5th Leg: Tupelo, Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee
Look, I'm an Elvis fan, but not one of those crazies....but I MUST have these pajamas. This place was closed when I was in Memphis, so sadly, these will only live in my memory and in the photo I took of them. Read on for my 4th leg of my adventure...Tupelo, Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee.
After dropping off Seth at the airport in Birmingham for his return home, I made a slight diversion through Tupelo, Mississippi, to see the birth home of Elvis Aaron Presley (and there was a twin, right?). It's 10 bucks to walk through the original shotgun house. It's quick. Blink and you'll miss it. Props to the historic site for making a cool Alexander Hamilton on every. Single. Part. Of the property. Church? $10. House? $10. Museum? $10. My roadside America/tourist trap rating...an absolute must! Next, on to Memphis...
My friend, Kelly, from my UT Longhorn days lives in Nashville, so she offered to drive over and meet me in Memphis for a few days. Now it should be said we have both already been there and visited Graceland, so if you are wondering in the photos..."where's Graceland?". It's still there. We just didn't go. We had other bucket list items...like the Peabody Hotel ducks.
Our Airbnb was a gorgeous 1906 home on the outskirts of downtown. I have no idea how we got so lucky either, but our weather was UH-mazing for middle of the summer. Like one day the high was barely 80 degrees! Our Airbnb hostess was clearly an Elvis fan judging by the thoughtful touches and decor. Perfect vibe. Hammock in the back yard, couldn't have asked for more, even though the neighboorhood was "rapidly gentrifying" in some parts, not in others.
Our first order of business was the civil right museum in the Lorraine Motel (also, apparently...hotel?...there''s conflicting signage). The museum itself is similar to many civil rights museums, not as "in your face" as the Legacy Museum in Montgomery of course, but well worth a visit. At the end though...and I don't think I realized this is how the tour would end....is a view from the room where MLK Jr. stayed on the day he was assassinated. You literally end on the balcony where he was assassinated. We were there at closing hours, and the line backed up, the docents started telling people, "take your photos and please don't take the time to read...we are closing." So yeah, it's weird. All very "Americana". Then after that surreal experience you can walk across the street and see the bathroom location where James Earl Ray shot MLK. And all the conspiracies. Maybe it WASN't James Earl Ray in the bathroom with the shotgun?
Perhaps my favorite stop and memorial was the "I Am a Man" Plaza. This locale honors the 1968 sanitation workers that went on strike. I'm sure you know the famous photos of the strikers with the posters "I Am a Man". The poems and markers there really make me choke up. This strike was also why MLK, Jr. was in Memphis on that fateful day. Bold union struggles are another part of history I just love to teach, and this is one of the most shocking. The story needs to be a movie.
We later made some quick stops at the Metal Museum (it's a thing!) and Martyr's Plaza (a really bizarre story). Kelly visited Sun Studios (a must also for the Elvis fans), we both went to the Stax Museum...which is in "Soulville" neighborhood, and such a fun stop. There's so much info to take in during all my museum visits, it often gets to be a bit overwhelming. But I can't get enough of all the African American history on this trip. There's so much darkness in our country's history with regards to race issues, but the music museums with all the unique culture were for sure the bright spots.
We ate some great food (The Beauty Shop is a rad spot, The Arcade (classic!), and of course...drinks at the Peabody to watch the ducks...well, it's a big deal, but I won't spoil it for ya. Okay, I will. They get out of the fountain and go into....wait for it...into an elevator. It's all very anti-climatic, but a BIG DEAL. So, when in Rome. Worth it for the "experience" as they say.
Beale Street and some history sticks we did visit. Beale Street during the day is less exciting. I had this "thing" I had on my "list", I wanted to drink a frozen drink on Beale Street...wheeeeee!...because why? Well, because you can! Except apparently during the day on a Tuesday...not enough staff to man the frozen drink machines. Whomp. And also nothing is open in the way of shops or Elvis pajama vendors. Grrrrrrr....
On our last day, on the way out of town, we stopped at two very bizarre, but very "americana" religious stops. Found within a cemetary on the outside of town, the Crystal Shrine Grotto cave was created in the 1930's. From the interwebs, the builder "dug a cave almost 60 feet into a hill on the grounds and decorated the interior with faux crags made of cement and quartz crystals which are exposed to sunlight on the exterior end to create a glowing effect. All of the stonework surrounds a series of biblical tableaus which were later added on to with little two-dimensional figures that just increased the strange feel. To complete the experience, haunting harp music is also piped in." Yeah, it's odd. And not to far away is another weirdo religious thing, I huge Statue of Liberty holding a bible. The sign proclaims "America, return to Christ!" M-kay.
Below: My favorite stop and story in Memphis. When sanitation workers go on strike for better work safety and an entire city can't get the trash out...and you still refuse to negotiate...you might be a racist.
See all my photos from Tupelo and Memphis here!
My friend, Kelly, from my UT Longhorn days lives in Nashville, so she offered to drive over and meet me in Memphis for a few days. Now it should be said we have both already been there and visited Graceland, so if you are wondering in the photos..."where's Graceland?". It's still there. We just didn't go. We had other bucket list items...like the Peabody Hotel ducks.
Our Airbnb was a gorgeous 1906 home on the outskirts of downtown. I have no idea how we got so lucky either, but our weather was UH-mazing for middle of the summer. Like one day the high was barely 80 degrees! Our Airbnb hostess was clearly an Elvis fan judging by the thoughtful touches and decor. Perfect vibe. Hammock in the back yard, couldn't have asked for more, even though the neighboorhood was "rapidly gentrifying" in some parts, not in others.
Our first order of business was the civil right museum in the Lorraine Motel (also, apparently...hotel?...there''s conflicting signage). The museum itself is similar to many civil rights museums, not as "in your face" as the Legacy Museum in Montgomery of course, but well worth a visit. At the end though...and I don't think I realized this is how the tour would end....is a view from the room where MLK Jr. stayed on the day he was assassinated. You literally end on the balcony where he was assassinated. We were there at closing hours, and the line backed up, the docents started telling people, "take your photos and please don't take the time to read...we are closing." So yeah, it's weird. All very "Americana". Then after that surreal experience you can walk across the street and see the bathroom location where James Earl Ray shot MLK. And all the conspiracies. Maybe it WASN't James Earl Ray in the bathroom with the shotgun?
Perhaps my favorite stop and memorial was the "I Am a Man" Plaza. This locale honors the 1968 sanitation workers that went on strike. I'm sure you know the famous photos of the strikers with the posters "I Am a Man". The poems and markers there really make me choke up. This strike was also why MLK, Jr. was in Memphis on that fateful day. Bold union struggles are another part of history I just love to teach, and this is one of the most shocking. The story needs to be a movie.
We later made some quick stops at the Metal Museum (it's a thing!) and Martyr's Plaza (a really bizarre story). Kelly visited Sun Studios (a must also for the Elvis fans), we both went to the Stax Museum...which is in "Soulville" neighborhood, and such a fun stop. There's so much info to take in during all my museum visits, it often gets to be a bit overwhelming. But I can't get enough of all the African American history on this trip. There's so much darkness in our country's history with regards to race issues, but the music museums with all the unique culture were for sure the bright spots.
We ate some great food (The Beauty Shop is a rad spot, The Arcade (classic!), and of course...drinks at the Peabody to watch the ducks...well, it's a big deal, but I won't spoil it for ya. Okay, I will. They get out of the fountain and go into....wait for it...into an elevator. It's all very anti-climatic, but a BIG DEAL. So, when in Rome. Worth it for the "experience" as they say.
Beale Street and some history sticks we did visit. Beale Street during the day is less exciting. I had this "thing" I had on my "list", I wanted to drink a frozen drink on Beale Street...wheeeeee!...because why? Well, because you can! Except apparently during the day on a Tuesday...not enough staff to man the frozen drink machines. Whomp. And also nothing is open in the way of shops or Elvis pajama vendors. Grrrrrrr....
On our last day, on the way out of town, we stopped at two very bizarre, but very "americana" religious stops. Found within a cemetary on the outside of town, the Crystal Shrine Grotto cave was created in the 1930's. From the interwebs, the builder "dug a cave almost 60 feet into a hill on the grounds and decorated the interior with faux crags made of cement and quartz crystals which are exposed to sunlight on the exterior end to create a glowing effect. All of the stonework surrounds a series of biblical tableaus which were later added on to with little two-dimensional figures that just increased the strange feel. To complete the experience, haunting harp music is also piped in." Yeah, it's odd. And not to far away is another weirdo religious thing, I huge Statue of Liberty holding a bible. The sign proclaims "America, return to Christ!" M-kay.
Below: My favorite stop and story in Memphis. When sanitation workers go on strike for better work safety and an entire city can't get the trash out...and you still refuse to negotiate...you might be a racist.
See all my photos from Tupelo and Memphis here!