Elvis Presley ~ 80 years old today January 8, 2015

T C B !!

One of the biggest music icons.

What an eccentric life he lead.  From everything I've learned though, he

really was a giving person.

-I did it my way!

Graceland

We travelled 14 hours straight to get to Memphis for a baseball game.

Because we sacrificed our time on the road it gave us the opportunity to visit Graceland.

By today's standards Elvis' home wouldn't measure up for a star of his magnitude, but 50+ 

years ago this was the pad everyone wanted to be at!

-In the Ghetto

A piano always grabs my attention but these rooms were filled with so much more.

I can see some of these styles sneaking back to today's culture.

-Suspicious Minds

Just a few awards to gaze at.

Do you ever wonder what award receivers do with their awards?

Build a space specifically for them?

-Only Fools Rush In

Elvis' pink cadillac out does any Mary Kay pink cadillac!

Does anyone know who Mary Kay is any longer?

-A Little Less Conversation

The Lisa Marie plane is now on the auction block.

Are you interested in putting in a bid?

-Blue Suede Shoes

Viva Las Vegas

The Eagle has landed!

-Amazing Grace

So what is your favorite Elvis song?

University of Memphis School of Law

University of Memphis

Cecil C. Humphrey's School of Law

On a brief walk around Memphis I came across this impressive door.  For whatever reasons I like doors that catch one's attention.  I don't think I'm alone in this curiousness.  This door opens into the University of Memphis' School of Law to help prepare for yet another lawyer.  We need a few good lawyers so I pray that someone opens these doors into a bright future to want to change the world and make it a better place for all.

Beale Street, Memphis, TN

I was walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale

Home of the Blues...

Birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll

***

It's been a musical kind of year in my travels.

To get to Memphis we had to pass through Nashville home of County Music.

Then to Memphis to see the ghost of Elvis and W.C. Handley with B.B. King on the side.

Ending in New Orleans Jazz Fest for some music mania.

Beale St. in the day light.

 Beale St. at night

Of course with any city you visit on a vacation leaves you feeling like you missed something. It was the same with Memphis.  The highlights were seeing Graceland, Beale St, good BBQ, baseball and the ole Mississippi.  BUT.   There's so much I feel I missed.  The victorian homes, a boat ride on the Mississippi, a blues band, the pyramid, a trolley ride etc...  Missing the opportunity to see or do things just gives you the excuse to return again.  

So See ya real soon Memphis and until then keep the blues and rock 'n' roll and keep the Mississippi flowing!

Memphis, TN Cobblestone Landing

Cobblestone Landing along the Mississippi River in Memphis, TN.

Up and down the Mississippi lies history at every bend.

This is one of the last cobblestone landings in the United States.

  It's also home to the Mississippi Queen River boat.  

We all have those so called bucket lists and in my bucket lies a dream to take a cruise

on the Mississippi in a paddle boat or steam boat.  I need to finalize or think deeper of weather to take an upper or lower Mississippi cruise or go all out and start in St. Louis and end in New Orleans.  

Kress Building, Memphis TN

The Kress Building in Memphis, TN is a colorful addition to the whole block.

It once was one one several Five and Dime stores. 

It has been refurbished and is now part of the Marriott Spring Hill Suites Hotel.

We were lucky enough to get a room in this part of the building.  The inside was just another hotel but the outside held its own against an otherwise concrete jungle.

The Kress Building

(http://www.memphisheritage.org/mhihost/News-NewLifeOldBldgs.html)
Closed since 1994, this building is easily recognizable by its colorful and decorative terra-cotta facade.  Kress opened the first in what was to become a nationwide chain of five-and-dime stores in Memphis in 1896 and moved to the Main Street location in 1927.   Conscious of the historical significance of the building, the new owners plan to restore the structure in accordance within historical guidelines as they adapt it for reuse as a suite hotel, Spring Hill Suites by Marriott.  

A close up of some of the ornament features of the building.