Blogs from Tupelo, Mississippi, United States, North America

The end came with a toxicology report that revealed a laundry list of opiates; dilaudid, percodan, demerol, some codeine and qualludes. Years of drug abuse from the time Elvis was in the military when his friends introduced him to “little brown and green stimulants” to keep him awake during patrols. Once military life ended Elvis didn’t walk away from those pills. Elvis’s thirst and addiction expanded over the years and those drugs took a beloved and admired musician, actor, and celebrity on August 16, 1977. Elvis often referred to as the King of rock and roll, he recorded 710 songs and performed in 31 films. He made women around the world swoon. His fame, movies and music continue on decades after his death. Elvis has now been dead 43 years –he only lived 42 years, so ... read more

I probably started out the day with a bad attitude, and sure hope it didn’t show to my travelling girlies. We had such a long way to go today, and I was not looking forward to the drive at all. 250+ miles over hill and dale and ‘hood and vale. It took us pretty much 7 hours, with 2 lengthy stops. Some of the roads in MS are wonderful, and others just plain suck. The interstates suck, full of potholes and varying road surfaces. The State and County roads are mostly ok, but their speed limit can range from 45 to 65. I don’t do 65 at all; I would be airborne over the bumps. I was point person, Kim next, Ginnie tail gunner. I am very surprised how hilly central MS is. Beautiful rolling hills, ... read more

The drive on the Natchez Trace Parkway from Le Fleur's Bluff State Park Campground in Jackson MS to the Campground at Barnes Crossing in Tupelo MS was relaxing and uneventful. The partly sunny skies erupted in 2-3 brief but heavy showers. After setting up the Pilgrim in upper 80’s heat on Wednesday, August 21, 2013, I went to town in the air conditioned truck for a familiarization tour. Normally, I enjoy the cooling breeze generated with the windows down; however, even I had to succumb to the combination of heat AND humidity – perspiration doesn’t dry in the east like it does in the west! After a visit to downtown Tupelo, there is no doubt that Tupelo is linked to Elvis in some fashion. Guitar-shaped sculptures (okay, I might be stretching the definition of a sculpture ... read more

Travels with Snowbirds Tuesday July 2 2013 Talladega AL to Campground at Barnes Crossing Tupelo MS All about Elvis. Today was one of the best days ever. Up early, still have not adjusted to the time change, but that’s ok. A few long check in/check up on Mommy phone calls later I was on the road by 8:30 headed north and west towards Tupelo, MS. I said goodbye to I20 in Birmingham and headed on another new road, in some places I22, in others the same road has the US78 Designation. Going thru Birmingham, it was a larger town than I thought of, it had a few tall buildings, more than Wilmington, that’s for sure. Just west of Birmingham the topography changed. The rolling hills were still there, but longer and steeper, if that makes any ... read more

So it’s up early, farewell to downtown Memphis and off to the Hertz office to pick up our car. I was slightly bracing myself for a bit of a heated discussion as we’d booked through an internet site as it was so cheap and most importantly we didn’t get charged a ‘one way’ fee for picking up in Memphis and dropping off in Nashville which seemed unusual but there it was in black and white on the paperwork ‘no one way fee for this rental’. Can’t say it plainer than that. But I was still half expecting a bit of a kerfuffle about it. However, good old Hertz were as good as gold and we even got a bigger car than we’d booked so the other worry about the size of our cases fitting in the ... read more