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Published: June 13th 2008
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Memphis
27th May - The now, so very familiar, Greyhound service took us West along the Music Highway to Memphis, home of the blues and birth place of Rock 'n' Roll. While in Memphis we were staying in an odd Hostel, called Pilgrim House. It was nice and cheap but every day each 'guest' had to do a chore. On the way back from grocery shopping we got chatting to a guy called George who bought us a beer in the local bar. The dinners here needed a 'to go' box as they were pretty huge but handy for breakfast the next day.
28th May - After our chore for the day, sweeping and mopping the staircase, we headed out to catch the tram into town. It was quite a walk to the tramstop in the Memphis heat and when we got there the tram wasn't even running so we took the bus service most of the way instead. We stopped in at the visitor centre to pick some information and get a bus timetable. From there we crossed the bridge over Wolf creek to Mud Island on the banks of the Mississippi. Here we played the worlds longest game of
Memphis from the Mississippi
Never did get a photo of the washed up car. The big catfish was caught near here. Pooh sticks on a half mile model of the Mississippi which eventually got abandoned as it was taking so long.
We then headed down to Beale street where all the Blues bars and restaurants are. We had some of Memphis' famous barbeque food and a few $2 beers whilst being "entertained" by a guy on a keyboard who needed a lot more practice. On the way back to the hostel we found out that the timetable we got earlier was four years old and the bus service in Memphis isn't very good. Luckily a local guy helped us out and we eventually found our way back.
29th May. We had decided to stay in Memphis for a few days longer as the hostel was cheap and there seemed like there was a lot to do. Aftrer we made arrangements to stay and booked our next Greyhound, we went into town to take one of the Huckleberry Fin style paddle boat trips down the Mississippi. It was nice being on a boat in the hot weather but the guide really struggled to find points of interest to talk about as we went. Some of the highlights were Cybil Sheppard's old house,
a washed up car on the banks and the spot where the world's biggest catfish was caught.
After the trip, we went back to Beale street and watched a Blues band in the open air while drinking "Big Ass Beers." In between sets the band would let anyone else who wanted to sing onto the stage. The most interesting of these "singers" was an eiighty year old Elvis impersonator who performed what we think might have been "Hound dog."
30th May. This day was set aside for all the Elvis attractions. We started at Sun studios where Elvis first recorded and then took the shuttle bus out to Graceland, home of the King. The house itslef is smaller than we thought it would be but is still left as Elvis had it. You can't go upstairs to see the bedrooms but the tour takes you through the ground floor and basement rooms where Elvis and his friends and family all hung out. Steph was impressed with his eye for interior design, especailly the jungle room with green shag carpet on the floor and ceiling and a tasteful waterfall on the wall. Outside the house the tour takes you through some
Sun studio.
Where Rock n Roll began. outbuildings that have now been turned into exhibitions of Elvis's awards and film and stage costumes with a large amounts of the famous jumpsuits. Finally we went passed the graves of Elvis and his parents and grandmother where people from all over the world have laid flowers.
Outside the grounds we visited more exhibits of Elvis's cars and costumes before going aboard the Lisa Marie, Elvis' private jet used when he was on tour and once just to take his daughter to play in the snow. We then had some food in an Elvis themed diner and had a look around the many gift shops before heading back to the hostel to do our chores.
On Saturday we stayed around the hostel as we needed to do some washing and then we went out so some of the local bars. On Sunday we visited the National Civil Rights museum at the converted Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King was shot. The museum was a very detailed account of the civil rights struggle in America and it was surprising to realise just how recent some of the events were. We had an early night as were going to have to get
up at 5am to catch the bus to Dallas. 😞
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David
non-member comment
Hmmm, chores instead of paying for board. Sounds like a good idea...