Friday evening we met up again with our new friends Richard and Rhonda, and walked down again to the dive called Westy's which was much livelier than the previous day's lunch. They have an extensive menu of wild rice concoctions that we needed to try. I ordered the shrimp, onions and mushrooms wild rice with the "Goldcrest 51" beer that owner had stopped making 30 years ago and just started up again. My bottle was from the first batch in all that time. Tasted good, too. Joe added Gouda cheese to his wild rice concoction and a good time was had by all. Then back to the room for an early night to get ready for the big day ahead.
Saturday: Our first "official" ride was nine miles to Graceland through downtown and then along the 4 lane not-very-pretty Elvis Presley Boulevard. First stop was at the visitors center where we doffed our helmets and jackets for the one-at-a-time carefully staged ride through the gates of Graceland for a photo op (compliments of Santana). After parking our bikes on the very front and very green lawn of the mansion, we walked back across the street to stand in line amidst pretty controlled chaos for our audio/iPad headphones and device. While in line we were ambushed by the typical tourist trap of "we're going to take your picture against this backdrop and you'll have an opportunity to buy it at the end of your tour." Then we got on the tour shuttle up to the doors of Graceland mansion. The inside (and outside for that matter) was pretty much as I expected to be, elaborately, lavishly and eccentrically decorated. The only surprise for me was that the infamous "Jungle Room" was on the first floor rather than in the basement which was an elaborate media lounge. The audio commentary (voice of John Stamos was unwaveringly reverent and complimentary with equally worshipful audio clips from Priscilla and Lisa Marie). There were rooms full of gold and platinum records and a whole wall of charity checks Elvis wrote to mostly Memphis beneficiaries and a few wider causes. As most of us know (and for me for sure, having read Peter Guralnik's 2 voume biography), it wasn't all sweetness and light in that house by a long shot; but Graceland promotes the myth of the kind, generous and playful country boy who hit it big with his talent, charm and good looks. It's OK; it's the 2nd most visited U.S. historical home after the White House.
Lunch was back across the street in Elvis' car museum. Catered specially by Santana, we sat among Elvis' fabulous (partial) collection of priceless Jaguars, Rolls, Caddies and Mercedes and ate delicious BBQ, coleslaw, baked beans and pecan pie. Back on the bike, we said a fond farewell to Graceland and had a great ride through residential streets of all different kinds, waving at kids and adults alike. The ride thankfully included two lovely state parks, before we were back in the industrial area we had ridden the day before, and down along the river where the American Queen was waiting. As in Croatia, its' a thrill after a long ride to pull up to the sight of a huge special ship that will be our "home" for the next week.
The first look at our stateroom on the 5th deck was absolutely breathtaking. 19th Century Victorian elegance. Twice as big as our stateroom on the Adriatic Trip with polished wood louvered French doors opening onto the deck and railing, it was way beyond my expectations. Exceedingly comfortable and beautifully decorated. After a lovely dinner in the stunning main dining room, we went to the "Showroom" for the first of our nightly concerts designed to guide us through the birth and growth of the blues rock 'n roll and soul. A great band backed an older black woman singer and raconteur from Memphis. So ended a jam-packed totally wonderful day.
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