Captain's Log: Graceland


Graceland

Captain's Log: Graceland
Remember when Elvis died? Me neither. I remember Elvis of course, but I guess I wasn't paying attention when he died. I didn't know where he lived either, but I do now: he lived at Graceland, his home in Memphis, Tennessee.
Elvis' livingroom
Graceland is now a big tourist destination for all things Elvis. Turns out that's a lot of things. It takes, at a minimum, six gift shops to hold all the stuff you can buy to remind you of your trip to Graceland. One for each tour we signed up for. There may be more, but we were too toured to go on any more tours. Six sounds like a lot, but we had a coupon.
The main tour was of the home and the surrounding estate. If you forgot what the 70's looked like, this will remind you. Lots of buildings stuffed with awards Elvis earned throughout his long career. And outfits he wore. And movies he was in. And more awards. Turns out the other tours had more of the same. Guess they couldn't fit them all into the main tour. A truly impressive display.

One of the tours was devoted to the cars Elvis owned, and he owned a few. His estate even managed to hunt down cars he had traded in or given away over the years, so it was quite a collection. The most iconic car was probably his pink Cadillac, but there was also two Stutz Bearcats and a John Deere tractor. Also included was a golf cart representing the dozen or so he owned so everyone in his entourage could have their own for the cart races he liked to have. I'm guessing he got to win a lot.
Elvis'Pink Cadillac
Some of Elvis' record awards










We enjoyed the tour. It was quite a testament to a remarkable career and I found it interesting to see how someone who had essentially unlimited funds lived in the 70s.
- John

Comments

  1. Jim and SandieOctober 14, 2013 at 9:45 PM

    It has been so many years since I was there, this brought back a lot of memories. He definitely lived large.

    ReplyDelete
  2. RickOctober 14, 2013 at 10:31 PM

    Elvis is dead??

    ReplyDelete
  3. Faye N DaveOctober 15, 2013 at 6:04 AM

    Amazing what he accomplished, we were surprised to find out how small Graceland really was, heard about his death on the radio-probably an FM converter.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Odd EssayOctober 15, 2013 at 7:15 AM

    I had taken my kids to Kings Island (Ohio's answer to Disneyworld) for a day's outing... learned that Elvis had died... they played Elvis music over the speakers ALL DAY. Never was an Elvis fan, but we did do the Graceland tour a few years ago. Your blog reminded me of our tour.

    ReplyDelete
  5. RV Khronicles of KevelynOctober 15, 2013 at 7:37 AM

    We haven't been there. Maybe some day. I do remember when Elvis died. It was the day before my birthday the year we got married. Glad you enjoyed the tour.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The Bright'sOctober 15, 2013 at 9:33 AM

    So That's Graceland! Thanks. Looking forward to seeing you soon!

    ReplyDelete
  7. RV Khronicles of KevelynOctober 19, 2013 at 11:57 AM

    Amazon is still actively recruiting workampers. Come on down :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousOctober 20, 2013 at 11:03 AM

    We have never been to Graceland nor did I think I would want to go. You have peaked my curiosity with this post John.

    ReplyDelete

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