Graceland! Graceland! Memphis, Tennesee
On our way east from Texas we passed through Memphis, stopped by the Mississippi River and, of course, Graceland, about which we discovered a few things.
Graceland (front) I got lucky taking this picture...I paused while getting onto the bus...and got yelled at for it. VIP photo op only!
First, Graceland isn't really that big, by today's standards. It cost Elvis ~$100K in the 1950's and was pretty opulent for the time. The house is audacious in many ways, but size wise, not huge.
Graceland (back). At this point in the tour you can pretty much just wander around.
Meditation garden, with the graves of Elvis and his parents and grandmother. It is quite close to the pool. It was a minor miracle that there were not many people there...about 20 minutes later there was a huge line.
First glimpse! Waiting on the bus that takes you from the ticketing/shopping area to the house.
Second, it's currently an amusement park. You wait in line to get tickets, wait to get on a bus, wait to get off a bus, wait in line to get in the house and then move shoulder to should with a mass of other people through the house.
Your tour starts here.
- Pro tip: When waiting outside the house try not to stand directly under the trees...a tree branch fell right next to Curt and on a few people, sending them to the hospital.
- Pro tip: If you ignore the staff (just a little), who are essentially there to keep the throng moving (the actual 'tour' is done via IPAD with John Stamos as narrator), you can take some unobstructed pictures. To their credit, they let you take pictures of pretty much everything.
Living Room
We get to see Graceland courtesy of this little lady. Lisa Marie owns Graceland and is featured on the IPAD tour!
Stairway
Living Room
Dining room.
Elvis' parents room.
The Kitchen...which we were told was always open!
Jungle Room...there is carpet on the ceiling.
TV Room in the finished basement — how about that monkey!
Pool room in the basement.
The office (building out back).
Third, Elvis didn't write any songs, but he produced all his records...and he had a ton of them.
Room of gold records in the "trophy house"
Elvis was never afraid of over exposure; he was a fan of merchandising.
There is a lot of memorabilia in the Trophy House.
The famous outfits are all in the Racket ball building. (Who knew?)
Four, a lot of people really, I mean, REALLY love Elvis. Still.
Meditation Garden
Elvis' Grave. It's free to come visit the Meditation Garden from 7-8:30am each day.
These are all over the place from fan clubs across the Globe.