Wed. May 30th - It was only a short drive up to
Memphis from Tupelo and we pulled into a beautiful state park, T. O. Fuller, in
Memphis no more than 7 miles from Graceland.
Our campsite is shaded by huge trees and the birds and tree squirrels
are putting on a show. Maybe it’s
because of an approaching thunderstorm…our first one of the trip.
We plan to stay three days which should give us enough time
to tour Graceland and Beale Street.
On Thursday morning, with threats of more thunderstorms in
the forecast, we drove to Graceland. The
parking lot was only partially filled and the ticket line was short. Elvis’s
home is just across the street and everyone is shuttled across in vans. Before you board the bus you’re given
headsets to use throughout the tour.
This was a great idea because you can tour the mansion and grounds at
your own pace and the headset becomes your own personal tour guide. You are allowed to spend as much time as you
want viewing all of the areas that are open to the public. These photos will speak
for themselves.
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| "The Mansion" |
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| Main Living Room |
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| Jungle Room |
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| One of many awards |
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| Some of his awards |
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| Two of many |
A tour of the mansion and grounds was only part of our
package so we returned to the shuttle to view a display of Elvis’s
vehicles. Jim recognized a black Rolls
Royce as one that he and a friend saw at Elvis’s house in Bel Air. It was parked in the driveway and Jim and
Danny just walked up to it and opened the door.
Alarms sounded and they both took off and made a clean get away!
Another time Jim spotted Elvis being chauffeured in the
Rolls and followed it as Elvis returned a girl, maybe a date, to her home.
In addition to the vehicle display there also was one of
Elvis’s airplanes. The largest was a
former Delta jet, named the ‘Lisa Marie’, which was reconfigured inside to have
sitting/sleeping areas, bathrooms and a personal bedroom and bathroom for
Elvis. The other plane was a smaller jet
that was used for quick trips. We were allowed to go inside both.
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| The Lisa Marie |
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| Small Jet |
It was a great tour and really made you realize what an
impact Elvis had, not only during his life but also continuing after his
death. This year is the 35th
anniversary of his death and people are stilling coming from all over the world
to visit.
T. O. Fuller is famous for its trees and birds in all over the country. Memphis Botanic Garden is also a nice visiting place and one of the major attraction in the Tennessee.
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