Sooooo some friends and I are thinking of taking a road trip down to Memphis in August and going to Graceland. Has anyone been to Memphis and Graceland? How accessible is Graceland? Any recommendations on places to stay and eat in Memphis? Thanks guys!

Mimi

I seem to remember Ches reporting it wasn't very accessible.

I'm suprised, I thought they would have at least needed to widen the doors for the Kings later life!

Eh,.. graceland is a few shops, an old house, a private jet, and an old car.. the guest center and shops were up to standards..Jet def wasnt accessible. You'd be fine in house w/ ur tiny chair and friends I'M GUESSING. I have to admit I didnt make it to see the cadillac.. couldve been accessible back there. I remember it being a big open car port type thing when I was 5!

All in All, Graceland isnt worth the travel expenses unless you're already going be in the area, OR a die hard Elvis fan. I promise you that.

Keep in mind, celebs and famous ppl dont excite me.. So I say this with a biased opinion.

Been there a long time ago when AB so i cant testify as to it's accessibility. But as for Memphis there is also the downtown area just up from the river that has countless bars & shops & a trolley (i think) which all could be fun. Also there is often good musical performances going on down at the pyramid (which looks cool in itself) or in the waterfront park. And if your more into the cool nature stuff as am I there's not alot in Memphis... but lemme know and I can give you some killer ideas for stops along the way.

I didnt go in to Graceland in the end but I am not a huge Elvis fan. Some of it especially the aircraft etc didnt appear accessible.

There are no shortage of places to eat and things to do and I found the people really friendly.

Tin

AHhh i almost forgot by far the coolest hotel down there is the Peabody.

Well, the boys wanna go and they ARE die hard Elvis fans. I am most definitely not but I've never been to Memphis and I like seeing new places. I've been to Tennessee and thought the Smoky Mountains were gorgeous. That was years ago. Anyway, what is this jet you mentioned? Elvis's old private jet that you go inside? My chair is teeny so doorways and maneouvering are never really a problem but things like stairs suck. I can do tricky terrain and whatnot because I have the knobby tires (and friends to lend a hand) but if the whole place is an accessibility nightmare then I don't really wanna go just so I can see an old house and a grave, heh.



Sounds fun! I am most definitely into the "cool nature stuff" but I also enjoy visiting big cities. I'd like to get up into the Smoky mountains so if you have any ideas, definitely let me know!




Good to know, thanks! We have no idea whereabouts to stay in the city.

@Ms. twisted_ophelia - If you DO get to go to the Smoky Mtns. There's a few good places up there. I recommend going to Dixie Stampede. It's like a dinner show or something. They have pretty good food and the horse riding tricks are kinda cool too! Just a suggestion! ^_^

Well.. I didn't go to graceland.. but Memphis being "The home of the blues" and it only being a 3 1/2 hour drive from my house.. i have been a few times... and Beale ST is awesome. Sooo much culture in that city, not to mention the food.. mmm the food... BBQ of course. and Dyers famous deep fried hamburgers. It's all good down there yo, but watch out for big T n his posse, they'll sell you dirt weed with oregano in it. Sun records is a MUST, i mean.. only people like Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee, Elvis Presly, buddy holly, ... well i may of just threw buddy holly in there, but here's the link to that: http://www.sunrecords.com And im sure you could make it through Graceland no problems.

There are so many things on that route...I'm assuming I-75 to 65 to I-40. Also there are a ton more things like an hour off of the interstate so if you are up for a deeper wander let me know & i can give you some more. Firstly you'll be passing the 2 best coaster parks in North America first in Sandusky, OH is cedar point but i think Kings Island just north of Cincinnati is closer to the highway. Just south of Louisville is Big bone lick state park (where they found the mastodon) Mammoth Cave is further south... which is amazing to tour as an AB but is rather limited from a chair.

From louiville heading south for about 150 miles there is a string of famous bourbon distilleries which provide tours and tasting... most people just start on one end and make their way up or down the route... if this interests you google "bourbon trail"... and there's a lot more cool nature on that trail like red rocks park and the Cumberland river. And Cumberland Falls is very accessible. Also there's an artisan center up there just off the interstate(berea KY) that has lots of really sweet local and handmade stuff. It's not for everyone but personally I enjoy just driving around on all the twisty & foothill filled two lane highways around there.

I'm real big on road trippin so I'm sure i could ramble much more therefore I'll cut myself here. If there's anything ya wanna know more about gimme a shout.

Well, most of you know how much I love horses and riding so I would definitely like to see that! Sounds fun! I need to write all this stuff down.




I am a huge Johnny Cash fan and do find all the old music history to be really interesting. And the food! I've heard amazing things about the food. Deep fried hamburgers? Damn. The boys are excited about the ribs! They're already taking about them.



I'm not sure exactly what route we'd take, we haven't gotten that far yet in making plans but probably the I-75 most likely. Stopping at the coaster parks would be fun for sure! Mammoth Cave sounds really cool. I'm pretty good with rougher terrain but I've never actually attempted to go into a cave in my chair. How tricky is it? If I had an off-road chair attachment could it be done? What about getting someone to piggy back me? I hate missing out on stuff! The Berea marketplace sounds cool. My boys will hate it, I will love it so they'll have to suffer through it, lol. Ramble as much as you want, this stuff is awesome and I love getting tips on what to check out!

mimi

The Peabody is def the place to stay... Ive been staying there since I was little.. although I havent stayed as an crip and cant remember the rooms. The foyer itself is pretty cool.. the hotel is pretty accessible except for one small stairway leading to a few shops.. Its about 5 stairs and you'll need a lift.

Last time I was there I got to see the ducks humping!

I have this can.. err 'the can' if you know what I mean.. it has ducks on it and ppl are always like WTF Ches, ducks? Soo.. I had to make the venture last time I was in Tenn just to get some proof that there are famous ducks in this world and Im not making it up. Def before our generation.

The gift shop in that hotel is totally cool, where else can you get Ducks dressed up like Elvis?


MIMI WHEN ARE YALL GOING? DONT FORGET IM GOING TO TORONTO! Ill have to murder you....

Not sure when we're going yet, we haven't even thought about it that hard just yet. No worries though! I ain't missing my creepy Libra twin.

I love ducks, they're awesome. And ducks dressed as Elvis? That's even better!

Road trip to memphis?! Best stop by St.Louis! its on the way!

Mimi, I went to Gracelands years ago as an AB when I was stuck in Memphis for a fortnight.

From what I remember the house is not very accessible. You have to go down stairs to get to the 'den' and then back up the stairs to get into the Jungle Room. The jet IS his private jet and again up stairs to get in. Mind you it's the only jet I've seen with a double bed, including a huge seat belt that stretches right across the bed.

I'm not an Elvis fan so it was all a bit 'meh' to me, but as I say I was in memphis for two weeks and I was running out of things to do. Beale Street rocks though.

Yeah i downplayed the whole Mammoth cave thing because of it's inaccessibility i don't think much can be done from a chair underground, but they may let ya piggy on some of the tours... you can call the ranger station.


It's freakin spectacular down there!

I will totally stop by! I'm sure the boys wouldn't mind a diversion in St. Louis for a day!




I was thinking about the jet and if I don't get to see the inside, I wouldn't be all that upset I'm sure if I REALLY wanted to, I could just either get someone to carry me up the stairs or drag my ass up and leave my chair at the bottom of the stairs, take a peek inside, and drag my ass right back down. I'm working on learning how to bump up and down stairs in my chair and maybe the stairs in the living room and Jungle Room (Jungle Room?! LOL!) won't be an issue by the time we head down. We'd probably only stay in Memphis for a few days, 4 or 5 at most.




It sounds awesome and like something I'd really enjoy. I'm going to have look into how/if they get people in chairs down in there because I do not like missing out on stuff like that. Do they have a website or anything? I would like to contact them and see what they say. The footing is probably tricky so I'm thinking they might have an issue with one of my friends piggy backing me.