So, here’s where we live in Cleveland, Tennessee. It is a reasonable townhouse, and that’s our rental car. What a shock it is to have all this happen so quickly. Here, we actually feel we need a translator more than in Mexico. It’s a strange accent. It’s nice having a real fridge, and I love the dishwasher…hate the cold and all the clothes…but mostly we miss our friends!
Since we have a car allowance, we decided to buy a car rather than throw the money away.
Not cruising allows me time to watercolour paint. I do love this and do enjoy the time to do it. I am working on a painting, for my sister, of her kids on a beach in Australia.
As you can see from this shot, I find it quite toasty warm here!
While in Tennessee, and during Spring Break, my sister Darcy came to visit. We took a girls' trip to Memphis, and then down to Florida. What is a trip to Memphis without visiting Graceland. It was so much smaller than we'd ever imagined and the interior is frozen in the 60's and 70's...kind of creepy!
This was Elvis' bed...nobody every said he had taste!! This was moved out of the bedroom and was in a museum room instead. We were allowed to view the main floor and downstairs floors of Graceland. No one is permitted upstairs.
This is the famous "Jungle Room". It was full of very tacky tiki-type furniture. There was ugly green carpeting on floor and ceiling, and the chairs and sofa were upholstered in fake fur. I rest my case about Elvis' taste!
We are in Elvis' racquetball court. Now, it's full of awards. This picture was taken in what used to be his raquet-ball court. It is now used to house many of his awards and memorabilia. It was truly amazing to see all the gold and platinum records. It was interesting to see how his body shape had changed in the last 3 to 4 years before his death. He just ballooned! The larger outfits in the display had padding in the back so they looked the same as earlier ones. He only ever went to one award ceremony, the rest of the awards were delivered to him without all the hoopla.
I'm goin to Graceland, Graceland, Memphis Tennessee. I'm goin to Graceland~~la, la, la! Someone should write a song about that!
On the way south, to Florida, we passed by Elvis' birth home in Tupelo. We aren't dyed in the wool fans, but it was interesting and on the way. Can you believe how small this is? It was so tiny it would fit inside my sister's family room! I guess that's why he thought Graceland was so huge!
This is the "Elvis" right outside our motel...in this area Elvis is EVERYWHERE!! We were very thankful to have taken note of this Elvis, however! It's the only thing that saved us from driving around the entire small town several more times as the main road and the ring road were named the same. We drove around at least twice before recognizing him. Good thing he was there or we might still be driving in circles!!!
This is my sister Darcy and I in Epcot Centre. We had a terrific time! We also went to MGM and NASA. It was a great girls' get-away...no husbands and no kids! We even got to shop!!!!!!!!!!!!
No, this is not a screen save! This is the tropical window in the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.
On the way back to Cleveland, we stayed overnight in Atlanta. There we took in the Coca Cola museum gift shop and the highlight was a visit to the aquarium. This is "Ralph" one of the whale sharks on display there. They were all named after the "Honeymooners".
In the aquarium, they have a walk-thru tunnel...a really neat experience. Both these shots were taken there. You really get the feeling of what it would be like to see these animals diving. I've seen schools of rays, like this, while snorkelling. The aquarium is supposed to be the biggest in the world and I would highly recommend it...although it's just packed with people, as well as fish!
Chatanooga Choo Choo, won't you choo choo me home? Maybe I should be a songwriter?
