After Graceland we decided to stay in our tourist frame of mind and visit historic Beale Street in downtown Memphis. The street is blocked off so that drunkards like ourselves can walk around with our drinks, into and out of different bars, most of which have live music everyday. We ate dinner at a nondescript restaurant, one of the few that had a menu item without meat. Than we started to roam, ending up in an Irish pub where we were greeted with the sounds of Barbara Blue-Musical Prostitution At It’s Best (Her slogan). Accompanied by a piano player, she would sing covers, both good and bad, in her same Joplinesque, screaming style. She started taking requests and after the inevitable Bon Jovi and Steve Miller requests we were finally able to have our voices heard and she did her finest Joe Cocker impression for us.
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Graceland. Graceland!GRACELAND!!! I had finally made it. Finally fulfilled one of my dreams. The home of the King. Sure it was hot out, sure it was a tad expensive, but I wasn’t going to let anything stop me.
A short drive to Elvis Presley Boulevard to a parking lot nestled between The Heartbreak Hotel and the Sincerely Elvis Museum ( more on that later) and there it was, in all it’s tacky splendor. We chose the Platinum Tour, it included the Sincerely Elvis Museum, a collection of memorabilia, the Elvis Automobile Museum, the Airplane Tour, Elvis After Dark and of course the Mansion Tour.
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I don’t know exactly where to start. There is just too much glitter, too much rhinestone studding, too much stained glass, in short, too much tackiness to even venture a guess as to where to begin this story. Buckle up, kids, this one’s a long one.
Our scene begins on a hot, but beautiful Memphis morning. Matt, being properly attired in his Graceland pilgrim garb, and I set out to go to the holiest of all holy lands, the home of the king, the palace of rock-n-roll, I’m talking about Graceland brothers and sisters, let the congregation say amen. (more…)
After our tour of the Unclaimed Baggage Store we were on our way to Memphis and all it’s splendor. We decided to try a different route than was suggested by the store’s website. We took 72 West, which would have taken us to Memphis by way of northern Alabama and Mississippi. But having been sufficiently frightened by Scottsboro and the surrounding areas we only made it to 65 North in Alabama. From there we went north to Nashville and west to Memphis on 40. If we hadn’t, I never would have seen the Boobie Bungalow, in Elkton, Tennessee. The greatest name for a strip club ever. Unfortunately the Boobie Bungalow needs better advertising, we never knew it was coming and weren’t able to get a picture. Even with the change of route we would have made good time were it not for the hour or so we spent trying to find an auto parts store for a replacement gas-cap.
We had stopped for gas just south of Nashville and between the excitement of a men’s room vending machine (cherry flavored body paint, but not for human consumption?) and me finally getting that thing from between my teeth, I forgot the gas-cap on the roof. So after a 3 hour ride down the Music Highway with no gas-cap we finally made it the promised land, Memphis. The home of Stax Records, Sun Studios and of course The Home of The King…….GRACELAND!!!
Maybe I could have gone my whole life without seeing Scottsboro, Alabama. No, not maybe definitely. I’ve always had this fear of Alabama ever since my brother told me that’s where the vilest of the vile racist jackasses meet for fun in the sun when I was a little kid. I really wanted to get to the Unclaimed Baggage Center quickly and before the sun went down. I’ve been to Alabama before (the Gulf Coast though, where people of all kinds flock to the casinos), but this time I was able to see things through different eyes.
Matt’s boss told him to ignore the blight of America and focus on the sights, and FYI Tom, Alabama is beautiful, but it’s hard to ignore the odd dichotomy of the South. Huge, new homes being built next to run down trailers. Urbane bohemian enclaves nestled in the hearts of communities where the rebel flag flies alongside the American flag. There is such a feel of new and old, of haves and have nots throughout the South. It feels that at any minute, there could either be a riot or a love in, it can actually make you a bit crazy. But, I ignored my brother’s warnings and headed into Alabama to search through other’s misfortunes for a good deal or two. (more…)
A big part of this trip for me has been about reconnecting with my family. My parents divorced when I was young and we’ve lost touch with most of my father’s family. So, a lot of this trip has been meeting cousins that haven’t seen me since I was a little girl and catching up on all the family gossip. That was one of the best things about Nashville; seeing my cousin Joanne who I haven’t talked to for at least five years and her brother Jonathan who I haven’t seen since he was maybe six. It’s strange for me to see all these people who share the same stories and facial features. We share a common bond and common history, and this is the first time in a long time that I’ve felt connected to a past that I’d pretty much forgotten.
Nashville is like a lot of other cities, except unlike a lot of other cities (I’m looking at you, Hartford), there is live music coming out of every open doorway. Every corner of the city is filled with the sounds of music, you might even say the hills were alive with them, if you were into saying that kind of stuff. It was with great pleasure and admiration that I saw my cousin Jonathan and his very pregnant wife perform. Talent apparently skipped my branch of the family tree, but it was great to see the two of them together, and I imagine that their son will be amazingly talented.
The original plan was to go to Scottsboro Al. on the way to Nashville, but with us being who we are of course it didn’t work out that way. A late start in Atlanta led to us going to Tennessee first and backtracking to the Unclaimed Baggage Center. It made no sense what so ever, but when were we going to be in this area again? Plus the scenery was amazing both times.
Our night in Nashville was a fun one indeed. Through the hospitality of Ashawnta’s cousin, we were given a pretty good tour of downtown, and a place to spend the night. She took us to see the nightlife in Nashville, basically the same as everywhere else but all the jackasses are wearing cowboy hats. But so much live music. We were lucky enough to go to a place called The Rhythm Kitchen to see some really good local musicians.
We are back on the road. Next stop the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro Alabama, and than on to Nashville.
Trying to stay positive about the car situation. Luckily we had a place to sleep for the week. Ashawnta’s uncle Charles, the self proclaimed “beerholic”. He’s a Miller Lite man, and one mention of my love of Miller High Life prompted a constant supply of them in his refrigerator. It was like they were mating and reproducing.
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Doesn’t it figure, the transmission. THE TRANSMISSION!!!! But after four days of dealing with a dumb ass mechanic who never once answered a question truthfully, we hope we found a worthy caretaker for our fine automobile. It is only a minor setback, after all, and we will be on the road soon enough.
We are pretty fortunate that we are around some of Ashawntas family, her father and uncle have been amazing. Plus, how else could we find the time to master such games as Insaniquarium(a delightful little game where you feed fish until they get big enough to crap diamonds and protect them from aliens), and search the deepest regions of youtube for footage of James Brown on Soul Train, and Time for Timer from Saturday mornings of yesteryear(I’m hankerin for a hunk of cheese), Robotech, and Flip Wilson musical guests.
