We left Trail of Tears and drove towards Memphis. This time, instead of cornfields, we saw field after field of cotton. We crossed the huge bridge across the mighty Mississippi River into Memphis. We stayed at T.O. Fuller State Park, about 7 miles from Graceland. This park was about half full and we chose the first site which was an end site with plenty of green space. We were pleased to see no train tracks nearby, though we occasionally heard a train in the distance, but not close enough to shake the RV! We discovered our first night at the park that even though there was not a train track close by, we were over the nightly take off and landing path of the Memphis airport. Instead of train whistles, we went to sleep with the roar of planes taking off and landing. For some reason the worst of it appeared to be our first night there with less planes the second night and very little the last two nights of our stay.
Our first full day in Memphis we went to Graceland, which was our main reason for going to Memphis. I have loved Elvis for as long as I can remember.
I read reviews that Graceland is actually small compared to what one would expect, and they are right. Elvis bought Graceland when he was in his early twenties, and the house very much has a 60’s and 70’s feel to it. The kitchen was amazingly small. We were not allowed upstairs to the bedroom area.
They had exhibit rooms of his gold records and displays of the clothing he wore at his concerts, etc.
His music flowed everywhere from the minute we reached the parking lot. Across the street from Graceland was a large visitors center where you bought tickets and waited for a shuttle to take you across the street and up the hill to the house.
At that same location were additional exhibits, his many cars, and his airplanes, as well as many, many gift shops. One of the biggest surprises to me was the area where he and his parents are buried. I was expecting something huge and grandiose. It was actually a small memorial area with a mediation fountain. It was nice to see something very simple and quiet. There were no huge displays of flowers and gifts left by fans that I expected.
In all, we spent about 5 hours at Graceland and the exhibits.
The next day we ran errands in the morning and then later in the afternoon we rode downtown to Beale Street where we walked around and had dinner. Bill had some gator gumbo with his meal…..I declined. There are no words to describe Beale Street except colorful, old, and a sensory overload of music blaring from the various restaurants and bars. On the street they had gold musical notes with the names of famous musicians who had played on Beale Street. This was very much like the stars on the streets in Hollywood. Some of the musical notes were so old and worn it was hard to read the names, but after much looking, Bill spotted Elvis Presley.
While downtown we also walked through the lobby of the Peabody Hotel where they have ducks parade down from the rooftop in the morning where they stay in the fountain until 5:00 PM and then they are paraded back upstairs to the rooftop. We arrived shortly before 6:00 and therefore missed the parade. Bill asked one of the employees about the Orlando Peabody and he said that hotel is no longer a Peabody.
We enjoyed our time in Memphis.