Graceland

It was time to check out some of the new ships with a venture down to Florida, but it had been a lifelong dream of my mother's to see Graceland.  So, we decided that we would actually drive to Florida for a change and stop in along the way at Memphis to see the home of Elvis Presley. 

The very kind staff at Graceland is nonetheless pretty protective of this monument to The King, so I could only use my iPhone for photos (no bags allowed and no flash photography).  Subsequently, these pictures are not the best.  It was a beautiful day for going there, but the bright morning sun also hurt some of the picture quality.

 

 

You start out here in the living room and the iPads with headphones that can give you a guided tour are actually pretty neat.  Its important to keep in mind that nothing has been changed here since 1977, so the décor is going to be reflective of that.  This is big time 70's here and Elvis could afford the best, making Graceland an almost perfectly preserved museum to this era.

 

 

  

 

No commentator on Elvis can fail to note how good he was to his parents.  This photo of his mom and dad's room is a good opportunity for me to make that observation as well.  "Elvis was good to his parents", according to this commentator.

 

 

   

 

Unless I heard incorrectly, Priscilla and Lisa Marie will sometimes still eat at this table on special occasions....

 

  

 

This pool table still has a tear in the fabric from someone's failed trick shot.







  

 

I know this is out of date styling, but actually I think this is a pretty cool basement area.  Yes, there are the three (3) TV's Elvis would watch simultaneously.  The tour guides do not mention Elvis ever shooting his TV's.  But he did.  Multiple times.  Usually whenever Robert Goulet would come on, for some reason.

 

 

 

 

The famous Jungle Room.  Lisa Marie's favorite room was actually used on several occasions for recording sessions.  The carpeted walls and ceilings gave it excellent acoustics.

 

 

 

 

 The kitchen.  Actually kind of small by today's standards (and smaller than what you would expect for The King), however, its important to keep in mind that Graceland was built in 1935, so it was large in that era.  Also, Elvis was a star when he bought this place at age 22 and not a superstar yet and this was about as much house as he could afford. 

 

I love this sign Elvis's dad, Vernon, put on the door of Graceland's office!

Why loafing in the office would bother Vernon more than the shooting range immediately adjacent to the office is beyond me...

They still actually have at least a couple of horses on the property.  Priscilla's?  Lisa Marie's?  I really should have asked who these two horses in the far distance belong to.

Of course they have samples of Elvis's jump suits at Graceland!

Lots of jumpsuits...

This is where Graceland starts to become less of a joke, however.  The number of gold and platinum records lining the walls is just astounding.

This is not a reverse angle of the shot above.  This is the other side of the hallway with even more records.

 

 

 

A whole 'nother entire building full of records and awards.  No joke!

Everyone ends their tour here at his grave, and we did too, though I almost wonder if starting here wouldn't be a better idea.  The trophy rooms just seem like a better place to end because that is really his immortal work.  Just a thought...

Anyway, we did of course have to stay across the street from Graceland at the Heartbreak Hotel.  No, its not the Waldorf Astoria and they are planning a "Guest House" that's a little more up to date, but honesty just to spend one night there wasn't totally awful or anything.  The staff is really nice and it is convenient to Graceland.  In any event, the trip was actually a lot more worthwhile than I was expecting and for sure my mother was grateful to have this particular dream come true!