Ventured out early today to try and beat the Elvis Fanatics at Gracelands...we got there about 0830 and got a good park and by the time we got inside and sorted we were on the shuttle to run us across the road the Gracelands 40 min later..Lucky we went when we did because it just got busier and busier..Its all run really well, I guess they have been doing it for long enough now to have it all down pat.. I love the house, the long white lounge, white carpet, His Mum & Dads room done it white and purple..my favorite is the pool room with everything matching even the ceiling, you will have to see the photo to understand. Being the 35th Anniversary, the gravesites were covered with memorials from fan Clubs all over the world. Peter was lucky enough to meet the Australian Fan Club President of course Jo & I were totally envious !!   The shops are amazing, the merchandise is top quality and really nice so it easy to spend money there...There are no cheesy cheap T Shirts, I think a lot of tourist places could take a leaf out of Gracelands book and offload their tourist crap and get quality instead..Totally enjoyed the place..and really funny to see the die hard fans and Elvis impersonators..
 
They had a free bus from Gracelands to Sun Studios so we jumped on that and did the Sam Phillips tour which is really good, amazing to see the quality of musicians who started out there . It is still a working Studio, they have tours during the days and people come and do recordings at night..You would be amazed at the names of musicians who have recorded there..Peter & I had our picture taken with the famous Mic that all the old stars used.. Most enjoyable...more T shirts for the collection. There were 2 Elvis impersonators (out of uniform) on our tour and when the girl replayed Elvis's first recording (which was rejected) well he started to cry, his mum had to give him a tissue..he was about 40 yrs old..I had a small chuckle..a deep moment for him obviously. lol.  When the free bus came back we discovered that it went into town as well..so off we went to Beale Street. Of course there wasnt too many of the Music places playing but all were open for lunch..the Street was blocked off and there were a couple of Negro kids doing back flips down the middle of the street for a tip..they were really good and so full of confidence they had everyone enthralled..no doubt their Tip tins filled quickly. We had some good Po boys for lunch at some bar and watched the Olympic Team Floor gymnastics and everyone in the place decided it shouldnt have been an Olympic event !
The Lorrainne Motel where Martin Luther King was assassinated and is now a Human Rights museum was not far from Beale Street, so we walked down there, then caught the Tram back and made it time to catch the free bus back to Graceland..it worked out really well time wise and were were back in the car and home again by about 1530.

We spent the rest of the time going over the maps and planning all our stops..Theres a lot of work involved in touristing...We have gained a few days so now we have to find extra places to visit which involves looking up our books and seeing whats interesting...At least here on the Eastern side of the country theres no big deserts..and zero Mexican influence, almost like being in a different country.