Corvette Cruise IV

There must be a couple of you who were waiting for the next installment of the Corvette Cruise--well, a couple of things got in the way.  First, we took a 16 day cruise from Vancouver, B.C to the Hawaiian Islands and then during the last days of the cruise I got very sick and later found I had pneumonia.  But now I have enough energy to write at least and so here we go on the next leg of this journey.

This is Sayre, Oklahoma, where my grandson, Patrick, lives.  We tried to meet up with him but he thought we were coming the next day and was off doing something else.

Nice sign, fake horse and the town is pretty dead.  Friendly people at a nearby convenience store and garage tried to help us find Patrick.  They found where he worked, but when they called he wasn't there.  Like I say, off doing something else like a typical 25 year old.  Bummer.

Best Rest Stop ever!  Right across the border between Oklahoma and Texas.  Snake warnings all over the place but great restrooms and even a kid's play area.  When you're on the road you notice and appreciate these things!

Another great Rest Stop in New Mexico.  And since it is close to Roswell, NM, Chester visits. I liked his Hawaiian shirt.

This bronze of a dinosaur bone outside the rest stop, lured us to head for Tucumcari, New Mexico to the Dinosaur Museum.  Tucumcari is one of the few remaining towns along Route 66.

Some of the old Route 66 businesses still exist, but as in the last picture, there are many more that are sad ghosts of the past.

While waiting for the Dinosaur Museum to open we went to a historical museum.  It spanned the 1800s to the 60s, at least, maybe even later decades.

From radios we'd all recognize from the 40s...

To an old spinning wheel...

To a pair of high-button shoes...

A Ma-Bell switchboard....

To an ancient hair dryer...

A real wooden leg and some cowboy hats displayed on a limb...

Would you believe this is a juke box?

And this is a gambling machine?

They even had some covered wagons, this was a military one 

And a chuck wagon, complete with pans and a big coffee pot.

I've never been to our Kitsap Historical Society's Museum.  I wonder if it's anything like this one, with a huge variety of stuff from many decades, or if it's organized and tidy.  I better go see!

That's all I can get onto this post, so the next one will include the Dinosaur Museum and then we'll be heading down the road, out of New Mexico and into Arizona, Flagstaff, and the Grand Canyon.  I had never been to the Grand Canyon before!

Corvette Cruise III--Moonshine, Lincoln and Elvis

The day after Grand Ole Opry we got up early to meet up with a group going on a
 Moonshine Cruise, through the countryside of Kentucky.  No, we're not in trouble here--a couple of police saw us forming in a parking lot and drove over to find out where we were going. They ended up escorting us on the last mile to the brewery.  Now THAT was fun!

The brewery operation was small, but not as small as they used to be during Prohibition, and these guys are funded by Jim Beam now.

And they make flavored Moonshine.  Moon Pie Moonshine is their big claim to fame.  I tried several different flavors:  chocolate, blackberry, apple spice.  They even make a pumpkin spice flavor.  It's more like a liqueur than something that would knock you flat on your butt.  We bought some of the chocolate for us and some pumpkin spice for our neighbor who was watering my tomatoes at home.

On the way back to Glasgow and our B&B, we stopped at this little grill in the tiny town of Hodgenville, where a Lincoln Museum is housed.  Hodgenville is Lincoln territory.  He was born near there in 1809 and his birthplace house is a National monument.   After lunch we visited the quaint little museum.

Inside are some nicely done wax figures of pivotal points in Lincoln's life and a large collection of artwork done by amateur painters.

 Not sure why ducks were included in this scene...odd.

No ducks.

The next day we left Kentucky on the beginning of our journey homeward.  First stop was Memphis, Tennessee to check off something on my bucket list:  Graceland!

Just think.  Elvis strode around these grounds, probably humming "Love Me Tender".

 Custom made long, long couch in the more-tasteful-than-I-would-have-expected living room.

Did they have to take their shoes off, Elvis and his gang of buddies, when they came in the house?

Elvis's mother's bedroom.  Note the pink tile in the bathroom and the wallpaper.  Those are poodles.

 My "headset" told me this kitchen was remodeled during the 70s.  I guess we liked dark wood and harvest gold appliances and rug on the kitchen floor in the 70s.  Ugly!  But this is where El made his peanut butter and banana sandwiches, so there you are.

 The Media Room, another dark room, probably very stylish at the time.

 I bet this bar was stocked with more than just trinkets during Elvis's life.

 Another dark, dark room.  Note the pleated fabric on both ceiling and walls.

This is the famous "jungle room".  I guess this is where the Elvis and his buddies hung out.

The stairwell to the jungle room was covered in green shag carpeting.  This kind of kitsch is more what I expected to see in this mansion.  The rooms weren't as big or over the top as I'd expected them to be.  We didn't get to see Elvis's bedroom--not allowed.  I think I expected the house to look more like Liberace's rooms--gilt and marble and mirrors.

On a lower floor was a gallery of Elvis's gold records and awards.

This leather suit is my favorite of his various outfits from that terrific special he did in the late 60s.

The old racquetball court has been transformed into a showcase for Presley's fancy concert outfits.

Elvis's body was moved to Graceland's Meditation Garden when robbers tried to steal it from a Memphis cemetery.  Gladys's and Vernon's were also moved to Graceland and there is a marker for Elvis's twin who died at birth.

This is the retro cafe' where I had my peanut butter and banana sandwich--grilled and delicious and a worthy memorial for Elvis.  We also visited a collection of his cars where photos weren't allowed and got inside his small private jet and great big 4-engine 1960 Convair jet, which may be moved off the Graceland property by the owner.  They were not as spectacular as I expected, either, though they were the height of luxury in the 60s.  There was lots of velvet, for sure.

Graceland, check!  Next blog will be our trip through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and beyond!