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Published: August 20th 2011
Welcome to Memphis
Home of the blues and the birthplace of Rock and Roll
Memphis, Tennessee I fell in love with Memphis, Tennessee the moment I started driving into it. The highlight of the 146 mile drive from Little Rock was driving on the bridge over the Mississippi River into the city that calls itself the home of the blues and the birthplace of Rock and Roll. I stopped by Memphis to learn more about two of my favorite Kings, Elvis Presley and MLK Jr., both of whom breathed their last breath here.
The first stop in Memphis was Graceland, home of Elvis. I am glad I went to Graceland with the expectation that it would be cheesy, tacky and kitchy, because it definitely did not disappoint, although the house itself was smaller than I expected. The tour does not allow access into the upstairs area, but I was able to view various rooms along with two of Elvis’ airplanes. His cars, outfits and awards were also on display.
The décor of Graceland was wonderfully appalling. The dining room, formal living room and his parent’s bedroom weren’t so gaudy… mostly white… but the rest of it was
really hard on the eyes. Fortunately, it was poorly lit, so the migraine-inducing overuse
of patterns, shag, and dark wood was lessened a bit.
One of the rooms, affectionately coined the jungle room, had a wall waterfall, green shag carpet and log-cabin style wood furniture. There were porcelain jungle animals, cheetah and fur fabrics, and a stuffed gorilla on one of the armchairs. The media room downstairs had a more modern feel with yellow walls and carpet, black furniture and a mirrored ceiling. The final room, however, the billiards room, actually made my teeth hurt. Somehow, the calico shag carpet was sort of a relief from the curtained walls and ceiling. The multi-colored square patterned fabric was busier than anything I had ever seen, and there were no windows to offer any kind of relief. The only lighting came from two hanging stained-glass Tiffany lamps. The furniture was a whole other busy pattern altogether. Atrocious. I think I would actually seizure if I tried playing pool in there.
I really enjoyed walking through the
Lisa Marie, Elvis’ airplane. It was divided into three separate areas, one of which was the King’s bedroom. The décor on the
Lisa Marie was more bearable… but a 60s/70s throwback for sure. There were more solid colors,
The Lorraine Motel
Where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot including overuse of leather. I imagined my sister-in-law, Jacquie running amok with her twin sister, Kelley, pointing at everything saying “Oh my God, that’s so cool!” He did have a pretty cool airplane with a full-on bed in the back.
My other stop in Memphis was the civil rights museum which is built around and through the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Unfortunately, I did not do my homework and the museum was closed on Tuesdays. I wish I would have looked into it because I could have visited the museum when I arrived on Monday. Oh well. Something for next time, I guess. I was able to see the motel and balcony where King was shot, and from a historical standpoint, that is pretty amazing, but I left feeling incomplete. I went there with the intention of celebrating the life and work of one of my personal heroes, but only saw where he was killed. The museum would have been a nice way to shift the sadness to triumph. I will make up for it when I visit the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
With the extra time I had, I felt
Quote by MLK
prophetic words from his last public speech the best way to console myself would be over some comfort food. I googled “best breakfast in Memphis” and the same restaurant came up in all the search results. So I headed to Father Juniperos, told the waitress I was from California and wanted a good southern breakfast. I’m not sure if the smoked salmon and spinach omelette was southern, but it was the house specialty. The cheese grits and biscuits, however, were a true southern treat and REALLY delicious. I couldn’t decide whether to eat the biscuit with gravy or their homemade berry jam. So I told her to bring me two and ate them both ways.
In hindsight, I wish I could have set aside a few more days on this journey to spend in Memphis. It seems to be a charming city. It would be nice to have a lazy day in the city to soak it all in by foot and just enjoy the food and the Mississippi River. If I did not have a meditation retreat starting on August 3rd, I would have stayed in Memphis a while longer. There is a cornucopia of culture, music, and history I have yet to enjoy in
Breakfast at Father Juniperos
Complete with Cheese grits and Biscuits and Gravy this city.
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jeremy
non-member comment
Wow, you are an incredibly beautiful man. :o)