Grits & Griddles: When in Rome

Hooray! It's Tuesday!

Most of last week was spent on the road, which really wasn't all that bad. Not bad at all considering it began with a little of this:

...and this:

...at my parents' house for Easter.

I absolutely LOVE going home. And freshly boiled crawfish isn't too shabby either :)

A couple of days later, it was time to hit the road again en route to Tupelo, where I was looking forward to attending the Public Relations Association's annual state conference.

The whole 3-day event was Elvis-themed, which I was pretty pumped about. I mean, who doesn't love a little Elvis?

The conference was really nice - we were able to hear from the VP of Marketing for GRACELAND (can you IMAGINE?), which, let's face it, was the main reason I wanted to go.

Plus, we were treated to two performances by the talented Memphis Jones.

If you're ever around Memphis and get a chance to hear him, I HIGHLY recommend doing so. He was hilarious in addition to being a being a crazy great performer.

Once the conference wrapped on Friday, I figured I'd make a quick pit stop by the Elvis birthplace since my hotel was only a mile away from it. I originally thought I'd just pop in, grab something fun for my grandmother (who's a huge fan of The King, by the way), and be back on the road within 30 minutes or so.

Ohhhhh was I wrong. This place was GREAT. I left a little over TWO HOURS later. Oops =)

First up, Elvis's HOUSE!

If I understood correctly, the house and museum is still on the original property! In the late 1950's, Elvis (already a superstar) visited his hometown for a benefit concert and wanted to see his childhood home. When he saw it was for sale, he convinced the city to purchase the land and turn it into a park for children.

The house has since been restored to its original condition. It's just a two-room house that Elvis's dad built himself on a $180 loan from his employer.

Elvis was born in this room. This VERY ROOM!

Kitchen:

And a few years back, the museum had his childhood church building moved to the property, and restored it to its original look and feel.

The museum did a short presentation about the church, and I MAY OR MAY NOT have hummed along to a hymn or two.

Then there was the "Elvis at 13" statue...

And so, so many other things. I was blown away. I couldn't take pictures inside of the museum, but there were so many original photos and memorabilia from Elvis's heyday on display, as well as other things that he gifted to his friends and family, which were donated to the museum.

It was way more than I thought it would be, and I'm so glad I had a few extra minutes (or hours :) ) to spare. Something I would highly recommend if you ever find yourself near the Tupelo area.

There were people there from Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin (maybe?), and more. But I was easily the youngest person there by a good 30-35 years. YES!