Graceland: A living monument to a musical legend

I love Elvis. I have always loved Elvis. He was stylish, interesting, he seemed over the top, yet down to earth, and he just had an amazing star quality most people do not even closely possess. When traveling in Tennessee to see the solar eclipse this summer I had to stop in Memphis, and go to Graceland and see his house.

The house is a colonial mansion, but by today's standards, it's just an average house, maybe even a bit small. It is kept together immaculately and in the same exact way Elvis left it. Our arrival coincided with the 40th anniversary of his death.  As a result there was a lot more really sad older women with roses than is normally the case in Graceland. Our tour began in the museum when we had to buy a ticket to get on the bus to go to the house.

Upon entering the house it's hard not to notice the tacky-chic style of the living room with its stained glass peacocks and baby grand piano. Also, I thought it was strange there was a TV in every room, in Elvis' time having a lot TV's must have been a status symbol.

The backyard had a kidney shaped pool which was very small. I don't think I've ever seen a pool that small. I almost think a person could hit their head while diving into it.  

Elvis was very dedicated to his family. His parents and grandmother were buried in the back yard at Graceland in the meditation garden alongside him. They lived there even after he died, which was Elvis' intention for the house. He wanted to make sure his family was taken care of in all aspects of their life.

Graceland is so much more than just the house, it's a horse pasture, a playground, airplanes (two of them), and there is also a new hotel aptly named "The Guest House".

The clothing and cars are stored in the new museum areas and these areas are very large. Also, there is a hall for concerts to be played so the musical tradition is kept alive. The entire area is growing and taking Elvis' legacy right along with it. Even if you don't like Elvis, his impact on the world around him remains undisputed. He really was the king and his kingdom is still growing.

Crater of Diamonds: Arkansas State Park

There is a place in Murfreesboro, Arkansas where you can dig for diamonds all day long. It's called crater of diamonds and it's 37 acres of field where you can look for diamonds to your hearts content. It's an amazing site, since opening to the public in 1972, over 30,000 diamonds have been found by visitors.

There are several ways to look for diamonds in the crater. One is surface searching. This is basically just walking around, looking down in the ground. This method is good right after they plow (They never tell anyone when they do this) and after a hard rain. While I was surface searching I came upon a lot of trash and junk. I basically walked around and picked stuff up- there was cigarette butts, plastic cups, pop bottles, and just generally junk people leave laying around. There were signs to warn people not to leave things, but humans always do.... 

A second method is call sluicing. This is with a water bath and a screen. You can rent those at the visitors station. It's a little more intense and a lot more work than surface searching. When you are doing this method the water is cold and dirty. It is in giant troughs and you have to use the screens. Basically, you take a bucket of dirt and the screens over to the water. You use two screens, one on the top and a smaller screen on the bottom. The screen on the bottom is for finer dirt and particles to be trapped. 

The third method for searching is dry sifting. This can only be done when the land is really dry. When we visited it had just rained the night before so dry sifting was not an option.

There is an equipment rental place, but you can bring your own equipment if you'd like. Things you will need, buckets, trowels, shovels, screens, and maybe gloves if you don't like getting dirty, but if you don't like getting dirty, you really should not do this activity.  There is also a mineral identification place where they will tell you what kind of minerals you've found. Finding diamonds is hard because you need to know what you are looking for, raw diamonds are pretty extraordinary.

Diamonds are found all the time- almost everyday. There are brown, white, and yellow, but lots of people also come and look everyday. The park has a lot of visitors, statistically your chances of finding one aren't really as high as one would hope. Lots of the people digging had brought their own equipment, their own buckets and shovels.  One couple had a canopy they put up because there is no shade. It's a very hot in the sun on the field.

Randy and I found nothing but rocks, pretty rocks (quartz) and some good exercise. We did discover that no exercise is more motivational then the hope of finding a bunch of diamonds. 

Ruby Falls

Chattanooga from part of look out mountain

 Imagine going under ground- 260 feet - and walking through caverns filled with oddly shaped stalagmites and stalactites only to come upon a waterfall. A giant waterfall. A 145 foot water fall.  Gushing at 300 gallons a minute this spectacular waterfall is worth the walk.

It just got cooler and cooler

We began our tour in line by an elevator. Each tour group has about 40 people in it and each elevator ride takes about 12 people down 260 feet. Warning: There is no cellphone service (DUH- you are underground) Once you have reached the bottom a photographer takes your picture (Like any good tour) and then you wait for the entire group. The tour guides are very knowledgeable. They stop to explain parts of the cave. Many of the stalagmites and stalactites make interesting shapes and they have signs pointing them out.

One of the shapes

 The tour to the waterfall takes about an hour and as you are going to the waterfall you run into other groups coming back. The pathways are extremely narrow, so if you are claustrophobic this is not a good tour to take. It can be unsettling because it is dark and damp.

Mirrored pond

 There are places where the water drips and it's so calm and quiet. The most amazing part on the way to the falls was the mirror pond. It was a collection of water and the park has put up a blue light behind it.

The falls

 Some other exciting things they have at the park is the incline railway- it goes up Lookout Mountain. They also have a zipline course, which is only open on the weekends.



 This is where we went:

http://www.rubyfalls.com/

Entrance to amazing Stalactites

Very Narrow paths

Catcus/Candle shape (This one we could touch)

The Great American Eclipse

I told Randy I wanted to see the eclipse. At first he was skeptical. I don't blame him, he geninuely thought this was just something that happened frequently enough to see anytime.  It is not. It is amazing coincidence when the sun and the moon line up and block the light for just a little bit on earth. This happens about every 18 months somewhere in the world. The next one to happen in our area is in 7 years.  But who knows where a person might be in 7 years? So I did not want to wait.

First we flew to Atlanta days before the eclipse. We rented a car and decided to stay in Tennessee and see Graceland. Then we went to Arkansas to dig for diamonds, then we headed for the path of totality.  None of this was planned in advance except for the plane ticket and the car rental. We had no reservations and did not know where we were going except that we were going to go to path of totality.

Partial eclipse through the glasses

Luckily we have some friends in Tennessee who have an amazing property with lots of room and it's the highest point in their county. Plus it was just outside of Clarksville, Tennessee- so it was perfect. Everything fell into line, even the weather- which was 100% clear skies!!

The glasses where amazing. I can't figure out how or why anyone would even try to stare at the sun during the eclipse with out glasses. You can see nothing without them. The glasses make all the difference. I tried several times to take pictures with them, but they didn't really come out at all. The total eclipse was completely view able with out glasses. It was amazing. It was like being in a 360 degree sunset. There was dusk all around us, not complete darkness, but dusk. When the sun came back the birds began chirping again, the song they sing in the morning. It was really cool.

Partial Eclipse as seen by the camera with no filter.

We had a lot of fun with it, we made an eclipse box- it worked, we put white paper on the ground and watched the shadow waves, they looked like snakes and we even tried viewing it from the bucket.

The total eclipse was worth it. If you ever have an opportunity to catch one, do it. Just don't forget your glasses so you can watch the phases.

Total eclipse

Road trip: Traveling Alone

I set out at the beginning of last year to visit the 12 US States that I have not visited. Randy was unable to make some of these journeys with me, and I understood as I made my plans. I am not afraid to travel alone. I never have been. My first "alone" trip was to Boston when I was 21. I went on a duck tour, saw the aquarium, went to the Cheers Bar (Both of them), stayed at the Omni Parker House, and walked the entire Freedom Trail. Basically, it's scary at first but when you get started it's not really scary at all. It's pretty exciting to see new stuff, to be able to take your time, to not be on someone else's agenda.

My first stop was to Washington, DC. Technically not a state, but Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia were also on my list, so I thought I could knock those out on my way and maybe see the Capital. 

I started my journey at 9pm. The total time to DC from my house is 11 hours, basically I knew it was going to be a really long night, so I planned on stopping a couple hours into the drive. 

I drove all the way to the outside of Cleveland and found a place to stay. There were a lot of hotels. One correction of errors for future trips is to have my stopping point planned in advance.  Being a woman and traveling on my own is not as dangerous or scary as people make it out to be. It would be nice to have someone with me, and I would appreciate the companionship, but being alone isn't bad either.  Anyway I found a place to sleep for a couple of hours when I woke up I booked a hotel in DC and went on my way. 

Driving through Ohio was kind of slow, it was all toll roads as well. The toll roads continued on into Pennsylvania and it was a lot slower. When I got to the outside of Pittsburgh I discovered the construction that I had seen 7 years before while driving through was still there. The speed limit was also only 65 most of the way.

The drive through Pennsylvania was familiar. I like driving through the rocky highways. Toward the end there was a very large tunnel that cut right through a mountain. I discovered I do not like driving through tunnels, which was kind of a shocker because I didn't think it would upset me.

My mother didn't like this. Randy's mother didn't like this. A lot of people did not like this. I'm not really sure why. It's not like we live in Saudi Arabia, it's not illegal for me to travel alone. It's also not like I don't have precautions. I never stop at dark rest stops. I make sure that places are well lit and there are people around, also look for signs for security cameras installed. Sure emergencies happen, your car could break down, you could have an accident, there could be a serial killer on the loose (the last one is probably pretty rare, but it's important to remember not all people are good) but there are also things you can do to help prevent or facilitate fixing these problems. 

Here's a couple of tips

1- Get your car checked out before taking a road trip. An oil change is a good idea. (I just rented for the major trips)

2- Make sure your insurance is up to date. If you have an accident they can help you out if you are stranded. 

3- Lock your doors and be aware of your surroundings. I'm not recommending a concealed weapon, in fact you have to follow the laws in other states if you are driving through them. Many states have different rules about this, and also pepper spray or mace, or even a taser, can be turned against you. Self defense classes are always a good idea.  A really good thing to have is your phone and always keep it charged.

4- When staying at a hotel make sure they are reputable. There are many "murder motels". This term is loosely used, they don't really have murders (all the time) but they are places that can be unrealistically awful. Luckily with the internet and GPS it is a lot easier to avoid these type of hotels. 

5- Travel during the day. I sometimes travel at night because I occasionally work 3rd shift, so I really am used to being awake at night, the daylight makes me sleepy when I'm on that cycle,  it can be more dangerous. 

6- If you are not traveling during the day make sure that places you stop at night are really well lit.
7- If you can travel with a buddy, always do. It does make the time go faster and is a lot safer. 

I hope this helps or at least gives you some inspiration for your own road trip!

Russian Tea Room - NYC

Recently, I was lucky enough to take a trip to one of my favorite cities ever: New York City. It seems things there are always changing, evolving. Blocks of shops, cultures abound. Beer, music, people everywhere you look. Yellow cabs and black town cars lining the streets, but this blog is not about all that,  it is not about shopping, or site seeing, it is about the Russian Tea Room. I have missed out on afternoon tea too many times. I really was getting frustrated. So I told my aunt we had to go to tea. It was either the Ritz or the Russian Tea Room.  I wanted something less typical, so I chose the Russian Tea Room. I figured it would be an amazing place full of Russian stuff- I love Faberge eggs and Russian artwork.
My cousin had just graduated from his medical program (Congratulations Dr.!!!) and he was able to join us so the day was going to be great.

When we first arrived we stopped at the bar for a drink. We had Moscow Mules, I felt this was appropriate with us being in the Russian Tea Room. They came to us in typical Moscow Mule mugs and this gave us some time to scope out the place. The room was full of Russian Art, gold and glass. It was very decadent.

When we sat down we ordered which kind of tea we desired. Even though I don't usually drink anything with caffeine I opted for the Darjeeling Tea, it was black tea, and it is the only kind I drink when I drink tea (which is extremely rare). As we sat with tea steeping and having conversations about our jobs, a man came in and sat down behind us. This is a very nice establishment, and I do not want this experience to dampen or make anyone not want to come to this place, but he was carrying a mannequin. Yes, a mannequin. It was very heavy as he lugged it in and out of the booth. At first we thought it was a dead person, because honestly, that is what this mannequin looked like. A dead person. He ordered and sat there. It was interesting how the wait staff and management handled it. They seemed just as baffled by it as we were- yet remained extremely professional. I wanted to take a picture- but yet I really didn't want to be rude. I overheard the man tell the waiter, "No he's not a real person". It all seemed very strange. He ordered, ate, and left. It was very quick and we all watched as he hauled this very heavy life size doll out the door with him.

The first tray of little sandwiches was interesting. I liked them. I had no problem with any of them. It was typical, I guess, I wouldn't know, I had never been to high tea before. Then of course came the scones and desserts. It was all delicious and nice. We had wonderful conversation, delicious sandwiches, delectable petit fours, and we all got to see something bizarre. I think this sort of thing happens only in New York. 

Where we went: http://www.russiantearoomnyc.com/ 

NYC- The Statue of Liberty

Lady Liberty. A gift from the French and a monument to our freedoms. (We paid for the pedestal, they did the rest.)  She certainly is an interesting statue to look at and you can see her from really far away at the port welcoming boats in the harbor. Most people who are emigrating to the US come in on planes now, but she is still waiting in the ocean. This is one of America's most iconic landmarks and has been used in numerous films over the years.

My first tip is if you are planning on going to the Statue of Liberty you must buy your tickets way in advance. Especially if you want to go up into the crown. Just like most national monuments there are only so many people they allowed in everyday. I got our tickets a month in advance.  The ticket includes a ride to Ellis Island for the history of emigration (if you are into that sort of thing).

We bought tickets for the Pedestal, which is basically just bottom of the statue. The crown was sold out for months, so if you are planning to go up there buy tickets in advance.  We took the elevator up and the stairs down. It was a lot of stairs. I recommend taking the elevator. There is security again before going inside the statue. It seems a little excessive because we had to go through security to get on the boat to the island, but I guess it's better safe than sorry.  It is a national landmark.

Inside there is a statue of the torch and a museum.  The, y have a replica of the foot, which my hilarious aunt pointed out the sign reads, "Don't stand on the foot" and she kept saying what else are you supposed to do with a foot???




It was a lot of fun to walk around the island. My aunt and I took selfies and we walked around the statue. Here's some more pictures.

Here's more information about the statue and how to get there:

http://www.statueoflibertytickets.com/?gclid=CKOTqdW95M0CFQQbaQodlSYBbA