Laudy Miss Clawdy

Second Stop-Memphis.

I’ve never been to Memphis and believe me a day and half was not enough.

Maybe I’m a geography idiot but I never realized the city basically sits on 3 states, TN, AR and MS.  We stayed in Horn Lake, MS.  That is five minutes from Graceland and 15 minutes from Beale Street.

The first item on the agenda was Graceland.  I can’t say Dave was jumping for joy that this was at the top of my list, especially when I mentioned it was $31/person with a coupon and $10 for parking.  Considering I was never an Elvis fan, I’m a little surprised I was so excited to see it.  I missed out on the Elvis phenomenon.  I was seven when Elvis died and at that point in my life the only music that was played in our house was John Denver and Barry Manilow.  No, I’m not kidding.

When my friend Joe went to visit the final resting spot of the king, he wore a white jumpsuit and sideburns.  He reminded me to take a box of Jelly Donuts to lay at the memorial.

Let me just tell you… It was worth every penny of the $72.  Dave even liked it.  The Mansion was smaller than we expected in a seedy part of town.  Ie pawn shops, bail bondsmen and lots of fast food spots.  But otherwise, it was totally cool.  One of my fav parts was the Bohemian room in the basement that also housed the pool table.  The walls and ceiling were covered with a multi-colored print fabric that had millions of gathers- a little like a circus tent.  The Lisa Marie plane was also a fav.  The plane had 2 bathrooms in Elvis’ favorite shade of blue, two sitting rooms, a conference room and a bedroom.  The whole interior was covered with blue suede and velvet.  There was a seat belt across the bed which was FAA regulation.

The house was 70’s style as would be expected, but not as gaudy as I was expecting.   Other highlights were the jungle room that lived up to its reputation and the auto museum was worth it…some super sweet rides.  That reminds me…  I had an awesome S’more waffle cone.

There was also some side “museums”  that were really just gift shops in disguise.  I shouldn’t even say disguise, it was pretty blatant.  But overall Graceland was two thumbs up and I have a new appreciation for the king of Rock and Roll.   I’ve been humming some crazy song called Laudy Miss Clawdy that he played in the 68 Special.  If you get bored check it out.

Next, was Beale Street.  Beale Street is much like Bourbon Street.  The street was blocked off and bands played on the sidewalks and in the bars.  But unfortunately, it was Monday night and it was a little dead.  But we stopped at a little Cajun joint and had some Jambalaya and Gumbo and then listened to some great jazz from a street band.   

I’ll add Memphis to my list to revisit.

Next stop- I go to Delaware and Dave heads to Florida.