walking in memphis.

Nashville severely kicked my butt. We left this morning (late morning) still reeling from the effects of the pint-sized shot of Jack Daniels I was served last night. I danced hard, drank hard, and paid for it HARD this morning. In fact, one of my shoes had fallen off in Marcus’ car, and I had to go and pick it up at the security stand outside of his office/factory on the way out of town – talk about embarrassing – picking up one shoe from a random dude... how do you explain that?! We had intended to set off a bit earlier, but it took both Dean and I a bit to get up and at ‘em this morning.

We drove the three hours to Memphis and headed directly to Dean’s number one destination, Graceland. My Dad has considered disowning me for visiting, but I was really excited to see this iconic place. The Graceland mansion itself was unexpectedly modest, considering what I was expecting from the King. The property was massive and sprawling, but the rooms in the house were of average size. The décor was certainly unique (purple velour, jungle themed, mirrored hallways) but it felt like a home. However, the Elvis theme park that has emerged surrounding the mansion is tacky, overdone and excessive. We both decided that we would commit suicide if we had to work there every day with non-stop Elvis music, throngs of tourists and 5,000 gift shops.

After three hours of Graceland, Dean and I had had reached our quota of Elvis, for, huh, our lives. We headed downtown for a quick look at the Lorraine Hotel (where Martin Luther King was assassinated) and some traditional Memphis ribs on Beale Street. My impression of Memphis was two-fold: in many parts of town, it was in shambles, deserted and dirty; while on Beale Street it was lively, loud, and full of personality. Compared to Nashville (which had a distinctive country feel), Memphis was full of jazz and blues. It had more of a southern feel, Beale Street feeling similar to a smaller version of Bourbon Street in New Orleans. People were talkative, friendly, singing in the streets… really loving their life. Unfortunately, we had to leave after a quick look at the mighty Mississippi in order to get a head start on the journey through Arkansas. Never enough time!

I can feel the air getting more humid and the weather feeling warmer. We’re getting closer to Mexico!