July 12 - Graceland, Memphis, TN

Today we hit Graceland, which was very convenient as our hotel was right next-door and we could simply walk to the attractions. First we grabbed some headsets that would bring us on an audio tour of the house itself. It’s tough to put it all in to words – it was both exciting and moving to walk in the home that Elvis inhabited over a quarter-century ago. After touring the main rooms of the house, we went round to the other buildings on the property, including the racquetball complex Elvis added after he bought the house. According to the audio, Elvis played music for his friends in this building on the morning of the very last day of his life. The racquetball court itself has been converted into a mini awards museum (and there were plenty more awards placed in other rooms on the property – all in all a staggering amount of shiny prizes were on display). After we left Graceland, we had lunch and a quick swim back at the hotel. Following that, we toured the other aspects of the tour (Sincerely Elvis, Fashion King, 68 Special, the Auto and Airplane Museums, Elvis Live). We were steered through at least 7 souvenir shops along the way but the offerings in the extra attractions were well worth the look. After about 5 hours of full immersion in everything Elvis, we hopped in the car and headed to Corky’s Barbecue to immerse ourselves in everything swine – smoked sausage, pulled pork sandwiches and ribs – mmm, mmm, good. Thank you Pudelka family for the suggestion. We may try another one of their suggestions, ‘Cock of the Walk’ tonight or tomorrow, in Natchez, Mississippi, which is were we are headed tomorrow.