Memphis, TN: Feb 2018
We stepped off the plane with our blue suede shoes and into the land of the Delta Blues and guess what? It was actually raining! A win!
Our shuttle took us to what felt like a hotel that Disney might build if Elvis had been a character in one of their movies. The Guest House at Graceland was gorgeous and every detail had a little Elvis touch to it. It wasn’t cheap, but if you love Elvis as much as my mother does, the cost is worth every penny.
The mansion at Graceland isn’t what you would consider a mansion. It’s just a large house by today’s standards, but chock full of Elvis memorabilia. The grounds are lovely and contain a place for horses, a swimming pool, garage and, oddly, the grave sites of Elvis and his parents. I had ‘feelings’ by the mini cemetery as his whole life and death flashed before my eyes, the sadness of his downfall, a life so bright and then snuffed out too early.
Elvis Presley’s hometown has changed a bit since he was walking the streets of Memphis, but so have the times I guess. The contrast one feels when visiting Graceland, where time has stood still, and the reality of today’s mean streets of Memphis is quite striking. Elvis’ world of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s seems so innocent compared to now.
Beale Street was a gem surrounded by modern city and a lot smaller than I imagined. The rain and cold of February were keeping people away and we weren’t really feeling the vibe as much as I thought we would. I discovered, that a better time to visit would have been during Elvis Week in August, a time when Elvis fans around the world converge to worship, rejoice, and revel in all things Elvis.
I wasn’t the biggest Elvis fan before I went, and I admit, I only did this because of my mother’s undying love for Elvis, but after seeing into his life, into what an amazing person he was, I’m a fan now.