included Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Charlie Rich, and B.B. King.
Next stop - Bass Pro Shops
This one (in the distance) might be the Memphis - Arkansas bridge.
At some point we drove close to the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. It's a huge complex and is quite the philanthropic success story, spearheaded by the entertainer Danny Thomas.
Then to the Memphis Welcome Centre on the banks of the Mississippi River. Renowned for its two big statues - Elvis and BB King.
They were also handing out free samples of home-made banana pudding. Apparently it's a "thing" here.
We drove through Cotton Row and past the Cotton Museum
Then to the Lorraine Motel. The red and white wreath marks where Martin Luther King Jr. fell after being fatally shot outside his room in April 1968. The motel continued to operate until 1988 and reopened as part of the National Civil Rights Museum in 1991. This is the one museum I really would have liked to have seen here, but it was not to be......
Next stop - Beale St. It is a relatively short street, but steeped in history and a tourist favourite for its blues clubs and restaurants. Not much happening during the day but it apparently comes to life in the evenings. It is also well known for frequent festivals and outdoor concerts.
A few close-by landmarks........
Comments
Post a Comment