The weekend over it was time to load the wagon & hit the trail once more. Travelling mainly via the Interstate 40 but at least we got a chance to play our playlist game again. One of the resulting song choices gave us one of the funniest experiences of the trip & even the memory brings back tears of laughter.
So we headed towards Memphis. The last time I visited here was in 1980’s when hubby & I were travelling by greyhound bus up the Eastern side of the USA.
Florida to Boston on a coach was certainly a cheap & efficient way of travelling back then so we got to see some places. One of which was Graceland’s former home of the legendary Elvis Presley.
‘Trying to get to you’ was a song sung by Elvis in 1954. The opening lines “I’ve been travelling over mountains even through valleys too” seemed to apply describe our sojourn to Memphis on this trip.
The King?
Whilst I have never been what you would call a fan of Elvis, growing up with his songs on the radio I can recognise most songs from only a few beats in. Visiting as an adult was really out of curiosity & revisiting nearly 30 odd years later was certainly an interesting experience.
For starters while the house essentially remains more or less how I recall it. However the huge complex the other side of the road was new to me.
Staying at the RV park adjacent to the venue made life simple. A quick workout followed by breakfast & we were ready to nip through the fence & get to the entrance in less than 5 mins. Unfortunately we had to then wait a bit before the tour started.
First my apologies for the poor quality of some of the images because they were taken a long time ago. At the time I used a cheap analogue camera & recently converted to digital format.
Photo Comparison
I have included some taken in the 1980’s together with their modern day counterparts for comparison. I was in someways surprised how little the interior of the house had changed.
These photos were taken in the 1980’s
Yet there were some areas that really had become different. Essentially there was no large visitor centre or exhibition halls on the first visit.
These were taken in 2023
Additionally all the vehicles which had formerly been just outside. Currently are now displayed on stands in a dedicated hall.
My hubby outside stood next to the pink jeep in the 1980’s compared to the same vehicle in the exhibition hall in 2023. The third photo is a motorbike that was just awesome.
It was interesting to wander around the outside & then revisit the aeroplanes as similarly not much had been altered save for maybe the location.
The quick amongst you will have spotted the younger me in the photo by the dining table so guess some things may have changed a bit!
Facts & Figures
I certainly enjoyed the second visit as the exhibition halls revealed much more about the man & I certainly discovered many facts I had not been aware of. One things for sure he made a significant contribution to music. Its possible to see how that fusion of blues, gospel & rock music still influences musicians today.
I felt sad that such a talented man had so many daemons to fight & that his life ended so prematurely. I really hadn’t appreciated how much he had helped to challenge the issues connected with segregation at the time either.
As a martial artist I was also surprised to learn that he practised a martial art & was very proficient it would seem.
A Matter of Taste
The taste in decoration was definitely a little odd in places. To a degree it was probably of its time but the grass like carpet which acted as some sort of sound proofing was definitely an acquired taste.
Like wise the striking blue & yellow design in the tv room was for me, not particularly conducive to relaxation but each to their own I guess. However the audio visual equipment would have been the state of the art & really bizarre to have more than a single screen in one room.
The ‘jungle themed sitting room was really an acquired taste to say the least. I didn’t really like it much the first time I saw it & some 40 odd years later I still didn’t care for it. It was quite oppressive & a tad creepy with all the dark colours & strange ornaments.
The first photo of the billiard room was taken in the 1980’s & the second in 2023. The third was the kitchen area which I don’t recall was open to the public on the first visit.
All in all a long busy but interesting day. We made our way back to the RV park for a good nights sleep before hitting the road again. Keeping to the musical theme we set the sat nav for Nashville.
Use the link below to visit the Gracelands website to find out more