Yesterday was a chores day. I cleaned the rig while Jim took the toad (our Honda) to a mechanic for an oil change/transmission flush. We also did laundry, filled the rig with gasoline and propane, gassed up the Honda, and went grocery shopping.
It’s been a little pricey staying at the Graceland RV park on Elvis Presley Blvd. But it has full hook ups (water/electric/sewer), a big dog walking area, propane and a laundry on site, and the staff is very helpful. But other than a decent looking Walgreens and a Rite Aid (why are those two stores always right next to each other?) and the Graceland complex, everything else on Presley Blvd. is scruffy. I’d seen a Krogers sign nearby, so we took off for it when we went to get groceries. It was empty. A nearby “Graceland Inn” sign is all broken and defaced, and the spot where the Inn must have been is just trash behind a chain link fence. The rest of Presley Blvd. is fast food joints, gas stations, and check cashing places.
When we registered at the RV park, we got to talking with the woman who helped us. She mentioned she’d recently lost two sons just four months apart. Thinking they’d been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, I asked her what happened. One died of a disease, the other was walking down a Memphis street and shot six times. When we were near Beale Street, a guy who hit us up for a donation said Memphis is the second most dangerous city in the country. (Mom: Remember that guy in Manhattan who started pointing out all the sights and then asked us to pay him? This “tourist guide” was like that except his spiel was much shorter).
We had a good time in Memphis. I liked Graceland, Beale Street, and the people we met (including the guy who wanted a donation; he was funny, actually). But I was glad another amenity offered by our RV park was 24-hour security.
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| Today we drove from Memphis to southern Arkansas; we crossed the Mississippi River on the new Mississippi Bridge just south of Greenville, Mississippi. The bridge opened in August 2010, took nine years to complete, and is the longest cable-stayed bridge across the Mississippi River and the third longest cable-stayed bridge in the US. The previous bridge was about a half mile upstream -- apparently not an ideal location, as it was hit by more barges than any other bridge on the Mississippi and a plane once crashed into it. |
Hello Bev and Jim
ReplyDeleteIt was so wise of you to post your crusade to clean up Elvis Presley Boulevard on your Blog. Wise, because each New Years Eve for the last twenty or so you years, we or our friends, Larry and Michelle, who you met while you were here, (depending on where we were celebrating) have set a place at the table for Elvis. He often shows up. If and when he does this year, we will have a printed copy of this addition of your blog right beside his plate. I think you can expect to see some pretty quick action on clean-up campaign right after New Years. In Elvis’ defense, the shabbiness of his boulevard may have escaped him because of his very busy schedule, as evidenced by his many sightings. The last one I noticed was that someone saw him and JFK having a hamburger at a McDonalds in upstate New York. I want you to know that we are not like some of those crazy people who see Elvis just about everywhere. Elvis really does join us on New Years and I can prove it. Two years ago, we did New Year’s Eve at Shaw’s Restaurant. Elvis’ place setting was between Sandy and Michelle, when we poured the Champaign, Elvis, of course, got his share. When we left at the end of the night, (and I know this will send chills up your back) his Champaign glass was empty. I guess that pretty much closes the book on whether or not he still lives!
Also I loved the picture of the bridge, can never have too many bridge pictures.
Carl, you are a man of action. We'll be going back to Memphis to see EPB in it's former glory.
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