Memphis, TN

Memphis - Wow! It has a little bit of everything.

As suggested by a friend, we splurged on a night at The Peabody Hotel. They are famous for their genuine hospitality, but we went for the ducks. Yes, ducks.



At 11am every morning, the Peabody ducks ride down the elevator from their Penthouse (Yes, ducks in a Penthouse!) to the hotel lobby where a fountain awaits them. It is quite a luxurious lifestyle... spending all day in the hotel's lobby - where there is a new flower arrangement daily, a mahogony bar, and comfortable chairs.

The ducks bathe all day in the fountain until 5pm when the Duck Master (wearing a red coat with gold embroidery on the sleeves) lines them up to walk the red carpet (Yes, a red carpet!) back to the elevator to their Penthouse.

It is quite the event. Read about the Peabody Ducks by clicking here.

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The Peabody Hotel offered a special called Elvis' Blue Suede Birthday. It not only included an Elvis Presley "Celebriduck," but tickets for 2 to Graceland. We couldn't pass it up.

We have good luck in beating or just missing the crowds. And we found ourselves very luck in our visit to Graceland - just a week after Elvis' birthday. Whew! He would have been 75 years old on Jan 8, 2010.

You can even buy a replica of one of Elvis' jumpsuits. Each suit comes with a "Certificate of Authenticity." This red Burning Love jumpsuit (with cape and belt) can be yours for $2,000.

It was a day of Elvis - in every nook and cranny, in every turn and corner! There are 14 specialty stores selling Elvis stuff - a deck of cards, ink pens, mugs, ties, shirts, cuff-links, frisbees - you name it - it was there! There are 3 Elvis themed restaurants, a wedding chapel, a Heartbreak Hotel, and a campground in Graceland. Talk about Elvis overload, but we enjoyed every minute of it.


From Private Presley...

• Drafted to the US Army, 1958-1960
• His assigned serial number: 53310761
• Assigned to the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, TX

The Lisa Marie...

• Convair 880 Jet, formerly a Delta Airlines airplane
• Purchased in 1975 for $250,000
• Refurbished for over $600,000 and features a seating area, conference room, private bedroom and bathroom with gold faucets and a gold washbasin.

Do you know what the TCB on the airplane's tail stands for? The answer: "Taking Care of Business" which was the name of his band (formed after the '68 Comeback broadcast). There are various interpretations on the lightning bolt, but our audio tour mentioned it represented getting things done "lightning fast."

Elvis' automobile collection - 33 total, including a John Deere tractor and the 1955 pink Cadillac.


Priscilla and Elvis wedding attire (married May 1, 1967 in Las Vegas)


And Elvis' '68 Comeback Special.
Keep in mind that 1968 was quite a year for the United States... the Vietnam War, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. were assassinated, the Civil Rights Movement was gaining momentum... and Elvis brought some stability with his first television special.


Below are photos from the Presley Mansion. It was built in 1939 and purchased by Elvis in 1957 for $100,000. It is a humble-looking home, unlike many celebrity homes we see today.

The official address: 3734 Elvis Presley Boulevard. Graceland is the second most visited private home in America - after the White House.

The Dining Room

The Living Room with the Music Room in the back.
Notice the stained-glass peacocks. The 15-foot white couch is on the right.
Elvis' casket was placed in this room for the funeral.

The upstairs - closed to visitors.

I fell in love with this little monkey statue.

The Jungle Room (Yes - that is the waterfall)

He was always up to something, shooting off firecrackers or guns, running around, driving golfcarts and snowmobiles. He'd pull me in a sled and scare me to death. On that long, steep driveway that goes up to Graceland he'd be pulling me up and falling at the same time. He called me Buttonhead or Yisa. He'd never call me Lisa unless he was mad at me.
-Lisa Presley from a 1988 LIFE Magazine interview

The Farm

Some Elvis Facts:

• Sold over 1 billion "record units"
• Received 14 Grammy nominations, won 3
• Received the Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36
• His Bloch Arena benefit concert in Hawaii raised over $65,000 towards construction of the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor
• The Elvis stamp (released in 1993 and over 500 million printed) is the most widely publicized and top-selling commemorative stamp put out by the United State Post Office.
• Has had 68 Top 20 Billboard Singles
• And acted in 31 films
  

I could go on and on and on!

The Meditation Garden

Being at Graceland made me realize that everyone - no matter what age, race, or musical preference - knows about "The King of Rock 'N' Roll" - Elvis. Everybody. And just about everybody loves his music. He brought a new dimension to our lives.

75th Birthday celebration flowers flooded the Meditation Garden and gravesites. And a sign from the estate said:

Our policy is to accept these floral remembrances whether they are fresh, silk or plastic. Arrangements of real flowers are sometimes placed in the racquetball building so they will last longer, but most are placed here in the garden, and remain until they wilt. Silk and plastic arrangements remain until they begin to show the effects of weather.

It was great to see the hundreds of mementos and arrangements for Elvis.

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Sun Studios was next - "Birthplace of Rock-N-Roll"

Some famous names got their start here. Let's see if you recognize any of them: Elvis Presley, BB King, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, the Howlin' Wolf, Roy Orbison, and Charlie Rich. The tradition lives on with today's artists recording in this historic studio.



A quick fact: Elvis was 18 years old when he walked into Sun Studios for the first time. His first recording - "That's All Right."

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The National Civil Rights Museum was built around the former Lorraine Motel.

What is the significance of the Lorraine Motel?
It is where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. (Note: The motel stayed open until it foreclosed in 1982.)



Some facts about the Lorraine Motel (from civilrightsmuseum.org):

• Originally named the Windsor Hotel c. 1925
• Renamed Marquette Hotel in 1945 and offered for sale
• Purchased by Walter Bailey in 1945 and renamed the Lorraine, after his wife Loree and a song titled “Sweet Lorraine.” At the time of purchase the Lorraine included 16 rooms, a café, and living quarters for the Baileys.
• The Lorraine became one of only a few hotels to which African American travelers could enjoy overnight accommodations while traveling during this segregated period leading up to the late 1960s in America.
• Under the Bailey’s ownership there were at least two major additions to the hotel. The first addition added a second floor and 12 rooms to the hotel while the next addition created even more guest rooms and drive up access. This change converted the Lorraine Hotel into a motel.
• Guests of the Lorraine, both black and white, returned time and again for its upscale atmosphere, home cooked meals, including bar-b-que, affordable prices, and its reputation as a clean and safe environment.
• Song writers and musicians working with the Stax Records Company were frequent residents of the Lorraine. Recording stars Ray Charles, Lionel Hampton, Aretha Franklin, Ethel Waters, Otis Redding, The Staple Singers and Wilson Picket were among the many that stayed in the Lorraine during the heyday of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stayed at the Lorraine Motel numerous times. He was a guest of the Lorraine when he came to Memphis in 1968 in support of striking sanitation workers.
• The Lorraine Motel is designated an historic site by the Tennessee Historical Commission.

The National Civil Rrights Museum Mission:

The National Civil Rights Museum located at the Lorraine Motel, the assassination site of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., chronicles key episodes of the American civil rights movement and the legacy of this movement to inspire participation in civil and human rights efforts globally, through our collections, exhibitions and educational programs.

The museum not only tells the story of the struggle for African American civil rights in the United States, but it also does an incredible job of representing people's national and international struggle for basic human and civil rights.


The marker in front of the balcony where MLK was shot reads:

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
JAN. 15, 1929 - APR. 4, 1968
FOUNDING PRESIDENT
SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
THEY SAID ONE TO ANOTHER,
BEHOLD , HERE COMETH THE DREAMER...
LET US SLAY HIM...
AND WE SHALL SEE WHAT WILL BECOME OF HIS DREAM
-GENESIS 37, 19-20

So what happened on April 4, 1968? Dr. King spent the day at the Lorraine Motel working and meeting with local leaders on his plans for the Poor People's March on Washington (planned for late April). At 6pm, as he exited his hotel room, King was shot with one round from a rifle. He was declared dead just an hour later at St. Joseph's hospital.

The former rooming house (across the street from the Lorraine Motel)
where the shots were fired that killed MLK.

We were surprised to see a protester outside of the NCRM.

Her name is Jacqueline Smith, and it turns out that she was a resident and worked as a housekeeper at the motel since 1973. She was evicted from the motel for the museum project, but barricaded herself in her room and had to be forcibly evicted.

The neighborhood surrounding the Lorraine Motel was a lower-income, predominately black area. Rent was cheap, but a downtown renovation demolished old homes and replaced them with new and expensive apartments and condos.

Smith stated that the Lorraine Motel "should be put to better uses, such as housing, job training, free college, clinic, or other services for the poor...the area surrounding the Lorraine should be rejuvenated and made decent and kept affordable, not gentrified with expensive condominiums that price the people out of their community."

She has also stated that Dr. King would not have wanted $9 million spent on a building for him, and would not have wanted Lorraine Motel residents to be evicted.

She is following Dr. King's peaceful protest ways and has been across the street from the NCRM for over 22 years. The NCRM states that she has never been inside the museum.

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And what is a visit to Memphis without some BBQ?!?!?

With TUMS in hand, we tried 3 different BBQ hot spots. And we've met our BBQ quota for the next 3 years!

Before

After

The ville's of Tennessee

Knoxville and Nashville, that is!

We stayed at the Hotel St. Oliver, right next to Market Square in downtown Knoxville. It's a great place to stay to get a feel for the downtown. It's surrounded by places to eat, shop, and get a cup of coffee (we took advantage of all three). The first night we decided to see the movie Sherlock Holmes. It was closed captioned, which we were thankful for - considering the actors spoke very quickly and with British accents!


The next day was spent wandering around the downtown area. We happened upon funky statues...



braved the icy walkways along the Tennessee River, walked down Gay Street...



And saw some historic landmarks.


Some 1982 Knoxville, TN World's Fair Facts:

• This was the last successful World's Fair held in America
• The theme: Energy Turns The World
• Attendance: 11,127,786 visitors
• Knoxville was the smallest city to ever host an International Exposition
• The first touch-screen computer displays were demonstrated
• And the 75-foot Sunsphere was built specifically for the 1982 World's Fair. It has come to be a symbol for Knoxville - not to mention serve as a landmark for navigation. Except when you're on foot. It's kind of like the Space Needle in Seattle. You keep looking up expecting to find it, and it's always hiding behind some building. Then next thing you know - WHAM, there it is !

The Sunsphere

And just in case you didn't read enough facts, here are a few more facts about Knoxville (courtesy of the Knoxville tourism site):

• Settled in 1791, established in 1792, and incorporated in 1815.
• Named after Henry Knox, President Washington's War Secretary.
• Due to Knoxville being a major center of marble distribution in the early 1900s, its nickname soon become "The Marble City."
• Indians were the first settlers of Knoxville and East Tennessee. By the time the first European settlers appeared, the Cherokees dominated the region.
• James White was the first known settler of Knoxville.
• The first train arrived in Knoxville in 1855.
• The City of Knoxville shares its name with Knoxville, Georgia - Knoxville, Iowa - Knoxville, Maryland - Knoxville, Pennsylvania - and New Knoxville, Ohio.
• The soft drink Mountain Dew had its beginnings with Hartman Beverages in Knoxville in the late 1940's. That's a great fact for our favorite Missourians: Dolores and Virgil.
• In 1974 Walter Cronkite designated Knoxville as the "Streaking Capital of the World." It was in the spring of that year that an estimated 5,000 people on Cumberland Avenue took their clothes off... stripping on the "strip."
• It is illegal to lasso fish in Knoxville, TN.
• All businesses must have a "hitching post" in front of their buildings in Knoxville, TN.

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After a short 3-hour drive we found ourselves in the second great 'ville of Tennessee: Nashville. A quick note... There's also: Adamsville, Brownsville, Caryville, Centerville, Clarksville, Collierville, Cookeville, Cornersville, Crossville... and that's just through the C's!

We stayed at a KOA on the northern side of the city, nearly on the doorsteps of Opryland. One night we treated ourselves to dinner there - successfully navigating the halls and only getting lost once.

We spent a full day touring the capitol and the surrounding grounds.


The State Capitol of Tennessee was completed in 1859 and is one of the oldest original capitols in the U.S. that's still in active use. The architect, William Strickland, considered this building to be the crowning achievement of his career. So much so that he is buried in a tomb of his own design in the northeast corner. Guess he wanted to keep an eye on the place.

We thought it particularly interesting that the capitol is built of bigby limestone from a quarry only a few blocks away! Also, the interior marble was local - coming from around Rogersville and Knoxville. Unfortunately in the 1950s some of the exterior limestone had to be replaced with stone from Indiana. And in the 1980s several areas were restored to their original design - a common theme we've seen across the U.S.

The House of Representatives

Over many years of development, skyscrapers have blocked the view of the Capitol from all sides but the north, since that land was swampy and not good for large buildings to sit on. In order to commemorate Tennessee's 200th birthday, this bit of land was set aside to construct the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park - modeled after the idea of the Mall in Washington, D.C. The Mall consists of several small monuments, historical markers, fountains, and memorials.


On the west side of the Bicentennial Mall State Park is a 1400-foot long granite wall called the Wall of History. It lists quotes from famous Tennesseans and important events in the state's history such as:

• In 1848, "Volunteer" nickname became popular as a result of the more than 30,000 men who responded to a Mexican War troop call for 2,800.
• First self-service grocery store, Clarence Saunder's "Piggly Wiggly," opened in Memphis in 1916.
• "Moon Pies" originated at Chattanooga in 1918-1919.
• James K. Polk, the 11th President of the United States, died in Nashville in 1849.
• Copper discovered in 1849 in Ducktown Basin in the southeastern corner of the state.

At the northern extreme of the mall lies a 95-bell carillon (basically a large collection of bells designed to be played together to create a melody). The carillon echoes Tennessee's musical heritage and represents the people of Tennessee having one bell per county. A melody is played each hour, and an answer comes from the 96th bell located on the grounds of the Capitol, thus representing government's answer to the people. Am I the only one that finds it ironic that a single bell can only give one answer? GONNGG!

The 95-bell carillon

The 96th bell often referred to as the "answer bell"

Remnants of the original Capitol columns in honor of the
late 1980s renovation architect, Charles Warterfield.

After visiting the Capitol we headed over to the Tennessee State Museum just one block south. It had 60,000 square feet of exhibits, split over three levels, with everything you could imagine from Paleolithic artifacts, to really old furniture, to Antebellum paintings. There was even a 3,500 year-old Egyptian mummy that was brought to Tennessee in 1859.


We had to leave our bags with an attendant while in the museum. On our way out, while retrieving our bags, we chatted with the attendant for a few minutes. After he found out we were from Louisiana, he went on to talk about how much he admired Jimmy Swaggart and how he wanted to go to Swaggart's school in Baton Rouge. He asked us what we thought of him - we bit our tongues and said we didn't know him personally... We didn't feel it was appropriate to share our favorite quote from Jimmy. After being caught with a prostitute for the second time, he told his congregation, "The Lord told me it's flat none of your business." So there.

We spent an evening at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, where after enjoying the buffet we ordered dessert and sat back to watch a play entitled Rumors. Directed by Bobby Wyckoff, it has an updated script after being shown on Broadway in the 1990s. It was hi-lar-ious. Oh, and the funny story about this visit... When we arrived in Huntsville, Alabama, to visit Grandad and Doris, we found out that they had driven to Nashville to see the exact same show just the day before! It was fun to share the memories with them.

Our final evening in Nashville was spent at the 28th Annual Colgate Country Showdown, hosted by Leann Rimes.

The Showdown was held in the historic Ryman Auditorium established in 1892. The auditorium has been put to many uses, but possibly the most notable is when it served as the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. A cool bit of trivia is that a five foot circle of the original Ryman stage was removed and inlaid into the stage floor in the newly built Opry House theater, where it's located just behind the lead singer's microphone. Do'h - so that's where the singers kept falling!

It was neat to see all the behind-the-scenes stuff that goes on to film a competition like this. Before the show even started, they did several takes of the audience hooping and hollering. Then we did a short calm applause. Then a longer calm applause. Then a chuckle. Then a longer chuckle. It was all quite silly. I was waiting for them to ask us to all sneeze at the same time.

The "Arctic Blast" in the Great Smoky Mountains

I have fond memories of the Great Smoky Mountains - it was the only big vacation my family took, ever. And you know, to this day, I still want to spell it as the Great Smokey Mountains, but I know that is incorrect.

I recall waterfalls, Lost Sea, Gatlinburg, Cades Cove, Clingmans Dome, tall trees, dirt roads, rain, and black bears. I also remember blueberry cobbler ice cream and my first experience with motion sickness on the curvy mountain roads.

Needless to say, I was anxious to return to the Smoky Mountains to experience it all over again. Unfortunately, this was the week that snow fell on 49 of the 50 states. The week the weather stations coined the term "Arctic Blast." And the week all the park roads were closed.

The Davis House, Mountain Farm Museum
(The house was moved here from the Indian Creek north of Bryson City, NC)

We managed to get to the Mountain Farm Museum at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center and do a day hike to the waterfalls on the outskirts of the park (Indian Creek Falls and Juney Whank Falls). But the 10 degree weather and constant snowfall convinced us to stay put for the week. We stayed at a hotel in Cherokee, NC. They were happy to have visitors and we were thankful for a warm place to rest our heads.

We sorted through Peace Corps paperwork and practiced our Albanian. We walked quite a few miles in the snow to our favorite spot - the Tribal Grounds Coffee shop - where the barista had already memorized our drink order.

Barn at the Mountain Farm Museum

I still can't believe I didn't take any pictures of the snowfall - and I apologize greatly for that. So to make up my lack of photos, here is a random side note on a new chocolate experience for us, not necessarily a pleasant one...

A bag of Dove Promises Silky Smooth Dark Chocolate is a staple for us on this road trip. We like the Promises because we not only get a tasty treat, but we can read an inspirational message that distracts us from the calories we just put in our mouth.

Well, we thought we found a less expensive bag of Dove chocolate, only to find the wrappers with Martha Stewart Valentine suggestions. We think it has tainted the chocolate.

Here are a few messages, just in case you were clueless about ideas for Valentine's Day:

• Surprise a loved one with pink bed linens on Valentine's Day.
• Swirl in raspberry jam to make a perfect Valentine cheesecake.
• To prep roses, cut stems under water at a 45 degree angle.
• Use tiny store-bought seashells to form blossoms.
• X and O cookie cutters make "hugs and kisses" sugar cookies.
• Gift wrap a chocolate bar with pink craft paper and doilies.
• Keeping a bouquet in a cool area will help the flowers last.
• Store Valentine chocolate in a cool, dry spot out of the sun.
• Rose colors send a message: red = love, yellow = friendship.
• Arrange bud vases in the shape of a heart and fill with roses.
• Glue silk petals on a jar to create a vase. (hehee - this made us think of that expression "You can put lipstick on a pig, but its still a pig")

Asheville, North Carolina

Both friends and family suggested we pay a visit to Asheville, North Carolina, so we reserved a few nights at a nearby KOA. It had been snowing just the right amount - you know, where there's snow in the grass but not on the roads? We took the liberty to explore the trails of the KOA where we got our walking in and our snow fix all at the same time.

Asheville is probably best known for the Biltmore House, which opened on Christmas Eve of 1895 and is known today as "America's Largest Home."

Would you believe it got its name because they built more than anybody else? Well you wouldn't be far off. Heehee...



The Biltmore is a 250-room French chateau that weighs in at 175,000 square feet. It has 43 bathrooms - which was rare because most homes at that time didn't have one bathroom IN their home! It also has 21 rooms for servant quarters. Most servants were allowed 2 hours off every day, but were still on call. They received one afternoon and one evening off per week, and a half day every other Sunday. So who's house was it?


The owner was George W. Vanderbilt (grandson to Cornelius Vanderbilt - of Vanderbilt University and The Breakers in Newport, RI). He and his wife, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser, had only one child, Cornelia, who was born in the house in 1900. George Vanderbilt died in 1914 of complications from an appendectomy. Ten years later, their daughter Cornelia married the Honorable John Francis Amherst Cecil. The Cecil's opened the house to the public in 1930, and today it is owned by George W. Vanderbilt's grandson - William A.V. Cecil. The house employs 1800 workers to manage the estate.



Of course who owns a 250-room chateau and doesn't have land? The Vanderbilt estate consists of about 8000 acres, offering beautiful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Besides the house, there are approximately 75 acres of gardens, a winery, a farm, and a 213-room hotel all located on the estate. We spent the entire day exploring.

First off we visited "The House." The staff were in the process of taking down the Christmas decorations, and we could only imagine how much more beautiful it would have been while decorated.

Richard Morris Hunt was the architect of Biltmore. He made an architectural model of the Biltmore House to show Vanderbilt his proposal. It was built in 1889 and stands in the house on the original oak cabinet. By the way, Hunt also designed The Breakers in Newport, RI in 1893 as requested by another Vanderbilt - Cornelius Vanderbilt II. He also redesigned the Vanderbilt mausoleum at the Moravian Cemetery in 1885. Hunt was a busy guy - talk about a referral system!

Here's a sampling of what you'll find in the house:

• Original oak tables were made in 1895
• Vanderbilt loved books and collected more than 10,000 volumes in 8 languages.
• He also collected prints and has over 1600 woodcuts, engravings, and etchings.
• The nation's first bowling alley in a private residence
• A 70,000-gallon indoor pool was heated and still has its original underwater lighting.
• And a gym - where we saw wooden barbells, a cable weight machine (we used a modern version while training to climb the mountains!), and an 18th century rowing machine!

After touring the "house," we drove to the winery and did a red wine and chocolate tour - Yum! Who knew there was a science to properly pairing red wine with dark chocolate? Somehow they did it. And it was tasty.

Ice surrounding a chain near the River Bend Farm.

Without knowing it, we saved our favorite part of the estate for last: The River Bend Farm. It was once the center of the estate's farming community, and today gives a good glimpse into life in the early 1900's. They have craft demonstrations, barnyard animals, antique farm equipment, and a kitchen garden. Most of it was closed since it was off-season, but we got to visit the "family-friendly animals," as they call them. The small enclosure had a nice sampling: chickens, bunnies, goats, a donkey, and two horses. We even got to meet pygmy goats! We didn't even know there was such a thing. As adults, they were about 16 inches tall. They were cute and all, but I can't imagine milking them! Heehee.




The photo above is of Richie and Kieffer pear trees. The trees (not Richie) are trained to grown in this candelabra Espalier (pronounced es-pal-yeah) system. The system was developed to take advantage of the warmth next to the garden walls or the side of a building. It was was used to produce figs in ancient Egypt, and was popular in Europe in the late 1600's. It takes about 4 years to train them to this shape.

Monkey See... Monkey Do!