Our Easter break trip this year took us to Tennessee. (Tigris, Silvestris, Drakes, Del Carlos and Fergusons) We flew into Memphis the day before Easter and went to Mass on Easter Sunday at St. Mary's Catholic Church, the oldest church in Memphis. The usher gave us lots of history after we got him to take our picture after Mass. The Easter Bunny had paraded all the children out to the side yard of the church for an Easter egg hunt after Mass.
We then took a trip 2 blocks from the church to see St. Jude's hospital - an amazing sight. The pavilion dedicated to Danny Thomas was full of memorabilia, pictures, awards, and memories from our childhoods'.
Sun Records was the first place Elvis Presley recorded, and he did quite a few, until, Sun Records, going bankrupt, sold Elvis to RCA in Nashville for $30,000.00. They have tours during the day but still act as a recording studio at night.
We visited the Civil Rights Musuem on the anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. (just by coincidence). It is built next to and includes, the facade of the original Lorraine Motel (see visitors in the window). A perpetual wreath adorns the balcony where he was shot. We were also able to go across the street and see exactly how and where James Earl Ray set up his shot.
Of course, no visit to Memphis would be complete without a tour of Graceland. I was surprised that it is not a palatial mansion but a small and simple house with massive grounds around it. The house was already built when Elvis bought the property, and he added to the structures.
Elvis is buried near the pool in the side yard, next to his mother, father, grandmother, and a small plaque for his twin brother, who died at birth.
On Tuesday, we drove to Nashville (about 2-3 hours) and visited the Country Music Hall of Fame. An orchestra from a Florida high school was performing on the steps as we went in.
In a park near our hotel, a replica of the Greek Parthenon still stands as a reminder of an Exposition held in Nashville in the late 1800's.
We took a side trip to Bowling Green, Kentucky (about 2 hours) to visit the Corvette Factory - the only place where Corvettes are made. 80 pre-ordered Corvettes are turned out every day. They are very strict and will not let any cameras, phones, blackberries, purses, etc in the front door. This is the only picture we could get.
And , of course, since we were in Tennessee, we had to go to Lynchburg to see Bob's 1 square inch of land that he owns at the Jack Daniels' Distillery. We took a very interesting and pungent tour and got to see and smell the fermenting "sipping whiskey". All our sinuses were opened after that. It is located in Moore County - a "dry" county. You can buy but you cannot drink it.
Our last night, we went to the Grand Ole Opry and saw a "show". We were actually watching a radio show with a commercial every 10 minutes. But there was great music in between the commercials.
By the end of the week, we were all ready to sleep in our own beds again. But what a great time we had - good food (we never missed a meal), good friends (we laughed all day), and a beautiful part of our country.
These are the cabinets over the back counter - including a new cabinet over the frig....
Around the whole kitchen, we have no more soffets. They closed all the cabinets off to the ceiling with boards that match the cabinet doors...
The lower cabinets around the dishwasher and the new granite counter....
