1000 Miles to Graceland

Graceland.  I've heard little tidbits of information about this famous place throughout my life.  From seeing it on TV to talking locals, I got a good mix of reviews.  Regardless if they were positive reviews or negative ones, I believed I owed it to myself to take a trip over to Graceland to see what it was all about.  After all, not only is Graceland one of the most visited houses next to the White House, it is also a part of American pop culture.  I would argue that there is not one American alive that has never heard about, listened to, or seen the King of Rock and Roll, Mr. Elvis Presley.

I treated my mother to all expense paid vacation and took her along with me on this business/pleasure trip.  Elvis is her generation: she remembers seeing him on TV as teenager, listening to him through her twenties and thirties, and although she admits that she wasn't a crazed fan, she did admit that she liked him.  She also tried to play it cool the entire week like it was no big deal.  Yeah, you keep thinking I fell for that mom.  I know you better than you think!

The week started with a few random comments from my mother about Elvis: "I remember seeing him on TV.  He had those moves..."  Were you a big fan?  "No, I was too busy raising kids," she replied.  Uh huh, I thought to myself.

The week progressed.  We decided that I would work my usual Monday through Friday and we would see Graceland on Saturday.  Every day I came back from the room to more Elvis talk.  "The man downstairs (at the hotel) said Elvis bought that place in the early 50s.  I wonder how much he bought it for?"  "The man downstairs?  Who are you talking to while I'm gone?" I asked.  "Oh no one.  Just some guy who is also staying at the hotel.  You should try to be more social," she said.  "He bought it for $100,000.  It was a little over 10,000 square feet when he purchased it, and sits on almost 14 acres" I said (I knew this because I did a little research that day).  "That's not a mansion today, but it sure was back then.  That was a huge house" she commented.

Throughout the week little questions would pop up out of nowhere.  While watching the news one evening, I hear more Elvis talk: "You know Elvis was a very generous man.  He would buy people things all the time.  He was generous to a fault."  "That's interesting mom," I said.

One morning I'm doing my hair in the mirror and I hear, "I heard Graceland is decorated very tacky.  Another man downstairs said they let the house run down a little bit.  What a shame..."  My week continued to be filled with Elvis fun facts and questions:

"I wonder if all those houses around Graceland were there when Elvis bought it?"

"Do you think the area was that built up when he was living there?"

"How much of the estate does Lisa Marie (his daughter) own?"

"How many visitors do you think go to Graceland every year?"

"Do you think he bought his Cadillacs from the dealership down the street?"

I imagine this is similar to telling your kids that they are going to Disneyland for the first time and watching the excitement build up all week.  Yeah mom, I can clearly see that you are not excited at all.  lol

Saturday was upon us.  My mother was up, dressed, and packed, before I even took a shower.  "I'll meet you downstairs when you're done," she said and left the room.  It didn't dawn on me then, but damn mom...

I finally loaded up the car and we headed out.  More Elvis facts and questions filled the car's cabin the entire twenty minute drive there.  When we arrived I surprised my mother with a VIP tour.  She bitched at me about spending extra money for about a half a second until she realized this meant we see more of Graceland than everyone else.  We posed for a quick picture and boarded a special VIP bus that took us up through the gates to a different area of the estate.  Let the tour begin!

We were given an audio headset that gave us information as we toured the rooms, and we were then escorted to the front door where the interior tour began.  The first room we saw was Elvis's living room.  Prior to entering the house, I had read from several places that his house was decorated very "tacky."  I thought it was weird that the few places I read all used the same descriptions and keywords.  It is almost as if someone originally wrote it somewhere and the other writers agreed with the original writer and kept the ball rolling.  I am going to put a stop to it right now.  Graceland is not tacky.  I was actually pleasantly surprised how well it is decorated.  One does have to keep in mind that the King died in the 70s, so of course the house has not been updated to modern styles or fixtures.  I quickly noticed Elvis's attention to detail everywhere.  It was clear from the first moment I saw the house that this was not quickly thrown together.  A lot of time and money was spent everywhere you look.

Imagine this house in the 70s.  Cheap and tacky does not enter even the slightest thought.  The living room and little music room pictured above were elegantly furnished.  I was definitely impressed with the first room I saw.

A guest bedroom was up next.  Again, one can easily see a lot of time and money was spent furnishing this room.  From the furniture, to the drapes, to the chandelier -- this room was very well put together and I don't believe it would be that out of place by today's standards at all:

The tour proceeded through the foyer and we were told about the upstairs which is roped off.  As I understand it, the King's bedroom has been untouched since the day of his passing.  He died in a bathroom located almost directly above the foyer, and it remains roped off to this day so his exact place of his death does not get exploited.  Notice the drapes: blue was his favorite color.

The dining room is located to left side of these stairs, with the living room on the right.  The dining room is well furnished with a marble floor sectioned out for the seating area.  The blue drapes continue here, styled the same way they are upstairs.

I walked into the kitchen next.  My mother commented on how large it was for the day.  Notice the carpet floors.  Off to the right of the picture there is also a small security camera station with small black and white video screens surveying the grounds.  I hear at times there were unbelievable amounts of women screaming at the gates, even writing their phone numbers in lipstick everywhere they could.  Oh, the problems of being the King...

The TV room was up next.  It's located downstairs in the basement.  There are three TVs mounted in the wall because Elvis used to like watching multiple shows at once.  Consider it the 70s version of picture in picture TV.  I love the mirrors all over the place as well as the lively colors.  Off to the right (outside of the picture) is a small bar.

Next to the TV room was Elvis's billiards room.  This room was very interesting.  It was the first time I have ever seen anything decorated like this.  Everything was fabric.  It was all neatly creased and fanned out from the center of the room.  Although the fabric used was dark, it suited the pool table.  Out of all the rooms, I was probably most fascinated by this one.

I went back upstairs and checked out the Jungle Room next!  This room was a little different.  It had green carpet everywhere, including on the walls.  The furniture looked all hand carved and Elvis installed a waterfall against the back wall.

I toured more outside the main house after the jungle room.  We went through the car port, and then I saw Elvis's shooting range!  From what I understand, he loved his guns and would even conceal carry everywhere, including carrying when he met the President!  In the small glass case are some of Elvis's spent casings that were found on the floor.

We walked the grounds some more, ending up in Elvis's racquetball court next.  The court itself was converted to display hundreds of his gold and platinum records.  I learned that globally, Elvis has sold over one billion records!  I couldn't believe the amount of awards I saw:

The awards were never-ending!  They stretched from the floor to ceiling, over fifteen feet high.  They also laced walls everywhere.  You have to realize that I'm not a big Elvis fan.  I mean I knew my man sold some records, but holy shit!  He makes current platinum artists with a few CDs out look like they haven't even graduated band camp.  I was, and still am, speechless.

There were also several cases with some of Elvis's favorite stage and movie outfits:

Soon after the racquetball court, we walked the grounds some more to visit Elvis's grave.  He and his immediate family are buried there.  I felt sad viewing his grave...

We spent the rest of the afternoon touring a little more of Graceland, and then we headed back to the other various museums on the grounds including his car collection and toured his private jets.  Graceland was definitely a pleasant surprise.  At first glance I thought I would have been shuffled through a couple rooms and directed to a gift shop, but it turned out to be so much more.  Seeing Elvis's house gave me a personal glimpse into the King.  I saw how he took care of his family and friends, including building them houses on his estate, how he gave away money to various charities, and how he shared his love of music.  Maybe I took away different things than most?  I truly believe that I did because I didn't see tacky, gaudy, outdated, or anything similar.  I saw a man who lived the American dream.  He came from a house slightly bigger than my shed and blew away the world with his talents.  He lived a rich, but not over-the-top modern day rock star life.  He had fine taste and he had his house decorated with all his favorite things, including his favorite color blue wherever he could.

I walked back to my car inspired.  I realize in life everyone can't be anything they want to be just like we all aren't born equal.  We are all born with our own unique talents.  If Elvis stayed a truck driver, I'm sure he wouldn't have been the best truck driver in the world.  Find your talent, develop it, and let it take you as far as it can.  Who knows, someday you might have your own Graceland.

I had an incredible time visiting, and I know my mother did too (even if she wouldn't openly admit it)!  If you find yourself anywhere near Memphis in your travels, take a day and go visit.  You don't have to be an Elvis fan to appreciate Graceland.  I promise you that you won't be disappointed.

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