Memphis... What can I say about Memphis.... DON'T GO!!
So this was my turn in the front seat! The prime position of the van, you get the best views, the most room and 2 whole air con vents to yourself!! You are also designated DJ of the van. I did pre warn the group as my taste in music is... Well, selective! Shockingly my music actually went down a storm! It was a nice change being in the front compared to the dreaded back yesterday. Basically the back of the bus has no air con, AT ALL. And in 30 degree heat that shit ain't fun. So me and fliss were taking full advantage of the air con! I asked Julia (pronounced yu-lia) to go into my bag for something or nothing as it was in the row behind me. Forgetting he was in there, she came across KangaRuPaul! How could I forget about my side bitch!? So after inflating him back to his bad ass self and giving him a change of accessories (swapping his Aussie flag for an American bandana) he was soon the hit of the bus! Becca demanded he be the mascot for the bus! I'd like to say he was modest... But he's an attention slut!!
After about 4 hours drive we arrived in Memphis, we were staying in the hotel/campsite directly opposite Graceland, the home of Elvis (just incase you've lived under a rock and didn't know that), in The Heartbreak Hotel... Could you guessed it was a themed hotel!? Each street was named after an Elvis song... Each street! That is dedication to Elvis! And clearly all the die hards were staying there are 60% of the RV's had Elvis memorabilia hanging in every window.
We set up camp in record time and laid out lunch. Now it's becoming a really annoying occurrence, as every time we arrive somewhere about 15 minutes later a storm follows! (I'm literally sat in one now as I write this in New Orleans!) so Becca pulled out a gazebo from no where which went up as soon as she'd pulled it out! Remarkable the things that woman can do!
We had a few options for where we wanted to visit in Memphis, we could only really do one out of the three because of the distance between them, so it was out of Graceland, The Civil Rights Museum and The Gibson Factory. Clearly I'm not an Elvis fan so I certainly wasn't going to be paying $40 to walk around his house. I chose the Civil Rights Museum as it was all about Martin Luther King and it was also the site in which he was shot. It was also in the City itself so I thought I could work a few more sites into the day.
So when Becca dropped us off outside, we noticed a woman sat on the corner directly opposite the museum and it's car park, Becca quickly followed with a warning to not chat to her too much because she was a bit of a crazy. So naturally, I wanted to do nothing else but talk to her!! By the time we got out the van she was heading straight towards us! What was she going to do!? Part of me was really hoping she'd talk like the crazy cat lady from the Simpsons, but she seemed pretty normal and only came over to warn us about leaving the van because of car break ins. She later went on to slate the car park security guard saying how bad he is at his job! She's so sassy. I should probably tell you the reason why she's there actually! So she has sat in the same spot, every single day for 20 years. She sits in protest against the museum, she doesn't believe the site in which a monumental public figure was shot at should be held as an awing stand and that respect should be paid to him. I personally think a museum showcasing his entire contribution to his work is astounding, it's almost a shrine to him. But come on, I wasn't going to say that to her, SHE'S A CRAZY!!
The museum was split into two buildings, the first is the original Lorraine Motel which King actually stayed in and the other is the building in which King's murderer used. Now if I'm being totally honest, after sleeping probably 7 hours on the last 48 I was so tired all I wanted was to sleep, so participating in a self guided tour wasn't too appealing if I'm honest! But it really surprised me, there was so much information on the whole race movement and the struggles that black people have endured, it was absolutely horrific. The video footage showed images all about the sit ins and the beatings from whites when they disagreed. Towards the end of the museum (which you can also see from outside) was the actual room in which King actually stayed in before making his fatal speech on the balcony level. Then the other building I found quite disturbing and would keep giving me shivers down my spine. In the building was all the evidence collected against the shooter but you could also see the window from which he shot from. It was really eerie being able to look down directly to the room 306, it felt like you were looking through the eyes of the shooter... Very odd feeling.
(This was the shooter position)
After the museum we thought we would explore the city some more, Becca told us to be careful of where we wandered as there was some very sketchy parts... Well there was no bloody people around for it to be sketchy!! The whole town seemed derelict and it was only 5:15! The buildings, if not derelict, were all shut up and there was barely a car nor person on the street! We went as far down as Beale Street past the Gibson factory (which was also closed) which, yeah, was more lively with it's bars, but in comparison to Nashville and it's illuminated streets... It was like the runt of the Bar Street litter!
We gave in, Memphis wasn't exciting us enough and she'd let us down big style. We walked back to the meeting spot, which was outside the restaurant we were eating at. Well this was where Memphis threw a curve ball into the mix! OMG this place did what you expect American food to be like, I got a plate FULL with amazing pulled pork with a BBQ sauce over, a tub of Mac'n'Cheese (OMG, amazing!) and slaw (OMG, amazing)... Nothing more to say than, OMG AMAZING!!
On our drive out the city, Becca said she'll give us a bit more sight seeing because we hadn't really enjoyed it and she wanted to give us a view we would struggle to fall in love with. So we loaded up the van, whacked on some loud music and headed through the city. We ended up at the Mississippi River... She was right, it was an absolutely beautiful sight! Memphis was clawing it back slowly!
We then headed back to the campsite to settle down for an early night because everyone was just so tired, a few had a late night swim in the pool while the rest dangled our feet in. All I could honestly want was my bed!! Me and fliss got all our stuff packed up for the morning so we can have even just an extra 5 minutes in bed! Well that was when our hatred for Memphis was confirmed. I kid you not, the size of the two fucking bugs we found in our tent was horrifying!! Now I'd like to say I've grown pretty good to dealing with bugs now, even big spiders don't bother me too much. But THESE, eurgh... They had clearly just mated because this big, fat, green, 4 winged thing was laid flat out on it's back and the other was also flat out, now we firstly assumed they were dead... Until we tried to move them. The wings on this green thing started coming out and he's legs started to kick, now being in a tent when there is no quick exit is not fun when there are being monster truck sized bugs in the same one!!! Well we ended up screaming and leaving the tent and having to get Lewis to come and scoop the disgusting things out! Memphis, you are just a shitty girl!!
So yeah, unfortunately even the pulled pork and beautiful view of the Mississippi River couldn't save our opinion of this city. We leave tomorrow for New Orleans, THANK GOD!!
Step on it! We're hot footing it out of Memphis Ma'am!!
See you in New Orleans!
x
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