We left Lafayette Tuesday morning 10 June. I packed up in the rain so needless to say I was soaking wet by the time we left.
I took off my wet shoes and sock and spent the rest of the day driving without shoes. Just a good ole boy from Arizona.
It rained most of the day so we decided to find a place for the night between Jackson, Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee. We chose a quaint little place called Frog Hollow.
Cheryl was almost in heaven. Those that don't know, Cheryl is a real frog lover and the gift shop was absolutely full of ceramic frogs. I will give her credit. She restrained herself and only bought one things. A cute frog wishing well. Battery operated.
After a good night sleep we started out on our usual leisurely pace. We arrived in Cordova, Tennessee and was set up before dark. Almost a first.
Dinner Wednesday night was at a place called "The Butcher Shop". Great steaks, reasonable price and friendly service. In other words "chow was sufficient in both quantity and quality". You Marines should remember that phrase.
Thursday morning it was off to Graceland. Yes, it's overpriced. Yes, it's commercialized to the hilt. Yes, it was worth it.
I didn't realize how many gold and platinum records Elvis had been awarded. There were room after room with nothing but gold and platinum records. Everything from country to gospel.
We toured his mansion, his planes and viewed some of his car collection. He even had a completely restored John Deere Tractor. The lighting was very low to preserve the cars. We weren't allowed to take flash photography so the quality of the pictures is lacking.
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Living Room |
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This was only one wall of one room. |
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Entrance to the burial Place of Elvis, his parents, twin brother and grandmother. |
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Fountain at Grave site |
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Grave of Elvis Presley |
We left Graceland and headed to the hotel to meet the group from HMM-161. This was my first reunion. After a lot of hugs and back slaps we had dinner. After dinner a lot of reminiscing and re-acquainting.
We're missing a lot of folks. Some couldn't make it and some couldn't be found and some have passed on.
Before I go on, I need to acknowledge Ron Winter and his wife for all the hard work they did putting the reunion together. They certainly went above and beyond the call. Marines, and their wives, do things like that.