We didn’t have a ton of driving to do, but we weren’t sure where we were going to end up that evening. We planned on stopping in Memphis to see Graceland, but had been told by several people (including a police officer) to avoid staying in Memphis at all costs. Apparently it’s turned into a rough neighborhood. I think Toto wanted to see how far we could get yesterday too.
The Newberry’s are not huge Elvis fans. We don’t have anything against him, we just never got obsessed about him like so many people have gotten. But we figured that since we would be in that area, we may as well stop and see Graceland. We assumed it would be kind of hoakie. $34 a person for six different parts of the place. Elvis had two airplanes, the mansion, there is a car museum, a fashion show bit, and some other stuff. We bought the Platinum Tour package, which included pretty much everything, except for a few things, it was by far the best deal. If you ever go, get that one. Toto got the greatest news ever on the shuttle from the parking lot, pictures can be taken wherever you feel like taking them, indoors and out. The only stipulation was that flash photography was not allowed as it can degrade and fade the artifacts. This wasn’t a problem for us, as Toto is a pro and knows how to use her camera: she can make the shutter speed and aperture setting make it seem like there was no need for a flash. We went and saw the mansion first (and by the mansion, I mean the grounds of Graceland Estate). While in the mansion, you get to see the downstairs of the mansion as well as the basement, the racketball building, the “shooting range” and the building Vernon (Elvis’ father) used as an office, as well as a building that I believe was the pool house when Elvis lived there that has been converted into a trophy room with an exhibit hall.
You do not get to see the upstairs. The tour guides said that visitors rarely saw upstairs as it was Elvis’ private family area and they keep it private to respect his wishes. We were wrong about this little excursion being a cheesy outing. I learned more about Elvis than I ever thought there was to know about him. Now I have a completely different impression of the man they called “Elvis the Pelvis”. I never knew how much of a humanitarian the man was. I knew some stuff, like that he did a stint in the military and that he dated Priscilla for a while before marrying her, and that they claimed to have behaved themselves until after she was 18. What I didn’t know was that he did a benefit concert in 1961 and raised $67,000 (that’s 1961 dollars remember) for the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. He also used to pay off peoples’ mortgages and medical bills simply because he could and they couldn’t. He was extremely active in numerous charities, and seems like an overall great guy. I never thought of him as a great guy before. I knew he was beautiful and was one of the (if not THE) best performing artists of the 20th century, but I didn’t know any of the good things he had done. A random piece of trivia: he did not name Graceland. The previous owners had received the land from the woman’s Aunt Grace as a wedding present, and they called it Graceland in tribute to that aunt. When Elvis bought it he liked the name, so he kept it.
An interesting bit of information we discovered was that in 1957 Iran banned rock and roll in their country to protect their culture. They actually launched a “Hate Elvis” campaign! Hence the title to this blog.
We toured the car museum and the airplanes as well. He had some pretty sweet rides, and even a John Deere tractor which Josh loved and an MG A that Dad would have drooled over. There was also a custom Harley Davidson.
We wrote on the wall outside the estate as millions of people have done over the years. As Toto said, it pretty much makes al other roadside memorials look awfully wimpy. We now have a totally new respect for the man. Toto cried a little and I started to as well. Grandma Emma and Linda loved Elvis, like ADORED him.
I didn’t have any Elvis on my iPod, so I had to buy some from iTunes and we listened to it the rest of the night. After we listend to Marc Cohn’s Walking in Memphis about twenty times. It was a fun day and there was a little sad in there too. It was weird to stand at the grave of The King of Rock and Roll. On one level I didn’t really think it was a huge deal because I had never been a huge Elvis fan, but then there was another level that realized the significance of where I was what I was doing. That level slowly took over. We got a glimpse at a man we never knew, but we felt like we had gotten to know him, which made us wish that he hadn’t died.
Since Graceland is only about four or five miles from the Mississippi border, we drove down Elvis Presley Blvd until we crossed the state line. There was no Welcome to Mississippi sign for me to take a picture of, so we went and got on the freeway and went back and forth until I found one. We also FINALLY went to Cracker Barrel to eat (in Southaven, Miss). When the whole family had gone to Louisville for family day in April, we saw the signs for Cracker Barrel EVERYWHERE but never got a chance to eat there. It was AMAZING in a traditional down home country cooking sort of way. Kind of like going to your grandma’s house for dinner back in the day. As my friend John Vinson said to me “Now you have lived.” After dinner Josh and I played giant checkers on the “porch” in rocking chairs. I kicked his tush.
On our way out of Memphis, we stopped at a park on the river near downtown Memphis. We wanted Josh to be able to see the Mississippi River. He wasn’t all that impressed by it. So we were driving down Riverside Drive, and Union Avenue intersected it and I made Toto turn up it because of the Marc Cohn song. “Saw the ghost of Elvis, on Union Avenue; Followed him up to the gates of Graceland, and I watched him walk right through; now security did not see him, they just hovered round his tomb; there’s a pretty little thing, waiting for the king, down in the jungle room!” I have BEEN in that jungle room now AND on Union Avenue. I have also stood at his grave.
Then we drove to Little Rock, AR. That is where we stayed last night. In the WORST hotel room ever. We went from the BEST in Nashville, to the WORST in Little Rock. This one was tiny, with two full beds, and they had told me over the phone we could roll a cot in, and then once we got there we couldn’t. “It’s a fire hazard” the gal said. The problem with this is thus: I don’t sleep well with other people in the bed. I like to sleep alone. I haven’t slept with a person in six months almost, and so it hasn’t been the most restful of sleep I have been having while sharing a bed with Toto. And, since Toto and I sleep on the same side of the bed (she in her room me in mine) she tends to roll into me, and then becomes a little bit of a bed hog (because I took the side of the bed we both prefer). Last night was even more fun on a smaller bed than usual. And to top it all off, Josh and Toto wouldn’t stop giving me crap about my little issue. Not only were the beds small, but the bathroom was tiny. And dated. It was a good thing we only planned to spend one night there.
Sean
License Plates Seen
None (I think we only need Delaware and Rhode Island now)
Playlist
Carrie Underwood
Marc Cohn (1 song, 20 times)
Elvis Presley
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