Memphis, TN

Before getting into our activities from yesterday, I wanted to share a couple photos that were taken over the last several days and were not entered into the blog. The first is a photo of our rig, decorated with Christmas cheer, and Josie on her computer while waiting for our friends (Scott, Valerie, Jeff and Marsha) to arrive for our evening of wine and cheer:

This second one was taken as we were just about ready to "head out of Dodge" (Campbellsville) from our campground on Tuesday:

Our travel day yesterday wasn't that long - 169 miles in about 3 hours - and we arrived at the Graceland RV Park at around 12:30:

 We wanted to get here early enough to get all the information we could about the local attractions - most of which are Elvis Presley related - and get information on the casinos that are located about 30 minutes away in Tunica, MS.

Our first reaction to the part of Memphis we drove through to get here and the part we are staying in across from Graceland is that it is not the kind of place you would feel comfortable about walking alone to the store at night. We figured that Obama probably got 99% of the vote from Memphis in the last presidential election.

Since we have a full day today to do Graceland, we decided to do a casino yesterday afternoon. There are 9 casinos and hotels in this one small area (Tunica, MS) on the Mississippi River: Bally's, Gold Strike, Harrah's, Fitzgeralds, Hollywood, Horseshoe, Resorts, Sheraton and Sam's Town. I read all the reviews that I could find about all of them and decided that the best reviews - on the casinos at least - were on Fitzgeralds:

It is a very new - and nice - hotel and casino:

It was a wise choice. We arrived at around 3 PM and immediately stopped at the Players Club desk to pick up our card and find out about promotions. We each received a coupon for a $5 "seniors" buffet in the restaurant. We were told that after you receive 10 points on your card from slot play that you can return and "spin" the wheel for another prize which ranged anywhere from $5 to a free one-night stay in the hotel. We did that in short order and we spun the wheel. Josie won a $5 slot play bonus and I won a coupon for a free buffet dinner.

It didn't take very long before each of us started winning some jackpots. To make a long story short, we played until after 9 PM and we each left with our original stake. It was a super fun time and we took a dinner break and ate the very good buffet dinner for a total of $5.50 (including tax) for the both of us. What a night. That's what it is all about - play the slots all night and leave with all your original money.

Today we take the tour at Graceland which is about a 3 hour tour. It is raining and we expect it to be raining all day. The Weather Channel has even indicated that a tornado watch is posted for this area. We don't need that. It should be another fun day and it should bring back some fond memories of a great entertainer and classic rock star - Elvis Presley...