Touring Elvis: There's More to See Than Graceland

For Elvis Presley fans, Graceland is Mecca, Jerusalem and Bethlehem combined. Graceland is, in fact, one of America's most popular tourist destinations. It is the Memphis mansion where Elvis Presley lived and died, named after his beloved mother, Land. I mean Grace. Actually, Graceland was not named after Elvis' mother at all; her name was Gladys and I suppose Gladysland just doesn't have the same ring. Graceland actually received its unique name-my house is named Fred, by the way-after a relative of the first owner of the domicile. Most of the first floor rooms are open to the public and has a wonderful out-of-time ambience exemplified by those hepcat tiki lounge furnishings. Stepping into Graceland gives many the genuinely eerie feeling of stepping through a time portal. Many of those same people are taken aback by just how small Graceland really is. Compared to the extravagant waste of money on ridiculously oversized homes bought by other far less talented "singers" Graceland is actually somewhat cozy. More disconcerting to Elvis Presley fans may be the tremendously stunning number of establishments within a mile of Graceland that sell overpriced, undercooked, fatty foods with the ironic descriptor "fast" preceding their name.