Cincinnati, Ohio & Newport, Kentucky

We spent 1 day and 1 night in Ohio AND Kentucky for no reason other than to break up the long journey between Niagara Falls and Nashville. We got off the bus in Cincinnati, Ohio which is only separated from Kentucky by a river. The state tax and hotel tax is cheaper in Kentucky so we were staying across the river. There isn't really much to say as all we did with our day was have some lunch in the complex in Kentucky near where we were staying, before walking over a bridge into Cincinnati where we walked around the city, looked in a few shops and had a brief walk around the Cincinnati Reds baseball ground. So that was that, still, it technically means another 2 states ticked off the list.

Nashville & Memphis, Tennessee

Nashville

We had a couple of days in Nashville but again we didn't 'do' too much other than explore. On the walk from our hotel toward the city center it was a little confusing as we could only see skyscrapers, not what we were expecting at all. Eventually they did give way to a small strip of road which contained the 'real' Nashville, with its retro shops and diners and its many saloons and bars with live music going on all day in each of them. Walking past them it almost felt as though we were on the set of a film, it was quite strange but gave the place real character. Whilst wandering we found a wooden fort on the bank of the river that runs through the town which was a smaller replica of the one that stood here to house & protect the colonial people in their battle with the Native Americans, which was interesting to see. On the opposite end of the scale in terms of look and age but just as rich in history, was an area near the State Capital made of marble that showed the line that separated the warring sides in the Civil War. Other than the line in the ground there was a marble wall with dates along it and information all about the goings on but there was far too much of it for us to read.
On the morning of our last full day Andy got up early and walked the long walk from our hostel back into town to queue up at the also very modern arena they have just before the bars and shops which was home to their NHL team the Nashville Predators. There was a game taking place that night and we'd seen that on the morning of the games they release 100 tickets for $10 each, first come first served. So Andy queued up for an hour or so and got 2 tickets. We'd never been to an ice-hockey game before so to see a professional one was a treat! Neither of us know all of the rules but of course the aim is to hit the puck into the opposing teams net, and we were fortunate enough to see a few goals as the game ended 3-1 to the visitors (the Vancouver Canucks, so it was USA vs Canada too) so the fans weren't too happy but we had a really good time. It was much easier to see the puck at a live game than it is to try and see it on TV, and the atmosphere was really good with songs playing and fans chanting so we came away pleased as neutrals! After the game we popped into an old fashioned ice cream parlour and treated ourselves to some late night ice creams whilst everyone else treated themselves to some beers in the bars! We sat and looked at the various neon signs along the street from all the taverns and then walked past them on our way home, a nice way to end our time in Nashville.

Memphis

We arrived in Memphis early in the afternoon and were staying quite central. We walked to Beale Street which is very famous for Country and Blues fans as this is where a lot of legends launched their careers playing in one of the several live music venues. Just before we wandered the length of the street we spotted a big arena just around the corner and saw that there was an NBA game taking place that evening. Were we extremely pleased when we enquired about tickets and found we could sit near the back for only $5! Of course we bought them meaning within the space of 24hours we'd have seen a professional ice-hockey game followed by a professional basketball game. Before that though we walked up Beale Street, had a look in a couple of shops and then made our way to the banks of the enormous Mississippi river which separated Tennessee from Arkansas way off in the distance on the other side. Near our side of the river was Mud Island which is where the country singer Jeff Buckley went for a swim and unfortunately lost his life. After dinner we headed to the basketball game (Memphis Grizzlies vs Golden State Warriors from California) which was good fun but we enjoyed the ice-hockey much more, the game was more exciting and the atmosphere for the basketball wasn't as fun. The Grizzlies won though so the crowd went home happy.
The following day we took a look at Rock n Roll history and headed to Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley. The house is around 10 miles out of the city but there is a free shuttle bus that loops from Sun Studios (where Elvis recorded his first songs) to Graceland. Across the road from the house sits his 2 planes but we didn't pay to go inside them. The house itself sits in several acres of land but is easily visible from the road. We were given headsets that told us various things as we entered each room as well as hearing his daughter and Elvis himself talk about the home. Each room was decorated completely differently to each other, with a white marbled sitting room, a yellow and mirrored tv room (with 3 TVs next to each other) and a 'jungle room' with a green shag carpet on the floor AND ceiling complete with wood carved furniture and an indoor water feature. Upstairs was off limits as that was Elvis' living space and guests were never allowed up there so out of respect they've kept it that way so we don't know what his bedroom etc looked like. We exited the house out of a back door into the garden where there were another couple of buildings. We aren't sure whether the first we entered was always there or a new addition, as it houses thousands of Elvis' gold records, plaques and awards from all over the world, as well as the outfits he and his wife wore on their wedding day and some costumes from films he was in. The next building we went into Elvis had had built to house a squash court as well as an area for people to relax and watch the games. There was a small piano here which Elvis played the morning of the day he died. The room with the squash court in is now home to even more gold discs and awards as well as some of his stage costumes, each more extravagant than the last. After we left the building there was just one part of the tour left which was an area outside called the meditation garden. This is where Elvis is now, his grave lies in between his parents and Grandmother surrounded by various flowers and wreaths from around the world that continue to be sent to the estate. Elvis used to be in a public cemetery but it caused more problems than good with the amount of fans wanting to pay their respects so he was moved here. There weren't crying women which Nikki expected but there are many people who make a pilgrimage here which is all the more evident when looking at the wall down on the roadside which has literally millions of messages and names on it written by people from all corners of the earth. It really is remarkable how enormous his fan base was outside the States considering he never performed anywhere except in America!

Although not particular Elvis 'fans' we did enjoy the tour and realised just how many of his songs we knew. Andy has become very appreciative of his talent after seeing lots of footage of him singing live, something most of today's 'pop stars' can't actually do! It was well worth a visit. Now, time to go from Elvis-mania to Wrestlemania!