Our Year In Review - Part 2

June found us in Fort Lauderdale, FL.   We stayed in a RV resort that was basically vacant.  It didn't look vacant as there were many mobile homes there.  It was eerie because the place seemed to be frozen in time.  There were bicycles on front porches, but most of the windows were boarded up just in case a hurricane came while the owners were away.  We actually got scared when we saw a man walking through the resort one day.  There were so any stray cats there.  Mama got scared a few times when putting trash into the dumpsters because cats would come flying out at her.  I enjoyed the cats, but Mama was not as happy with them.

Our site in Fort Lauderdale,

It was hot there. The evenings were nicer than the mornings. We enjoyed walking in the rain here.

Some of the vacant homes in the campground.

We were told that this place is "wild" from November through April. It fills up with French Canadians. We can only imagine how active it must be right now.

Mama declared this place to have great burgers and the best fried pickles.  Unfortunately, there are only locations in Florida. 

The beaches are beautiful, but very crowded.

In July, we drove back to the St. Louis area for two weeks to visit family, doctors and to have some work done on our motor home. We stayed at Bennett Springs for a few days where Dad enjoyed trout fishing.

At the end of July, we headed to Memphis for two weeks.  The first week, we stayed at the Graceland RV Resort.  Mama and I really enjoyed staying there.  Scout said it was too hot.  Mama and I walked to the Graceland gates a few times and also to the Graceland shopping area.  It was fun!

Visiting the shopping area of Graceland.

Me in front of the Graceland gates.

Standing on Hound Dog Way

The folks have friends, Lee and Donna, that live in Memphis, so they got to meet us. We enjoyed meeting them. 

We moved to West Memphis, AR for our second week of our stay in the Memphis area.  We stayed at a campground that was right on the river.  We watched the barge traffic.

The sky was pretty here.

We came across this while hiking in the woods.  BOL!

We will conclude our review on another day as we can see a few of you are dosing off.  BOL!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Trying Decide What Location He Enjoyed The Most

One Last Trip To Graceland Plaza and A Preview Of Our New Campground

This morning I pleaded with Mama to take me to Graceland Plaza again.  How did I do that?  Well, I walked her to the gate and whined. She told me the gates were locked until 7 a.m., but promised she would take me then.  As soon as breakfast was over, I reminded her of her promise and off we went.  We left "Wussy Girl" behind.  A girl at our last campground actually named Scout that.  She saw us walking without Scout and asked me if my sister was being a wuss again.  BOL   Mama and I had a grand time walking in the plaza and meeting people.  One lady asked my name and Mama told her Joey. She said that was her dead husband's name and then showed us her tattoo with his name that is on her chest.  She offered to take a picture and me and Mama at the Graceland gates and Mama told her no because Mama hates having her picture taken, but now she wishes she would have. We had a wonderful time walking around and talking to people.  We loved hearing Elvis' music as we walked.  It is such a festive place. It is definitely not for everyone, but we enjoyed it.

Mama wishes I would cooperate more when she is taking my photo, but has decided she will embrace the bloopers that I provide her.

Hey, this one is not bad.  I am standing by the fence outside of Graceland.

Pictures by the gates didn't go as well.

The main problem is that I don't stand still.  Mama says I was on sensory overload here.  I loved it though!

"Come on Mama! I think we can sneak in and see the house."

Uncle Lee, she is stopping traffic again!  Uncle Lee is not fond of the tourists because they cause traffic problems.

"Why can't we go inside the store?"

That is it folks.  We have left Memphis. Dad says it is unlikely that we will be back since the only Marriott hotel in Memphis will be no more as of next week.  Mama is sad as she had a lot of fun just walking around meeting people.  Mama admits that maybe it was time to leave as last night she had a dream and "In The Ghetto" was playing in her dream.  It is an Elvis song that she has never really liked, but there it was in her dream.  Elvis music played at the pool at our park and also at the pool at Heartbreak Hotel. Music played in the plaza as well as the gift shops. It was fun walking around hearing the music.

We moved to our new campground this morning.  We haven't taken many photos yet, but we have a few taken from inside our motor home.

A barge passed by us.  The first of many.

We have a great view!

Dad is at work, so we are watching Elvis in concert on TV.  BOL!  

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Has Left Memphis -- Thank You, Thank You Very Much!  BOL!

Visitors And A Change Of Plans

This morning Mama woke us up at 5 a.m.  She said it was pay back for us waking her up yesterday at 4:30 a.m.  Actually, last night on the news, they said it would be raining here at 6 a.m. and she was trying to beat the rain.  Did it rain?  Nope!

After breakfast, we went for a long walk.  We were just walking around the campground and I wanted to walk in the Graceland parking lot.  The next thing I knew, we were walking in the Graceland Plaza.  Mama wanted to get some photos of us next to the Elvis photos, but we didn't cooperate. Modeling is definitely not our thing.

This is the best one. BOL!

We both didn't fit in this photo.

Decent butt shot, if that is your thing.

It is not even a good shot of The King.

Scout's nose is just too long, I guess.  BOL!

As we were walking home, this guy was working with a group of other men setting up a pavilion.  He called out to Scout "Here Wolf, Here Wolf!"  We walked over to him and he started screaming like a girl.  Mama told him we were nice. Mama asked if he wanted to pet Scout and when we got near him, he ran off screaming.  His friends thought it was hilarious.

We had visitors today!  Dad's high school friend, Lee and his wife, Donna, came over. They live here in Memphis.  Lee actually introduced Mama and Dad back in high school.  We didn't know it, but they are fans of our blog.  They went to lunch at a restaurant that Uncle Lee picked out based on the folks likes from reading the restaurant blog.  Mama said he made an excellent choice.  Mama will review the restaurant next week, but here are a few pictures to make you drool.

The appetizer.  Yep, fried pickles are there.

Mama's burger.  I can attest that this burger was delicious.  A doggy bag was brought home.

Okay, so what are the change in plans?  We are leaving here tomorrow and we were supposed to stay in a state park. The  folks visited it last week and while the park itself is nice, the route getting there goes through a rough area.  Mama considers an area rough when there are bars on the windows of homes.  She has been worried because Dad will be working late next week coming home at midnight a few nights.  She was also concerned about staying in the park with just us even though she thinks the park is safe.  Uncle Lee did not relieve her fears but made them worse as he said it was not a good area to drive through.  Mama found a campground in West Memphis, AR that looked nice and the rates were good. The folks drove there tonight and liked it, but the only site available was their premium site, so it's price is higher than Mama wanted to pay.  They decided to reserve it anyway.  Mama said safety is important and she feels better about staying there.  It is really close to Dad's work and Dad said we would have probably stayed here the entire time if he had known about it.  We didn't look for parks in Arkansas.  You know what is cool about this park?  We have a front row view of the river and all the river traffic. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Has Not Mastered His Modeling Skills

More Images From Graceland Plaza

Yesterday and today, Mama has walked to Graceland Plaza.  She enjoys the energy she feels there from the other tourists

 

The gates at Graceland.

A tour bus headed straight for Mama.

Mama and another lady stood in the street to get this shot.

Shop at Graceland Plaza.

Soda stand.

Restaurant

 

 

Mama bought this magnet. We are staying on Elvis Presley Blvd. so it suits us.

Mama also used one of those machines to turn a penny into a flatten penny with Graceland on it.  We have a few of those flatten pennies from our travels.  The plan is to turn them into magnets, but it hasn't happened yet.

Mama heard a dog barking as she was walking through the parking lot for Graceland yesterday.  She found the dog locked in his crate in a car.  She is not sure of the temperature, but it was 3 p.m.  At 6 p.m., the news said the feel like temperature was 95, so it probably was not any cooler at 3 p.m.  The windows were cracked and the car was in the shade, but you know it was hot.  Mama flagged down security.  He said he had received other complaints, but couldn't do anything.  The police showed up right then and the guard told them about the dog.  Mama thanked them and left. We watched the activity from our motor home.  The police tried to get the doors open for a while.  They were with the dog for at least 2 hours and we then saw the dog outside the car. The police left.  We thought the owners had come back. Mama decided to see what was going on and she saw that the police had gotten the dog out and tied him to the car door which was now open.  It was right then that the owners walked up.  Mama turned and walked away because even though the owner should be told not to leave her dog in a hot car, she was ticked to put it nicely that her car was "broken into".  We are really surprised that the police chose to handle the situation this way.  They left the dog outside with the door to the car wide open. The dog could have been stolen. The car could have had things stolen. We saw the lady walk up to the police cars that were parked at the end of the parking lot, but they were out on bike patrol. The lady came into our campground and sat at one of the picnic tables for about an hour.  We thought she had called the police to report what had happened but when we came back from our walk, she was gone.

Today is Dad's birthday.  The folks are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate.  Mama was going to make him peanut butter cookies, but he ate all the peanut butter last night.  Those peanut butter cookies would have been so good.   :::sigh:::  

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Wonders Why People Think It Is Okay To Leave Dogs In Hot Cars

Greyhounds Are Cool And A Glimpse Of Graceland

People here think that greyhounds are cool.  We've been told that several times and yesterday, a man with a badge told us we were cool, so it must be true.  Who was the man with the badge?  We have 24 hour security here and they ride around in the golf carts and some ride bikes.  We are part of the "Graceland Complex", so we think that is why we have so much security or that is what Mama wants to believe. BOL!


Our campground is connected to the parking lot for Graceland, so it is a very easy walk to Graceland.  Mama decided to visit the gift shops on Monday.  As she was walking, she met a young man who started talking to her.  He was 28 and he shares the same birthday as Elvis.  He told her that he lives in Mississippi and travels to Nashville quite often on business and always stops here on the way.  He enjoys standing outside the gates of Graceland and talking with people.  He has toured Graceland five times.  Mama said speaking to him reminded her of an episode of Designing Women where the women visited Graceland and they met Elvis fans.  The man and Mama walked to Graceland together and Mama was happy to have his company instead of walking alone.  

This is the plaza that is across the street from Graceland.

Graceland is there. Can you see it?  Mama didn't have her regular camera with her.  She just had her phone.

You can see it a little better here.

Writing on the fence outside of Graceland. There is also writing on the sidewalk.

Mama asked the young man what he thought about the writing on the fence of Graceland.  He said he didn't care for it  He said they had power washed the sidewalk last week, but it was covered with writing again.    Mama doesn't care for the writing.

The young man quickly left Mama's side when he saw a teen dressed as Elvis.  BOL

There are several gift shops and three restaurants across from Graceland in the plaza.  There are specialized gift shops for his music, films, clothes, Hawaii and general items.  Mama didn't buy anything, but our time here is not over. Mama was hoping to find a "hound dog" item for us, but didn't see anything.  Pictures are allowed inside Graceland, but not in the gift shops.

Shops in the plaza.

The Lisa Marie, Elvis' plane.

Mama and Dad toured Graceland many years ago.  Mama really enjoyed it, but said she probably will not tour it again.  She has not been able to find a good coupon for it.  BOL  The lowest tour is $33 and she doesn't want to pay more than $20.  She said she would pay it if she hadn't toured it before. 

We are really amazed by the number of visitors to Graceland.  The parking lot is huge and it gets about half full each day.  Elvis weeks begins on August 9th.  It gets really crazy then, but we won't be here to see it.  We are moving to a state park on Sunday.  Mama would like to stay to people watch during Elvis Week, but our budget doesn't allow it.  :-(

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is A Very Cool Hound