Friday, August 15, 2008

Amateur Elvis fan

Today was our much anticipated trip to Graceland. And while I have always considered myself a fan, today I realized how much of a fan I wasn't.

As I looked around at the other visitors, I noted that I didn't have an Elvis hand bag, I didn't have an Elvis shirt, I didn't have Elvis earrings, rings, and a necklace, I didn't carry an easel holding an elaborate tribute to lay at his tombstone, and, sadly, I wasn't fortunate enough to have a nifty Elvis tattoo. I saw women of all ages covered head to toe in Elvis paraphernalia, and the Elvis impersonators were plentiful.

We were fortunate enough to have the VIP passes for the Graceland tour so we bypassed the super long lines to reach our shuttle and were even able to visit a bonus room in the house. An added treat was a tour of the back yard of Graceland and the out buildings. We toured his two aircraft and a car museum housing his movie cars as well as his personal favorites.

I also couldn't hold a candle to his real fans at the gift shop. They bought hundreds of dollars worth of Elvis nick knacks and music. I bought a $7.00 magnet for my fridge.

So while I may not be his biggest fan, I'll take my magnet home and every time I reach in my fridge I'll think of the great entertainer with the beautiful home, the fancy planes, and the cool cars; but more notably, I'll remember what is probably the biggest, craziest, most adoring bunch of fans of any star in the world.

The living room:












The dining room:












Peyton was not impressed and encouraged me to take her elsewhere.

















Granna, Pawpaw, Reagan, Keaton, Hayden, and Landon in front of Elvis' eagle suit from his concert in Hawaii.












Where Elvis was laid to rest.





















His wallet, pistol, sunglasses, and some of his jewelry displayed in the bonus room.











We walked through one of his planes, the Lisa Marie. One of the facts mentioned was that the seat belt buckles were 24k gold plated. He bought the plane for $250k but spent $800k customizing it.












Us in front of Graceland.














Thank you, Elvis, for the glimpse; we had a wonderful time.

3 comments:

Steph said...

It looks like you guys are having a great vacation!

Anonymous said...

You have gotten to do so much over the past month! Despite the bittersweet reason for this excursion east, it looks like you're having a blast...I'm a sightseeing girl & this just looks like fun!
Lib

Unknown said...

Yes, it was great fun. New experiences my dad always says.