Sam LOVES all the workout equipment in Academy. I was looking for something the other day and Travis made a video of Sam playing on one of the ellipticals they have. He really likes this one since it is compact and he can do the arm things fairly well.
🙂
Steph
3 year old exercise!
May 27, 2012
Graceland- through the lens of Sam’s camera
May 27, 2012
Photography, Sam, Travel, Vacations Leave a comment
To keep Sam entertained and “busy” while touring Graceland and the zoo, I let Sam use my waterproof/shockproof camera to take pictures. He LOVES taking pictures so I knew he would enjoy this. We threaded the strap through his “leash” so that he didn’t really have to keep up with it- it just hung at his side. The following are the pictures he took and I will try to explain as much as I can.
The windowsill of the bus that took us to Graceland
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The front door of Graceland
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A Graceland employee that Sam flirted with
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Black and yellow “entertainment” room
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Jungle Room
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Somebody’s shorts in the Jungle Room
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Dad Buddy
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Mum Jubie heading to the Jungle Room
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Sam taking a picture of Dad Buddy taking a picture of him (yes, we do this frequently and Sam has picked up on it- HA!)
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Whoa! I don’t know!
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The boot trophies
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I have previously mentioned that Sam was fascinated with the boots- the above pictures are the proof!
Elvis clothes
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Super blurry Mommy!
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Border grass
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Me taking a picture of Sam taking a picture of me (it is a genetic disorder we all seem to have- HA!)
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We did it again!
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“Elvis bip bops!”
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Leaving Graceland
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“Mommy, a tractor like Pop Pop’s!”
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Sam, the food photographer (he gets that from me- I am always taking pictures of our food so that I can put a picture in my recipe file on the computer)… This was lunch, chicken tenders, mac & cheese, ranch dressing.
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Mommy!
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Self portrait attempts
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The man who took a family picture for us
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His wife
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Getting off the Lisa Marie
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Our “new friend” got in on the family fun! This time it is Dad Buddy taking a picture of Sam taking a picture of our “new friend” taking a picture of Sam. Wow! That was complicated. 🙂
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“New friend’s” wife again
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His shorts
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The sidewalk and Dad Buddy’s shoe
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The hotel room phone
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Mommy went under the water
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Underwater pool jet
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Supper at the Jungle Room Cafe- PB & J and fries
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Fingers
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Sam’s last breakfast at the Heartbreak Hotel- Jelly Biscuit, Cranberry Juice
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More fingers and a foot riding in the car to the zoo
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Giraffes
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Swimming seal
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Girl in hole in the wall
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Trees?
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Zoo lunch- Mac and Cheese, Applesauce
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Monkeys in the window
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More lunch
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One last time… Sam taking a picture of Dad and I taking a picture of him
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Supper on the way home- Wendy’s nuggets and fries
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Two feet riding home in the backseat
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Passenger seat back
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Clueless?
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I hope you have enjoyed your trip through Graceland with Sam and his camera. It has been very “enlightening” for me. HA HA!!
🙂
Steph
Graceland Trip- Day 3 (Memphis Zoo)
May 27, 2012
Photography, Sam, Travel, Vacations, Videos, Zoo Leave a comment
Our last morning at the Heartbreak Hotel was spent packing the car (and trying to sneak a picture of “Elvis” guest’s outfit of the day)
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followed by a continental breakfast in the Jungle Room Cafe.
After we checked out of the Heartbreak, we headed to the Memphis Zoo. We had planned on spending our last morning at the zoo and then driving straight home that afternoon. It was a LOOOOONG, HOT day but it was fun and Sam ended up sleeping probably 5 of the 7 hours it took us to get home. He was a bit on the tired side. 🙂
The Memphis Zoo!
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Our Alexandria Zoo membership got Sam and I in for half price. WOO HOO!
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Outside of Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC, I think the Memphis Zoo is my favorite “big” zoo. My favorite all-time zoo is ours- it is the perfect size and has plenty of animals and the zookeepers interact with you… we love that. Sam really enjoyed this zoo too. However, he kept asking to go swim in the various fountains (which is apparently something allowed) and so that was a bit frustrating since he couldn’t understand why he couldn’t play in it in the clothes he would need to ride in the car for 6+ hours in. 😦
However, getting to the lions quickly got his mind off the fountains. 🙂
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They have a new dinosaur exhibit. You have to pay extra to get in. However, they have a hole in the gate that you enter through and so I snapped a picture. You can see a dinosaur poking its head out from behind the tree.
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Our zoo doesn’t have giraffes but, Memphis does!
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Heading to Africa (with some dust on my lens…oops!)
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On the way into Africa, we spot a chipmunk. Throughout the day, we saw numerous chipmunks but this was the only one I was able to get decent pictures of. It is such a cute little thing. Sam called him “Alvin”- HA!
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Ssam was checking out something in the ostrich area
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Ostrich eggs (they ARE huge)
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We found more giraffes and Sam decided to snap a picture.
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Elephants!
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Sam smashed a penny in one of those machines
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They do camel rides (for a additional fee)
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Venturing to the Alaska area- a place where Sam has never seen these kinds of animals.
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We watched a seal show. It was neat!
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Polar bear!
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The seals were swimming by the window
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Sam and I sitting inside a weird sounding hole in the wall 🙂
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The Sam and Mum Jubie hopped in a boat!
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There was a speaker inside the basket and Sam thought it was hilarious to stick his head in and listen to the music.
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This was as close as we could get Sam to get to the Indian.
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Eventually, I found a couple of gators!
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FINALLY, we found the tram! We hopped on and rode it to the next area- China!
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Can you spot the monkey hiding in the bush (it is light brown)?
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HA HA!
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Checking out the Giant Pandas- a first for Sam and I!
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Seeing him eating the bamboo reminds of the corny joke about the panda that walks into a restaurant orders food and eats it, fires his gun and walks out. The people look around like that was weird and the waiter says “He’s a panda. He eats, shoots, and leaves.” Hardy Har Har! 🙂
Here is our cute little Marco Polo 🙂
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These are Pere David’s Deer. These are the deer that our safari/feed animal zoo has that MUST have water in their habitat in order to survive. They are really pretty. It was neat to see them again.
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We accidentally walked by the carousel and so Sam got to ride it. He picked the panda.
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That boy LOVES riding around in circles. 🙂
It was nap time for the gorillas.
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It was lunchtime for us. We ate the Cat Cafe and sat on the side of the restaurant closest to the monkeys. It was really neat because the monkeys would come up to the window and interact. CHeck it out!
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After lunch, we quickly walked through the big cats. We were trying to go to the farm so we could ride the train that we bought tickets for- that was our last thing to do before heading home. However, I got a bit bogged down in the cat area because there were SOOO many beautiful cats.
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I see a Red Panda looking at me- do you?
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Not a cat- just a tired 3 year old!
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Finally, we make it to the train and guess what-
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Sam was not happy about that. Thankfully, we were able to get our money back. Now, we just had to meander back towards the entrance. On the way back, we found some penguins!
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I did make a few videos while in the zoo and have pasted them all together in the video below. Enjoy!
Goodbye, Memphis Zoo!!
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We came home down the Interstate through Jackson, MS. It at least felt faster and since we didn’t make any fun detours, it was faster. After grabbing supper along the way, my mom gave Sam a squeezable marshmallow for dessert. That sounds totally disgusting to me. 🙂
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But he seemed to like it. 🙂
Graceland Trip- Day 2 (Heartbreak Hotel fun)
May 27, 2012
Sam, Travel, Vacations Leave a comment
After we rested a bit from touring Graceland and all the exhibits, Sam and I went to the hotel pool for some water fun.
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What was amazing to me is that it was the end of May and the pool water was warm. That is the nice thing about have crazy, mild winters.
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After we dried off and changed out of our bathing suits, we ate supper down in the Jungle Room cafe again. The night before we spotted a guest dressed like Elvis asleep at a table in the cafe. This time, he was riding around in his wheelchair and dressed again like Elvis- too funny!
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While Sam was getting ready for bed, Dad and I walked back up to the exhibits to try to get a picture of the closed gates of Graceland. However, they had just reopened for something and it would be another hour before they would close them again. Instead, I took a picture of the sun setting behind the Lisa Marie.
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When we got back to our room, Sam and I made a quick dash for the gift shop in the hotel. Most of the stuff was priced the same as the other gift shops we had been in earlier today. Therefore, I didn’t see the point in buying anything until we got back to our hotel. I took Sam and gave him $10 and told him he could pick out and buy something himself in the gift shop. He ended up with “the keys to Graceland”- HA!
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He absolutely loves this keychain. In the various gift shops we went in, he would always migrate over to the keychains and this is the one he would play with. Therefore, I am not surprised with what he bought. He also picked his daddy out a Graceland golfball.
Shortly after getting back to the room, he was passed out in bed. Our three year old trooper was exhausted!
🙂
Steph
Graceland Trip- Day 2 (Airplanes and other exhibits)
May 27, 2012
Sam, Travel, Vacations Leave a comment
After lunch we toured the Elvis’ two airplanes- the Lisa Marie and the Hound Dog 2. On the way, we stopped for pictures with the Hard Rock Cafe guitar that drops on New Years Eve.
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Going through “security” to board the planes
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The Lisa Marie…
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Now boarding…
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Bathroom (gold flecked sink and the toilet is under the leather cushion)
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Another picture of Dad taking a picture of me taking a picture of him (and Sam completely ignoring the “Do Not Climb” signs- oops!)
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Gold plated seatbelt buckles
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Elvis wasn’t a big alcohol drinker but he did keep it stocked for his friends- he liked Dr. Pepper and Gatorade
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A bed with a seatbelt!
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The Hound Dog 2… a smaller jet
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Sam liked the cut out of Elvis in one of the gift shops.
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The next exhibit was one about how Elvis’ fashion has inspired “modern” fashion. Needless to say, there were a lot of clothes in this exhibit. 🙂
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My favorite quote from this exhibit…
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Some more hands-on reading…
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Elvis and Johnny Cash…
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A letter from Johnny Cash to Elvis about why he (Cash) wears black
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Elvis’ shoe (right) and Justin Timberlake’s shoe (left)
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After we were done checking out the plethora of clothes we took a break for a good old fashion banana split. Again, Mum Jubie and Sam grabbed a table while Dad and I built our split.
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Sam enjoyed it
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We walked past the Graceland sign on the way to the last few exhibits. I REALLY like this picture.
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Elvis got drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War. He thought it was a privilege to serve and did so willingly. Therefore, he had to take a break from performing. When he started back, they made a big deal out of it and called it the “’68 Special”. His come back tour. This exhibit didn’t have much in it other than a video and 6 plaques to read about what all happened in 1968.
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You might can read this- if you need to make them bigger, click on the individual picture.
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Our final exhibit was “Elvis on Tour” and it was about a film crew and their footage they recorded while being allowed to travel with Elvis.
Sweaty Elvis…
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More clothes and TV screens to watch…
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This last exhibit knocked Sam out 🙂
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and so Dad Buddy carried his Little Buddy back to the Heartbreak Hotel…
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🙂
Steph
Graceland Trip- Day 2 (Automobile Museum & Lunch)
May 27, 2012
Sam, Travel, Vacations Leave a comment
Once we got back across the street from touring Graceland, we headed to the Automobile Museum. This is where all of Elvis’ cars now “live.”
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Again, I am not going into detail because this is included in the photo book I’ve made.
Priscilla’s car…
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Rolls Royce Silver Cloud
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Stutz Blackhawk (read the story- pretty neat)
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Blue Hawaii Jeep
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Lincoln Continental Mark II
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His “toys”
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Another Stutz Blackhawk
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Elvis’ tractor that made Sam think of his Pop Pop Earl…
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The pink cadillac her bought for his mom
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Mercedes Benz Limo
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Lincoln Continental
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The had a movie that you could sit and watch. Sam and Mum Jubie took advantage…
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Cadillac El Dorado
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After we left the car museum, we ate lunch just outside the museum. This was the most expensive meal we ate while there- the hotel is definitely cheaper! However, it kept us from walking about to the hotel AND it had salads- the other restaurants were all fried foods, not exactly celiac friendly.
While Dad and I got our food, Sam and Mum Jubie claimed a table. There is only one “car booth” in the restaurant and they managed to score it! How fun!!
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Sam was pretty happy about their “find”
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As we were finishing up, a nice man came over and asked if we wanted a picture of the four of us in the car. We agreed and so he took our picture. Thanks!
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Sam then took his picture… (which I will talk about more later)
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Once we were finished, it was off to the other exhibits!! There is A LOT to see in Graceland!
🙂
Steph
Graceland Trip- Day 2 (The House)
May 27, 2012
Sam, Travel, Vacations Leave a comment
After spending our first night in the Heartbreak Hotel, we got up, ate breakfast, and walked over to pick up our tickets to the Graceland Mansion and other exhibits.
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Ticket acquired! At each exhibit, they tear off that part of the ticket. Pretty neat idea, if I do say so myself!
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The next thing you do is get your picture taken at the gates of Graceland- HA! It is actually a backdrop at the gates because you have to ride a bus across the street to the mansion.
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For the tour, you have headphones and an MP3 player to wear so you can listen to the tour of the mansion. It was nice but I found it difficult to take pictures, pay attention to what was being said through my headphones, and read the other stuff in the exhibit. I just can’t multitask like that. 😦
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Sam LOVED those headphones and learned to see the number on the signs and find it on his player. High tech 3 year old!
We are about to enter Graceland Mansion!!
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I have actually had photo books made of our trip so I will not put a whole lot of detail into these pictures. I will just try to post one of each of the rooms and some other fun ones as I see fit. 🙂
The first room (aka peacock room)
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His mom’s bedroom
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The stairs to the private second floor- Elvis didn’t even allow friends up there. When the family comes to visit, they still stay up there. He died in the bathroom up there, too… just an FYI. Another fun tidbit, when people die on the toilet paramedics call it “Elvis”ing. Kind of funny, kind of weird, all at the same time.
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The dining room (with my parent’s fine china pattern on the table- neat!)
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The large carpeted (?!) kitchen
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The NO Saints Room (ok, not really- it was a room for entertaining. It was black and yellow though.) 🙂
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The pool room covered in fabric on the walls and ceiling
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The infamous “jungle room”
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Lisa Marie’s playset
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Listening to the tour and taking pictures (I will have a post fully dedicated to Sam’s camera a bit later)
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Where Elvis would do radio interviews
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HA!
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Elvis was actually born in Tupelo, MS. This is a miniature replica of the shotgun-style house he lived in until they moved to Memphis.
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The back of the house
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The smokehouse Elvis would periodically use as a firing range
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The backyard (where Priscilla’s horse and another horse are stabled)
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A newspaper article published on my birthday (many years before I was born)
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Sam is a hands-on type reader
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Tons of memorbilia
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Hotel Bill
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The trophy room (appropriately named)
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Sam liked the boot trophies the best
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Movie and clothing
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Elvis and Priscilla’s wedding clothes right beside Elvis’ US Army uniform
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Lisa Marie’s baby clothes
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I didn’t know just how generous Elvis was. This is a plaque showing some of the people/programs he helped.
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Bank notes where he paid off various debts for people and made contributions
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Hands-on reading again…
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The jumpsuits cracked me up
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Swimming pool (I wonder what the person who maintains it thinks of it- knowing that no one swims in it)
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My dad taking a picture of me taking a picture of him
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The racquetball building
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The room where he and friends would gather to sing hymns- which he died the morning of the day that he died.
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They have converted the racquetball court into a place to display more awards. If you can imagine the size of a racquetball court then you can almost imagine just how many awards were packed into this room. Insane!
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One of the horses
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The other horse
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A big monument given by friends
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The Presley family are all buried here. This was the slowest part of the tour because you had to stand in line as people read each grave marker.
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Still listening…
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Sam taking a picture of me taking a picture of him
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Elvis’ twin brother…
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Elvis’ mom…
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Elvis’ dad…
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Elvis (he was actually buried at another cemetery but he and other family were dug up a few weeks later and moved to Graceland out of fear of vandalism)
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Elvis’ grandma (who outlived them all)…
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The front of the mansion
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Tour of Graceland… CHECK!
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One of the gates on our way out…
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🙂
Steph
Graceland Trip- Day 1
May 27, 2012
Family Life, Sam, Travel, Vacations, Videos Leave a comment
I just got back from a trip to Memphis with my parents and Sam. So as to not have ridiculously long posts (longer than I usually do), I will break the trip up into days. You can thank me later. 🙂
Day One was our travel day. We took Route 1 on the map below.
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We decided to go this route because it was back roads and took us through Arkansas- we none of us had been before. 🙂 It took us about 2.5 hours to get to the Arkansas line…
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and then another 30 minutes to find “civilization”. HA!
When we reached “civilization” it was lunch time and so we found a Sonic and decided to eat there. They actually had a dine-in section with phones to place your order on. Pretty cool!
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Then we continued on our way until we were surprised to find an Arkansas Welcome Center just before we left the state and headed into Mississippi.
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Sorry for the blur…
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I think all state’s should have nice concrete signs. It would be fun to stop and take pictures as you travel and then make a collage. Maybe I am the only one who thinks that and that is why they don’t do it. Who knows?
Anyway, the welcome center is located on what Dad and I were convinced is the Mississippi River. We later found out it wasn’t- it was a “horseshoe lake”- I think that is what the lady called it. Regardless, it was beautiful and we took more pictures.
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Ugh! I don’t know what was going on with the camera. Few of my Arkansas pictures with people in them were clear. Oh well…
Almost immediately after we left the welcome center, we cross the Mississippi River and entered in Mississippi. As we drove along we passed a sign for the “Birthplace of Kermit the Frog” Museum. We decided to stop and check it out.
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It was cute. Sadly, the only thing Sam knows of muppets are from Sesame Street which he doesn’t watch very often. However, he did recognize Dinosaur Train and a couple of other characters. I recognized all of it and even learned that some stuff was Jim Henson that I didn’t realize- the movie Labyrinth, for example.
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They had a gift shop and in the back of the gift shop was a hodge podge of memorabilia that people have donated.
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One of the original Kermit muppets. Jim Henson used the river in Leland, MS as the setting for Kermit’s song about it being good to be green or something like that. 🙂
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Two of my childhood favorites- Fraggle Rock and The Dark Crystal.
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We then didn’t stop again except for potty breaks. Finally, after a 6 hour trip turned into an 8 hour trip (with fun side stops), we made it to our destination!!!
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Here’s proof that it really is “down at the end of Lonely Street”…
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We unpacked…
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Sam found the phone in the room…
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While waiting on the elevator, Mr. Friendly (aka Sam) struck up a conversation with the manager on duty. She was so impressed with Sam that she gave him a “surprise” with strict orders that he couldn’t open it until he got back home- Love Me Tender chocolates!!
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| From May 2012 |
Sam was a bit excited about his chocolates!
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| From May 2012 |
We have since discovered they aren’t cheap chocolates either. We found a smaller box in the gift shop for almost $12 so I don’t know how much these actually cost! Way to go, Sam!
After we unpacked, we went down to the hotel restaurant for supper…
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| From May 2012 |
The first night Dad decided he would eat Elvis’ favorite sandwich- grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich.
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| From May 2012 |
While you eat, there is a big screen showing various Elvis concerts. Therefore, we were serenaded nightly by Elvis. Thank you, thank you very much.
This is a video of what mealtimes in the Jungle Room Cafe are like as well as some other fun that we had in the Heartbreak Hotel.
After supper, we walked around outside and just scoped the area out.
This is Sam with his favorite phone from the trip- a pink furry phone that calls a BBQ joint who will come pick you up in a pink cadillac limo for a complimentary ride to their restaurant. HA!
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| From May 2012 |
The pool is shaped like a broken heart!
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| From May 2012 |
We shortly went back to our room and went to bed. We definitely had a full day ahead of us the next day- Graceland and all it has to offer!!!
🙂
Steph
Our Wrightings 