One for the money, Two for the show, Three to get ready…

Well, we did the triple museum run today and it was striking. We started our day at Graceland.
Getting there of course was a challenge. Despite the fact that I had studied the maps (yes plural, we have 3 that we’re working off. Three that are not exactly the same - they over lap though. By this I don’t mean that the roads are different on them, though they might as well be, but that each one has the major major roads, but different other roads.) I had the plan. I had the route.
We hit no traffic really and it still took an hour to get from pt A to pt B, ( a trip yahoo maps said should be about 25 minutes). Why? Because nth st South does not connect to nth street north. Lots of things could come between them - buildings or railroad - big things yes, but also multiple little streets or what not as well. Then they don’t necessarily line up with each other on the opposite side of the building, railroad, other street or whatever that came in between. Then we have the name changes and that I’m getting old so I can’t read the map with my glasses on and I can’t read the street signs without them. Argh.

But we finally made it Graceland. What a place. How can you not love Elvis? He was such a nice, polite southern boy, and handsome, and could sing, and had such brilliant 1970’s taste. Have any of y’all seen Graceland? The house (“mansion”) has some very … memorable features: yellow leather, green shag carpet on the stairway - ALL of the stair way: walls, ceiling… Monkeys were a theme too, but I don’t remember people ever talking about that. Nor did I realize just how many awards he’d won - how many gold records. It was fun to see the house, the grounds. His burial site is now at Graceland too, though we did go by the original cemetery.

Then there was the cars and bikes! I think M. indulged me on that one. But I was pretty thrilled to see his Honda, pink Caddy… and then we saw the movie costumes and the scripts, and the planes! So cool. Though it did have a Disney-esque quality.

In line for the Mansion we were behind people from Darien. But struck up a conversation with people behind us who were from the Carolina’s and driving to the west coast. (Yes, I was talking to strangers. It had to happen eventually on this trip.)

So..,. We spent the morning at Graceland. A Horatio Alger story if ever there was one in story, iconic nature of Elvis and the phenomenon (and consumerism) that IS Graceland. It was in a way, rather charming and as a pop culture site pretty awesome.

We then crossed town to the American Civil Rights Museum. Wow. As anticipated, it was heartbreaking, and as much as Graceland was the epitome of fun pop culture, the Civil Rights Museum was the epitome of American History.

I’ve been really impressed by the museums here. They are quite well done, moving, informative, but not dull. This museum was no different.

It provide many little scenes that brought you into the situation: a bus you could walk on like Rosa Parks, a jail cell, with the transcript of the conversation between the jailed MLK and his wife, and of course, the hotel room, as it was when he was shot, along with a sign that tells you the blood was cleaned up and a wreath now in its place. It was particular good, and hard to go through this museum after our trip. I think having seen Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma, Jackson … and then to stand in the museum and read the quotes, see the pictures of what happened on the spots we stood…

It was very powerful. Perhaps more so in contrast to Graceland.

Feeling rather down, we took the ride and found Sun Studio. It’s so small.

Then tackling traffic yet again, we headed toward the Pink Palace. A museum now that was originally the mansion of the founder of Piggly Wiggly. Mr. Piggly (I forgot his name) originally built the mansion to live in, then had money troubles and ended up never living in the house, but having it donated to the city for a museum.

The mansion part was closed for maintenance, but the regular part of the museum was open (and air conditioned.) It was small but charming. Skeletons and taxidermied animals. Finally got to see my armadillo - still not live. A wooden carved circus - full complete, you name it, it had it! Old medical stuff and a mock up of an old cabin and a Piggly Wiggly. But their special exhibits were perhaps most memorable.

As a third point of view after Graceland (poor boy makes it) and the civil rights museum (disenfranchised people get horror), there was a brief bit about the cotton plantation owner, talking about how everything was nicely controlled until it all went to hell in the 50’s. Yeah. Okay. It felt a lot like when in New Orleans, a tour guide told us it was such a shame Mardi Gras had to let in Blacks, Jews and Catholics, it just wasn’t the same.

And across from this was a display of cloth (Kente) from Ghana and African rituals related to the patterns. It gorgeous - very quilt like too.

And the third special display: mechanical dinosaurs that roared and shook there heads a la Jurassic Park.

It was surreal.

With it late, we headed to BBQ. Central BBQ that is talked about here, is not as good as Corky’s. So… good people that we are… since we’ll be heading out early tomorrow, and driving thru what looks like nowhere - across Mississippi (again), we went to the better restaurant, and got take out for lunch tomorrow.

We have priorities.