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Graceland, the Christmas Tour! We came back to our favorite hotel, the Holiday Inn Express near Memphis Medical Center.
This, too, was our third time staying here in 2023. When you find a place you like, it's easy to know where to stay
when you're in town. Our friend, "Z", was there running the breakfast buffet, which by the way, is the BEST!!.
We met her the first time we stayed, on our way to New Orleans. She's
like family to us now, and told us next time we come, call ahead so she can get us the friends and family rate!
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Happy Birthday! |
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Who wouldn't want to take a 6-hour trip to Memphis on their birthday? Well, Steffanie sure didn't, and we stopped for
a birthday dinner at the world famous Crackle Barrel. Look at how pretty the birthday girl is!
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The visitor center was all decorated for the holidays. It was already unseasonably warm for this time of year;
more so in Memphis.
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Graceland |
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You can see the blue lights lining the drive in the lower right of this picture. From the sky, Graceland looked like
an airport runway.
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This Nativity scene was one of the first decorations Elvis added to Graceland. We were fortunate enough on our
ride back to the Visitor Center to get the shuttle driver to stop by the Nativity scene so that we could get a photo.
We were the only people on the shuttle, so he took his time.
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Elvis always loved decorating Graceland for Christmas.
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The tinsel on the Christmas tree here in the dining room is the original tinsel the Presley family used. I'm not sure what the
process is to remove and re-use it each year, but it can't be fun.
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This Hawaiian shirt above is the original shirt Elvis wore for Christmas one year. You can see him wearing it in
the picture in the lower left.
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Meditation Garden |
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Museum - Army Uniforms and Attire |
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Elvis enlisted in the Army, and served from March of 1958 to March of 1960. He was offered the opportunity
to enlist in the Special Services, an entertainment branch of the military, but was encouraged by his manager
to serve as a regular soldier. Serving in this regard earned him respect by his fellow soldiers, and many
others in the US who viewed him as a trouble maker.
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Other Outfits worn by Elvis |
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Elvis took a special interest in Karate, and was trained from 1970-1974 under Master Kang Rhee. He rose to the level
of 7th degree Black Belt, and often featured his martial arts abilities in his movies.
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He wore this black leather outfit during the 1968 NBC TV special. This airing was a huge success, and was viewed by 42% of
the viewing public. It definitely springboarded Elvis' stagnant career.
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During the famous, "If I Can Dream" performance, Elvis wore this suit. The song was inspired by the assassination of
Robert Kennedy, as this happened during the taping of the special. The song was also a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther
King's "I Have A Dream" speech, and all of the civil unrest.
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I had to pose here, as this is my favorite part of the song -- near the end. He swings his arm back and forth as he belts out,
"While I can think, while I can talk, while I can stand, while I can walk ..."
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Jumpsuits and Gold Records!! |
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Because Elvis had so many shows, and his jumpsuits had to be dry cleaned, he had several made to keep in the rotation. Elvis
preferred the jumpsuits because he was physically active and liked to move around a lot on stage, even demonstrating his Karate skills.
Wearing the loose-fitting jumpsuits gave him that freedom.
Early versions of the jumpsuits weighed around 25 lbs (pictured above).
Later, as they were more elaborately bejeweled (pictured below), they weighed as much as 75 lbs!
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This is Elvis' wall of records. Throughout his career, he had earned 171 gold, 94 platinum and 34 multi-platinum records,
for a total of 299 awards.
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Movie Exhibit |
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Another reason we came back to Graceland was because they were displaying some of the props and outfits worn during the
filming of the Elvis movie. Steffanie also became quite a fan of Austin Butler.
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Some final photo ops before leaving the Visitor Center and Museums.
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When we visited Memphis in June, we tried to get in to Central BBQ, but the wait was out the door. Luckily, we got in this time
with little wait. And oh my, so good!!
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