8th Day Memphis

Well I am writing this the next day really as we have not had signal ( well sometimes fleeting) but we have not been able to catch it. Our day in Memphis started with a city tour which really seemed to go round and round a few blocks whilst the local guide waxed lyrical at how beautiful her city was when we really thought the buildings were pretty bland. We did go to Sun Studios where Elvis recorded and it looked pretty cool but there were so many people inside it was very difficult to see all the memorabilia. It was just a simple building. We were also taken to the Lorraine Motel and shown where Martin Luther King was standing when he was assassinated. The cars parked outside his room are still there and have never been moved and even have the keys inside. It is now a museum. Memphis is also the unrivalled barbecue (!) capital of the nation!! This week they are preparing for their big competition and the area along the river is being transformed into hundreds of tents and cooking sites that go for about 2 k's - just massive. Of course there is lots of rivalry trying to outdo each other with decorated and bigger displays. We then headed to our ship for a quick lunch before boarding the coaches for Graceland. Well now, that really is something. There were crowds everywhere and people of all ages, not just of Elvis' era which was strange as he died 37 years ago. You could tell everyone treated the area with a kind of reverence. Firstly we took a shuttle across the road to his "mansion" which these days would be considered a regular house by a lot of people. It was interesting to see the way they lived but what really amazed me was the number of gold records and trophies he had earned. There were walls and walls of them in the house extension and then another huge presentation in his Racquetball Court along with many more of his costumes. After
that we went through his personal plane with the gold plated seat belts and also the Auto museum holding the cars he owned and others from his movies. Then there were lots of gift shops selling all kinds of memorabilia and all of them different so they were worth a look too. There is a Meditation Garden where the graves of Elvis, his parents and his baby twin brother are buried. I believe he died leaving very little in his estate but had given freely to charities and was honoured by the Jaycees for his philanthropy. Then it was back to the boat for cocktails and dinner. I can tell you the meals are far too large but we can order a half serve which is quite enough. The ice cream is as good as NZ and there are about 6 flavours available and you can have them all if you like!