For our first day in Memphis, we headed to the birthplace of rock’n’roll, Sun Studio. This is the place where Elvis first recorded in 1953, and stars like Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, and Jerry Lee Lewis were discovered. The tour took us into the exact studio where the “Million-dollar Quartet” of Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash had an impromptu jam session in 1956. Ahhh, if these walls could talk! Really interesting to learn more about these key moments in musical history – a great companion to our Motown tour last summer.

About a block away, we visited a very cool car museum that focuses on the American sports car. They have a small but carefully curated collection of sports cars, focused on the 50s and 60s (to mirror the same era as Sun Studio). Corvettes, Mustangs, Thunderbirds…oh my! Just a really fun place to visit!

Our next stop was of historical significance in another way…the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in 1968. It’s now part of the National Civil Rights Museum, and the hotel exterior has been preserved, along with the original signs. In the hotel’s earlier years, it was a preferred stop for blacks visiting Memphis, and hosted Aretha Franklin, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, and Jackie Robinson among others.

Conveniently, just across the street was Central BBQ, considered one of the best in Memphis, so our stomachs won over and we had a delicious, authentic Memphis BBQ dinner. Yum!

Each day, to reach Memphis from our campground in Arkansas, we crossed over the Mississippi via this bridge, and were welcomed to Tennessee each time!

Day two, Saturday, started at the National Ornamental Metal Museum. Another unique find that was filled with beautiful and artistic pieces. It’s amazing what people are able to create! There were several indoor galleries, plus lots of outdoor pieces to enjoy, and the museum is situated right on the Mississippi River, so the setting was really nice.

From there, we went to the most famous street in Memphis, Beale Street. Being mid-afternoon on a chilly Saturday, it wasn’t particularly busy which was nice. It’s one bar and music venue after another, much like Broadway in Nashville. You can just stand on the sidewalk anywhere and hear someone singing. I loved how ‘original’ the street is with tons of old neon signs on the buildings. They have a ‘brass note walk of fame’ featuring the people who put Memphis music and Beale Street on the map. We wandered through A. Schwab general store that’s been around since 1876 – it was filled with all kinds of interesting things!

Here are some of those wonderful old signs along Beale Street…

This building was really cool. It’s Silky O’Sullivan’s bar, and the building itself burned down, but the facade remains and is well-supported to keep it upright. They use the courtyard behind the facade for seating and stage space…and some “Irish Diving Goats”

Not far from Beale Street is a massive pyramid that was originally built as a concert/event venue, and now houses a really cool Bass Pro Shop. The place was mobbed. It’s obviously quite a destination, both for locals and tourists. The interior was Disney-level throughout – every detail and all of the theming was perfect. There’s even a hotel…pretty unique to see a check-in desk at a Bass Pro Shop. Fun place to wander around!

Sunday was our final day in Memphis, and the main reason for our stop in this area…Graceland! It’s been a bucket-list place for me for as long as I can remember, having grown up listening to his music. My mom was a huge Elvis fan, and I can clearly remember her crying when he died at such a young age. While the house is a huge part of the visit, there are SO MANY exhibits. We spent six full hours there and it was wonderful. There are definitely some operational issues – it’s very disorganized, signage and descriptions are not to ‘museum’ standards, and employees didn’t really seem to enjoy their jobs – but it’s still a fantastic way to spend the day. From his cars to his airplanes to his famous outfits to his many gold records and awards, it’s all there. All I could think as I walked through was how amazing it is that he accomplished so much in such a short time – 31 feature films, 700 songs, 57 albums…more than 1 billion records sold (more than anyone else in record industry history). Just think if he had lived longer…simply incredible. He is truly the “King” of rock & roll!

The house itself is a time capsule of the 1970s. It’s exactly as it was when he died there in August, 1977 at the age of 42. He bought Graceland in 1957 and lived there with his parents and his grandmother. Once he married, it was his family home with Priscilla and Lisa Marie. There are mirrors & chandeliers everywhere, shag carpet (it was the 70s, after all!), plus lots of televisions and many books. We were able to tour the entire first floor plus all of the grounds and out-buildings…2^nd floor is not open to tours. Elvis, his parents, his grandmother, his daughter, and his grandson are all buried at Graceland in the “meditation garden”.

We took a break mid-afternoon to get some ice cream at Gladys’ Diner (named for his mother)…they have a special flavor, peanut butter and banana, made just for Graceland! It was delicious! All in all, it was a fantastic place and I’m so glad we were able to visit and immerse ourselves in Elvis for the day. And we listened to some of his songs on the ride back to the campground, of course!

Adjacent to the Graceland property is an Enesco gallery and gift shop, featuring the world’s largest display of Department 56 villages. Wow! We didn’t spend much time there because it had already been a long day, but it was really impressive to see such a massive display!

Monday was another travel day…time to leave Memphis and head further North…to Paducah, Kentucky. Our trip was only about three hours but we drove through four states (Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky). Paducah is a quick stop and our final stop before we head for home.

Tuesday morning, I headed to the National Quilt Museum in Paducah. Mark wasn’t particularly interested and had some projects to get done before he re-winterizes the trailer, so I enjoyed it solo. I was amazed at the creativity and craftsmanship that goes into these works of art. The museum only has quilts made since 1980, so they are not your grandmother’s quilts. Some look like paintings. Some are re-creations of photographs. Some look like stained glass. They are each unique and incredibly beautiful. While I’ve always appreciated the work that goes into quilts, it’s at a new level now! These are a few of my favorites…

They had a cool display of “miniature” quilts which I loved…maybe someday when I have time for a new hobby, I’ll try my hand at some smaller-scale quilting.

And this one would be a new challenge for Mark…it’s carved out of wood. I couldn’t believe it wasn’t fabric…just incredible!

The museum is in downtown Paducah, not far from the Ohio River, so I walked around a bit and enjoyed the beautiful murals that adorn their floodwalls. There are more than 60 murals on the walls which are 14 feet high. Paducah has had some significant flooding over the years, and these floodwalls serve as both protection and decoration!

Tuesday afternoon was time for a deep-clean of the trailer; after living in it for six weeks, definitely needed some TLC before we store it away for the next couple of months.

And Wednesday brought the end of our six-week adventure. We had about a six-hour drive back home; all but five minutes of it was through Illinois (our campground in Paducah was just across the river from southern IL). Illinois is a VERY long state!

We arrived home safely, exhausted, with an empty refrigerator/freezer and a full hamper of dirty clothes…I guess that means it was a successful trip!

What a journey it was. Over 4,200 miles traveled through nine states; spent time in seven of them. Three were states we’d never visited before, so I’m able to update my ‘states visited’ map…just ten more to go!

A National Park, a Presidential Library, Civil Rights history, several state parks, Jazz & Rock ‘n’ Roll, the Civil War & WWII, a Frank Lloyd Wright house, and so much more! Over 140 miles walked and more than 2,500 photos taken (believe me, my blog only shows a small portion of all the photos I take!)

All in all, it was a wonderful trip. Living full-time in RoVer Too is very doable (although I don’t think we’d ever do it for more than a couple months) – it’s the perfect size for the two of us, we have plenty of storage (and we’ve done everything we can to maximize it!), and we really enjoy the whole experience of packing up once and visiting so many destinations.

RoVer Too is going back into storage tomorrow (after we get everything emptied and Mark winterizes it again) and will likely be there until sometime in June – our next trip involves a longship on the Rhine River and RoVer Too can’t come along…our European adventure starts in 41 days!

Hope you’ve enjoyed coming along for the ride; I have found this blog so helpful to remember all the places we go and the things that we do – it’s a bonus if anyone else finds it interesting or fun!