Tupelo, Mississippi - The birthplace of Elvis Presley

 On Memorial Day we broke camp and headed north to Tupelo to visit Elvis Presley’s birthplace.

Jim is a huge fan of Elvis. When Elvis lived in Bel Air, and Jim was a teenager, he and some other members of the L.A. Elvis fan club drove up to Elvis’ house, knocked on the door and asked if they could see Elvis. Unbelievably, Elvis came to the door and talked with them. Jim has a photo of the occasion and it has a position of honor in our family room. 

Elvis invited them to come with him and his friends down to the neighborhood park for a game of touch football.  They didn’t have to be asked twice!! Jim learned first-hand that Elvis was a terrific person. Besides Elvis there were other up and coming stars at the game. The games continued for several weekends until the police asked Elvis to stop because it was causing traffic problems. Needless to say Jim will always be a devoted fan and now he finally has the opportunity to visit the birthplace and Graceland.

Late Monday afternoon we pulled into a small shaded campground near the Nachez Trace Parkway. On Tuesday, the 29^th we left camp to go into Tupelo and find Elvis’ birthplace.

Elvis was born in a small two room house which he later bought along with the 15 acres surrounding it.  He had the church he worshiped in as a boy moved to the property and it’s located near the house. There’s a museum with a lot of memorabilia and of course a gift shop.  We toured it all along with folks from all over Europe and various parts of the USA. Elvis still has a powerful draw.

  We went back into town to the local hardware store and it was almost as if we had stepped back in time except for all the modern products that were for sale. There was a sign that said that Elvis’ mother had purchased his first guitar in that store.  According to another sign we were a little too early for the yearly Elvis festival occurring June 2^nd to 3^rd. After leaving the crowds in New Orleans we were happy we missed it.