Traveling on a USA Holiday is risky and fortunately this time, not too risky. We only had an hour and half delay due to weather in Atlanta which caused every plane to have an hour and half delay so we made our connecting flight and we arrived in Memphis only one hour and half later. This is good news. But really, Delta, what’s going on in your First Class section – annoying!

The hotel we are staying at is right next door to Graceland. A shuttle ride from the airport and we are at ‘The Guest House at Graceland.’ A very nice, huge (450 room) hotel away from the downtown but not that far away. An entertaining hotel with Elvis music playing everywhere, TV in the room with Elvis music and movies, a theatre showing Elvis movies every night, and at 9 PM a free Peanut Butter, Jelly and Bananas Bar. The hotel is reasonably priced for the quality of the stay. EP’s Bar and Grill had some good BBQ too to satisfy these hungry travelers.

The next morning, we decide to take a ‘3-hour tour’ on a bus around Memphis to learn a little more about the city. Several years ago, we did the entire Graceland, Beale Street, Museum, wandering. This time, on a bus to just look at things out the window. Well, there were a few stops.

What did we learn? Home of two Kings – Elvis and B.B. King. Statues dedicated to these Kings being kept safe from vandalism at the Memphis Visitor Center.

Headquarters of FED EX, Bass ProShops, and #1 in Medical Universities, Research, and Children’s Hospitals (St. Judes) in the south.

Food trucks, trolleys, churches turned into historical commemorations, bridge crossing the Mississippi River, church headquarters, and more.

Civil Rights Museum, Parks, recognition of Martin Luther King Jr.’s contribution to the civil rights movement during 1968 and of course, keeping the Lorraine Hotel as a historic site where Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated, Blues Museum, and more.

Millionaires Row of houses – amazing large mansions being maintained so people can see an era in the history just before the civil war. And then there is the Civil War history, in this area and the rest of Tennessee.

A visit to Memphis wouldn’t be complete without visiting The Peabody Hotel and the Lansky Store where Elvis was known to buy his clothes. You can still buy some of Elvis-style clothes.

What can I say – Memphis continues to be about Elvis everywhere you tour. The final stop of the tour was Sun Records Studio where Elvis and many other famous rock and roll and blues artists recorded their first (and many more) records.

Memphis is definitely a town for some good BBQ, music, and fun. Worth a trip!

We board our cruise ship tomorrow taking us down the Mississippi River.