The Lisa Marie

Elvis had two planes. This one named the "Lisa Marie" was comfortably outfitted with sofas, a bedroom - a nice way to travel. The other plane was a small, private jet. We could not figure out how the pilots could get into the cockpit it was so small. Next stop - Nashville.

More gardens

The end of the home tour and back on the shuttle bus. At the visitors' center there was a building containing many of the cars and motorcycles Elvis owned.

Elvis Aaron Presley

People still come and lay flowers and candles at his gravesite.

Jessie Garon Presley

Elvis had a twin brother, Jessie Garon Presley, who died at birth.

Memory Garden

This statute was at the entrance of the Memory Garden.

Beautiful Garden

We had just toured the building that had been his handball court. It now has an extensive display of memorbilia. As we left that building and headed back to the house, there was this pretty garden.

The pasture and the horses

Looking from the back of the house was this wonderful sight - the horses are in the pasture!

The back of the house

Here you can see the back of the house. From the windows on this side you could look down into the pasture and see the horses. Visitors tour the first floor. When Elvis was living here, there were people at the house all the time. They were restricted to the first floor. The second floor was for Elvis and his family where they could have some privacy.

An Addition to the house

This addition was added, I believe, by Elvis' father. The grounds were beautiful!

Graceland - Elvis Presley's Home

Elvis purchased this house in 1957 for $102,000. I expected a huge mansion, which in it's day I'm sure it was. But by today's standards, it's really not very big. The lady who owned it before he did named it Graceland. The visitor's center is across the highway. Visitors ride a shuttle across the highway and up to the front yard of the house.

First Stop - Memphis

The first night we stayed in Memphis. I wanted to visit Graceland. I've always enjoyed Elvis' music and I even met him in person, in 1968, in Las Vegas. This was my chance to visit his home. So Monday morning, here we are ready for our visit.

On our way to Nashville, TN

We left Palestine, TX and headed northeast into Arkansas. We've been through part of Arkansas in the past, but only on Interstate 40. This time we got to see more of the state. The trees were displaying their fall colors - it was beautiful!

It's Been a Long Time

It's been almost a year since I posted anything to my blog. During that time I've been busy doing volunteer work, took several trips to Oklahoma, took a trip to Nashville in November, then a trip to Arizona in December. And our old computer died, so I lost some of my pictures. My fault, I should have saved them to a disc. Live and learn, I guess.

But now that I'm familiar with our new computer, I'm going to try to post the pictures from the trip to Nashville. Let's see what happens!!

Last Day of the Visit

Skylar riding her bike down our long driveway!
Ella on her bike!
Claudia and Joel watching the girls blow bubbles!! We had a great visit. We hope we'll have more visitors from Arizona!!

Sitting in an Elephant's Footprint

Skylar and Ella fill this elephant's footprint! We couldn't get as close to elephants as we normally would because the male was in his "mating season" which makes him cranky!

The Starrs at the Zoo

I couldn't resist taking another picture of our guests - this time sitting among the blooming violas! This time of the year in east Texas there are blooming flowers everywhere!!! Remember Lady Bird Johnson and her wildflowers? Well, east Texas certainly benefitted from that campaign. The roadsides are a blaze of color right now.

Alligators

I thought this was a good picture of alligators sunning themselves!

Visiting the Aviary

As we entered the Aviary, someone handed Skylar a popsicle stick with birdseed on it. These birds are accustomed to being fed like this. Here Annette is holding a cockatiel.
Then Claudia held the cockatiel. The bird just went from one visitor to the next - very social!
A little finch (I'm not sure) is visiting with Ella.
And then he visited with Skylar, busily eating bird seed from the stick.

A Trip to the Zoo in Tyler

The Caldwell Zoo in Tyler was a good zoo to visit. It is not huge but it is very well maintained. Until 2006 entry into the zoo was free. The entry price was very reasonable and we had a fun afternoon.

The Starr Cemetery

In Texas it seems like there is a cemetery every few miles as you drive on the rural roads. I've been passing the Starr Cemetery for months. So we decided to make a visit since the Arizona Starrs were visiting. John and Susanna Starr were the first folks buried here and that was in 1872. This is a family cemetery and it was very interesting to take a look at their history. Since our visit I learned that the area is called Starr Hill. I believe John and Susanna homesteaded this land.