Memphis, Tennessee

Today was an "off day" for driving. Instead, we filled the day with an epic amount of sightseeing around Memphis. First stop? Graceland, naturally. As we were driving to Graceland via Elvis Presley Blvd., we couldn't help but notice all the Elvis themed hotels (the Heartbreak Hotel, the Memphis-Graceland RV Park). Even the Days Inn advertised a guitar shaped pool and a tv channel that played Elvis movies 24 hours a day. The parking lot at Graceland was packed with Elvis fanatics from all over the country, some of whom paid $68 for a "VIP Ticket" to see the full estate, planes, jumpsuits, etc. We chose the cheapest ticket ($28) because all we really cared about was the mansion itself.








We put on our audio tour headphones, then jumped on a tram to cross Elvis Presley Blvd into Graceland itself. Graceland was exactly as trashy as I expected it to be... Elvis had paintings and photographs of himself in many of the rooms and probably the gaudiest tackiest decorations I've ever seen. One of his sitting rooms was jungle themed with green shag carpeting on both the floor AND the ceiling, not to mention an indoor waterfall and a monkey stuffed animal. It is hard to believe until you actually see it with your own eyes, so make sure to check out the ridiculous photographs above for a small taste of Elvis' home. The other people seemed so impressed, but the whole time I couldn't help wondering which toilet was the one that Elvis died on.







I hate to say it, but I think that Graceland will be one of the highlights of the trip... if not my life.



After that, Dany and I headed over to the old location of Stax Records. The historic label (home of Otis Redding, Booker T & the MGs, Isaac Hayes, etc) has been defunct for over thirty years, but is now the site of a great museum called the Museum of American Soul Music or something like that.



We took a quick drive to the Lorraine Hotel, where Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated. We were late for dinner so we didn't go inside the Civil Rights Museum, but it was neat to at least see the building from the outside. Somewhat ironically, there were anti-crime billboards in the area ("Don't take the wrap for others," "Don't be quiet when you see a crime," etc).