Graceland, In Pictures

 It was scary hot this day. Outside, unlike everywhere else, there was no AC, so waiting for the bus to get from the main compound up to Graceland was pretty uncomfortable. Note the guy passed out on a bench in the background. That is how everyone felt.

This, however, is how everyone looked. Everyone had their pictures taken in front of a mural of the Graceland Gates. The bus tour didn't actually include a stop at the gates. This was the closest we got.

Dan, being a true documentarian. With the price of a ticket everyone got a headset to wear when walking around the grounds. The recording spat Elvis propaganda at you in an informative tone while directing you from room to room. That's the bus in the background. We were carted around pretty much everywhere, though it wouldn't have been far to walk.

This is the front of the house itself. Doesn't look so big, does it? That's because it was not that big. I was surprised; after hearing so much about the place I thought it would be larger than life. It was roughly the size of a McMansion.

This is the sitting room, and no, the colours have not been adjusted in this picture. It was kind of beautiful it a really retro way, and the carpet was strangely spotless. This was the only room light enough to capture with my 400-speed film, but you can imagine the other, equally as elaborate, but in asian style, jungle style, etc. 

We weren't allowed up the stairs, but up there is where Elvis actually died. I wonder how far I could have gotten if I'd just bolted. I'm pretty sure there were armed guards keeping the privacy of the Presley family. You can see at the bottom right how packed the place was with people. There was a lineup to walk through the entire house.

The lineup continued outside the house to the Meditation Garden. I half expected to see people crying, and I was disappointed when no one did. For a mediation garden, though, it wasn't very relaxing.

Here are the remains of the man himself. Grave sites are always kind of underwhelming, aren't they. One thing I found interesting is that Elvis' granny outlived him and his dad Vernon. Priscilla talks a lot about Elvis' grandmother is her book Elvis and Me, which I have plugged before. I found a small stack of them in the gift shop (I kind of can't believe they carry it there, it's almost like blasphemy) and I wanted to wave them around shouting "Read this and then tell me what you think of him!!!!!!!!" You should all read the book, it's very enlightening, and paints Graceland in a way that is very different from the way it's seen today. There is a disconnect for me between the real Graceland and the Graceland in my book, in its heyday, and in my dreams. I still loved it though.