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!

Corvette Cruise II - Bowling Green

After a Mess in Morgantown, we finally made it to the National Corvette Museum.  The Morgantown thing was a matter of not enough information as to how we were supposed to approach Bowling Green.  The goal was to bring all the Pacific Northwest Corvettes in a group, but that proved nearly impossible.  My husband and I opted to drive straight to the museum, which turned out to be a wise decision.  Hundreds of hot Corvetters were stuck on the highway while I enjoyed two scoops of ice cream in the Museum Cafe'.

Cute cafe'

Inside the Corvette Museum.  This red one was a concept car.  The yellow one had been run at Nurburgring, in Germany, where my son just ran his BMW.

The infamous sink hole and what it did to the car on the bottom....the first one in.  The damage to the car was incredible.  We couldn't get close enough to see the bottom of the hole, but it was deep!

Another car that went into the rabbit hole; note that the black one next to it was also in the hole but barely damaged.

After touring the museum and pushing and shoving our way through the hoards in the gift shop, we walked the long, humid walk back to our car and to our bed and breakfast in Glasgow (about 30 miles away).  It was a great room, high ceilings, antiques all over the place, comfortable bed.  And it was wonderful to stay in a place for more than one night.  We were here for 4 days.  Should have taken a picture of the front porch where we spent warm evenings watching the rain and lightening and talking with the other guests, who were people from our caravan.

Every morning we went to the Hardee's store to get a bag of ice for our cooler.  One morning I noticed the sign:  IT'S BACK.  FRIED BOLOGNA, EGG & CHZ    I couldn't resist taking a picture.  Some people probably buy that and eat it.....in Kentucky.

One day we ate lunch at Chuy's, a Mexican place with great retro style, good food and even a memorial to Elvis.  They won my heart with that.

One day we went down to Opryland for a concert.  Waiting to hook up with our friends we toured the grounds of the hotel.

There was a gorgeous garden in the center of the hotel, with exotic plants and all sorts of water features.

 There were a few gift shops and restaurants, too.

 The Grand Ole Opry is a real radio show.  I loved these guys--the fellow on the bass fiddle was hilarous.  These were the Riders in the Sky.  Below is Alison Krauss.  We were so lucky to see her.

Alison sang one of my favorite songs, "Down to the River to Pray", from the movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou.  No matter how famous you are, you only get two songs on the Opry show.  We saw Kathy Mattea, too.

That's all for today.  The next post will be a couple more things we did in Bowling Green and starting our trip back home.