Oct 22-24/ 2012

Oct 22/ 2012
Away from North Little Rock at 10:00 under overcast skies and breezy 72F. We bypassed Little Rock, passing Maybelline, L'Oreal and Remmington factories. Very flat prairie land with grain crops & cotton. We arrived at EZ Daze RV in Southaven, MS. We had been strongly advised not to stay in Memphis because of the crime rate but didn't find it uncomfortable getting around there. We travelled throuigh 3 states today -AR, TN & MS.

Oct 23/ 2012
We drove into Memphis to Graceland and took the tour of the Mansion and the grounds. We were both impressed that as wealthy as Elvis became, he lived quite plainly -big but not flashy. the Meditation Garden is so peaceful and contains the graves of Elvis (with an eternal flame), his mother, his father, his paternal grandmother and a marker of his twin brother who was still born. We also went into his 2 private jets -Lisa Marie, his home away from home and Hound Dog, his business jet. We toured his automobile museum, a collection of cadillacs, rolls royces, motorcycles & motorized toys. Other exhibits included Icon: influence of Elvis collection; Elvis on tour exhibit; Elvis through his daughters eyes; Sincerely Elvis; and Tupelo exhibit (where Elvis was born into poverty). We walked over to the Heartbreak Hotel to check it out. All-in-all one fantastic, if not tiring, day. A real trip back in time and hard to realize it has been 35 years since The King passed away. Back to the park and into the hot tub to "come down".

Oct 24/ 2012
Drove into downtown Memphis to the Tourist Info Center where we took the monorail over to Mud Island where we walked the 1/2 mile topographical cement map of the Mississippi River from Ohio to the Gulf of Mexico. Then we took a 3 1/2 hour city bus tour with Yolanda as our driver/guide. We toured downtown Memphis; the Mississippi River; Beale Street; Cotton Row; Sun Studio; The Pyramid (ex-arena just purchased by Bass Pro Outdoor shop);Victorian Village -1800s homes; Lorraine Hotel (where Martin Luther King was assassinated); A Schwab -a 120 year old general store still in operation and filled with anything you ever needed and couldn't find anywhere else !!!; St Jude's Childrens' Hospital, chapel, garden and Pavillion where Danny Thomas (founder) is entombed; the Peabody Hotel (rooms $384 per night) and the march of the ducks -from the fountain in the lobby down the red carpet and into the elevator to go to their "suite" until they come back at 11:00 AM. We stopped at The Boiling Pot on our way home for a well-deserved shrimp dinner, complete with complimentary Hush Puppies -like a tim bit but made of cornbread with jalepeno bits -simply delicious dipped in tartar sauce. Once again home to the hot tub after a very full and fun day.