We left Hot Springs and made our way across Arkansas into Tennessee and then south into Southaven, Mississippi where the EZ Daze RV park is located just south of Memphis, TN. The traffic and road construction in Memphis is a little crazy, but the RV park is very nice. Our site is right next to a huge fenced in area for the dogs which is always a plus. Calcite had a ball just running around in circles getting her wiggles out.
We went back and forth trying to decide whether or not to spend the money to see Graceland and decided to go for it. There is quite an industry surrounding the King with a whole shopping center with every kind of Elvis souvenir imaginable and then some. In addition to touring his home there are "museums" dedicated to his cars, his hometown, his time in Las Vegas, his airplanes, his '68 Comeback Special and his time in Hawaii. We enjoyed every minute of it. We have always had a secret Elvis crush and we love him even more now. He seems like a really good guy in addition to being an incredible entertainer. He was very disappointed with his acting career and hated all of the sappy, singing movies he made. He wanted to be a "real" actor favoring dramatic roles. His personal favorite and the one he was most proud of was "King Creole". He couldn't wait to finish out his movie contract and get back to performing concerts. He had been making movies for a decade and was afraid the public had forgotten about him as a singer. It was 1968 and he wanted to get back on the stage. He developed the idea of a televised come back show which later became known as the "68 Special". The crowds went wild....Elvis was back! Nine years later he would be dead at the age of 42. Peg saw him in concert in 1972 at Madison Square Garden, still the consummate performer.
I'm going to Graceland, Graceland...
Elvis Motto... Taking Care of Business In a Flash
Graceland wasn't at all what I expected. I guess it is a large house for the time period, but not by today's standard. It is very elaborately decorated filled with colors from the sixties and seventies... lots of green shag carpeting and mirrors. The tour includes an audio recording explaining the different rooms on the first floor, basement, and around the grounds. His racquetball court has been converted into an exhibit with wall to wall recording awards and some of his famous jumpsuits. They also had displays with lots of his movie paraphernalia, his and Priscilla's wedding clothes, his various television appearances etc. There was a whole room dedicated to his charitable work. The only award he personally accepted was the Jaycee's man of the year where he gave a very humble and thankful acceptance speech. They had quite a few home movies showing him playing with Lisa Marie and just looking like a down to earth guy. It was a really fun experience and I am glad we did it.
The front of the house
The Living Room - love the peacocks
Looks like any normal kitchen from the sixties. They said someone was always cooking as he had company 24/7. They played pool or jammed in the Jungle Room until all hours of the morning.
Jungle room, shag carpeting on floor and ceiling
Not a crazy extravagant pool either
This is the "sitting room". Elvis played that piano and was singing songs on the morning of the day he died. The last time anyone heard the King was from this room. He was to start a nation wide concert tour the next day.
Look at all these gold and platinum album awards! There were many more walls of records
throughout the tour an amazing number of hits.
Classic Elvis jumpsuits
Elvis is buried on the grounds with his mom, dad, and grandma. There is also a small marker for his twin stillborn brother Jesse Garon Presley. He was born 35 minutes before Elvis.
We used our last day to learn about another King.... Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was assassinated at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis on April 4, 1968. They have converted the hotel and the rooming house across the street (from where James Earl Ray took the shot) into the National Civil Rights Museum. Another powerful experience. The museum is very well done with displays and information about the entire civil rights movement in addition to the assassination, investigation and prosecution of James Earl Ray. There is also a lot of information on the conspiracy theory's that have circulated over the years. We actually saw the bathroom from where the shot was fired and the room in which Ray was staying. We also stood on the balcony where MLK was shot. Another great man taken from the planet too soon.
Dr. King was shot right there on the balcony outside of room 306.
This is the actual room where the shot was fired. The window was left open as it was found. It is said that James Earl Ray crouched in the bathtub and rested the barrel of the rifle on the windowsill. You can see when you look through the window that it is an easy shot to the balcony of room 306.
As our adventures are nearing the end we both are feeling extremely blessed to have been able to see so much of this beautiful country, learn about so much of our history, meet and see so many wonderful people. God is so good.
Coming soon.... Mammoth Cave, Ky and our final state sticker :(
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