Vacation Part II: Memphis

On our way to Memphis, we got stuck in some major traffic on I-40 in Arkansas. Everyone was completely stopped in both directions. They were doing construction, so it necked down into one lane. You would have thought traffic would have started moving again once you got through the merge. Nope. We figured maybe there was an accident that stopped it. Nope. It delayed us at least an hour. Luckily the kids slept through most of this part.

Once we (finally) arrived, we unloaded, ate some dinner, then let the kids (mostly Shayla…I think we put Easton to bed), play outside. Juan and Stephanie have a lot of land, so plenty of space for a little girl to run around!

The next day (Saturday), we did our sight-seeing. Our first stop was Graceland. Pay $10 to park. Go stand in line to buy your tickets. $32 a pop for the cheapest version. Then go stand in line to take the bus over. We probably waited close to an hour to get on the bus. We could have easily walked over much faster, but they don’t let you do that. The tour is self-guided (you wear headphones). Although expensive, it is fun to do once. Poor David has done it 3 times. We had no room in our car to pack a stroller, so carrying Easton, and keeping Shayla out of trouble got to be a bit tiresome. Here are some photos of the tour so you don’t have to pay for it :):

 

The stairs are in front of you when you walk in. You are not allowed to go upstairs because that was his “private area,” and he did not take visitors up there.

To the left is the dining room:

The living room is to the right:

I think this was his mother’s room.

Kitchen:

This is the “Jungle Room.” There is carpet on the ceiling, and random animals all over.

I can’t remember what they called either of these rooms. They were both in the basement I think.

That’s all they show you inside. Then you go see some things outside. This was his father’s office.

The grounds:

Hanging out with Elvis

Trophy room and some of his Platinum Records  

More “stuff”

Gravesite. He is buried with his parents and I can’t remember who the other person was. His grandmother maybe? The small one is his twin brother.

After Graceland we were starving, so we went to eat at IHOP. Usually for a sit down restaurant (if you can even call it that), they are pretty quick. Holy cow, they were slow. There wasn’t anyone to even seat us, and someone else waiting went to find them. Once we ordered our food, it still took forever, and there weren’t that many people there. Big mistake cause now we were all super tired. We debated whether or not to go to Sun Studios (again David had been), but finally decided that we are here, so we should do it. Well, we get there and we hear them telling someone it will be a half hour wait. Still debating whether it is worth it because it is getting late (for the kids). Then we see the sign that says you can’t take kids under 5 on the tour. Well, that solves that problem. So we got some pictures of the outside and the shop inside.

After we got back “home” to the Soto’s, we put Easton down for a nap, and took Shayla horseback riding, and then we all jumped in the pool. Shayla LOVED riding the horse. She giggled the whole time. I think there was a little bit of nervous giggle too, but she thought it was pretty great.

Shayla had so much fun hanging out with her cousins. She called them “the girls,” but she remembered each of their names. Even when we got to the family reunion and she got nervous with so many people that she didn’t know, she wasn’t afraid to go sit in any of their laps.

Easton, Jordan, Anna, Shayla (7-1-12)

That night David and I went out to Beale Street with Juan and Stephanie. It sure was nice that Shayla was buddy buddy with her cousins because she had no problem with us leaving like she does with babysitters at home.

Beale Street.

We had no idea that they ID (and run the metal detector on you) to get in, and I didn’t bring my purse with me. We explained it, and they didn’t give me a problem. Guess I don’t look under 21 anymore. :) We decided to eat at BB King’s.

  

HO-LY COW. What a horrible experience. We thought our wait at IHOP was long. This was a thousand times worse. They told us our wait would be about 30 minutes when we checked in. They had no system of actually taking people back. It was SO LOUD. They’ve got a band playing (who were quite enjoyable), but you couldn’t hear anything else. We had to yell in each other’s ears to hear each other speak, so it was impossible to know if they called you. They would go around waving the menus and asking people. We never heard them call us, and 45 minutes later we checked, and they had crossed out our name and had moved on way past us. So they finally take us back, and seat 4 of us on a tiny 2 person table. I ordered an appetizer (thinking we could have something to munch on while we wait for our food), and then David and I ordered a meal to share. Well, the food took forever (no surprise), and they didn’t bring the appetizer until they brought everything else. We were actually surprised that they brought the right meals because the waiter pretty much has to read lips to figure out what you are ordering. The food wasn’t bad when we finally got it at 10:30 PM.

Here we are waiting at the restaurant. At the beginning of our unending wait for food. We would not have been smiling if this were a couple hours later.

The band

It would have been much more enjoyable if we weren’t so hungry. My advice: eat ahead of time, and go for the music (and the drunk old man dancing).

We walked around for a little bit after and saw some somewhat creepy pictures in a gallery down the street, then headed home.

The next day was Sunday, so we didn’t do any sight-seeing. Just church and hanging out with family. And we did cheat and let Shayla ride the horse again. 

Next morning we got up and headed to Eureka Springs, Arkansas for the Snow reunion.