Stop 11: Memphis, TN

It had to happen sooner or later. Early in the morning of our departure from Hot Springs, the weather turned nasty. We've had some serious weather before on this trip but it's always been considerate enough to break before it was time for us to hook up the trailer. This time, I don't think that the downpour eased off a bit.

We've learned from past trips to lay out dry clothes and a towel in the bathroom. I get dressed from the dirty clothes hamper and, wearing rubber sandals, set about getting drenched. Since there's no need in our both getting drenched, Kristen does all that she can do inside, under the awning or under an umbrella. Once we're ready to go, I toss my wet clothes into the shower, dry off and put on those dry clothes. There's no point in either of us showering until we reach our destination.

Fortunately, the storm eased up and then stopped altogether long before we reached Memphis. A cold wave has now pushed down from the North and shove the storms and hot, sticky weather out into the Gulf. We'll be lucky to see 55° today.

We had an interesting time finding this Park. We have 2 RV GPSes that are preprogrammed with the locations of most RV Parks. Both claimed to know where this Park is but they had widely differing distances to our destination (and Google Maps didn't agree with either of them). Since it was a long enough trip anyway, we used both devices and made our decision based on who was showing the shortest distance at the time. Both eventually came into agreement and both led us into a very nice residential neighborhood about 3 miles away from the park. We had to call the park to get straightened out.

We are in the Graceland RV Park (the same one that Jack and Stacy stayed in last year). It's at the end of Lonely Street right next to the Heartbreak Hotel. Our site is right next to the gate to the Graceland Visitors Center. Once we got the trailer set up and got ourselves showered, we headed over to the Visitors Center to get tickets for this morning's first Graceland tour. While we were out we made an early dinner of some great Memphis bar-b-q.

Today was a whirlwind tour of Memphis. After our 9AM Graceland tour, we headed down to the Peabody Hotel to catch the 11AM marching of the ducks. Then we headed over to Beale Street for lunch and some sightseeing. On our way back, we stopped by the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luthor King was assassinated.

Here are our pictures from today's adventures.

One of the two of Elvis' jets that are on display. I didn't catch the name of the smaller plane but Kristen thinks that it was named after his favorite horse. The TCB logo on the tail stands for "Taking Care of Business"

The Living Room.

The Dining Room

The Kitchen

The TV Room.

The Bar in the TV Room.

The ceiling in the Billiard Room. Notice that it's the curtain fabric all pleated up into an interesting arrangement.

More of the Billiard Room.

The Jungle Room.

The Jungle Room. The water wasn't on but that brightly lit wall is apparently a waterfall.

The back of the house.

Some of the horse paddocks.

Awards Building.

Awards Building.

Awards Building

Horses in the paddock.

The pool.

Sitting area next to the Handball Court. The curtains open to reveal the court through the glass. That man who's reflection is in the mirror is standing in front of the door to the bathroom where Elvis died.

The Handball Court (looks like another awards room to me).

Graves: (from left to right) Elvis' Grandma, Elvis, his Dad and his Mom. That's an eternal flame at the head of Elvis' grave.

The front of the house.

Kristen, waiting for the ducks near the Peabody lobby fountain.

This elevator is reserved for ducks.

The Duckmaster getting the show started.

And here they come. We didn't notice the dog until we looked at these pictures. That could have been disastrous.

Getting close. They just needed a little encouragement with the Duckmaster's stick.

Into the fountain at last. The ducks march down from there rooftop quarters every morning at 11 AM. They swim in the fountain until it's time to march back upstairs at 5 PM. They never leave the fountain to explore the lobby.

A memorial to B B King outside his Blues Club on Beale St.

The Lorraine Motel where Martin Luthor King was killed.

-JC-