Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

This past week we travelled to Memphis - home of the blues, R&B and rock & roll. Memphis is really all about the music so we hopped on a 50s era bus

and were introduced to the city by a singing troubadour.

The history of Memphis was accompanied by live music; even the passengers were given percussion instruments so we could participate in the music as we toured the city. What a hoot!

Of course, no trip to Memphis is complete without a trip to Graceland.

The mansion is quite something, not as grandiose as we had expected but certainly had some unique decorating styles.

After Elvis purchased Graceland for a mere $100K in 1954, he made some changes, including the addition of a racquetball court. It was on a piano inside this building that Elvis sang his last song on the morning of the day of his death

The tour finishes at the Meditation Garden, the resting place of Elvis and his parents and grandmother.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. After travelling more than 30,000 kms, setting up in 31 RV parks, fixing three flat tires and surviving one tow truck experience, we're safely back in Winnipeg with the RV parked at it's summer home in Stephenfield.

It's back to work this week but we're already thinking about our next RV adventure.

See ya next time! Jim & Lesley

Taking in the Tunes in Tennessee

We're in Music City USA and loving it! Everywhere you turn there are musicians plying their trade. We've danced at the Wildhorse Saloon, listened to up and comers at local honky tonks like The Stage and Tootsies but the highlight of this trip was our night at the Grand Ole Orpy!

The line-up of stars, both new and old, was outstanding! Newer stars included

Dierks Bentley

Aaron Tippin

and

Vince Gill

Of course, no show at the Grand Ole Opry is complete without a performance by Minnie Pearl.

And the stars of old were not to be outdone! Mel Tillis, Del McCoury, Little Jimmy Dickens, Connie Smith, Marty Stuart, Whispering Bill Anderson, The Whites, Jimmy C Newman, and Jean Sheppard performed many favourites and had the crowd clapping and singing along.

But the night belonged to Carrie Underwood as she was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

And the night was made even more special for her when none other than fellow Oklahoman, Garth Brooks showed up, unannounced, to present her with her award.

While performing her last number, she was joined on stage by yet another fellow Oklahoman, Vince Gill

This leg of our trip has been extra special because we were joined by my Mom and Dad, and my Uncle Mac and Aunt June. After attending a performance at the current Grand Ole Opry House, we took a stroll down memory lane and visited the Ryman Auditorium, known as the Mother Church of country music and the building that housed the Grand Ole Opry for several decades.

(Note the coats! The temperature on Sunday did not get above 55F. Guess it`s preparing us for what`s ahead when we return home!)

The Ryman is said to have fantastic acoustics - second only to the Mormon Tabernacle. The self guided tour allows you the opportunity to go up on stage so Dad and I, and Dad and Uncle Mac grabbed guitars and made like country stars.

Today it's on to Memphis - wonder if we'll catch a glimpse of the King!

Surviving the Storm

Well, the weather has been interesting this week, to say the least. We had hoped to get a number of rounds of golf in while in Oklahoma City but that was not to be the case. The wind blew and blew and blew. At times I wasn't sure the RV was going to stay on the ground. On Thursday, we gave up on the idea of the wind ever letting up and hit the road to Little Rock, Arkansas. Well... I'm sure you're familiar with the saying, "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't". Truer words were never spoken in this instance. Friday morning we awoke to tornado warnings across the state of Arkansas. We are very thankful that when all was said and done, the tornadoes stayed northwest and southeast of our location. All we had to suffer through was a tremendous thunder and lightning storm with some wind. By late afternoon it had passed and the sun was out. Saturday we hit the road again and have stopped for a couple of days in Southhaven, Mississippi. The weather has improved greatly so we're off for a round of golf this morning. Next week it's on to Tennessee, a visit from my parents and my uncle & his wife, and our trip to the Grand Ole Orpy.