Easter Weekend

We opted for a little get-away this year--a road trip to Tennessee. I had never been to Tennessee before and I have to say that it was beautiful! Spring must be the best time of year there. The weather was fabulous, the flowers were blooming, everything was green and the temperature was perfect.
First stop was Memphis. I have wanted to see Graceland for a long time. I'm not a huge fan, but of course I like Elvis. He's an icon and his life is fascinating. However, I think the glory days of Graceland are over. It was so tourist-y and the house just looked old and worn. I was kinda feeling bad for the "king". I also thought it was going to be huge, but it really wasn't. I'm sure it was big for those days, but I know people who live in homes that size now and they aren't even celebrities. He had a pool, but it wasn't even very big. In a way it made me like him more. It made him seem a little more like a real (possibly humble?) person who lived in a real house with his parents and other relatives. His airplanes though, made him seem like a rock star. Very cool for those days. Totally 70's. One thing we both thought was kinda funny was his TCB logo. Apparently, Priscilla did the artwork (she drew the lightning bolt). It seemed very amateurish and he had it on everything. But again, it made me kinda like him more.
Memphis itself was a bit scary, old and rundown. We have a friend who is from there and she warned us. She says the city government is so corrupt that there will probably never be good days in Memphis again. She says it is a main stop for drug trafficking. It's sad to see a city go so completely downhill like that.
Next stop, Nashville. We got in town just in time for the Easter egg hunt at the (I can't remember the name of it) mansion. The grounds were beautiful. But, we were there about 10 minutes into the 4-hour long event and wouldn't you know ALL the eggs were gone. :( So we had to be content playing with the chicks and ducks. That was fun. Then off to the Parthenon. This was Emma's main stop. She loves Greek mythology and was really looking forward to this stop. Again, a beautiful park with the Parthenon right in the center. But, it was closed that day so she couldn't see the Athena statue on the inside. Bummer.
Then on to the Country Music Hall of Fame. I enjoyed seeing a country music presentation there and wandering the museum for a while. Hey, if you are interested in Hank Williams at all, this would be a great time to go to the museum. They have this huge display on him. I now know more about Hank than I ever will need to, I'm sure. My favorite part was the dresses. Everything from Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Reba McIntyre, and Carrie Underwood (that giant flowing thing she wore a couple years ago at the CMA awards--glorious to behold). Kids HATED this part of the day. Really. . .hated this whole thing. Oh, well.
We wandered downtown Nashville for a while that night. It was kinda cool because lots of people who are trying to break into the "biz" were out on the street performing. We saw some pretty talented people/kids.
Our last stop was Opryland. No show for us though. Uhhh. . . I would have had to sell a child to get in. I had no idea shows were so expensive there.
So, that was it. It was a nice little excursion that the kids pretty-much hated. But hey, at least the Easter bunny found us.
P.S.--I missed every bit of conference, so we'll be reading the next ensign very carefully. pooh!