Hey ya'll.
Knowing we only had a short drive from Bowling Green to Nashville, we slept in a bit this morning and got on the road sometime after 9am. By 10:30 we found ourselves in the heart of Music City along Broadway in an area called "The District." Wanting to see the Grand Ole Opry, we wandered into The Union Station Hotel to ask for tour information and directions. In addition to experiencing the epitome of Southern hospitality from the staff at a hotel we weren't even staying at, the hotel itself - a renovated train station - was a beautiful building inside and out.
Unfortunately the Grand Ole Opry was a bit out of the way for our schedule today, but we were able to see Ryman Auditorium, the "original" Gpry house. They give tours here, too, but after realizing we needed to get on the road to make the last tour at Graceland this afternoon, we skipped the backstage pass and headed out to walk around the city and grab lunch.
Bronze statues of Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff
Broadway was lined with shops selling guitars, cowboy boots, hats, and mementos of all things Country; along with bars, restaurants, and a great shop called Hatch Show Print (right up my alley) which has designed and printed woodblock press concert posters since 1879. I couldn't help but buy a few things here ;)
Hatch Show Print "Office" and Shop
The girls at Hatch Show Print pointed us to our second "dive" destination just up the street called Paradise Park Trailer Resort. "A colorful place" as they described it, with a bar & stage on one side and a one-man grill on the other boasting "the best burgers in Nashville." We didn't taste all the burgers in the city, but this one was really good (read: greasy) as was my chili cheese dog! After all, for $.50, they will "smother anything with chili".
After lunch, it's West to Memphis! As per Tennessee guidelines, we listened to Country music all the way from Nashville to Memphis. Popular (Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney), Quintessential (Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton), and Current (Taylor Swift - with Dad singing back-up to "You Belong With Me"), that unmistakable twang carried us a little over 3 hours in the rain to Memphis, TN.
As the namesake of this blog, we FOUND GRACELAND!
Of three tours, we opted for the basic Mansion tour which took us about an hour and a half and through every room (minus the upstairs which was private to Elvis and, as such, is kept that way out of respect. OR, as locals like to tell it, they don't let visitors up there because Elvis is still living there!) plus the backyard/meditation garden. I took far too many photos along the way, so just a few will follow.
Game Room
Bar/Lounge/TV Room
Staff Office
Record Wall (leading into trophy room)
Gravestone (out back by the pool along side his mother, father, and twin brother)
What stands out most about Graceland is that it's relatively modest. The kitchen, although declared the main thoroughfare of the house, was quite small as was the bedroom on the main floor which was designated for his parents. Modest and, at times, painfully decorated as Dad pointed out.
Elvis was truly larger than life in this town and, for a city that may have been overshadowed by Music City to the East, in some ways, I think he put Memphis on the map.
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