The Deep South US Tour Pt6 – Memphis
Another early dart, another new experience, another city on this Deep South tour. This time we head three hours north to Memphis. We had a boat to catch at 1:30pm, a Mississippi Steamboat Cruise. Speaking of Mississippi, most of the drive to Memphis is within that State, and what a beautiful State it is. I remarked en route that this was probably the most aesthetically eye-pleasing drive of the trip so far, and with Mississippi being 65% covered by forests, you can see why/ Loblolly pine, slash pine, longleaf pine, white oak, and sweetgum trees dominate the areas. Some oak trees have purple wisteria intertwined around their branches, which makes for an even more spectacular sight.
Similar to New Orleans, Memphis has a dodgy reputation, actually being known as ‘the murder capital of the USA’, so before the trip I was again a little apprehensive, but after experiencing New Orleans unscathed, those fears were allayed.
We dropped into the centre of the city, and it was like a ghost town. It’s a Saturday too, so it leaves us a little bemused. Our hotel is on the edge of the Downtown area, a Comfort Inn, which more than does a job, but it’s another top floor room that leaves Suze unimpressed, having to face her fear of another elevator to contend with.
We literally throw our bags onto the bed and leave immediately for the short walk down to the Mississippi River, where we board a Steamboat. Complete with a bar onboard and feeling a little tense after a morning drive, I began ploughing through the Bud Light like a pirate.
The cruise was brilliant, and one that Suze was adamant we had to do. The tour guide informed us about the history of the river, and some of the key events it has witnessed. I was unaware till that day that the State of Arkansas was the land that lay on the other side of the river. After his spiel, the guide turned into the DJ and began playing songs to soundtrack the rest of the 90-minute cruise, including ‘Walking in Memphis’ by Marc Cohn, and ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ by Chris Stapleton amongst many other blues classics from the 50s and 60s. Me and Suze had to improvise our own version of ‘Proud Mary’ though for the camera. Any onlookers would’ve thought we were nuttier than squirrel shit.
Leaving the boat, we made our way to the famous Beale Street, hitting Union Ave first where we didn’t see ‘the ghost of Elvis’. Beale St is the heart and soul of Memphis, being a real hustle and bustle strip awash with dive bars, restaurants and music coming from every hole in the wall. A mosaic further up is highlighted with the words ‘I’m Ten Feet Off Of Beale’ (lyrics from ‘Walking in Memphis’), which of course attracts everyone for photo opportunities.
With only one night in Memphis, it became an evening to soak up the vibe, get a brief feel for the strip and listen to great music. It was a shame we couldn’t fully explore the city if we had a full day, but given the tight schedule of the trip, and with lots more to do, just experiencing Beale St and the Mississippi Cruise was enough. But, we did have something epic planned for the following day, one that was a big bucket list addition to the trip – Graceland!
One aspect creeping in on this trip, and it kind of happened seven years ago, is the lack of appetite and skipping of meals. Breakfasts have been basic when we’re in self-catered accommodation, which we have been for the last six days, so Belvita and bananas have sufficed as we get to grips with the nomad lifestyle. After that we’re relying on the fast food outlets on our drives to keep us going for the next twenty hours. So, with breakfast included at the Comfort Inn, which consisted of eggs, bacon, hash browns, muffins, toast, cereals, yoghurts, I felt like I was an extra in Oliver, fuelling up as much as possible… and taking ‘a little Danish for the road’ (if you know the TV drama reference😉)
Well fed, we made the short drive down to Graceland, the home of the one and only, Elvis Presley. My perception of the grounds beforehand was that it was a huge, enclosed area where the Mansion stood on one side, and all the jets/museums/cafes/shops were on the other. It’s not the cheapest excursion. The lowest ticket was $49.95 and that excluded a Mansion Tour. To include the Mansion was $79.95 each, but there were another three price tiers beyond that. I thought $79.95 x 2 was too much and if I could stand outside the Mansion and take a picture, I’d be satisfied. However, Graceland is not laid out in such a way. The Mansion is across a busy main road that you have to take a shuttle too, and the rest of it is within its own compound that was nothing to do with the original grounds. With that in mind, we bit the bullet and paid extra to wander the mansion. It turned out to be the correct decision.
Standing outside of Graceland was surreal. I couldn’t take my eyes off it as my mind wandered to some sort of reel from the past, seeing Elvis park up and go into the Mansion. The thought was a bit overwhelming… even more so when we were allowed to set foot inside and explore the ground floor and basement areas (including the famous Jungle Room). We were given iPads and headsets for the tour, which was presented by John Stamos. Out of respect no one is allowed upstairs, under the wishes of Priscilla. But regardless of that, it was like a maze, and much bigger than I envisaged. Much of the décor of the house has been left as it was, so there was a very funky, seventies feel to it, with psychedelic colours forming mind-bending patterns in some of the rooms. In today’s world in a standard house, it would be seen as tacky, but within the confines of Graceland, it added to the whole experience.
We ventured outside, which included trophy rooms, stables, a racquet ball centre, and the meditation garden where Elvis and family members are laid to rest, including his recently deceased daughter, Lisa Marie. My mind couldn’t quite comprehend that Elvis was buried beneath the tomb I stood in front of. It was a weird sensation, and you could see some observers with tears in their eyes… including Suze.
Back at the exhibition site, we embraced the museums, seeing his many, many legendary jump suits, cars, private jets, and jewellery… amongst other personal items. With the recent release of the new film about Elvis, props and footage as to how the film was made were also on display.
I’m glad we did pay the extra to set foot in the Mansion. I have a feeling I would’ve regretted it if we didn’t. We even bought t-shirts that had ‘TCB’ embroiled in a flash printed on the front… a little memento of our time at the King’s gaff.
After that, we had a quick brew in Glady’s Kitchen (Elvis’ Mum) and it was back on the road again. Another three hour trek on Music Highway to another city famed for its music – Nashville, Tennessee.
