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Published: April 28th 2017
Lots of good pictures at the end of this one - scroll on after you read.
On our walk around the Fulton campground the night before we left, Kim and I spoke to a man whose license plate was DINGOUT. Guess what he does? He and his wife travel around the country following the severe hail storms, repairing dings in automobiles, RVs, etc. We told him about Elvis’ birthplace, he told us about Sun Records. Broke camp early (for us, anyway) and were on the road by 9:30. Only about 100 mile trip from Fulton MS to Memphis TN. Seen along the road near Memphis was an ad for FOSTERS AUTO BODY in RED BANKS. I lived on Foster Street in Red Bank, NJ. That was an omen; I’m still trying to figure out for what, but, it was an omen.
It was an easy trip on I22 until it ended at the TN/MS border, then it became a truck nightmare 4 lane divided pothole ridden ugly beast. Kim was in the lead, she found a route suggested by Good Sam Club that ended up being a good route, except for the extreme potholes on both Lamar and SR175/Shelby
Drive. We checked in easily at The Graceland campground. The check in lady looked like she was going to be cranky with us, but she really wasn’t, just a little frazzled, I think. Pull thru sites, relatively long; Ginny pulled all the way to the front of her site and that allowed her to get her towed car off the road. Non-cranky pants check in lady gave us lots of shuttle and walking opportunities; we decided to try them rather than unhook the car from her rig. The weather report was ominous. My turn to be cranky pants; I didn’t want to be that far from Winston in Moya, or my open slides, etc. We called the free Sun Records tour shuttle, and it wasn’t operating, it was in the shop. Next choice, we walked next door to the new entertainment complex. There are some souvenir shops we could get in without buying a ticket. I bought a great $14.99 T-shirt, so did Ginny, but our ultimate shopper, Kim, wanted to make sure she saw all the offerings before she spent money. We could buy our tour tickets for the next morning in advance. $55 senior price including tax and
service charges and we could tour the house and all the exhibits in the new entertainment center excluding the airplane. As Kim says, it’s like a buffet buying tickets. There is a basic ticket, choice for add ons include the entertainment complex, the airplane museum, or you can upgrade all the way to an ultimate VIP tour for $199 which lets you cut the lines and have a private tour guide. Our $55 ticket was the senior price and gave us the first tour of the day, 9:00.
Non-cranky pants told us of happy hour at the Guest House at Graceland, a better than a Comfort Inn but not a JW hotel had a great modern looking bar with $5 wine and half priced appetizers. Bartender Charlie was just ok. His service was fine, his personality was not that of a bar tender. 3 drinks, 3 appetizers, tip, we spent about $15 each. We saw our neighbors from the campground and shared some travel moments with them. They live in Oklahoma City, own two bars there, travel in a 40 foot Class A Diesel without towing a car, they rent when they need. They are on their way thru
Elvis' TV in the dining room!
Seems to me we had one very similarAsheville to Charlotte then on to St. Augustine for a wedding. We suggested they take the hop on hop off tour in St. Augustine which I think is one of the best I have ever been on.
Back to the rigs to batten down the hatches. I unplugged from electricity; I don’t have a surge protector and this was expected to be a big lightening event. Now, under ordinary circumstances unplugging would not have been a big deal. BUT, this night was the first night since I left home that I had all 3 networks and SURVIVOR was on and I was 30 minutes in when I cut the power. Fortunately, our missing Kathy also watches and she and I usually spend that hour texting back and forth our thoughts. She kept me up to date with what was going on, and I was pleased with the survivor voted off.
It poured until 10:30 when I replugged in and went to bed. I was quickly reminded of the FedEx sorting facility being in Memphis, and the skies were busy and noisy all night with jet departures.
Of course, this was the morning we had to be at
the tour door at 9:00 and I slept until 7. Not a big deal, but a big deal. I made our 8:30 departure with a minute to spare.
Winston was wonderful. He truly is getting old as he is so mellow this trip. He goes into his crate when I turn on his music and throw the doggie chew inside. He doesn’t bark when I leave. I am not confident enough to leave him uncrated when I go out for a few hours yet, though.
Our tour started with a movie. Then thru the door to the photo booth with Graceland (they all say Gracelund) in the background, into the shuttle busses where we were given our tablets and headphones. The ride across the street was taken up with trying to figure out how to put the headphones on correctly, to listening to the narrator explain how to use the blasted thing, to entering email address while bumping along, etc. Non-technical Ginny got the hang of it easily.
I don’t know how many times I have visited the mansion. Tim and Gretchen lived in Memphis for a number of years, both their kids, my grandkids, were born
there. I travelled there a lot, and anytime there was extra or new company, they wanted to visit Graceland. Let’s say 6 times. So, this time I opted to take pictures I had not taken before and you will see some of them in what I have uploaded. Make sure you see the one of the Elvis impersonator.
Back into the shuttle, tablets and headphones collected, checked out our photos ($35 per sheet), declined them and went into the first gift shop. Someone in the design and merchandising departments of this new facility worked for Disney, as there are so many similarities. Instead of letting the attraction dump you into the gift shop, these gift shops lead you into the attraction area. This is where they have moved all the costumes, gold records, memorability and tchotchkes that used to be displayed in the lower nether of the mansion, are now more properly displayed here. Everywhere there is Elvis music being played. Ginny found a sweatshirt she wanted, but decided to wait until we were done. One of the display areas was called State Fair. It had booths where you could play games, ordress up in old time clothes photo
Look at technical Ginnie
her headset and camera. More technology used together than I have ever seen her do before booth, all just like the movie, State Fair. Cute. I had $3 popcorn.
What ended up being our last stop ended up with a bang. This was a huge room with folding chairs near one end with Viva LasVegas on the screen. Ann Margaret (yes, still alive, age 75) had a bubble butt and thick thighs, but she could dance, a true triple threat. Kim wanted to go back to shop, Ginnie wanted to go shop, I stayed and watched the movie. A woman came over to me and asked if I was Kat. Yes! What’s wrong! She told me Ginnie fell and needed me. I found her by herself on the floor, nose bleeding. Gosh what a fright. She could tell me she had walked into what she thought was an open door but instead was a very clean plain glass window. Her nose was bleeding, she had an abrasion on her nose, but she was awake and coherent. Security showed up, and might as well have admitted negligence, because the officer told me he had put post it notes on some of these windows that others had walked into and I told him I saw them. He
pool room
350 yards of fabric on ceiling and walls. 10 days to install provided an ice pack and got a chair when I asked so we could get her off the floor. He took a very plain vanilla accident report, asked her to sign it, (which she did after I reviewed what he had written) and only then did he ask if she wanted to go to the hospital. I asked if they could take us back to the campground, and that stumped the Security Guard. He walkie talkied the campground and a very wonderful Non-cranky pants came and picked us all up in a golf cart. She couldn’t have been nicer. This certainly is not NY or NJ. I asked Ginnie if I could blog about the event, and her answer was, “Yes, please start it with ‘Ginnie got stupid,’ but I couldn’t do that; those are her words and I used them. I have checked on her every half hour or so and she is getting stiff, but seems in good spirits. Her upper nose and forehead hurt, but I don’t see any evidence of bruising. I took Linus for a walk and I saw her out walking Alfie just a few minutes ago.
Things happen in 3s, right? Here’s
wedding outfit
I don't ever think I saw these before. 2. As Kim and I were walking back to our rigs, she pulled out her keys, and lost the decorated cover to the tiny urn she carries on her key chain. We searched and searched the grass and gravel areas everywhere with no luck. Things happen for a reason, and I now know that her dearly loved husband is watching over us all tonight. She didn’t lose the contents of the tiny urn, just the decorative cover. Totally replaceable, just sentimental. Upsetting to her, sad for us, her friends, to see her pain, but I know Bob is out there tonight.
I sit now waiting for the shoe to fall for #3.
It has turned into a glorious day, blue sky, low humidity. I have walked around the campground a few times. There are about 60 sites, mostly transient tourists like us, but a few long termers around back and they need some site tidying guidance for sure. There was a worker cleaning the green pool and lot of people with weed whackers. And, as always, a few campers who think their dog is perfect and they don’t need to put Spot on a leash. I hate that.
The Heartbreaker Hotel is adjacent but empty. Kim has memories of Elvis music playing all the time, and it is silent. Non-cranky pants told us there were no plans for the building yet as it is structurally unsound.
We got picked up for dinner by a pink Cadillac and went to Marlows Ribs & Restaurant just down the road apiece. Highly recommended by Non-cranky pants and offered a 10% discount, and the free shuttle. How awesome is that. I had twin baked potatoes topped with pork bbq. Ginnie and Kim had bbq’d shrimp. Sides included corn fritters, green beans (yuck) coleslaw, beans. Of course, we had to have Mississippi mud pie for desert which was wonderful. A tour of the gift shop gave us a FREE pink Cadillac post card. Cute. Our waitress, Jamaica, 22 years old, just graduated high school after 4 years away to have a baby, etc. She has wonderful dreams of moving up in the food service industry or elsewhere. Such a cute kid.
Thoughts for the day. It’s as if the workers at these places near Graceland have all been trained/programmed to be friendly and provide excellent customer service. Good for them!
IT worked for us, no one we met during our brief stay here had a harsh word to say or frown on their face.
Next thought – we have been talking a lot about Elvis. It seems the people here with the Graceland dream have frozen Elvis at age 32. That is the only Elvis there is, the skinny kid to the lanky adult with not a problem in the world. Nowhere does it ever say that his dad was an abuser or how close to the legal edge he lived. Nowhere does any exhibit show that Elvis had to do 15 shows in 9 days to cover payroll and to cover “Colonel” Parker’s million-dollar gambling habit. (At the time of Elvis’ death it was estimated that this dirtbag had $30M in gambling debts.) Us oldsters remember all this, and the fat puffy Elvis. This new tribute doesn’t at all. Is that good or bad? It’s the Disney factor. Show only good things.
Back at the RV in plenty of time for real TV, Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal. Ginny’s nose is not black and blue, her face is not puffy. She says her teeth hurt a little, her aches
and pains continue, but she will continue with her Arnica and Motrin and on the road to Little Rock we go tomorrow.
Kat out
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