Soul Searching Traveler

Jeff and I slipped away to Memphis for a few days at the beginning of September (2023) to celebrate my 46th birthday. The weather was beautiful, the food was delicious, and that music, y’all – it moved right down to our souls. I wrote the posts by the day, so you can read the First Day itinerary here and our Second Day here.

Waking up on the last day of any trip always feels a little sad. We went down to the lobby of The Peabody to get a good coffee, which was included in our stay and available via self-service in Peabody Deli and Desserts. I shopped in the little boutiques positioned around the perimeter of the lobby. I loved Lansky’s 126 for her. They had a great selection of dresses, including some of my favorite designers like Jude Connally. I didn’t shop in the Lansky’s men’s store, but I heard that once upon a time, Elvis did! I always try to find local shops and restaurants when I travel, so it was cool to see Lansky’s in The Peabody.

The craziest thing happened while we were getting ready to check out of the hotel – the power went out! It wasn’t just the hotel either; the entire downtown area of Memphis lost power. It’s always good to know how a business will operate under duress, and the Peabody employees were cool as a cucumber. They switched over to a generator power fairly quickly. This meant only emergency lights were working, so no computers were working or anything like that. All the businesses inside closed, and as we checked out, we weren’t able to get a receipt. However, we were able to get out of the parking garage and get about our business.

I knew we wouldn’t have a lot of time in Memphis on our last day, so I only booked one event: Graceland!! I grew up listening to Elvis because my brother was a huge fan, and I couldn’t wait to see the mansion with all of the shag carpet and velvet drapery. It was going to be a cheesy tourist trap, and I was looking forward to every minute of it.

We booked the Elvis Experience package at $79.75 per person. The tour began with a movie before being given a set of headphones and a tablet and boarding a bus to drive from the visitor center over to the homestead. We had to wait a little while to get into the house because another group had arrived just before us, and the entryway seemed a little cramped as the tourguides were moving about 40 people through the foyer at the same time. I tried to listen to John Stamos on the headphones as we went through each room, but the walk moved a little faster than the audio tour.

Everyone has preferences, and walking through this house, it was hard not to see which areas I loved. There was a billiard room wrapped in fabric from floor to ceiling that I absolutely adored! Elvis clearly had a lavish style, and each room was decorated meticulously. Of course, lavish in the 60’s is not luxury in the present. While the home/museum is a really cool relic of the past, my thought at the end of the day was that it was a little over-priced. I love Elvis, and all of the memorabilia was so cool. Out of all the historic home tours I’ve taken, this one was probably my favorite.

After the tour, we decided to get lunch on our way home. We had hoped to eat at Gus’ Fried Chicken, but the power in downtown Memphis was still out, so we stopped at the Pyramid to eat a burger at Wahlburgers. It was a good burger, and if we had more time and energy we might have spent time shopping. You know I love an animal encounter, and there were ducks and alligators and all kinds of animals in there. They even had an attraction – the worlds tallest free standing elevator. But we had to get back on the road.

Three days is nowhere near enough time to experience all of Memphis, but we only planned a short stay since we weren’t bringing our son or the dogs. When we return – and I’m sure we will! – we would love to spend time in the museums, eating bar-b-que, and listening to music on Beale Street, all of which are good for my soul.