Mis-Adventures in Graceland

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ssjones

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May 11, 2011
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Liz and I left New Orleans Monday and headed up to Tupelo and Memphis. My wife is a major Elvis fan, so we had to do the whole Graceland experience. Five hours of E is a bit much for me, but it was fun to see her so excited.
This evening, we were heading down to Beale Street, which is more to my liking. My wife suggested we drive out to see what was visible of Elvis' old ranch, the Circle G, of which his honeymoon house and ranch remain in decay. The gate to the ranch was open, we had her 4x4 truck, so we drove on in. I saw a guy working some equipment off in the distance, down by the lake. We took pictures of the house, stables and big cross. I noticed the workman leaving. We headed back to the gate and found this:
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Locked up tight with darkness approaching. I eyeballed the chains and gate for a while, before determining we weren't leaving the way we came. I also found a "KEEP OUT" sign, face down in the dirt...
I drove the perimeter hoping for a whole in the fence or another access. The property must be several hundred acres, criss-crossed by farm trails. I was really starting to get worried that we were either spending the night there or getting a ticket/arrested for trespassing. I remembered the gate near the house looked to be in pretty rough condition. Sure enough, it was barely standing up. I pulled it down, drove the truck across the cattle barrier and out to freedom. I did put the gate back up. I snuck out onto the main highway and I believe no one was the wiser. We do need to get her black truck washed tomorrow..
The Kings honeymoon hacienda.
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Stables & Cross
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We headed back to civilization for dinner and music on Beale Street. Memphis is pretty smoker friendly, so I was able to enjoy a pipe on a patio.
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This guy put on a great show and did several early Elvis tunes, so that made Liz very happy.
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We visiting the Rock & Soul museum tomorrow morning, then off to Nashville. Stay tuned....

 

brian64

Lifer
Jan 31, 2011
9,602
14,666
Wow...a Graceland misadventure indeed. Great pics. Glad you managed to escape Al. I shudder to think of what the locals there must do to those caught on the King's property.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDXzLeFUkpc

 

Very cool, and sounds like some of the pickles Lora and I get into when out and about. How did you find out about this place?

I am a huge elvis fan also. There used to be a "restaurant" in Memphis that was set up with all of the dining areas were livingrooms of a mobile home with El is playing on old radios. They served Elvis's favorite foods and microwave pizza. The staff were all rockabilly and surly, to say the least. I wouldn't want to go back, but back when I was in college, I thought it was neat. And, I'd never had a fried banana sandwich, ha ha.

Great pics!!

 

ssjones

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May 11, 2011
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Maryland
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I'm married to an Elvis freak, she knows every detail, every song and movie. We also meet a Belgium rock-a-billy band yesterday at Graceland, "Smooth abd the Bully Boys"

 

deathmetal

Lifer
Jul 21, 2015
7,714
32
You two make a handsome couple.
I was actually hoping this story got more complicated, including dodging security and finding Elvis' ghost, but I'm glad you made it out OK.

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
605
Great story. Glad you made it out. For a second, I thought we were headed for something along the lines of "So we backed the truck up about 30 feet, fastened our seat belts..."

 

jpmcwjr

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May 12, 2015
24,568
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Carmel Valley, CA
I'm married to an Elvis freak, she knows every detail, every song and movie. We also meet a Belgium rock-a-billy band yesterday at Graceland, "Smooth abd the Bully Boys"
I wonder if that's easier than a Beatles' freak!? :)
Great story!

 

zack24

Lifer
May 11, 2013
1,726
2
If you ever find yourself in that position again, let me know- I lived in Memphis for 25 years and know some good bail bondsmen...

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
My late mother-in-law and my living older sister were/are both big, if belated, Elvis fans. Joyce, my mother-in-law, made the pilgrimage to Graceland. For her 72nd birthday, I bought my sister an Elvis tray (for sandwiches and drinks) I spotted at a candy shop where I went with my wife. Also available right now for the Elvis fans in your life are Elvis postage stamps which come on a CD-looking stamp sheet; I also bought these for my sister. If you're only so-so on Evis' top hits, he did great gospel, which really seemed to be his personal forte. Heck of a voice, and iconic stage presence. A cruel reminder you can't stay twenty forever. The honeymoon ranch is really forlorn; I had never heard of it before. Now I have something to tell my sister she probably didn't know. I think Elvis was enabled by his male groupie yes-men who catered to his fantasies and neediness -- but I ain't no psychologist.

 

lonestar

Lifer
Mar 22, 2011
2,854
161
Edgewood Texas
Dang ! That almost sucked. I tend to carry around everything but the kitchen sink in the back of my truck, including bolt cutters just for such an occasion :D I know my luck though, they would have rattled around the back of the truck for years, but I would have taken them out when I cleaned the truck a week before the trip :lol: Glad you found a way out of there !

 
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