Fill Up A Drink... Mazeltov!

Sorry I didn't post there for a couple of days... the forum was a really hectic place... especially for a newb like me... it was my first forum and I tell you I'm not used to that many Lions in one place... at our convention we get maybe 6 or 7 hundred lions... there was over 2900 lions from all over the world at the forum... mostly from North America but we had directors and such that flew in from their respective countries...

So Thursday morning we went on a tour with two bus loads of Lions to Graceland... Now I'm not a huge Elvis fan... I appreciate what he did for music and I like his music but have never felt the need to go to his house. But when in Rome... as they say... So I went and roamed around the complex and the mansion grounds with all the other people who were wearing headsets and listening to a tour guide via the headset... coming out of the raquet ball building and seeing the beautiful meditation garden and the pool, you come around and there is Elvis' grave. The tour goes on to tell you that after Elvis died and was buried next to his mother in the cemetary, Vernon (his father) went and got permission to transport Elvis', Gladys' and Mae's bodies from the cemetary to the Graceland property so that no one could defile the graves in any way.

I stood there and looked around the grounds and then back down at the grave site and almost started to cry. It wasn't that I was sad that he was dead, he has been since before I was actually born. Anyway... Yeah I'm a big sap and got choked up at the grave side of the King of Rock n' Roll...

This is me with one of his many cars... I looooove the colour it was gorgeous... I totally wanted to take it home...

This is me (obviously) in front of an airbrushed picture down on Beale St on Friday night. It was fantastic down there!! I loved snooping around in Tater Red's and listening to all the music... watching the people... and seeing all the sights... I'd definitely go back when I could go in and sit at the bars and listen to the music... I didn't go into BB King's but stood outside and listened in.

This was actually just before heading down to Beale St but enh... This impersonators name was Danny, and he and his family used to live behind Graceland when he was a young boy. Elvis had been friends with his older brothers and they would go over to ride around the grounds with Elvis and his golf carts sometimes. So now he impersonates him, and actually he's not too shabby either. Helps that he already has the Memphis accent down pat ;)

I'm sitting here in Ohio again I'll show ya the ground we covered today in just a moment...

all I have to say is it was a looooong ass day today in the van heading eastward again...

we've been discussing going to the next two forums... next years would be cheaper to go to... but the year afters would be waaaaay cooler to go to...

Next years is in Milwaukee WI and the year after is in Anchorage AK... so we'll see how that goes...

Ok here's the ground we covered today...

Doesn't look very far but it's 673 miles in 12 1/2 hrs...

View Larger Map

but I miss my boys and my men... and I'm so ready to be home now...

love to Bing and the man...