Graceland (Shelby County, Tennessee)

 

My mother, who lives with my wife and I, is a huge Elvis Presley fan. She collects memorabilia with his image on it and is constantly either listening to his CD's are watching his movies. I can't say I hold him in as a high regard as she does, but I do think he was gifted with a terrific singing voice. For Mother's Day this year, we decided to surprise my mom with tickets to visit Graceland in Memphis, TN. The plan is take mom home Alton, IL to visit friends and family for the long weekend, but to take a slight detour through Memphis. While we're doing this a couple of weeks after the holiday occurred, I don't think she will mind. Though my mother still gets around pretty well on her own, we purchased a light weight travel-ready wheel chair for her, as we think this will make things much easier.

We arrived in Memphis last night and stayed at a nearby hotel. After getting packed and eating a quick breakfast, we drove a mile or so to the parking area for Graceland, which is really more of an amusement park and museum combination these days. Walking (and pushing mom's wheel chair) through the entrance area, we enter the ticketing building and after talking with one of the greeters and showing her our tickets, she lines us up in the proper place. Once a few minutes have passed, we climb aboard a shuttle bus to be ferried up to the actual mansion. All of the employees are incredibly helpful and polite. 

Departing the bus, we step out right at the front entrance of Elvis Presley's Graceland Mansion. It's very pretty from the outside, but much smaller than I was expecting. As we enter through the front door, we are greeted by numerous staff members and exposed to the designs of the early 1970's. The word 'gaudy' is the only thing that comes to mind for me. The mansion has been preserved with it's period decor from just before the passing of the King of Rock and Roll in 1977. 

As we pass through the various rooms of the mansion, I think my mother is in absolute heaven. I'm glad she's enjoying this. She has had some health problems over the past couple of years and when we first moved her in with us about three years ago, I had promised to bring her here at some point. It's great seeing one of her dreams fulfilled. 

The wheelchair poses some issues inside the mansion, but accommodations have been made as much as possible and where there are challenges, the staff do a great job of assisting. We visit the dining room, the den, and the kitchen upstairs. In the lower floor, we pass through the pool room and some type of cocktail room. I can't help but laugh at the wood paneling, shag carpet, and the numerous CRT televisions imbedded in the walls of several of the rooms. It's like taking step into the past, though I'm sure this was all the latest style and technology at the time.

Leaving the interior of the mansion, we step out onto the grounds behind the main house. There are several structures back here, including a swimming pool, stable, racquetball court, and others. The grounds are very well kept and in the distance, we can see horses enjoying the grassy fields. I believe they said the estate is thirteen acres in total, which probably gives those horses plenty of area to pay and graze.

Beyond the pool, we enter the Memorial Garden, which is the final resting place of several Presley family members, including Elvis's mother, father, grandmother, daughter, and of course, the King himself. Mom takes a minute to say a silent prayer over his grave and then we move on. 

This is the end of the mansion tour, but far from the end of our adventure. From here we are shuttled back to the starting area and enter building after building of tribute to Elvis. In these museum-like areas, they have collected many of his cars, performance costumes, instruments, and just about everything imaginable related to his career. It's actually pretty fascinating and I think my mother is really enjoying herself.

One stand out to me is the wall of gold and platinum album awards. There are so, so many of them, which is understandable given the impact this man had on modern music. There are also several areas within the museum where recordings of other musicians and celebrities are speaking to the impact Elvis had on them and their careers, and music as a whole. I don't recall who said it in one of those videos, but the statement that "Elvis really invented the rock star" rings very true with me. His extravagant lifestyle really set the tone for the next half-century of stardom. 

After exiting the museums, we enjoy a pretty basic burger and hot dog meal at Glady's Fine Foods within the park. Mom has purchased numerous souvenirs and is anxiously going through them as we finish our lunch. I think she really enjoyed this, at least I hope she has. It was quite a task to get his all planned out and get her her, but seeing one of her dreams come true was well worth it.