Wednesday 25 June 2014

Elvis’s Birthplace, Tupelo, Mississippi

Following on from Savannah, Georgia  in my last USA 2014 post today’s post chronicles our journey home to Arkansas.  A journey which would take us back via Atlanta.

DSC_3161b

Here you see the looming skyline of Atlanta, a great city, home to the mammoth brand of Coca Cola no less, but not a city that was on our Places to Visit List.  We experienced a hairy moment along this stretch of rush hour Interstate.  We needed to get off the next exit and were over on the outside lane.  Navigating five or six lanes of busy, seriously busy, traffic was no mean feat.  My poor brother-in-law, Jerry, who was driving had three backseat drivers plus a Sat Nav shouting instructions at him to get over there.  How he pulled it off I don’t really know but thankfully he did otherwise we might have been more familiar with downtown Atlanta than we needed to be.  It took him a while to unclench after that little episode for sure!

DSC_3162b

Anyway we made Exit 247 and heaved a big sigh of relief!  Look at those city names.  Is that the Chattanooga as in Chattanooga Choo Choo?  Imagine that.

DSC_3166b

We broke our journey in Douglasville, Georgia staying overnight at the lovely Holiday Inn Express.  We ate pizza in the hotel lobby.  We had been to a restaurant but we declined to eat there when they declined to serve me alcohol because I didn’t have any picture ID with me.  I had my British Driving Licence with me but it’s an old style one and doesn’t have a photo on it.  So they wouldn’t serve me.  Honestly, it’s not as if I don’t look my age which is a long way away from twenty-one I can tell you!  But no picture ID, no alcohol.  It’s the law in those parts.  So pizza in the hotel lobby it was and we really enjoyed it along with the convivial company of other hotel residents around us.  It was a fun night.

DSC_3169b

Up and at ‘em the morning after and the tank needed filling up.  Jerry got out to do the job but he couldn’t fathom out the machine and its card using instructions.  Maureen got out to help…

DSC_3171b

… then William got out to help, then another customer came over to help. It took a while but between them they managed it!  I hasten to add this was the only machine they had any problem with.  They had used their cards on tons of other machines – I think this one was just different.  It gave me the giggles though while I sat in the car watching the proceedings.

DSC_3179b

We were soon back on the road again.  

DSC_3173b

Being a tourist I tried to snap as many state signs as I could.

DSC_3196b

This road sign grabbed our attention and heralded an unexpected pull off the Interstate.

DSC_3197b

Woo hoo!  I couldn’t believe it! 

DSC_3200b

That’s me - sitting on Elvis’s childhood home’s front porch swing!  Never in a million years did I think I’d ever do that!

DSC_3219b

Several large plaques on the walls of the visitor centre recount the memories friends and neighbours have of Elvis from that time.

DSC_3207b

It was a totally unplanned detour and a complete thrill for me to visit Tupelo.  I love Elvis’s music.  My older sister, Jean, used to like Elvis way back when we were just kids and she would take me to the pictures with her to see his films.  Magical memories of happy days.

DSC_3225b

Another state sign.  This one my signalling that we were back on home territory and the end of this road trip was in sight.  And what a trip it had been!  To say that we all had a good time is an understatement.  We’d all had a great time and happily our USA 2014 trip was by no means over at this point.  I have plenty more photographs and memories to share.  So…

Until next time,

BlogSignature

3 comments:

Caroline said...

This was interesting. Didn't know about Jean taking you to see Elvis at the cinema! I laughed at you laughing at them struggling with the card machine x

Victoria said...

I notice you were the only one eating pizza with a knife and fork!! xx

Anita Johnson said...

This is so fun to read as someone who lives here. Beautiful part of the country if you ask me. I love the ID problem...I don't look 21 either! Ha! Glad you are having such a fun time!