I like to go running while on vacation. It's fun to run in new places and it helps clear my head and process all that I've seen and done. When running is impossible I jump rope and run around parking lots. Yes, I am crazy but I think I've already established that :) My hotel last night was on a busy highway with no shoulder and no sidewalk so it was a jump rope morning. Apparently people in Arkansas like to get up as early as me! I had a small audience. When I was done one of the guys in my audience said "Sure are making me tired." Well what he actually said was "Suuurr arrrr makin' m' tahhred" which I believe I've translated correctly. Seeing he was quite round and chain smoking I muttered something about it being a nice morning instead of going into lecture mode about health, fitness, mind and body connection, etc.
I got on the road early this morning because today was the day I have been waiting for for years!!! I went to Graceland!!! Memphis is about 150 miles from Hot Springs so it was a really easy trip. I did make a quick stop to a Wal-mart Super Store. Yes, on purpose - it seemed like the right thing to do as Wal-mart is based in Arkansas. The place is crazy enormous, like the size of Costco! I felt like such an American being there. While I was scoping out the joint I happened upon a bin of $5 dvds. My eye beamed into a copy of Thelma and Louise! Totally fate!! Of course I bought it!! They are my inspiration for this trip! Well, except for the murder part . . .
I crossed over the Mississippi River on the way into Memphis! Awesome!!!!!
Graceland is one wild and wacky place! Everyone goes there and I highly recommend if you're ever in the area you should go too. It's hard to describe with words so I'll talk you through it and then post lots of pictures. You buy tickets (the woman in front of my talked my ear off about how her cousin went to high school with Elvis and no one wanted to hear him play when they were in school together but the story changed when he became famous, etc etc) and then wait in line for the shuttle bus to take you across the street to go inside the mansion. When I say everyone goes to Graceland, I really do mean everyone - foreign tourists, super high maintenance southern chicks, families on their summer vacation, hicks who have clearly put on their best cut off t-shirt for the adventure, women driving across country, etc. Once you get across the street they set you free in the house to look at the rooms on the first floor guided by your audio device. The second floor was Elvis' private quarters so they keep that private. What I wouldn't have given to see where he slept . . . Then you can see his awards building, his racquetball court (turned into essentially a shrine), his father's office space and the grave sites of Elvis and his family. Voila! I give you Graceland:
It was a totally wild experience, something I've always wanted to do. I am not necessarily a huge fan of Elvis' music (though I do appreciate a good hip swivel and what he's done for rock and roll) but I love the fascination with Elvis and that 30 years after his death he still means so much to people. I am also fascinated with Elvis impersonators! One of my favorite movie lines ever is "We're the flying Elvis', Utah Chapter" from Honeymoon in Vegas. Alas I did not see a single impersonator. I shall cry myself to sleep tonight from the grief. I love the tackiness of Graceland and the earnestness of the pilgrims who visit. Should I ever have occasion to return and have more time I will get the deluxe tour and see his cars and planes too.
The National Civil Rights Museum was also on my to do list and it didn't disappoint. It's housed in the Lorraine Hotel, where Martin Luther Kind Jr was shot. The place was super crowed, overrun with huge families in matching t-shirts in Memphis for the weekend for their family reunions. It was kind of wild. And weird for me because my immediate family only has 7 members including myself. The exhibit follows the history of the civil rights movement in the US from the 1800s to when MLK was shot. Lot to read but fascinating and inspiring. I have long wondered if I am really and truly in the right career. It's definitely the right career for a job but at the end of the day it's just a job and I work to live. I wonder if there is something out there for me that I am more passionate about that would be a good fit and the civil rights exhibits made me wonder about a different career path. I've had a lot of time to think about this as I've driven across country and have come up with a couple of interesting ideas which I need to think on a bit more. The museum ends in the hotel room that MLK was in the weekend he was shot and it's been restored (down to half full coffee cups) to look as it did in 1968. It was really moving and incredible to be there. He was so inspirational then and so inspirational now. His words have been playing through my head throughout today.
For a little change of pace I also toured Sun Studios, the birthplace of rock and roll!! Awesome and fun and our tour guide was cute and witty. There is a memorabilia room upstairs and then we went down to the actual studio where Elvis got his start and countless others including Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cast and Carl Perkins recorded. It was so cool!
A visit to Memphis cannot be complete without a trip to Beale St. I didn't know what to expect and it's similar to Las Vegas (though Beale St is only 3 blocks long) and probably a smaller version of New Orleans. Lots of live outdoor blues bands, public drinking, and bars, bars and more bars. This isn't really my scene but I did enjoy listening to some of the bands play. It was blazingly hot while I was watching so I don't know how the bands played without melting! At night the cops situate themselves on cherry pickers to they can see everything. Apparently the whole place closes down at 3am though I am not going to verify this :) I wasn't able to find anything to eat that wasn't beer or meat on Beale St so I wandered around toward the Mississippi Rive and found a Thai Restaurant! In Memphis, Tennessee!! It was only so-so (certainly no Daisy Mint in Pasadena!) but I give them an A for effort!
All in all, a great city and a great day! Total miles: 204.7
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