Hotlanta Washed Out

Our plan was to get to Atlanta early in the afternoon or evening and spend a couple hours exploring the city. I really wanted to see Stone Mountain, which was a couple miles away. But, the best laid plans do not always work out, by the time we got to the Atlanta is was late in the evening, so we decided to just eat in the city.

A friend of Jonathan who lives in the area suggested eating at the Varsity. He told Jonathan that anytime business associates came into town they always requested to eat there. I had also recently heard of the place online; it was given rave reviews. The Varsity is the Largest Drive-in restraunt in America and the staff is known for yelling repeatedly, “What y’all have!”
However, the food was by far the worst I had eaten on the trip! Chili cheese dogs with old foul tasting chili, the burgers were small, and the fries were old and soggy; hardly worth the time we spent looking for the place.

It was already late into the night, so Stone Mountain was out of the picture and we were still trying to get farther down the road so we could be in Charleston at a reasonable time. But, Jonathan’s friend told us a section of town to check out that was kind of like Claremont, Ca. It was suppose to be the hip, artistic college hangout area of Atlanta. We drove by, but by that time the weather had changed drastically; buckets of water was dowsing our windshield. Thunder and lighting were going to be the only entertainment we would have for the night.

I really wanted to walk around and see the city; I was hoping I would get a chance to do so at a future date. That future date wasn’t as far away as I thought it would be.

To be cont….

Martin Luther King: From Birmingham to DC

Bombingham...ummm, I mean, Birmingham

We went to visit a Battlefield. No not a site from the revolutionary or the civil war, but a battlefield from the Civil Rights Movement.

To be honest, I couldn’t understand why we were going to Birmingham Al., I thought it would be a waste of our time and day; from everything I could find online it seemed like just a industrial city with little site seeing. The only place that looked interesting to visit online was a park, that had statues of ferocious canines. I had little recollection of the significance of this city on citvil rights, but knew enough to know that by name it was important to that era of history.

King and others praying

By the time we arrived, the Civil Rights Museum had already closed. I don’t think we had a pre-planned idea we were going to visit the Museum, but once we passed by, it seemed like an interesting place to visit. Nevertheless, there was a park across the street and I thought this might be the one I had briefly read about online, so we decided to walk around.

When we got to the park, a homeless man named Juan asked us if we knew what we were looking at around the park and the meaning behind everything. When we all sort of fumbled around trying to find the right way to say, “No, we just wanted to get out of the car and see some interesting sculptures” he wedge his way into our group and gave us a tour of the park and a history lesson of Birmingham.

For a homeless man, he spoke very eloquently and seemed pretty intelligent. Juan told us he was there as a young man in his teens during the demonstrations when the Black Community enlisted children to march, because the ranks of the adult had been depleted. Children as young as six were arrested, dogs attacked some, and the water cannons turned on others; he was apart of it all. I’m not sure if I believe him; it could be that he was just telling us a tall-tale about his part to draw us into the story.

16th Street Baptist Church- Site of Church Bombing

Whatever the case, he was a interesting tour guide, probably one of the best guides I ever had. He even told me the best places to stand to get the best picture. Yes, nothings for free, he wanted a tip for his troubles. Honestly, I’m stingy with my money and rarely give to the homeless, but this man wasn’t looking for a hand out. He had provided a service and wanted compensation and in my opinion was a much better way to get money than standing on a corner with a sign.

While searching the internet on the park (Kelly Ingram Park) I found a couple other bloggers who had been given a tour by Juan. One is a freelance Photographer who took a picture of our tour guide. Check out his site here.

APlace for Revolution and Reconciliation

4 Fountains represting four girls killed in the church Bombing

Overall, the park was a moving experience and probably one of my favorite stops on our trip. I was jolted by the experience of having to walk down a walk way where Canines on a leash were lashing out (though I sloughed off my emotions turning to humor). I was moved by seeing the memorial of the four fountains representing four your girls killed in a church bombing, as you could view the church from the fountain. Also the sculpture of the children protesting that read "I ain't afraid of your Jail" as you walked around a walk way to see the children behind bars. The whole park was a Beautiful testament to the power of peaceful demonstrations and how Martin Luther King was able to stop segregation through the peaceful protest demonstrations of children.

I Ain't Afraid of your Jails

Bring out the Dogs

Water Canons

A king is Born!

Since we went to the recording studio where Elvis exploded into Stardom, and went to the gaudy grand place known as Graceland, we thought we might as well stop by the place of Elvis’ humble beginnings; Tupelo, Mississippi.


I love streetslights on a wire...it's like Christmas year round.

Interestingly enough, I found out afterwards that this is also the hometown of my stepfather’s dad. I never had the chance to meet the man, but it’s interesting to find some family history on the journey.


It was a couple bucks to walk through the house and see it preserved almost the way it was when Elvis was a kid. They also have an Elvis museum on site, but after spending a couple hours at Grace just prior it didn’t seem all that fascinating to try out. They also had a gift shop, with a fairly large overpriced selection of Elvis goodies. I did purchase a postcard, which they will send for you if you request.


On the Porch where the King was born.

The house was a really quick tour. I mean it’s only two rooms; the bedroom area when you walk in and the kitchen area. But, for fast-paced historical roots of an icon, it was worth the visit. I enjoyed the house much more than Graceland, it didn’t feel like going to see a big production.

I’m told that down the street, somewhere in the quaint downtown section of tupelo there is still the Hardware store where Elvis’ mom bought him his first guitar. So, if your traveling around trying to get your Elvis tour in you might want to stop there as well.


The inside furnishings of the two room house.



A relica model of the car Elvis and his family used to move to Memphis.

Buying Your Way Into Graceland

The Front of GracelandThe Backside of Graceland...much like the backside of water

The overall mantra is if your going to go to Memphis then you must see Graceland! However, after checking the estate out I believe I was fooled. Not that it was all bad, but for the money…a hefty $27 bucks per person to walk through a couple rooms was not what I had in mind.

The plan was to get to Memphis early on Monday and do both the Sun Studios Recording tour and see Graceland. However, instead of arriving early morning/afternoon we pulled into Memphis around 4 pm. So, we had to make a change of plans and decide what we were going to see on Monday which ended up being Sun Studios. The next day we rose early and were out the door by 8:30 am if I recall correctly and were there by 9:30. The place was already packed. It felt like I was standing in a line for Disneyland; only slower. After we purchased our tickets, we went to another line to load into a van to transport us across the street to the Mansion. The Vans held, I’m guessing, 30 people at the most. Then you had to wait for another 5-10 minutes for another van to come and pick you up. Really, if this is going to be the modus operandi then at least they should talk with Disney about getting their tram system; much more efficient.


The tour consisted of the downstairs portion of the Mansion (the top is closed off to the public). He had a basic family room and dining room area. The kitchen is tantamount to what would be found in a mobile home built in the 1980s (I should know I lived in one), nothing impressive, though I suppose at the time it was a big deal. Then he had some freaky rooms: the yellow lighting bolt room, the pool room with cloth from floor to ceiling, and the tiki room. We were shown outside and then went through what was basically a museum of his life and career. A room of some of his fabulous clothing, a room with all his platinum and gold records; it was impressive, but I came to get a glimpse into where the King lived and how he lived. I don’t think the self-guided tour accomplished that task.


Don’t get me wrong, it was enjoyable and the place was interesting, it just wasn’t worth the price of admission. I would point people to the much more interesting Sun Studios tour.

Off Limits!!!

Trailer Park Kitchen

TCB- Taking Care o' Business

Hanging out in Elvis bar- that's always a thumbs up!!!

Tiki Room

Elvis Wardrobe and awards

Elvis has left the Buliding!

Free Museums!

Bank of America is promoting various museums nationwide and passing a deal on to their customers! If you are a Bank of America client, check out this deal! for those in the Southern California area it includes LACMA and Discovery Science Center.