Previously on "The Quest", $teve & his mother were on a mystical journey to St. Louis, full of peril & a variety of characters. When we last saw them, they were mildly intoxicated on a trolley car in Memphis, Tennessee anxious for the next day to begin...and the hangovers to cease. And now, we return...to "The Quest" already in progress...
Day 3 - Memphis to Tunica, Mississippi & back
The day started with a fabulous continental breakfast with waffles at the Springhill Suites Memphis Downtown (shameless plug). The start was a little later than anticipated...but that's what vacation is all about...enjoying the little things...like staying in bed when the sun comes up. We ate our breakfast and drove out of the parking lot, noticing a visitor's center for Memphis, so we stopped in & took some pictures of statues of Elvis & B.B. King. Enjoy...
Then we headed to the world famous Sun Studios, where legends such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and others got their start in the music business. Here are some pictures...
Interesting tid-bit about Elvis Presley - He first went into Sun Studios to make a record for his mama for her birthday (except it was about four months late, so it may have been a lie) and we listened to it during the tour. Nothing spectacular...but you could tell it was Elvis. The secretary for Sam Phillips, the owner, kept a copy and had him listen to it. Sam thought it was pretty standard stuff & gave it no regard. Over the next year or so, Elvis would stop by every couple of days & see if there was anything that he could help with as far as singing or playing the guitar or whatever...to the point where everybody liked him. Apparently he was charming. Then Sam decided heard him sing a few rock & roll songs and dancing around a bit...and had the epiphany to promote a record with him & put him out on the road...and the rest is history. It's just funny that he didn't walk into the room & everybody was emersed in his glow - "Elvis! He has come to deliver us from poverty. Go forth & spread the word...the KING HAS COME!!!" Just goes to show what can be done...with a little talent...and a great marketing scheme.
Another cool thing about the studio is that it's still a working studio. They offered tour guests to make a record for $30 or they could come in after hours and record for a reasonable rate of $85 an hour...which isn't bad considering that's where Elvis and others recorded some fifty years ago. Even our tour guide promoted his new album at the end of the tour. If I could recall his name, I'd share it...but I was too busy checking out a picture of the Million Dollar Quartet (which may have been aptly named in the fifties...but today, they'd be the Billion Buck Bunch). For those who don't know, that's Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis, & Johnny Cash...
Next stop was the Stax Museum in the heart of Soulsville USA. Stax took primarily local grown talent including Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Al Green, Booker T & the MGs, the Staple Singers, Rufus Thomas and his daughter Carla, the Bar-Kays, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and many others. One of my favorite stories was of...oh man, I think his name was Don Porter who was working across the street at a grocery store, then went in one day, decided to help out around the record studio, and eventually worked his way up to being Isaac Hayes tour manager & a bit of a singer himself. I thought it was awesome. Here's a picture of the supermarket today. WU TANG!!!
No cameras (even cell phones) were allowed...so I don't have pictures of Isaac Hayes pimped out rides & flamboyant outfits of the 60's & 70's...but check out his link. There's plenty there. Think of Stax as the Sun Studios...for the ghetto. Soul, funk, R&B, Rock & Roll, what more could a man ask for? How about a stop over at Graceland...IN COLOR!!!
Here's a glimpse into the man's living quarters...enjoy...
Did you guys catch the panda in the big picture? That's why I took a closer one. I'm all about the Pandas. Let it be known.
Comparing cell phones with the King - Sanyo Katana vs. the King's SuitcaseI'm thinking this was the movie that inspired Jean Claude Van Damme's "Double Impact"
I have a theory...and it's that Elvis was a hillbilly. Observe my findings...
Snowmobiles, golf carts, motorcycles, sleds, the man lived in Tennessee! Why does he need all of these? To fill up the front yard...
Gun Collection...including his favorite, the .38 with the turquoise grip...didn't find a truck for a rack...but I have my suspicions...
The fact that he HAS a Smokehouse should be enough...but this was located within the Smokehouse...
I rest my case. So Elvis liked to ride around on his golf cart with a few of his favorite guns, visit the Smokehouse, do what one does in a Smokehouse, & fire off a few rounds. That's good ol' country fun right thurr.Also, I believe that he & Liberace had a little competition going to see who could be the most flamboyant...and Liberace won by default...but it was a pretty good race.
Another funny fact about Elvis - He won three Grammys...and all were for Gospel songs. Frankly, I didn't even know that he made Gospel songs. Also, it means that he shares the distinction of three-time Grammy winner with the likes of Diddy, Shawn Colvin, Wyclef Jean, John Legend, Beck, Chris Rock, & Fergie. That's right, Fergie & Elvis have the same number of Grammys.
The Garage - The man knew how to ride in style...
You know I had to try the Peanut Butter & Banana Creme Reese's...and it was delicious.
It's a little known fact that Elvis was one of the pioneers behind the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers...or as he called them, the Leather Legion - Buddy, Chief Getiton, Breeze, Golden Feather, & Dragon Child.
...and their archnemises, the Legion of Gloom - Frisco, Phoenix, Icehawk, Stinky, & Blue Boy.
He also had two jets, the Lisa Marie & the other one...it doesn't matter. Why does even Elvis need two jets???
After Graceland, we took a wrong turn (who knew that I-55 North would actually take you directly West & I-240 West would take you directly North, it's a vortex or something) and we ended up stuck in traffic for about 45 minutes due to a horrific accident on the freeway...but while sitting in the car, we decided to head south a few miles to a state that none of us had visited before...Mississippi.
Remember yesterday when I was talking about watching what I say in public places because of visiting several firm notches in the Bible Belt? Well, along the way we say billboards about abortion & other religiously themed advertisements...including a few green signs that simply said, "JESUS!" with nothing else on it...even in small print. However, these two were by far my favorite...and they were only about two miles apart...and so radical...
Notice: There's a website on the billboard - http://www.isheinyou.com/After about an hour drive, we ended up in Tunica, MS and from a selection of casinos in the city limits, we thought Bally's sounded awesome. Now, I've frequented Vegas a few times...and this was the kind of Bally's that I was expecting...futuristic, stylish, & chic...
These are a few pictures of the Bally's in Tunica, MS...
The Barn Restaurant though, they knew how to cook up a chicken fried steak...and the service was pretty good too. Sure, I lost $20 on the Roulette wheel in three spins...but I gambled in a new state. Yay for me. Anyway, that's the Mississippi that I experienced...so we drove back to spend the night at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Memphis where we sent out postcards, slept off the busy day, oh...and I caught this sunset picture over an irrigation ditch. Awesome!!!
Day 4 - Five State Road Trip Back to St. Louis
After breakfast at the hotel, we headed back to St. Louis...but we were going to take a slightly longer trip back. Originally, we were thinking over to Nashville...but gladly decided against it. We're not big country fans anyway. Instead, we drove back through Ar-Kansas where we saw several exit signs for destinations like Cooter, Big Oak Tree Road, & Marked Tree Road. I can imagine getting directions. "Yes'r, you take Big Oak Tree Road fo' bouta mile, thens you turn left at Yellow Dog Trail, and you'll end up at White Picket Fence Plaza. That's the center of Cooter...and I tell ya what, it's not a bad place to be."
Unfortuantely, I don't have a lot of pictures of this part of the trip yet...because my camera died about an hour into the journey...and I don't have a copy of the pictures off my mom's camera that I used...but I'll load them shortly...and you can enjoy the splendor of Southern Illinois, Kentucky, and central Illinois. We had lunch at the Olive Garden in Paducah, Kentucky. Stuffed Chicken Marsala, of course. I asked if they would Kentucky Fry it with eleven herbs & spices...and they declined. Oh well, it was still delicious. We drove past the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in West Frankfort, IL. It's a library. Were it his birth house or the governor's mansion or something, perhaps it was worth a visit. I've seen books though. Lots of them...a large portion about Lincoln in fact...but we were trying to make it through East St. Louis before nightfall. Why? The night before, there were ELEVEN SEPARATE SHOOTINGS in St. Louis County. I'm not even sure if that included the East side in Illinois which was voted worse than Detroit.
Once we arrived in St. Louis, we were greeted by the setting sun on construction-filled freeways to get to our final destination...The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis. We made it after a total of about ten hours in the car (with stops included) but had been in six states in the last 24 hours (MS, TN, AR, IL, KY, & MO). The hotel was fantastic...and my mom was pretty convinced that the lovely blonde lady with magical blue eyes who checked us in was hitting on me...but then I explained to her that it's a standard for them to escourt us to the elevators. Oh well, I'd follow her around for a while. The view wasn't bad. Oh...and the view from the room wasn't bad either. Here are some pictures of the sunset from our balcony...
We stretched out & relaxed a little bit...watching the USA men's basketball team destroy the Brazilian national team. I went downstairs to find out about a business center and pool area. In the lobby area, I noticed that a table of four was staring at me as I walked off the elevator. First thought - "Did I remember pants this time? Check. Is my fly closed? Check. Atrocious odor? Nope, Old Spice fresh." Then one of the ladies of the table leaned over and asked me, "Do you play for the Sixers?"
What? Oh, because I'm extremely tall and I was wearing an Eagles T-shirt. That makes sense now. As you know, it's dangerous to give me ammunition such as this. "Actually no, I'm not on the Sixers. Just a big fan of the Eagles...who happens to be really tall. Are you ladies & gentlemen enjoying the hotel?" Yeah, I didn't run with it this time. When at the hotel, I'm supposed to set a good example...and I did. No Ron Jeremy autographs. No witty remarks about playing for the Utah Stormin' Mormons, a semi-pro team that I made up on the fly. No thick Russian accent & claiming to be Vladimir Dunkabalovic, new to USA. Nothing of that sort. I was highly respectful & showed interest in their stay, like a true ambassador. Then I returned to my room & talked about basketball...basically to no one...because my mom has no idea what I'm talking about...but she was reading her smutty romance novel, so it's all good.
That night, I had slept in a Ritz-Carlton made bed for the first time in over three months. By the way, it's always a big thing for me to stay at a Ritz-Carlton hotel...even though I've been to about twenty-five of them over the past seven years or so, they're just magnificent. You should definitely try them if you get the chance. Anyway, lying there, I started to think about the last time that I had slept in a Ritz-Carlton bed...in Lake Las Vegas...and who much fun I had that trip...and especially the last night. Incredible!!! I slept like a log...a very firm log. TMI? I don't care. It's my blog.
Anyway, that concludes my entry for today. Join us next time for the final two days of my adventure.
To be concluded...
2 comments:
The other jet is named the Houndog II. Just in case you were wondering how much of an Elvis / Eagles fan I really am.
THAT'S WHAT IT WAS!!! Thank you Bone Junior. I remembered it was for his manager mostly or something from the tour...but thank you for the correct info.
I would never doubt your fanaticism for Elvis or the Eagles. I didn't find your name on the walls of Graceland, by the way. There were a LOT though.
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