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Published: August 2nd 2010
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We were pretty excited to be on our way to Memphis! We stopped off in Jackson for the night-that's Jackson, Mississippi-which supposedly if the one they wrote 'I'm going to Jackson' about. This fact alone made us want to go! Though the afternoon at the swamp took up alot of time so we ended up just using it as a bed for the night.
We arrived in Memphis the next day. We headed to the famous Beale St which is supposedly the 2nd busiest street in the US. On the drive into the city the whole place seemed dead and we wondered how good Beale st could actually be, but when we arrived the place was completely packed. There was live music at almost every bar and street corner so of course we had to stop off for a beer! We got to see a really good singer and some entertainment on the street.
The next day was the eagerly awaited trip to Graceland. After dodging the $10 parking fee by finding a spot in the heartbreak hotel carpark we had to wait in just a few queues in order to finally get to the house. The place really
was so busy and it was hard to stop and appreciate the different rooms but it really was a treat to see where Elvis lived and to see the Kitchen where he cooked his peanut butter and Banana sandwiches! The Jungle room was a good one to see with its waterfall and leapord print seats. They say that because there was carpet on the ceiling it made it a good room to record music in. It was good to see all his Gold discs that he won and all the outfits that he wore through the 60s & 70s.
At the back of the house were the grave stones of Elvis and his family. We didn't know that Elvis had a twin brother who is actually buried elsewhere.
After Graceland it was time to hit the road for a short 3 hour trip to Nashville. We spent our day in Nashville around Broadway where most of the live music was and we took a walk to see the country music hall of fame, which was unfortunately closed. Again, there was live music everywere and the streets were even busier due to the fact that Paul McCartney was playing that
evening. There were real signs of a storm moving in so we decided to settle in the famous Legends corner bar. The walls were full of old LP covers and they say that lots of the country music stars started their careers here. The live music was great and he even played a Gareth Brooks song on request! Just as he was singing thunder rolls the real thunder started outside! Never one to miss a good storm, we stood outside while the rain poured down and got to see a great storm. To add to the excitement, a siren started going and there were blue flashing lights on the street corners. Upon asking someone, we were informed that they were tornado warnings!! So we did the sensible thing and stayed outside a bit longer! The lightning was great and there are some good pictures to check out!
After the storm we went in to Tootsie's Orchid Lounge were there was another country music singer. He's called Jake Meurer and he was really good. There was a whole band-a girl with a fiddle and other guitars. The music was amazing and they sang 'Callin' Baton Rouge' and some really good
Johnny Cash as well. Tootsie's is well known for Johnny Cash singing in it in the early days. Now that would have been amazing to see! It was a really amazing night and we couldn't really have had a better time in Nashville.
Next was the drive to Atlanta for the well-timed Manchester City game. They were playing Club America and we were hoping we could get some tickets! En route we stopped off at Chattanooga and got to see the Chattanooga choo choo! We ended up camping that night and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. We had at least 24 bites between us, 22 of which belonged to Debs!
We managed to get tickets from the stadium in Atlanta without too much bother and spent the day searching for something good to see in downtown Atlanta-wasn't easy. It was pretty dodgy and we ended up chatting with some City fans before hitting an Irish bar. After that we went to the Olympic Park which was actually quite nice and there was a free Jazz concert on-the place was packed!
The game was really good. We sat with a City fan who was originally from Manchester but
now lived in Pensacola with his wife. Such a lovely couple and they even offered for us to come stay with them in Florida. If we had had a bit more time we definitely would have taken them up on the offer, but maybe another time...
It was good to see City play-it had been a while and even though all the big names weren't there, they managed a win-in the penalty shoot out! Pretty good that we saw this one, as they haven't been quite so successful in the other games in the US!
From Atlanta, we were off to the East Coast and hoping to get a bit of a break from all the heat. The car is still going nicely and we are hoping it keeps going! We have got through a good few states now but still lots to go!
Great to hear from you all,
Lots of love from us xxxx
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Michael
non-member comment
Strike one
Blog and pics are great - that one of the lightning strike in Nashville is amazing! One for the wall when you get home methinks.