Alabama Road Trip Part 2: Memphis

Yesterday we spent the morning in Memphis. Our first stop was the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King, Jr.was assassinated. It was eerie how well they kept the motel in the same condition it was in 1968. They even had the same kind of cars parked out in the parking lot below his room that were there that date. Attached to the motel is the National Civil Rights Museum. We found it quite interesting that to get there, we had to drive past the Jefferson Davis Memorial Park.


Our next stop was the place Matt had been looking forward to the most in Memphis: Sun Studio, where Elvis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and many others got their musical starts.

Before our tour started, we had a snack in the cafe.


Karl got to sing into a microphone that was actually used by Elvis Presley!


Sun Studio is still an active recording studio, and has all the original acoustic tiles and the same setup (with updated equipment of course) that was there in the 1950s.

After lunch, it was time to head to Steve and Megan's! As we've been driving south, it's been like being in a movie where the seasons change really quickly. We started out in snowy, freezing temperatures with bare trees, then watched the trees start budding as we drove through Missouri, and now we're in the middle of summer with hot air and bright green trees and blooming flowers. Today is a much-needed down day for us, so I think I'll go work on my tan now.