Saturday - Graceland

(Pictures to follow, when we get more bandwidth)
We drove the Interstate through Memphis to get to Graceland, dropping off on Union St to get some cash from an ATM. We noticed that the place looked quite run down and drove with the doors locked (they don’t lock automatically on our bus). A total contrast to the homestead country, where I had felt that every time I locked the car it was an insult to anyone around - that I would think they would take something.
Graceland is in two parts. The commercial stuff, Heartbreak Hotel, the ticket office, museums, shops and café’s are on one side of Elvis Presley Boulevard and Graceland is on the other side of the road, to be reached by shuttle busses.
We started in the commercial sector, bought our tickets and then wandered through the Elvis Car Museum, admired amongst others, his two Rolls Royce, stretched Mercedes, 1955 Pink Cadillac, 1956 purple Cadillac Eldorado (convertible) and several Harley Davison’s. Quite an impressive collection.
We then went through the Elvis in Hollywood Museum, saw clips and memorabilia of many of his films and read some of the background to them, very interesting.
We now went on the bus to Graceland. The front lawn and drive were very impressive and the house front is very well proportioned, what struck us both is that it is not a very big house, certainly not mansion sized.
We went in through the front door, to the right is a very nice formal front room with big white leather chairs and couches. To the left is a nicely proportioned dining room, giving access to a very large kitchen, with every modern convenience (for the 70’s), beyond that, to the back of the house, there was a living room. Also on this floor was his parent’s bedroom.
We went downstairs to the basement, which had been done out as a den, with three T.V.s, couches and a bar, done in bright yellow and blue (very similar to the colour scheme for our first kitchen, also designed in the 70’s). There was also a games room with a pool table.
Back upstairs there was a large extension added to the side which was called the Jungle Room. It was indeed decorated in a jungle theme, with a lot of basic varnished wood furniture from Hawaii.
From there we walked across the yard to his office, then to The Trophy room, where there was more memorabilia about his rise to fame, then a long corridor which was completely lined with his gold disks, very impressive. There was then displays of the different periods of his career, his marriage to Priscilla and his big tours in the 70’s, with some of his costumes.
This led on to the Racquetball building (squash to you and me). Here he had another social area with piano and pinball machines.
This area opened into the squash court. This had been set out as a tribute to his career. The walls were completely covered with more gold and silver disks and awards. There was a display of costumes from his Aloha Concert in Hawaii and some video of the concert. It was very impressive that one man could have such an impact on the entertainment world.
The final part of Gracelands was the Garden of Meditation, a tasteful area where Elvis’s grave is, alongside other members of his family.
On returning to the ticket area we had a look at his aircraft. The Boeing 707 was very luxuriously appointed, with the wash basins lined with 24 carat gold leaf.
All in all, we very much enjoyed the whole experience and it was well worth the drive to come and see it.
We returned to the trailer, via Arkansas and Beale St, but intend to return there on Sunday to see the Civil Rights Museum at the hotel where Martin Luther King was assassinated.
Stopped off at a Chilli’s for a steak dinner to round off a great day.