August 6,2009, Thursday GRACELAND!!!
OK ... It's true ... WE TOURED GRACELAND TODAY!!!! It was so neat to see where Elvis used to hang out. Tourists are only allowed to see the grounds and the downstairs. No one is allowed upstairs to see the bedrooms or the bathroom where he passed away out of respect for him and his family. When you first come in there is an entry way and to the right is
the Living room with a large white couch and a couple of chairs. You can see through the Living room into the Music room where one of several of the pianos which have been in that room stands. We saw one of the pianos that used to be in that room in the Country Music Hall of Fame. It was a gift that Pricilla gave to Elvis and she had it covered in 24k gold. The one we saw today was just a regular, black, grand piano. There are stained glass windows on each side of the door that goes into the Music room which picture peacocks. Really pretty. Next you go down the hall and see Vernon and Gladys's bedroom. She must have liked purple 'cause her bedspread and accents were purple and the carpet was off white. It was a pretty room and their bathroom was also done in lavender and purple. Next we went to the dining room. So much of the house seems to be done in dark colors. It was a large formal dining room and there was the prettiest picture of Pricilla and Lisa on the wall. Then into the kitchen which was quite large (however, dark wood, dark carpeted floor, etc.). Behind the kitchen was the "Jungle" room. It was like a family room with a jungle motif. Had a waterfall at one end and lots of plants and strangely carved wood furniture. They say sometimes they used this as a recording room and that was why there was carpet on the floor, walls and ceiling. Green carpet. We went downstairs to the basement where there was a TV room. This was my favorite room because it had this huge, bright yellow, leather couch, yellow walls and Navy blue accents. His thunderbolt logo was above the couch and the ceiling was mirrored.
This is where he had his record collection, and after hearing that President Johnson watched three news casts at once, Elvis had three TV's installed and was said to watch all three at once also. Downstairs there was also pool room with a
bar and the ceiling and walls were covered with over 300 yards of fabric in a gathered effect. Then there was the racket ball court, which now has carpet and furniture, lots of leather couches, in it. It also has an upright piano in it and this
was the piano he was playing and singing hymns just before he went upstairs and died. Next we went outside and
across the carport to Vernon's large office, and then the target practice room. We walked outside and through some of the backyard (landscaped beautifully) to the Trophy room. Oh my gosh! I had no idea he had so many. It's a huge room with all kinds of trophies, and then a wide and very long hallway with all the gold and platinum albums, Grammys, and other awards, then you turn a corner and go into the "Movies" room which has actual costumes he wore in each of the (who knows how many) movies he was in. They also had Elvis and Pricilla's wedding clothes and pictures of the wedding. I can't believe how simple her wedding dress was. I guess I was thinking something like Princess Diana or something, but this was just a simple white sheath with beaded sleeves. After that we went by the swimming pool to the Meditation