Graceland

Shana:

Before going to Memphis, we detoured to Holly Springs, Mississippi, home of "Graceland Too."  This personal collection of Elvis Memorabelia owned by the self-appointed "Wolrd's Greatest Elvis fan" was incredible but very very strange.  Basically, the owner, also the tour guide, was incredibly Obsessive-Compulsive about Elivs.  He had thousands of Elvis posters, records, VHS tapes, clothing, cars, rugs-- basically anything Elvis hoarded in his small house.  He was very knowledgeable about Elvis, but also crazy.  It was certainly one of the most memorable tours I've ever had.

We were surprised how much poorer Memphis is than Nashville.  Elvis Presley Blvd. was full of cheap motels, fast food, and run down stores.  Downtown and Beale St. were vibrant and full of activity.  We especially loved that Beale St. is one of the 5 places you can drink your beer outside (2 visited on this trip, 3 to go).  Beale St. (made famous by the Beale St. Blues style) is also blocked off from cars and made into a pedestrian walk way.  We loved being able to walk from bar to bar, checking out all the live music, and watching the city celebrate since the Memphis Basketball team had just won its Final 4 game.  We saw an awesome blues band as we had a fried catfish dinner. 

The next morning we went to Graceland-- Elvis' mansion.  It was really interested learning about the life and career of Elvis, but the mansion wasn't quite as crazy as we had expected.  The green carpeted floor to ceiling "Jungle Room" was a site to see, but the rest of it just looked like typical 70's celebrity style.  And, now, we really want to find a Peanut Butter, Banana, and Bacon grilled Sandwich, Elvis style...

We couldn't find anywhere to make us an Elvis style sandwich, so we opted for a Dinner Style Seafood restaurant with 25 cent Oysters and crawfish by the pound.  We had a whole fried catfish, oysters, and banana pudding.  And, we got to watch the Red Sox game while we ate.  Greg wishes there was a place like that by his house.