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Yesterday we left Shelbyville for Lynchburg and headed to the Jack Daniel's Distillery. This place is very interesting. You get a great feel for how Mr Jack started out at just seven years of age making whiskey. At thirteen years of age he started producing and selling whiskey. We learnt so much on this tour, it is only $11 + taxes for a sampling tour. This distillery is located in Moore county, Lynchburg. It is a small very old town with a great country atmosphere. This county is totally dry, as in it is against the law to buy or sell alcohol products. It has always been this way, but the Jack Daniels Distillery has a way around this county law by specialising lables and making individual bottles to call them "souvenirs". You can not go into a pub or a bar/cafe and buy alcohol, but you can drive 15 minutes to the next county and do so. Yes...weird. We went to a small diner in the main square and had the special on the board which was a burger and waffles fries for just $5-. After this we hop into the car and drive two minutes up the road and turn into a little side street to where Mr Jack himself is burried. He is in a small lot with other Daniel family members. His gravesite has two chairs placed with his headstone. These are said to have been placed there for the many women who he had relations with. Mr Jack was said to be the most eligable bachelor of his time. He never married nor did he have any children. After exploring the cemetery we leave and start our trip to Memphis. We stop about half an hour out of Memphis for the night. We stay in a motel that is filled with truckers and Indians. Our hallways smell like curry and the t.v's arent working. We walk to Ruby Tuesdays (diner) and have a cheap meal. We walk back and crash for the night ready for an early rise.
Morning Yall,
We leave the motel early to avoid traffic and head straight for Gracelands. We buy tickets for the platnium tour which is $37- p/p which is not the most expensive tour but so worth the money. We got audio headphones which were fantastic. Gracelands mansion is beautiful and all original. As we go though the mansion we are told upstairs is off limits due to the Presleys request for privacy. As the second floor has his bedroom and other private rooms that no one else is allowed to see except his family. After doing the mansions tour we headed outside to explore the backyards where he kept hs horses, swimming pool, raquet ball indoor room and mediation garden. This is where his Elvis, his father, mother and grandmother are all laid to rest. There is a small plaque remebering and acknowledging Elvis' twin brother Jessie who died stillbirth. He is still burried in Tupelo Mississippi still.
Graceland is quite big, located on both side of Elvis Preseley boulevard. there are heaps of gift shops with beautiful things. Mum picked up a bear with a little leather black jacket that has Elvis on his foot and Graceland embroidered on the back. From here we take a 10 minute trip downtown to Sun Studios.
This place is Full of soul and history. You can buy original records of "Blue Suede Shoes" for $70 !! Here we have a guided tour that pops with enthesiasm. We learn about the owner Sam and how he started what they call race mix. Where black soul music was being heard on predominatley white radio stations. This was'nt heard of before!!.
Many famous artists started there careers here like Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins Jerry Lee Lewis BB King and Roy Orbison. And since these famous people set foot there people like U2 , Bob Dillion, ringo star and even our own Guy Sebastian have recorded there. In the recording studio we had the chance to touch the piano where Jerrry Lee Lewis played his great balls of fire for recording. He even put his cigar out on one of the keys ....to say he was here. We also got to hold and have pictures with the one and only famous microphone used by so many famous people. All in all today was another amazing day out.
There is no doubt there are many many more brilliant things to do in Memphis but time was short and so we leave on our long road trip towards Dallas Texas. We are sleeping the night in a little place called Benton Arkansas......
Next update in a few days..... Hoo Dat Yeah ha..... love Jesse xxx
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