Memphis

We got on the road singing along to the Paul Simon song that goes something like this...."Graceland, Graceland, Memphis Tennessee, I'm going to Graceland......".  We were both well rested and excited about the day ahead of us.  The 90 miles to Memphis seemed to go by very quickly, we pulled into town around 11 am and decided to get a bite to eat before going to Graceland.  We stopped at Huey's, a restaurant known for its world famous burgers.  Can you find Julie and Rainy in the photo of the bar?  Julie ordered the World Famous Burger with cheddar cheese and a side of onion rings.  Rainy ordered the burger served on texas toast with onion strings.  There is nothing like a fabulous $5 burger!  Rainy has taken to ordering sweet tea which seems to be the drink of choice in the south while Julie sticks with her tea unsweetened.  When ordering tea, you better specify unsweet or you are naturally served the sweetened variety!

Now we were off to Graceland!  The complex was very large.  After paying for parking, we walked into the ticket pavilion to get tickets which included touring the mansion, the airport museum, the car museum, the '68 special and the Fashion King.  We began with the highlight of the tour, Graceland itself!  The mansion was amazing due to the fact that everything remained untouched from the day Elvis died, none of the furnishings had been changed, it was like stepping back into the early 1970's.  Of course Rainy and I LOVED the furnishings!  We heard comments about how tacky it was, but we didn't think so.

The living room featured a long white sofa.  The accent colors were all in blue, Elvis' favorite color. There was white furniture with gold trim, just like I had when I was growing up.  The dining room was just off the living room, and the china cabinet was filled with sterling silver serving dishes.  There was a beautiful chandelier hanging above the table that was set for six.

The next room we toured was the kitchen.  It had been remodeled in the mid 70's and the decor certainly reflected the era.  The kitchen was done in shades of gold with a gold refrigerator.  The indoor-outdoor carpeting had shades of gold, orange, and brown.  Everything on the counter was left exactly as it was when Elvis died.

We walked down the stairs which were lined with mirrors.

The next room was more like a multi-purpose room with a seating area, a string of TV's, stereo equipment, and a bar.  This room was done in shades of yellow and blue.

Next was the billiard room.  The walls & ceiling were completed covered with pleated paisley fabric.  I loved this treatment!

Then we were in the jungle room, a room upholstered in faux fur & heavily carved furniture.  This was Rainy's favorite room!

We walked outside, through the carport where Elvis kept his cars and motorcycles, and past the swing set.

We passed by Vernon's office (Elvis' manager).

Then we walked by Elvis' shooting range.

Now we were outside again, walking around the back of the house.

We re-entered the house into the room where Elvis was playing the Piano shortly before he died.

The last room we viewed displayed Elvis mementos including awards and gold records.

In the meditation garden, we walked past Elvis' grave.

The tour was over & we had looped back around to the front of the house where we caught the shuttle bus that took us back to the main pavilion.

After cooling off in the gift shops and getting a drink of cold water, we decided we should tour Elvis' two airplanes.  The largest, the Lisa Marie, contained seating, two dining areas, a guest bed, and Elvis' bedroom (done in blue of course).  All of the seat buckles were plated in 24 karat gold.  Did you know that FFA regulations required a seat belt for the bed as well?

The smaller jet was upholstered in yellow and green, which I thought looked like a party jet without the elegance of the Lisa Marie.

By now we had seen enough of Elvis, we got in our car and drove along the Mississippi River.  It was much too hot and humid to get out and go for a walk.  We did decide to explore famous Beale Street downtown.  We stopped in BB King's Blues Club for an ice cold beer!  Rainy had a Blue Moon and Julie ordered a New Castle Brown Ale in the souvenier glass.

For dinner we went to the Beauty Shop.  The restaurant is in a converted beauty shop, the one where it is said that Pricilla Presley used to get her hair done.  We shared the Goat Cheese Dumplings for an appetizer.  Rainy ordered the Crispy Duck and Julie ordered the Cobb Salad with Grilled Shrimp.  For desert we shared Creme Brulee with a cotton candy sugar topping and the Red Velvet Cake. The food, service, and the setting were all fabulous.  It was a wonderful ending to our day in Memphis!

We left Memphis, driving west to Little Rock, and arrived at the historical hotel The Legacy around 10 pm.  Once again, we were tired after another wonderful day!