New Orleans road trip - Day 5 - Memphis

Woke up to heavy rain and we stayed in our respective trailers for the morning. After coffee and breakfast I worked on finishing a piece of rug hooking. I bought 4 rug hooking projects with me in the off chance that I would have some down time and a chance to finish some.
At noon we walked through the drizzle to Graceland:

Greg seemed to feel there were some similarities! There are a number of different ticket packages to choose from and we opted to tour the mansion, see the cars and the planes.

We stopped by the onsite diner for lunch and I had a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich (supposedly one of Elvis' favorites)

There was a brief video then we were given an ipad, headphones and boarded a shuttle to go across the street, through the metal gates decorated with music notes and up the driveway to the mansion. Elvis was raised in a 2 room house and this must have been quite opulent at the time but it is not a particularly imposing house by today's standards.

But Elvis put his signature style in it. He redecorated regularly.

Many of the furnishings were custom made to his specifications (this is a 15 ft sofa)

He loved cutting edge technology and had the latest music and TV options all over the house. He was also bought up with music and played the various instruments scattered around the house.

The dining room was usually full of family and friends. His mother and father lived with him, later his grandmother, wife (Priscilla) and daughter (Lisa Marie).

The ipad tour was narrated but also had audio clips of Elvis, Priscilla and Lisa Mare talking about the house and how it was lived in.

Most of the house is decorated the way it was in the 70s when he died. (We had a Harvest Gold refrigerator when we moved into the house in Cambridge in 1981 but I guess it was cutting edge in the 70s)

This is my favorite room. Its in the basement, all yellow and black with a mirrored ceiling. Three TVs, so he could watch multiple shows at the same time (its a guy thing) and an extensive collections of albums with a stereo system. There was a drop down screen and a projector to watch movies.

There was a bar attached although Elvis didn't drink, it was for guests.

Also in the basement, a pool room

with pleated fabric on the walls and ceiling.

Back up to the main floor again and into "The Jungle Room" which was an addition that Elvis had put on the house. An indoor waterfall at one end, green shag carpet on the floor and the ceiling, faux fur upholstery and heavy, dark, carved wood furniture were said to have reminded Elvis of his time in Hawaii.

The shag rug on the floor and ceiling made for good acoustics so later he recorded in there.

Elvis had the pool built and a meditation garden.

A sign of the times, ashtrays in all the rooms.

Its 9:30pm and the internet seems to be slowing down so I will finish this post tomorrow. As it is a travel day there wont be much else to write about.