Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

Goin' to Graceland

Wednesday  May 4, 2011
Site #74
Graceland RV Park
Memphis, Tennessee

We were up early but for one reason or another
didn’t pull out of the Seven Points Campground until 11:00. 
We stopped at Flying J for gas $3.749 
OUCH
and for David to try to put air in one of our rear inner tires
 that has been refusing to take air from the compressor. 
Success!


While he was doing that, I saw this vintage
Winnebago Brave parked in front of the
convenience store. 
One of Winnona's elderly relatives.


Check out the passenger. 


Back on the road, David wasn’t feeling well
and  asked me to take over the driving
so we stopped at a rest area for that
and he napped in the back while I drove on toward Memphis.

Or,
since he wasn't so sick
he couldn't get up to take this picture 
maybe he just didn't want to drive.

 

We had decided that there wasn’t much sense
in looking for a campground outside of the city 
and driving in to Graceland since it was the only thing
we were going to do in Memphis.
We don't really like cities or being tourists
and it is a rare thing, like the Opry or Graceland,
that will get us to come in to a city.

 So we just made a reservation for 2 nights
at the Graceland RV Park and campground
from which we could walk over to see all the sights.

We pulled in just before 4:00. 
A LONG 235 miles from Nashville.
The park is a bit more than a parking lot
but the sites are very close together. 

Walking out of the office after
registering, I saw this sign on its parking spots.


Our site is one of the only non full hook up sites.   
We’re a water/electric spot.  
So that put us on the outside edge of the park
right next to the “walking trail” and the trees. 
VERY NICE.


$33.43 a night with tax and Good Sam discount.
But to avoid the driving, the aggrevation,
and the Graceland parking fee,
it was definitely worth the price.

We are just past the corner of Jail House Road and Hound Dog.
Heartbreak Lane is the next street over



 
After getting set up and having dinner,
we went over to check out the ticket
 and exhibit areas both just next door to the park
and across the street
from the Mansion itself.

Look who we found on Hound Dog on our walk over.
That's Presley in the lead.  Oliver in the back.


We found out the location of everything,
and I bought a couple of postcards
to send to Carrie and a friend who scoffed at my
“Going to Graceland”.

On the way back,
we saw this limo pulling into the
Heartbreak Hotel.
Things here are just too much fun!

A local restaurant, Marlowe's Ribs
will send the limo to pick you up at your site
and return you from the restaurant.  No charge. 
AND give you a 10% discount on your dinner
if you are staying in the park.
The prices are very reasonable.

So, we went into the Heartbreak Hotel where they have
All Elvis, All the Time.


Don't you think the heart should have a crack in it??



He’s singing on the lobby speakers
(check out the decor)


and performing from DVDs played on a big screen
in the Jungle Room Lounge.  
So we sat down in the lounge for a couple of pieces
of Elvis’s favorite PeCAN pie
and watched him on the screen
in the two TV specials they were playing.

This is from the 1968 "Comeback" Special.


I admit openly to being an Elvis fan. 
I think he had a great voice,
all 8 octaves of it.
I’m old enough to have seen him on the Ed Sullivan Show
IF
my mother would have let me watch it
which she would not. 
Bad influence.

Boy how tame his shows look compared to today.

Tomorrow is the Graceland visit
and Friday we are on our way to
Hot Springs National Park.

Definitely havin' fun -
We're "ready ready Teddy to Rock N' Roll".


All Elvis, All the Time.

2 comments:

  1. Went there for my 60th!!! It was a GREAT trip and thoroughly enjoyed my time in Memphis. Have a GOOD time!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. We still remember driving through Memphis... "Yikes"...nothing but truck taffic headed to the
    Mississippi Ports!!

    Have fun at Graceland...it is the place to go if you are
    an Elvis Fan. A great step back in time!!

    ReplyDelete

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