Memphis -- The Second Day

It's Tuesday.

We're here! We droved from Texarkana to Memphis. We arrived at the Graceland RV park at 2 p.m. We're celebrating Elvis' life on the 30th anniversary of his death.

To refresh your memory, Elvis died 30 years ago. He was first buried in a mausoleum in a cemetery up town. Then after police foiled a plot to steal his body, his remains was moved to the Graceland Estate. He now rests in the Meditation Garden alongside his mother, father, and grandmother or aunt.

The temperature was 100-plus. We set up the Casita in the sun. It took three hours for the air conditioner to cool it down. Haha!

The traffic on Elvis Presley Boulevard was horrendous! The largest crowd we have ever seen was milling around the Graceland Plaza which is across the street from Graceland. The parking lot of the Heartbreak Hotel was full. The parking lot behind the Graceland Plaza had more cars in it than I have ever seen. We parked our 2000 Honda Odyssey at site 32 behind the Heartbreak Hotel. We only have to walk across a parking lot into the rear entrance to Granceland Plaza.

The Flat Elvis -- a picture of Elvis which went around the world -- ceremony will be tomorrow. To see Flat Elvis' website CLICK HERE. The Flat Elvis even went to Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan! Now it has come to Graceland for a ceremony.

We have been listening to Sirius radio's channel 13, the Elvis Channel. It is keeping us up to date on what is happening.

Sandi and I knew it would be hot. We found some funny neckerchiefs that you first soak in water to "inflate". Then you put them around your neck for cooling. They work great.

Then disaster struck. I started filling the galley sink with water. While it was filling, I started re-arranging a cabinet. Suddenly, I looked around and and saw water pouring off the sink! I realized the sink had run over, spilling water all over the carpet. We had to roll up the plastic runner. Tomorrow we will purchase a fan to hopefully help dry it out.

This spill will probably take weeks to recover. I just hope this does not result in a mildew or mold problem! The Casita is built like two bath tubs join together. There is no "drain" for the water to run out. I estamate about a gallon of water went on the carpet. Drat!

So after setting up the Casita and taking another cold shower, we dressed up and went up to the the Chinese buffet restaurant at the corner of Elvis Presley Boulevard and Lonely Street. Haha! They have a nice cheap buffet.

After dinner we walked over to the plaza. A lot of changes are in the works for the Elvis Presley Enterprises that runs Graceland. It's going to be a $250 million project. They are going to build a new hotel. They have already taken over and improved the little shops around the Graceland Plaza Annex. Around the Graceland facilities the shops, restaurants, and museums are already showing signs of big things to happening.

The "Elvises" were everywhere -- on the sidewalks, in the Plaza, playing "air guitar", riding motorcycles, buying souvenirs, eating snow cones, and eating at the restaurants. Every year they put up a tent for the Elvis impersonators to perform. The heat did not stop the music nor did the heat slow down the gyrations of the "Elvises" on the tent's stage.

This year, for the first time Graceland opened it's grounds for fans to come in and watch Elvis videos on a giant screen.

We were sorry to see that Lansky, Elvis' clothier, no longer is selling shirts at the plaza. That's a sad sign. However, we will be going up town to the Peabody Hotel where Mr. Lansky's clothing store is. Maybe we will be able to see Mr. Lanksky's store before we leave.

I will start posting pictures tomorrow. Also tomorrow is the Candlelight Vigil. They expect 100,000 Elvis fans to participate.

Memphis: The first day

The first day has been traveling. We left Plano at 4:30 p.m. It was hot -- possibly 101 degrees. The refrigerator was cold, and it had been loaded up on Saturday. The solar panel was doing a nice job. The Casita's battery was fully charged.

We normally dump the holding tank before we drive out of the storage; but this time, someone was blocking the way. We decided to drive on. We drove out of Dallas on I-30. We stopped two times. One time for a bio break and one time to refuel. I calculated we got 12.3 m.p.g. on this leg of the trip. We mostly drove 55 m.p.h. to 60 m.p.h.

We pulled into the Texarkana KOA at 8:15 p.m. We were set up and ready for bed by 10 p.m.

Tomorrow we will try to leave by 8 a.m. We hope to drove up I-30 to Little Rock, AR. Then we jump I-40 into Memphis. We should arrive at the Graceland RV camp by 2 p.m.

I don't like to drive full speed in the hot weather. So tomorrow morning -- before the temperature rises -- we hope to put the hammer down on the 2000 Honda Odyssey.

Tomorrow Graceland!

Our new Casita

The Casita Adventures begins. Sandi and I drove to Rice, TX, and picked it up.

The staff at Casita seemed to share our excitement. It was a very nice day. The new RV which we have named Casilla (nicknamed Cassie)towed just fine behind our 2000 Honda Odyssey.


The Casita staff was very helpful. Jonathan showed me that I was using my existing trailer controller incorrectly. Thank you, Jonathan! They installed a weight distribution hitch and Jonathan showed me how to "strap it on". There have been no defects found. The RV pulls like a dream. It is very stable at 60-65 m.p.h.


We plan to take it out this week for a spin. We are planning trips to Shreveport, La; San Antonio, TX; Memphis, TN; Eureka Springs AR; and Yellowstone NP, WY.

I spent two days "moving in" after we brought it "home". It's a small RV and simply won't hold everything we want to carry. Actually, we think this is a good thing. We will travel only with the necessities.

Look for more posts as our adventures continue.