5/29/09 - 6/2/09 - Memphis

We were only to go as far as Little Rock and then head north west....but Pat looked at the map and Memphis was only 140 miles further east....so we were off to Memphis to see Elvis! Saturday night we went to Beale Street, which is one of America's most famous musical streets. It is located in downtown Memphis with 3 blocks of more than 30 nightclubs, restaurants and retail shops. We got there about 5:00 pm when it was just starting to come alive. The 2nd two pictures show later in the evening.

We had ribs at the Blues City Cafe and they were soooooo good!

We stayed at Graceland RV Campground which was right across the street from Graceland and all the tourist stuff for Elvis.

This was a beautiful grassy area at the back of the campground where Addie and Cody loved playing. At night it was lite up with fireflies.....beautiful!

Some signs in the campground....our campsite was on 'Love Me Tender Blvd'.

This rig was right across from us and something we hadn't seen before....notice the "Smart Car" they carry right behind the truck cab.

Sun Studio - Birthplace of Rock 'N' Roll

It was fun to see the history of this famous recording studio.

The Million Dollar Quartet

In December 1956, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash got together and made music history at Sun Studios. Away from the glamour of the media spotlight, the impromptu performance provides a refreshing "fly-on-the-wall" glimpse of what music truly inspired them. We bought this CD and have enjoyed listening to it.

When 18 year old Elvis walked in to the legendary Sun Studio for the first time, he was asked who he sounded like, and he said...."I don't sound like nobody"

The National Civil Rights Museum is located at the site of the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.

The Peabody Hotel

The Peabody Hotel has been the South's grand hotel for over 135 years. We are waiting in the lobby for the grand entrance through the elevator doors and across the red carpet from the Peabody Ducks! They come down twice a day for their grand entrance.

Ducks

The honored guests arrive at the pool.

This was Tom Sawyer RV Park where we had planned on staying while we were in Memphis.....it was closed as part of it was literally in the Mississippi River.

We went to the Cotton Museum at the Memphis Cotton Exchange and found it very interesting. Memphis was and is the world's center for "spot cotton" or cash crop trading. The cotton economy completely defined 150 years of the city's history. Cotton is considered to be the plant that changed the world. The 1st picture was a display of various grades of cotton. The 2nd picture is a room where from 1923 to the early 1980's, cotton traders gathered to see the latest market prices that were delivered via teletype and telegraph.

It was very humbling going through the Cotton Museum and seeing what the slaves had to indure and how they were treated. While picking the cotton the slaves had to wear these manacles, to insure the landowners that they wouldn't try to escape while working the fields.

We didn't get to the Mississippi River Museum, but did catch this huge barge loaded with railroad cars going upstream.

The Pink Palace

Clarence Saunders, founder of Piggly Wiggly, the first self-service grocery, began building his 36,500 sq. ft. mansion in 1922. A year later, he was bankrupt, his unfinished 'Pink Palace' was donated to the city of Memphis as a museum and opened in 1930. This is Tennessee's most visited museum, it was really a huge museum, however it was another building that connected with the mansion. The mansion itself was really sparse on furnishings.

This was a beautiful residential area in Memphis.

Finally.....Graceland and Elvis! It was amazing to see how many people are still touring Graceland even though Elvis has been dead 32 years. We felt the tour was well worth the $29.00....once they dropped you off at the front entrance you could spend as long as you wanted in any of the areas.....at least we weren't shuffled through like they do on some of the tours.

Dining Room, Living Room and Parent's Bedroom

Jungle Room (family room) and kitchen

Downstairs TV room and pool room (the walls and ceiling are all fabric).

Back of house, garage where Elvis's dad had his office and fan mail was handled and Lisa Marie's swingset.

Trophy Building and some of the gold records.

Swimming pool

This was another building that held all the RCA/BMG recording awards and there was also a recording studio in this building.

Horse on the grounds....