Walking in Memphis, May3-5

Jim and I went to Memphis this past weekend. It was our first vacation since James was born and it was just the two of us. We saw world famous Beale Street, Graceland, the Peabody, and the mighty Mississippi River.

We flew into Memphis on Friday and went to our hotel (the Peabody). We had a late lunch, checked in, and then toured Beale Street in the rain. It was so cold! It didn’t feel like May at all. It was rainy, windy, and chilly. Beale Street was packed on Friday afternoon in anticipation for the NBA playoff game just down the street.

That evening we had dinner out at a nearby Thai restaurant and went to Beale Street again to hear some blues music. It was very fun!

On Saturday we woke up surprisingly early and had breakfast and drove to Graceland. We were one of the first tourists there. We toured the mansion, the airplanes, car museum and a few other special exhibits. The house was redecorated the way it was when Priscilla lived there. The upstairs is off limits for privacy and respect. Jim did some research and discovered that it looks pretty much the same as when Elvis died. Graceland is fascinating if not a little creepy.

At the Entrance

 

Living Room in Graceland



Graceland Kitchen



Basement Pool Room



The Famous "Jungle Room"



Trophy Room



One of Elvis's Jumpsuits



In front of Graceland



Elvis's Pink Cadillac



Elvis's Plane, the "Lisa Marie"

 

Jim at the Gates of Graceland

The house was a modest size for such a superstar. The living room and dining room were very bright but the rest of the house was very 70s and dark. I think my parents had the same harvest gold refrigerator. We toured the basement rec rooms and saw the famous jungle room complete with furry furniture and shag carpet on the floor and ceiling. What was really impressive was the trophy room with all the gold and platinum records. You don’t realize the magnitude of his record sells until you see them lined up floor to ceiling on a long hallway plus even more on the walls of his old racquetball court. I enjoyed seeing all the jumpsuits. There were at least 30 on display throughout the Graceland mansion and museums. We had lunch there—peanut butter and banana sandwiches, of course! And then we went back to the Peabody.

Saturday afternoon we saw the world famous Peabody duck parade. We were in the lobby by 4:35 and there was already a crowd for the 5:00 parade. The duckmaster arrived in the special duck elevator and told us about the famous ducks. They are wild ducks and a new class of ducks comes to the hotel every 90 days. This was the 3^rd day for this class. This is only the 4^th duckmaster at the Peabody and the first duckmaster was there for 40 (or 50—I forget which) years! The ducks hop out of the fountain and down the red carpet into their elevator where they go up to their room for the night. It was super cute!



Peabody Duckmaster on the Red Carpet

Famous Peabody Ducks

We walked down to the Mississippi River to enjoy the view. That river is so big that you have to see it to believe it. It looks like a lake at Memphis but you can see the swift current in the main channel.

We had a quiet evening back at the Peabody and flew back to Atlanta on Sunday morning. We missed our baby and were so glad to see him. Thanks to my mom for watching him that weekend.

Mississippi River at Memphis, TN

Jim at the Mississippi River