Special thanks to Graceland for providing us with a few tickets!

On our way back home from our Thanksgiving trip to Nashville, we planned an overnight layover in Memphis (my hometown!). And to Iris’ delight, we stopped by Graceland for the grand tour. Todd has a velvet Elvis hanging in his work room off the garage and, when Iris was just a little toddler, she asked who he was. Todd told her about Elvis and played his music for her. Then, of course, she became a Full House fan and we all know how much Uncle Jesse loves to talk about the King. I would tell her about how he lived in Memphis and that one day we would go and visit his house. She never forgot my promise and finally, after several years of reminding me, Iris finally got to see Graceland.

Growing up in Memphis, both of my parents have stories about Elvis. I might not be remembering either 100% correctly, but from what I recall my mom once went on a date with his pilot, who took her aboard for a tour. They didn’t actually fly anywhere, but my mom claims to have picked up a pair of Elvis’ undies (just for a few seconds) out of the dirty clothes.

My dad, who joined us on our recent Graceland tour, shared a story I had never heard before. Apparently back in 1977 he was working, doing some sort of construction in Memphis, when somehow they accidentally knocked the power out to the movie theater next door. They got word that Elvis had rented out the theater that night to watch Star Wars, so they were working as hard as they could to get it back up and running. Unfortunately, Elvis never made it. The date was August 16, 1977.

What’s funny, is that even Todd has an Elvis story. When we first started dating he lived in Elvis’ old karate studio. There’s old footage of him kicking and chopping right where we used to spend a lot of time listening to music and hanging out with friends.

Visiting Graceland helps put those stories in perspective and remind me how cool it is to be from a place like Memphis. Most native Memphians, including myself, will tell you that if you live in Memphis there are two places you never go: Beale Street and Graceland. It’s true that mostly tourists visit those spots, but each holds so much history. It was pretty spectacular walking through the time capsule that is Graceland… Seeing home videos of Elvis swimming in his pool and then seeing his grave right by it. Lisa Marie’s baby bracelet. The tiny halls that make you realize how crazy our house standards have become. The dim kitchen that was probably fabulous for its time. And of course, the Jungle Room. It was pretty awesome to share this experience with my family.