Graceland

I've been trying to upload pictures of our trip to Memphis for days now, but for some reason they just don't want to be on blogger! We had so much fun and I loved every minute of our trip. Graceland really was a dream come true. I couldn't stop smiling the entire time. It was super hot and humid and I didn't care because I was at Graceland visiting Elvis' home and stuff! We got to tour his house, the grounds, see all his cool clothes (even the white jumpsuits!) and see his car collection and the "Lisa Marie," Elvis' private jet. It was so great! Nate was a sport and humored me the whole time I was there. In fact, he might have even enjoyed it a little bit! It was amazing that I was there where Elvis once was. He was definitely one-of-a-kind and it showed in his taste for decorating, fashion, music, and friends. I could really go on and on about Elvis, but I won't for sake of y'all getting bored really fast.

After our tour of Graceland, we went back to our hotel and swam for a bit. We then went to Central BBQ for some "real" Memphis BBQ. Holy cow (or pig, in this case) it was amazing! We chose some "wet" ribs and a pulled pork sandwich. It was seriously some of the best BBQ I've ever had (Rudy's is still #1 to us). Central BBQ even had the "authentic" look about it. It was a dive and really stunk like and old building. There were people drinking and eating left and right and a guy warming up to sing for the "live music hour." I think it made the food taste "just that much better."

We toured Beale Street afterwards, but not before happening upon Sun Records, where Elvis first started recording. It was a real piece of history! Beale Street is where the blues were born. There are blues and jazz clubs all up and down the street. Almost all the clubs/restaurants have hecklers trying to get you into their establishments. There were street performers and bands playing out on the street too. It was really cool for Nate and me to see, but our girls were so tired by this point that we went back to our hotel and crashed.

Saturday we went to the Memphis Zoo. It apparently is the #1 zoo in the country (Fort Worth is in the top 10 by the way). It was a lot of fun and Keilah had a blast looking at all the animals. There was a really great China/Panda exhibit that reminded us all to "save the pandas" and the earth by planting trees/bamboo. We saw a really cute sea lion show where the sea lions actually balanced a ball on their noses! The cutest thing to see was the polar bear. He was in the water and was playing with a ball. The polar bear would toss the ball up into the air and try to catch it, only to fall into the water and swim around for us all to see. It was like he was showing off! The Memphis Zoo was really clean and had a great layout. If only it weren't so humid right next to the Mississippi!

Our girls were pretty good for the 8-hour drive. It was only supposed to take 7 hours, but between feeding Linnea, potty breaks, and letting Keilah get some energy out, it was almost 8 1/2 hours. However, Linnea and Keilah were angels. Keilah read books, had snacks, and watched "Dora" on a Nokia n96 (advertisement!) most of the time. She occasionally slept, which was nice :) We visited Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee (and Texas!) on our trip. Just a few more states to cross off our list now!