Day 4: Memphis

Day 4 had a pretty good start. We got up at ten and were at Graceland by 11. We decided on just the simple “mansion tour” instead of mansion + airplanes + car collection + his movies + his ’68 Comeback Special + his army years, but, come on, really? That’s ridiculous. Unfortunately, by choosing the house tour, we did not learn anything about his musical career really. What was up with Col. Tom Parker? We’ll never know.

From the outside, the house was lovely. Elvis bought it when he was 22, and his parents lived with him. Inside, however, this house was HIDEOUS! Some fool was paid a lot of money to make the place look horrible. Who puts shag carpeting on the ceiling?





In the back yard was a building he had used for a racquetball court that was later turned into a trophy room. It was impressive to see all the awards he had received in his lifetime.


And, of course, there were LOTS of jumpsuits. WOW!



In the back yard was also a meditation garden where Elvis is buried. He had been buried somewhere else with his parents, but he was moved shortly after death to the backyard. It was interesting to see all of the things people had left for him at his gravesite.


When we finished, we headed to one of the restaurants on the property and ordered the grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I have to say that I was a smidgeon dismayed to see that a restaurant representing Elvis Presley did not follow the recipe properly! Shocking! The banana slices are not supposed to be layered over the peanut butter; they’re supposed to be mashed INTO the peanut butter making a deliciously slimy spread. That’s ok; it was still delicious!


After that, we headed to Stax Records where we learned all about the history of American soul music. This place was awesome! Stax provided TONS of information about its artists, their records, and its own history. It was almost too much info to take in at once! They wouldn’t allow photos, so I can’t give you a visual representation of the visit.



When we finished visiting Stax Records, it was already 5:00, and all the other places we wanted to go were closed. Sun Studio was still open, but we didn’t want to pay more money to see another studio that didn’t even have the original recording equipment on display. We headed over to see what it was like. It has a gift/soda shop that we hung out in for a little while.



When we finished that, we went to Neely’s Interstate BBQ, which was recommended both by our tour books and the guy at Stax (and some of our friends). They were all right!

This place was awesome. I ordered their “famous” BBQ spaghetti, which is pork bbq mixed with a sweet and spicy sauce and then served over slightly over-cooked spaghetti. Damn, was that delicious!


Dave ordered the pork ribs and pulled beef combo plate. He said the ribs were amazing with meet just falling right off the bone. Dave claims these are the best ribs he's ever had. We loved it!

For dessert, we ordered something called the “Sock-It-to-Me cake,” a small pound cake baked with pecans inside, warmed before serving, and covered with a creamy, melty frosting. It was wonderful. We shared, but I definitely wish I’d had my own. Holy cow! I recommend it to anyone going through Memphis. So good.


After dinner, we came home for a disco nap before going back out to see what Memphis has to offer on a Tuesday night. We headed to the Pyramid Arena, a structure built in 1993 or so to house the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team. Unfortunately, it was quickly made obsolete and just sits there near the banks of the Mississippi with no lights and no tenants. We could barely see it at night because there is not a single light on inside, and the only light on outside is a single red bulb on top that keeps planes from hitting it.

We then headed downtown to Beale Street which is the “Home of the Blues.” In 2009, this means that you can drink on a 4-block stretch of the street lined with crappy corporate bars like Hard Rock Café. The only music we could tolerate was made by two street bands that were quite awesome. That made the evening of strolling worthwhile.




We also encountered a troupe of guys who come out at night and do back flips up and down the block. Apparently, they have worked with the Harlem Globetrotters and are totally insured to do this. Locals call them the “flippers.” Here’s what I mean.



We also took a brief horsey carriage ride with a girl who provided us with precious little information. It was still a lovely ride.


We did not even break the surface of all the things we wanted to do, so we’re going to try to hit a few more tomorrow before heading out toward Austin.