Sunny, beautiful day to just hang out and enjoy the warm weather - 70s and 80s today. This has been one of the nicest days in a long stretch of cold & chilly, so we decided to have a low key Sunday and explore the Navy Base. Our first stop was over at the Navy Exchange and it was huge (to me). We picked up a few needed items. They even had a Clinque make-up counter! Don bought the second season of Lost, as we are now hooked. [Lost is an HBO series about a plane crash on an island, which is not deserted (???) and the 40 some survivors are not being rescued.] Donny and Nikki gave Don the first season as a gift and we saved it for our travels. Sometimes we are in a campground with no TV reception and one or two episodes an evening can be pretty relaxing, if Lost can be considered relaxing(?). After the Exchange we wandered over to the Commissary and resupplied the food lockers - pantry and under bed containers. It felt good to get these chores over and reorganize a bit.
We returned to the camper, opened our red chairs and settled in for cocktail hour outside. Our nearest neighbor, Neal, came and joined us. He's from Cleveland and came down after the spring flood here as a contractor to help clean-up and rebuild the ruined buildings on base. He thinks he'll be here until next March. He rents the trailer next to us. Neal said he's 58 and his wife and beloved dog are back home. Must be a tough, lonely way to live, but he was laid off 20 months ago back home due to lack of construction work. When this opportunity came up to earn some good money, he couldn't say "no." We had a friendly visit and hoped we helped him pass a few hours on a late Sunday afternoon.
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| Navy campsite. Note: Pix is a few days later after the rain. |
Monday, November 1st: Graceland, the Trolley and Beale Street
Today was definitely a tour day for us in Memphis, as it was a beauty outside. Weather reports show that it is going downhill after today, so off we went to the big city. We felt we couldn't come to Memphis and NOT go to Graceland. Don and I liked Elvis and his music, but he was a little before our time. When Elvis hit it big, I was 8 and Don was 9. Our visit to Graceland definitely gave us more respect for Elvis, his music, his movies and the impact he had on his fans.
Many of you may know all this stuff, but for you youngsters or non-fans, Elvis was a really nice guy who hit it big in 1956 with a single "Heartbreak Hotel." The first of his 31 formulaic movies was "Love Me Tender." He had gold records up and down the hallways in his office area, too many to count, but his favorite award was given to him by the Jaycee's for "Best Young Man of the Year." He was a kid at heart and loved to play, which was apparent by all his motorized toys - go-carts, golf-carts, skidoos, etc. - that he raced with his friends around his property. He even made snow for the skidoo. They said he raced his go-carts up and down Elvis Presley Blvd and never was stopped by the police. Memphis loved their boy.
Elvis paid $100,000 for Graceland in 1957, and years later built a racquetball court on the property for $200,000, after discovering his love of the sport. The actual court now houses many of his jeweled costumes, plus more awards/gold records. Elvis was known for his generosity and philanthropy, so he truly believed in giving back. Remember that he gave his mom the famous pink Cadillac? He also never liked liquor, even though there were bars throughout the estate. His favorite drinks were Gatorade, Dr. Pepper and other sodas. I was surprised that he never experienced "stage fright," as I thought that might have been why he abused prescription drugs. His musical talent is unquestionable, but he also was smart. He was not sure what to expect the weekend before making his first movie, so he memorized everyone's lines before the first day of shooting! When singing to crowds of thousands, people felt he was singing just to them. It takes a special musician/actor to connect to your audience in that special way. Too bad he hadn't had better management and TLC, as his life spiraled out of control and he died at 42, alone in his bathroom at Graceland on August 16, 1977. Tours did not include the upstairs rooms of the house.
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| Entrance to Graceland |
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| Living-room: Check out the length of the sofa. |
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| Racquetball Court |
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| Burial site at Graceland - Elvis, mother, father and grandmother's graves. |
After leaving the mansion, we grabbed a quick banana split to share in an old time soda shoppe for nourishment to keep going. When was the last time you had one of those? We never do this, especially in place of lunch!
The next part of the Graceland Tour was to Elvis' Automobile Museum. He loved his cars and motorcycles, plus his favorite restored John Deere tractor was there. On the other side of the museum were his two jets, which we were able to go inside to check them out. I'm sure at the time the inside of the big jet was magnificent, but now it looked retro, dated and worn.
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| Famous Pink Cadillac that he gave to his mother. |
It was now mid-afternoon and we drove to the new Visitor Center in downtown Memphis, which is on the waterfront. I was so excited to finally see the Mississippi River!!!
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| Don with BB King |
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| Lin with Elvis |
At the Visitor Center we were instructed to leave our car and take the free trolley to tour the city and eventually get off at Beale Street for dinner. We were thrilled to see the old trolleys still running using the electrical wires overhead for power, just like in the old days. We were told they stopped running the trolleys sometime in the 50s, but brought them back sixteen years ago. Riding the trolleys turned out to be one of our favorite, unexpected highs of the day - very nostalgic.
Neal, our trailer friend, told us that Memphis is #1 for crime in the nation. He has yet to go into Memphis because of this problem. With that little bit of knowledge, we knew we needed to be careful and not stray too far from the tourist areas. The actual city looks run down, with many empty stores. We have seen this same thing as we have driven around the country through the various downtown areas. Very sad. Some buildings had signs of restoration, maybe with stimulus money, turning them into upscale apartments or office space. For such a famous city, Memphis really could use a total overhaul. There were tons of police cars patrolling the area, especially on Beale Street.
On the trolley ride, we were stopped at a traffic light. The trolley conductor told us to look to the right at the motel. Just looking at it, you knew what it was immediately - the motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot. It is now part of the Civil Rights Museum, which is next door to the motel. Note the old cars parked next to the rooms. Wished we could have had time to go through the museum. Next trip.
We did the entire trolley loop, then went around again and got off at Beale Street. We walked up and down Beale, checking everything out. The two long blocks of Beale Street are historically known for where the blacks congregated, with their variety of shops and restaurants. Toward evening their Memphis Blues music made for a party atmosphere, a place just to hang out with friends after long workdays. Gold notes with famous Memphis musicians' names are embedded in the sidewalks. Additionally, signs with history tidbits of the area are posted up and down the street.
We had asked a number of folks in passing which was the best place to get BBQ on Beale. When we kept hearing Blues City Cafe, we knew that was the place.With only ice cream for lunch, we were starving and Blues City was perfect. Don had ribs and fried catfish, while I just had ribs. Both were absolutely excellent choices. The catfish was light, flaky and fried to perfection. It was now 6 PM and we were unfortunately way too tired to stay for the music, which didn't start until 7:00. Sad to miss the nightlife on Beale, but as we found on this trip, we can't quite do it all. We caught the trolley back to the car and wearily drove back to Four-Bit. It was a really super tourist day, with perfect weather for wandering around Graceland and Memphis. We were happy campers as we fell into bed that night.
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