I'll Be Home for Christmas 2014: Day 5

Long day of driving, starting in Blytheville, AR, and making a stop where, you ask? Well, I went into Memphis, and as I was driving in Memphis, but not ten feet off of Beal.

I turned right, into the parking lot, paid the fee, and went toward the entrance for my 9:45 Mansion Tour.

It was also raining.

I went in, got my ticket at Will Call, then got in line.

I waited in line, then got on the bus. John Stamos was my audio tour guide.

On the bus.

And then, we were in! I went in quickly, not following the audio tour instructions, and took photos of the dining room right away. Elvis sat at the chair closest to me, or maybe the one just to the right of it, so he could see the TV.

There were so many people there.

These people were following the directions to go to the right and the front living room first. I folded into the line to get a view of the room.

You're kidding me, right? Never let it be said that Elvis didn't have some damn good taste!

Look at it again. Stained glass peacocks.

Fireplace on the other side of the room.

Check me out in the mirror, taking the photo of the photos.

The audio tour began talking about Elvis's relationship with his parents, and I felt the first pangs of my emotional reaction. I didn't expect it, but it also didn't completely surprise me. Still, I didn't really want people to see me wiping away tears so quickly into the tour. 

This is about where I was when I forced back the first tears.

We filed back to get a glimpse of his parents' well appointed bedroom, with an old photo of Elvis as a child on their dresser.

My dad's childhood photos look a lot like that too.

On the way back to the foyer, I took a couple arty shots. 

The audio tour finally took us past the dining room, and also explained that we weren't allowed upstairs, as that was private.

We then went past the kitchen, which was the busiest room of the house, and also looks like every kitchen that I've ever been in. That was what was striking me at this point in the tour. The dining room was so small, the front living room and his parents' bedroom were nicely decorated, but also small. The King of Rock and Roll had a beautiful home, larger than he might have dreamed of as a boy, but probably smaller than the homes of many of the people I work with. The mansion felt more like a home than anything - it was familiar and comfortable. Anyone you know might have grown up in a similar house.

On the way downstairs, we got a glimpse of the famous Jungle Room.

We went down a mirrored staircase, where John Stamos told us to take a look at ourselves, since we looked good. The first room we went into was the TV room, decorated in a blue and yellow theme. There were 3 TVs in the wall, put there because Elvis heard that LBJ watched all three Network news shows at once. Elvis watched sitcoms, sports, and news on these TVs, state of the art at the time.

 

A bar at the entrance to the TV room.

Bones that decorated the room.

According to what she said on the audio tour, Lisa Marie spent a lot of time here, causing trouble.

I know how garish it looks in retrospect, but the room is really amazing when you're in it.

Soon enough, we were done with the downstairs part of the mansion tour.

Up the carpeted stairs we went.

And then we got a full view of the Jungle Room, so called because, well, it looks like a jungle. The light from the windows prevented me from getting really good photos, and flash was forbidden. These are all original artifacts from the life and times of one of the foremost cultural icons of the 20th century.

The furniture came from a local store in Memphis.

This is a waterfall on this side of the room, next to Priscilla's favorite chair.

That is an amazing table.

The ceiling was made to enhance the room's acoustics.

This was the end of the mansion part of the tour. We went outside, under the car port - not an enclosed garage, like we all need these days - to Vernon's Office, I believe. This took us past a swingset that I must have played on as a child millions of times.

Is there anyone in their 30's that didn't play on one of these as a kid?

The real '70's office feel right here.

We then went past a replica and explanation of the shotgun shack where Elvis was born.

The next room was shortly used for shooting practice, and we all compulsively took photos of the target and the shells that were once near Elvis.

Soon, we were back outside, but it was sprinkling a little, so I didn't spend a lot of time out there. 

Here, a security guard tries to walk out of my photo of the car port.

Elvis loved to ride horses, and here is, perhaps, a descendant of a horse that he once rode.

The next stop was the Trophy Building.

The back of the mansion, as we went to the Trophy Building.

The building started with an exhibit of the early days of Elvis's music career. As we all know, it started when he went into the Sun recording studios to make a belated birthday gift for his mother in 1953, I believe. His voice turned heads, and in 1956, his sound and performances propelled Rock and Roll and ignited a fire in popular culture.

You don't have to be great to get started...

But you have to get started to be great.

Grammys for his gospel music.

More awards and trophies.

The lounges in the racquetball court were nice, but when I turned my head to the right, to see what was in the next room, I gasped. There it was.

Here it is, all the splendor and glory of the magnificent Jumpsuit Era.

The grandeur of the high ceilings, full of posters and awards, along with songs on the audio tour was very powerful. It was in this room where I decided that I didn't care if people saw me wiping my eyes, I was going to cry.

And Oh. My. God. The Jumpsuits. Powder Blue. White and Gold. Black. TIGER!

I'd scream and shake my head too if I could see Elvis perform in these.

LOOK AT THEM!

But all good things come to an end, sometimes too soon, and tragically. As I went outside, I realized that the last stop of my tour was graves. It was almost too much, but I managed.

And here we have the approach to the graves of Elvis, his parents, and grandmother.

 

I was not prepared for the graves to be there, but it makes sense. I was full-on crying at this point.

But it was nearly noon by now, and I had to get on the road.

One last shot of the mansion.

I got on the bus and went over to the shops and restaurants on the other side of the road. I bought souvenirs, then I had a Catfish Dinner at the Chrome Cafe.

After lunch, I got back on the road and headed for Arkansas.

Pyramid in Memphis.

Crossing the Mighty Mississippi.

The Natural State, as opposed to all those other, ARTIFICIAL states.

I got to Texarkana after dark, but the lady at the gas station did know about the Boggy Creek Creature. I guess the legend really is continuing. After a short mistake that took me south instead of southwest, I was on 59 for the most annoying part of my trip. They can't build I-69 fast enough.

I got to my apartment at about quarter after 11 with my body and car in one piece, each. Bruno was somewhat skeptical about me at first, but soon enough, he showed his gratitude for my return.

Technically taken on the 28th, but whatever.

I unpacked my car and put away my foodstuffs, Fiestaware, and looked at my Elvis memorabilia before finally going to bed to end my very memorable Christmas Vacay for 2014.