Just after we arrived in the US in February 2015 we stopped off in Nashville with a view of going to the Grand Ole Opry. Unfortunately, it was Sunday and the theatre was closed. Moving down to Memphis and Graceland we were looking forward to touring the mansion. The day we arrived the Elvis mansion was closed, would you believe. At the time we were on a mission to get to Texas and buy our RV, therefore, we didn’t linger but were very disappointed. However, on this return trip to Nashville and Memphis we were determined not to be disappointed. Having achieved our first objective, the Grand Ole Opry, this month our mission was to see Graceland but not before we had seen a little more of Nashville.
Monday 3rd September
Washed RV
Sandy got very tired.
Tuesday 4th September
Trolley Tour of Nashville
A lot of the major cities operate bus or trolley tours. We find it a good way to get an overview of the town and stop anywhere that is of interest. Our driver Tim gave us the low down on the city, past and present. Founded in 1779 as a trading post.
Country Music Crawler, popular with Bachelor/Bachelorette parties and for other celebrations. They pedal their way around town on a pub crawl and of course stop to have a shot or two of Tennessee Moonshine.
Apart from the big Country Music Hall of Fame there are smaller museums celebrating some of the big stars of country music.
Woolworth on Fifth Avenue, originally opened as a ‘five and dime’ store in 1913.
Tennessee State Capitol, one of the oldest working capitols in the nation and with a nice bit of Greek Revival style architecture. By the 19th Century Nashville was called the ‘Athens of the South”.
Centennial Park and a full-scale replica of the Parthenon. Built in 1897 for the Centennial Exposition
Nashville is also known as the ‘Country Music Capital of the World’ because it attracts singers, songwriters and music publishing companies.
Music Row, located in a Nashville suburb is where many of the music companies are located. Many studios and businesses are in renovated homes. It doesn’t look at all big business but of course it is because this is where some of the top music artists in the world have written and recorded their music.
RCA Victor, apparently Elvis’s favourite studio.
Musica, a sculpture in Music Row.
The AT&T building affectionately known as the ‘batman building’.
The Ryman Theatre on Fifth Avenue is where the Grand Ole Opry performed for over 30 years.
Broadway where all the bars and music venues are has the nickname Honky Tonk Highway. There is lots of neon which we didn’t see in its full brilliance in the middle of the day but it still looked pretty impressive.
Most of the restaurants and bars have a live music stage and our restaurant of choice was Luke’s 32 Bridge.
Just off Broadway in Printer’s Alley we found the Fleet Street Pub and of course the barman came from Exeter, Devon.
Wednesday 5th September
Continued south on our way to Memphis and the home of the blues.
We pulled in at Graceland Park, just across the road from the Elvis mansion. A nice campground surrounded by grass and woodland.
The area around Graceland was quite rundown in 2015, on our first visit, and looked in need of some refurbishment, well that’s just what it got. Coming back now the area has changed a lot with a new exhibit and entertainment complex exploring Elvis’s life and career. Lots of memorabilia is on display, clothes, cars, airplanes and plenty more. There are also shopping and eating venues. Across the road from the new complex is The Guest House at Graceland, a new hotel just a short walk from the Graceland mansion.
We got the free shuttle from The Guest House into Memphis and visited Beale Street. A little like Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Beale Street has lots of restaurants and bars most with live music. The street became famous in the jazz age when well knowns musicians came to play in Beale Street and Memphis Blues was born. It was early evening and the neon lights of the street were just coming on. Beale Street becomes pedestrianised at night and police are at either end blocking the road.
Thursday 6th September
Graceland
We strolled through the gate from the RV Park into the Graceland complex and bought our tickets. After watching an introductionary film about Elvis and Graceland we got the shuttle bus to take us across the road to the Graceland mansion. It is called a mansion and is an impressive looking house but in today,s standards it is not that big. It is a really nice house, very homey, I liked it a lot and could imagine living there – it’s just that all the people walking through would be a little irritating; and the carpet on the ceiling in the Jungle Room would have to go!
For the tour of the house we had an interactive iPad with audio. The tour covered the ground floor only and included the living room, his parents’ bedroom, the kitchen, TV room, pool room, the famous Jungle Room, his father’s office, Trophy Building, Racquetball Building and Meditation Garden. Everything has been preserved/restored well and it was a fascinating tour.
After our tour of the mansion we went to have look at Elvis’ customised airplanes. The Lisa Marie has a living room, conference room and bedroom. There are gold plated seat belts and leather covered tables.
There is also the smaller Lockheed Jetstar, the Hound Dog II.
Friday 7th September
Crossed the Mississippi River into Arkansas, heading north west to Branson, just across the state line in Missouri and the Ozark region. Tonight, we break the journey and stay in Walmart near the town of Mountain Home.
Saturday 8th – Friday 21st September
Branson, Missouri
We continued our journey along the quiet US 412 through wooded countryside.
The Ozarks is a mountainous area that spans four states, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and is, I guess, the last highland area before crossing the great plains, the next being the Rockies.
Continuing our music theme, Branson is referred to as the “Live Music Show Capital of the World’. Also, for those of a certain age (before they moved into their Californian mansion) this area was home to the fictional Clampett family from the TV series The Beverley Hillbillies.
Branson Lakeside RV Park is run by the city and is next to Lake Taneycomo, - although it looks more like a river than a lake - our site is right across from the water’s edge. The sites are called ‘buddy sites’, very narrow and shared with our neighbours. Luckily, our neighbours, Ted and Joy are very nice.
There are two dams nearby and a siren sounds when they are generating electricity and feeding water from one lake to the other.
There is a free trolley bus service from the RV Park to downtown Branson which is only about a mile away, but the trolley stops at several places around town which is very convenient.
From the RV Park there is also a good walk along the lakefront on Branson Landing Boardwalk. The Boardwalk leads into a modern shopping centre with restaurants and entertainment. At the centre of the Landing are the Fountains where every hour throughout the day and evening a water, fire, light and music show takes place.
View of the Fountains from across the lake with downtown Main Street in the background.
Tony got the inflatable kayak out and went up the lake. Unfortunately, the engine failed, and he had to paddle back.
The RV Park is very well kept and looked after, plus the WiFi is good. We like the convenience of being near town with free transport or an easy walk. Sandy loves swimming in the lake and the walk along the Boardwalk. This all contributed to us deciding to stay another week. However, people were moving west due to Hurricane Florence expected to hit the Carolinas and the RV Park was full. It took a couple of days, but the ladies in the office managed to sort out another, larger, site for our extra weeks stay.
Branson Scenic Railway train on the bridge at the end of the park on its to cross the river.
Most of the music theatres are along Route 76, going out to the west of Branson. There was such a choice with over 50 theatres but we decided that following our visit to Graceland we should finish our music theme with Elvis Live! The show was at the God and Country Theatre and we had a good evening. This particular Elvis was called Jerry Presley, a cousin of Elvis. He does sound like Elvis and gives a good performance, he worked really hard to pack as many songs as possible into the show. The band and backing singers were also good. We had a two for one ticket deal that cost $40.36, great value for money.
