Tennessee - Graceland
I know that Graceland is not a National Park Service property, but it IS a Nationally Registered Historic Landmark. I don't really think that it "counts" for my quest - and I will need to come back to Tennessee someday to visit one of the very beautiful National Parks in this state, but for now, on this particular trip, I am only in Memphis for less than 24 hours, so this is where I go.
I got into Memphis in the evening on Sunday, and went to Beale Street for something to eat. WOW!!!! I didn't expect the smell of BBQ to waft over to me when I was two blocks away!. Then, I got to Beale Street, and it was shut down, with dancing in the streets, live music everywhere, and street performers. It was awesome. I went to a great place called "Silky OSullivans" , where I had the best pulled pork sandwich ever, and listened to a woman singing the blues, followed by dueling pianos. It was great.
In the morning, it was off to Graceland. The property was built in the 30's, and after Elvis bought it, he added a bunch of outbuildings and all. The house itself was nice, but not HUGE. The layout reminded me a lot of some of the 70's era 4 bedroom Colonial Style homes in Brookfield, but it was decorated MUCH WORSE. The Presley's really took the 70's to the limit!
The most impressive thing to me was learning that Elvis was awarded with a Lifetime Achievement Award at age 38. From the look of all the awards on the walls - it was well deserved.
If you go here - I recommend getting there EARLY. I was in the first tour group, and when I got back to the visitor's center, there was a huge line. I was told that it was like that every day. The official website is www.graceland.com
