Memphis Memories

Last week my family and I took a vacation together, something we haven't done in years. How many exactly, none of us can remember, but it's been at least 15+. We headed to Memphis, TN last Monday. My sister, Courtney, and I drove separately from Mom and Dad for a number of reasons, 1.) to keep the peace, 2.) they left later than we did after boarding their dog, 3.) they wanted to see some different things on the way back, that we were not interested in, 4.) so we wouldn't have to experience my Dad's slow driving or his choice of music. Why Memphis? Court is a HUGE Elvis fan! She has a large selection of music, movies, calendars, and other paraphernalia. Her room is pretty much wall-to-wall Elvis. She's wanted to go to Memphis for years. None of us had been so we decided it'd be a great place to visit.

We spent almost all day Tuesday at Graceland. Court & I were VIP's at Graceland, meaning we paid a lot more money to get backstage passes to wear, saw on extra exhibit, and got taken directly to the front of the line. We toured the mansion, including where Elvis, his parents, and his grandmother are buried, Elvis' Automobile Museum, Sincerely Elvis: Elvis' Jumpsuit Exhibit, the Lisa Marie and Hound Dog II jets, Private Presley Exhibit, ate at Rockabilly's Diner, saw Heartbreak Hotel, and visited many, many, many of the gift shops. That night we drove by to see St. Jude Children's Research Center and ate at Jim Neely's Interstate Bar-B-Que, ranked #2 in USA's top 10 Barbecue by People Magazine and "Best place in America for a pork BBQ sandwich" USA Today. Which is what I had!

Wednesday we visited Sun Studio, the Birthplace of Rock and Roll, where greats such as Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many others started their careers. It is also still a functioning recording studio where bands such as U2 have recorded in recent years. We went to the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum, waited inside for the tour for 40 min, and then decided to leave or we'd get no lunch before our riverboat tour. We grabbed a bite to eat, took a riverboat tour of the Mississippi, and then headed to the Lorraine Motel, where MLK Jr. was assassinated and what is today the Civil Rights Museum. It closed earlier than we thought so we just saw part two of the museum, which was the boarding house across the street that the fatal shot came from. It was very interesting. We spent Wednesday night on Beale Street. Beale Street could be compared to a very small scale Bourbon Street. Of course it looks much newer and cleaner but you get the picture! It was fun to walk around. We visited more souvenir shops and ate at B.B. King's Blues Club. There was live music at B.B. King's. It was lots of fun and the food was yum!

Before we headed home on Thursday we went to the famous Peabody Hotel to see the ducks. The Peabody Hotel has trained ducks that live in the hotel and march to and from the hotel lobby. This tradition dates back to 1933. It was fun to see and is a beautiful hotel. Court and I headed home after that and arrived back in Frisco shortly before 9 pm. It was a great family vacation, filled with lots of fun and memories, and only one big argument! Hehe! Memphis was a very fun city to visit and I would recommend it to anyone!