Southern Hospitality ???

We left Arkansas early so that we could have some time in Memphis, Tennessee. What we should have done was leave Arkansas early so we could see Graceland and then get out of Memphis.
First thing first…. Graceland wasn’t bad, it’s a whole lot smaller than we expected. For less than $30 both Annmarie and I got to see Jefferson home “Monticello” in Virginia and walk the grounds for hours. For $66 we got to see the bottom floor of Elvis Presley’s home (the second story is kept private because apparently it was his private place - kinda begs the question what was Graceland’s first level to Elvis ? ) and a few out buildings and the garden, his grave etc… Whilst I’m glad we got to see it, I don’t think we will ever return to have a second look… I would also say that unless you actually worship Elvis, you could probably get through life without making the pilgrimage.
Once we had exhausted the things to do at Graceland and once we were about $100 lighter in the pocket, we left Elvis Presley Boulevard to see Memphis. We took a right onto the freeway instead of a left which would have taken us to the Mississippi River and downtown area and instead found ourselves in the ghetto. It didn’t take long for us to realize that with a few more days of exploration ahead of us a mugging or traffic accident would put a damper on the experience (not to put to fine a point on it, the motorists in this area consider driving two feet behind you car normal and adding 20 units to the posted speed limit on surface streets is the actual recommended pace) … we hightailed it out of there and got to the waterfront. For anyone coming to Memphis in the near future… remember to check with the eatery that you intend dining at when they open… we wanted a late lunch or early dinner at around 4:00PM. We literally went to 5 “five” restaurants whose lights were on (one who’s doors were open) but were all closed until 5:00PM. We landed up driving back to Graceland and Elvis Presley Boulevard to settle for a pretty standard Veggie Burger . On the up side the restaurant kindly included their tip “gratuity” on the bill for us… so that was nice.
Tomorrow we are going to try to leave early… not sure how much more Southern hospitality we want before getting to Florida, but since we have it on good authority that the Deep South only becomes “deeper” through Alabama and Georgia, we want to have time to decide whether to stop or push on depending on our ‘first impressions”.