Leaving Nashville on Sunday morning we took a circuitous route to our next destination - Memphis. This was so we could add 2 more states (Missouri and Arkansas) to the list of states visited. I have had a long time ambition to visit all 50 states and by the end of this trip next April I will have achieved 26. The rules are you actually have to set foot on the ground (this rule was made up when I tried to claim Maine after our plane stopped to refuel on a 2002 trip), so as Ant took photos of cotton fields in Missouri, I sat with the car door open and my feet outside the car (well it was cold and windy!!). My claim to Arkansas was getting out of the car to pay for gas - actually Memphis sits across 3 states (Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi) so chances are I could have claimed Arkansas anyway!

One of the reasons for coming to Memphis was to visit Graceland - the mansion that Elvis bought early in his career and lived in until his premature death in August 1977 (I still remember that day so clearly). I was quite surprised at how small and ordinary the house and not as ostentatious as I had expected - but then again, may be it was in it's day. The big shock for me was walking round the corner and seeing his grave - for some reason it hadn't occurred to me that he was buried here and once again I got quite emotional. Luckily I was wearing dark sunglasses!!

This afternoon we visited Sun Studios where Elivs recorded his earlier records before Sam Phillips sold his contract to RCA in 1955. Many famous artists recorded here including BB King, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. We are now happily tucked up in our hotel room drinking vodka and bourbon watching our favourite football team (American not soccer!) beat the Denver Broncos - Go Chargers!!!!!