Fortunately, no more sightings last night or this morning, but I kept my luggage zipped up and well off the floor & away from walls...
Breakfast at the Waffle House next door was good, at least. Next stop: Graceland!
99% of the people who worked the service jobs at Graceland were black, and mostly ignored by tourists. I said 'good morning' and 'thanks' a few times, and got startled looks, which I didn't know what to make of, until I went to the Lisa Marie (Elvis's private jet).A young guy was taking tickets in there, so when he took mine, I said, "thankaverramuch" in a bad Elvis voice. Then I said, "I bet you've heard that a million times."
He responded, "No, sir, most people don't say anything to me."
Graceland itself was nice, although just to get into the mansion itself was $30. For $4 more, you had the opportunity to do self guided tours through the Lisa Marie, a display of some of his cars, an 'Elvis & fashion' exhibit, an 'Elvis & pop culture' exhibit', a '68 special exhibit, and 'Elvis & his movies' exhibit.
If you go to Graceland, skip the pop culture and '68 special exhibit, but check out the other ones. Elvis & fashion was pretty cool, and his plane, although a bit dated, is still pretty extravagant.We were going to find a BBQ place for lunch, but one of the triple D places that I had on my list (Marlowe's Ribs on Elvis Presley Blvd, just down the street) was closed. Iv suggested something on Beale St. instead, since I wanted to see Beale.
On the way there, we passed the Soul Museum, as well as Sun Records, but it was already 2pm, we hadn't eaten, and still wanted to make it to Nashville for early evening, so I deferred these for the next time I was in town.
We parked at the Peabody Centre, and made our way to Alfred's on Beale St. for lunch. I had a pulled chicken sandwich and a Dr. Pepper. Iv had the same, but with a Sprite. I thoroughly enjoyed my sandwich, but the first three bites Iv took had small bones in them. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. He had enough of Memphis, and wanted to get out of town as quickly as possible. I, being the king of ill timing, tried to put a positive spin on the sandwich by suggesting at least it shows that it's real chicken prepared on the spot. Not the best time to mention this...sorry, Iv!Once we got past Jackson, things were better. Ivan stopped at a McDonald's for a lunch reboot (I had a chocolate shake). Logged onto the internet, where my friend Molly suggested on Facebook we check out the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville tonight. Thanks, Molls (although we didn't quite make it there)!
She also suggested we check out "Mountain Dew Mouth" if we hit Kentucky. I thought to myself, "That sounds like an interesting name for a big rock formation, or maybe a waterfall", so I googled it. HA HA HA
At the Comfort Inn in Nashville, which is a very nice, close to downtown motel. We actually got in before the sun set, which was a rarity for us. I tried using Google Phone to call my friends Rob & Trish to ask for some further Nashville suggestions, but they didn't answer, presumably because their call display would show some crazy number (next time, answer all incoming calls from Uzbekistan, guys).
(pause for Jeff to go out, hit downtown Nashville, drink some Maker's Mark, and come back)
Nashville is AWESOME!!! I had so much fun here, and Ivan really enjoyed it, too! We started off walking down 5th St., and debated going to a Keith Urban concert that was going on that night, since scalpers were selling tix for $25. We nixed the tix, walked down Broadway, which is the main strip with bars with live music. Here's a clip of a bit of it:
We settled at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge. Alex Williams & Amanda Allen were playing there. He sounds a lot like Waylon, which was pretty cool, and she played the fiddle.
We stayed for a drink, and took off to check out another place, since there was so much to choose from. We finally ended up at the Whiskey Bent Saloon, further down the street, where the Brandon Giles Band was playing.
If you're ever in Nashville, check them out. Some bands play; these guys performed. Here are a few clips. Note: the big cowboy and the bandana-wearing biker constantly got up really close to the stage and recorded the guy, so the clips are sometimes obstructed.
First clip: segue from "Can't You See" by the Marshall Tucker Band, to "Dixie", to "Duelling Banjos", back to "Can't You See":
Second: I went outside for a few minutes, and when I came back, Ivan said I missed a Jerry Lee Lewis-type performance. Fortunately, it happened again:
Third: and again, even more Jerry Lee Lewis! If you skim through this blog, at least watch this clip:
Goodnight, folks!
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