Day Eighteen, Graceland!

I am still way behind on blogging and even though it's very late, I wanted to put something up about yesterday so I at least stayed only one day behind rather than two.

The main destination today was Graceland! But before I get into the details, here is a brief disclaimer about the photos in today's blog. Please excuse the poor quality and blurriness of many of the photos. There was no flash photography allowed in the Graceland mansion or museums in order to preserve the quality of the costumes and fabrics in those places. Apparently, one flash is equal to 50 days of sunlight exposure, at least that's what I think one of the workers at Graceland mentioned at one point. I suppose having blurry pictures is worth preserving Elvis' Graceland home and legacy.

To be honest, I'm not a huge Elvis fan, especially since I didn't grow up during his era or have a direct connection to him like that, but I do know and like some of his classic songs, especially Jailhouse Rock and Can't Help Falling in Love (I really love this one!) and I respect his talent and the enduring legacy he left behind as the King of Rock and Roll. To be really honest, the majority of my exposure to Elvis in my life can probably be traced back to the classic TV show, Full House, in which John Stamos' character, Jesse, was an Elvis wannabe and thus often referenced the King on a regular basis. Sad, but true. At least now I have a exerienced a more meaningful exposure to the true Elvis having been to Graceland, his home and a tribute devoted entirely to him. I mean, how much more legitimate does it get? Although, I think 3 hours at Graceland put me in a bit of Elvis overload and shock, it may have been a bit too much all at once, but it was, once again, worth it!

I bought the more complete package tour, which included not only the physical and audio tour of the Graceland mansion and grounds, but also admission to his automobile collection, his two airplanes, and the Sincerely Elvis exhibit, which was a collection of his many different costumes throughout his career. The mansion tour was very cool, but it was a bit more structured than I'm used to on this trip. Most places I've visited have allowed me to take self-guided tours where I can go where I please within the park or museum and spend as much or little time in each section as I please. The mansion was very different. We were shuttled across the street from the main facility to the mansion and constantly remained in a single file line as we were shuffled through the one way only path through the house, running into security and workers at every turn, and always being watched by numerous security cameras in each room. The upstairs was off-limits for the tour as Elvis wanted it that way while he was alive and they continue to keep it that way today out of respect to his wishes, but with all the security on the grounds, you'd think that he was still alive and living up there! Despite the different atmosphere, it was still a great sight to see, all the suedes and tweeds on the furniture, the shag carpeting, the old TV sets, the loudly patterned curtains, wood paneling, all still in tact and preserved for us to see it as it was when Elvis lived there. I love it when people work so hard to preserve history for generations to see as they were in their present time. It's so much more impactful and leaves a stronger impression than photographs of those things would. I think it's so important to preserve what we can of today's world for future generations to appreciate and be a part of in their own way.

After my tour of the mansion, I took the shuttle back to the main facility and headed to the Rockabilly's Diner for something I'd been thinking about and craving since the night before when I read about it online, an Elvis favorite: a toasted peanut butter and banana sandwich, and an Icee, which probably didn't exist in Elvis' day but it was so hot and humid and I needed something to cool off and get me through the rest of the tour! I couldn't resist! I actually like peanut butter and banana sandwiches and make them every once in a while, but I'd never had one toasted before, it was yummy! I'll have to try to make one of my own as soon as a I buy some bread...and bananas...strangely enough I actually have peanut butter with me in case I wanted to put some on some crackers I have as a snack. Ok, I'm sort of starting to salivate with wanting a PB&B sandwich right now, so I'd better move on.

Next stop was the Automobile museum, which I really liked! I love old cars and even though he didn't own my coveted 1966 Ford Mustang, but he did have a 1966 Rolls Royce which isn't a bad alternative!Here are some of his other amazing cars! I'd love to just ride in one of them, let alone own one!
1960 MG

1960's Cadillac

1971 Stutz Blackhawk

After the automobile musuem, I continued with the transportation theme and moved on to Elvis' two private planes, the first and largest being the Lisa Marie, named after his daughter. Private planes are always cool because they're so spacious and there's usually very luxurious, comfy seats with tons of legroom and often a bedroom to stretch out in as well. However, they're not nearly as exciting to just walk through as they would be to actually fly in, I'm sure! Mostly the plane had couches and a conference room table. I thought the only cool parts of this plane were the fancy, fairly spacious bathroom with a gold (probably real gold) sink, the bedroom in the back, and the multiple TV's, which must have been pretty innovative and rare back in the 50s and 60s. The other plane on display, the Jet Star, was much smaller than the Lisa Marie, but had a unique feature that made up for it: bright yellow and lime green colored seats! If I ever have a private plane, I want fun-colored seats, lots of TV's, and a comfy bed, just in case anyone is thinking about getting me an early birthday or Christmas present!

Finally, I meandered over to the Sincerely Elvis exhibit, which was full of sequened, tasseled, brightly colored costumes, as well as the classic and famous white jumpsuits Elvis the Pelvis rocked out in during many a performance. I can't imagine a musician today wearing those costumes in the same way I can't imagine Elvis wearing anything else! It was great to see all those tangible peaces of Elvis, since I know of him, but never got to see him in person. Now I feel like I've gotten as close to the real thing as I can get and so glad I had that opportunity!

Thank you, thank you very much!

Day Seventeen, I've Got the Blues!

But in a good way, don't worry!

This week has been so nice as I've been able to sleep in every day and still manage to check out of my hotel on time with seconds to spare! Today was no exception, which meant after grabbing coffee and a treat, I was finally on the road by 1pm. I knew right then that my plans were going to be altered slightly from the night before. Originally, I thought I'd drive to Memphis and still have time to check out Graceland, but it closes at 5pm and I didn't want to short change my potentially one time only visit, so I decided to wait until the next morning, which left the rest of the night wide open for a new plan.

But first, I almost forgot about my eventful drive today. Well, somewhat eventful anyway in that it involved driving through 6 different states! I started out in Kentucky, then drove west, briefly entering Illinois again and continuing on to Missouri. I know it seems a bit odd to be driving west to go southeast but I took this route so that I could drive through Arkansas and check off yet another new state (one of only two that my Dad has yet to visit, the other being Alaska - sorry you couldn't be here with me today Dad!), then into Tennessee, and I took the highway further south than necessary so that I could momentarily dip into Mississippi and finally head back into Memphis for the night. The only bummer was that the state welcome signs were in places that I couldn't stop at and take a picture in front of, so I had to settle for driveby photos, and annoyingly Mississippi didn't have a sign! The above county sign was the best I could do after circling a few times just to make sure I hadn't missed a sign somewhere. I think it should be a requirement that all states welcome you! It's just rude when they don't! Anyway, it was a long, but interesting drive, one in which I traveled through the most total states in one day, six, besting the day I was in the Four Corners, which still holds the record for the most places I've been at one time on this trip, and in my life, a record I'm not likely to break anytime soon!

Back to my Memphis plans...I remembered that when I was discussing potential stops on my road trip with my coworkers, one of them said that if I went to Memphis, I had to check out Beale Street. I looked it up online when I got to my Memphis hotel and what I saw reminded me of San Diego's Gaslamp District with restaurants and bars. It seemed like a perfect place to wander around and grab some dinner and still make the most of my time in the Home of the Blues!

I was a little worried that it would be packed because of the All-Star game, but as it turns out, this historic street isn't as interested in sports as it is music, which I should have figured given what Memphis is most known for. In fact, the place was practically empty to the point where I thought it might be closed for some reason, but it wasn't, it was just too early for things to be busy yet. I wasn't complaining though because it gave me the opportunity to have an unobstructed view of Beale Street before the big crowds arrived. It's a fun little place! I loved the live music by a great local jazz group in the Pepsi Pavilion, a park adjacent to Beale Street, though I wasn't such a fan of the name or the heavy Pepsi presence in town! I stopped by before and after dinner and the same 5 or 6 were still playing the Blues for the passing crowds. Listening to live jazz on Beale Street is pretty much the quintessential Memphis tourist activity, so I was glad to have experienced it without having to buy a drink at a bar that had live music or at the many alcohol-to-go windows along the sidewalk as a sort of cover charge for the entertainment. The fact that it was a free concert for people walking by to enjoy was what made it so great, that people love playing jazz and blues so much they go out there to entertain the crowds and let others enjoy the music, and hopefully get a few tips while they're at it, of course!

I didn't mind being there alone, but I didn't really want to go eat dinner in one of the bars, that was a little much even for me, so I decided to play it safe and a little less adventurous and went to the Hard Rock Cafe. Ironically, I ended up eating at the bar there, but at least it was more of a restaurant atmosphere with families dining as opposed to a bar where everyone's mostly drinking and partying. I couldn't resist getting a fun drink, too - so much for avoiding the bar scene! But in a way, it worked out perfect because I got the full Beale Street experience while avoiding being hit on by strange, drunk men or any other kind of awkward situation. I got a Tropical Rock in a souvenier glass, I'm such a sucker now for souveniers, I just couldn't resist. It was yummy! I got some spicy mac and cheese, which was a little too spicy for my taste so at least I had my cool, fruity drink to wash it down! I even got a nice couple to take my pic in front of the Hard Rock! It's always nice when a stranger is willing to do you a favor, especially when I'm in these cool places all by myself and want a photo to remember them by.

That pretty much sums of Beale Street - good drinks, good food, good music, good people, good times! I probably wouldn't have ended up there had I been late getting going this morning and postponed Graceland until tomorrow. Things happen for a reason and being late this morning worked in my favor this time, let's hope things work out again tomorrow for my visit with the King!

Day Sixteen, Super Jessa!

This morning was so nice because I got to sleep in until 10am, which for me isn't really sleeping in, but on this trip, it is! Then I grabbed my favorite cheddar broccoli soup for lunch at St. Louis Bakery & Co, which I found out is also known as Panera Bread! What can I say, it's the best!

I had a beautiful 3 hour ride through the southern Illinois countryside. I couldn't stop looking out at the bright blue sky filled with puffy white, cottonball-like clouds. I love clouds! I realize after seeing so many of them on this trip that southern California is severely lacking in clouds, with the exception of fog and little thin whisps which are more suggestions of clouds than actual clouds in my opinion. There's just something about little puffy white clouds layered across the sky that makes me want to fly right up there and bounce around among them. It looks so calm and peaceful up there, isolated from this crazy busy world down here and I'd just love to be surrounded by that feeling of peace every once in a while. I've found some of it in the more isolated, untouched places like the open spaces in Utah, Wyoming and in the national parks like Arches and Yellowstone, but I'd love to get a taste of what it's like among the clouds without the pressurized fuselage of an airplane getting in the way. It's times like that I wish Superman were around to give me a lift. I finally decided that if he won't come to me, I'll just have to go to him, so I headed to his hometown of Metropolis, Illinois, which just so happened to be the direction I was already driving, go figure!
For those of you that don't know, I'm a huge Superman fan! I guess for me it dates back to the 1990s TV show, "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" starring Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain. I loved that show despite the fact that at 10 years old I was probably a decade or so younger than it's target audience. I never got into the comics, but I have seen and own all four of the Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve and loved those as well, although the fourth one w/ the scary, solar-powered villain still scares me to this day! And I love the new Superman franchise as well! I remember watching Brandon Routh on "One Life to Live" years ago and think it's so cool that he's made it so far. I think he's a great Clark Kent/Superman and I can't wait for the next installment!

Anyway, I drove through little Metropolis, Illinois, which unfortunately doesn't live up to its name and probably wouldn't even make the map if it weren't for it's connection to a certain superhero. Driving around a bend, I caught sight of the familiar red and blue suit on a giant Superman statue in the middle of town! It's so funny stumbling upon sights like this because they're always in small towns and their often bright colors rarely fit in with the faded, historic, older buildings and features. The giant bright red and blue Superman statue was no exception, but I think that's what makes it so cool, that it doesn't fit in and that it's even more unique because of it. Plus, I just think it's cool anyway because it's Superman!

I, of course, went in the museum/gift shop as well and didn't walk away empty handed, having purchased a t-shirt, hat, and a Superman/Metropolis shot glass as well as a ticket to tour the Superman museum. The museum was even cooler than the statue, which isn't very suprising I suppose. There was memorabilia from all the different Superman interpretations over the years, from Clark Kent's suit, hat and glasses worn by George Reeves and some Daily Planet props used in the 1950s TV show, "Adventures of Superman" to the Kryptonite Crystals and Superman costume used in the Christopher Reeve "Superman" films to my all-time favorite, so excited, can't believe I was so lucky, "Lois and Clark" costumes worn by Teri and Dean, props touched by all of the great actors on the show, and other misc. photos and memorabilia that made me giddy! Luckily I was the only one in the small museum at the time so I didn't scare anyone with my grinning and giggling! Don't tell anyone, but I touched this desk lamp that Dean Cain used on the show, but don't worry, I'm not a creepy celebrity stalker, I swear. I'm a very nice, from a safe, legal distance celebrity stalker, I promise.

I probably wouldn't have gone to Metropolis any other time despite wanting to so I'm once again I'm so very glad I am taking this roadtrip to see all these once in a lifetime random things! I'm having a blast and today was definitely a major highlight for me!

P.S. I wrote this post while watching the longest All-Star game in MLB history, which is pretty cool, but what's more interesting is that after the game was over and I was still writing, I flipped the channels and guess what movie was playing on the free HBO in the hotel room: Hollywoodland, which just so happens to be a movie about George Reeves, the star of "Adventures of Superman!" I love it when coincidence or fate or whatever you want to call it happens!

Day Fifteen, Gateway to the West

What an amazing episode of “The Closer” as usual! Now that I’ve had my TV break, it’s back to catching up on blogging, so here’s yesterday’s update…

Today was my Dad’s last day, so we got up early to make sure we had plenty of time to see the Arch and go in it if we wanted to. I didn’t even know you could go in the Arch, it seems like such a crazy thing to even say, let alone do! Especially for the two of us who are somewhat claustrophobic and extremely afraid of heights. I didn’t make up my mind about it until we got there, but if I’d really thought about it, I would have known what I was going to do sooner – Hey, let’s go in a small elevator capsule to the middle of a giant 600 foot Arch and look out little windows at the city and people below, ummm, yeah, no thanks! If you look really closely, you can see the little black windows on the right hand side of the arch, but what you won't see is my face looking out of them!

So we didn’t end up going inside the Arch, surprise, surprise, but I don’t regret it. I just wanted to see it since it seems like one of those road trip attractions that everyone should see at least once. It’s very cool and a definite engineering feat that I am thoroughly impressed with, but other than that, part of me was standing there in the park, staring up at this big stainless steel Arch and thinking, what am I doing here? But we got some great artistic shots of the Arch which made it worthwhile, including one my dad took while lying down on the ground looking up at me and the Arch, very impressive Dad! And it was a simple thing to do to spend some quality time with my Dad on his last day with me. We wandered around the park looking at the Arch from different angles and chatting and headed across the street to get my souvenier shot glass to prove I’d been there, done that!

Then we headed to the historic riverfront district at Lacledes Landing for an early lunch. Unfortunately, what we didn’t realize was that Lacledes Landing is more of a nighttime hangout with mostly bars and restaurants that weren’t open yet at 11am. However, we were able to find a place called Hannegan’s where we ate a light lunch of chicken Caesar salads so that we could save room for a celebratory and farewell cake party! It was mmm, mmm, good!

While we were in St. Louis, I also took the opportunity to dip my toes in the Mighty (and Muddy) Mississippi River.

And check out this cool photo I took of the old courthouse? I thought it was neat so I thought I'd share it with the rest of you.

Then I dropped Dad off at the airport and was once again on my own. I headed to my hotel to check in early and use the free wireless Internet to look up what else I could do in St. Louis while I was in town. However, I guess my dad was right in telling me that I should slow things down this week and not push myself so much because one minute I was surfing the web and the next thing I know I’m waking up two hours later! I totally passed out, clearly exhausted, so I decided to listen to my body and my dad and take it easy the rest of the day. I watched Field of Dreams, which made me want to go back to Dyersville, Iowa, and I even made a home cooked meal of spaghetti in my hotel room that was equipped with a kitchenette! It was so nice to get off the road and take a real break for the first time in a long time. Hopefully, it reenergized me enough for tomorrow’s exciting trip to Metropolis, IL to visit a certain flying man in blue! Guess who?!?