Montgomery Alabama to Tupelo Mississippi & Memphis Tennessee – We left Montgomery early in the morning. I’m glad to say we left early too. It had to be the least liked place to stay so far during the iRide trip. We met a guy at a gas stop / fried chicken joint and he mentioned that he wouldn’t have even tried to stay at Montgomery, just move on the next nearest town with a hotel. It has that bad of reputation with the locals.
To be fair the day shift crew was much more hospitable then the night shift. They were borderline rude to their guest. I met a fellow while smoking a cigarette out front and he mentioned the same thing. He tried to make a joke with one of the hotel workers and they looked at him like he was a piece of turd. It seems so weird to see this type of behavior coming from California. I guess this is not uncommon along the different parts of the state. I saw a building that had a huge confederate flag raised in front of their building. I believe it was SOA or Sons of Alabama.
The ride to Tupelo Mississippi first took us through some very rural roads that then led us to more modern streets then to the highway. If you want to really experience the various areas good or bad, riding a motorcycle is the best thing to do. Its not like you can roll up the windows or lock the doors.
Once we hit the main highways and started rolling we saw some of the most plush green forest views. We had rain off and on throughout the ride to Tupelo and Memphis. We have the rain gear handy and gear up pretty quick now. We did make a stop at Pelham Alabama Harley Davidson dealership for our fill of ride pins and t-shirts.
Once we arrived at Tupelo MS there were many signs letting you know Elvis Presley’s home location. I had it punched in my GPS already but I didn’t even have to look at it since there were so many signs.
Lorraine literally hopped off the motorcycle and ran to one of the signs stating we arrived at Elvis Presley’s home. It was still a block away! I have a video of this as the front facing GoPro HD was on and in full HD. LOL!!
I have took a bunch of photos while we were there. You can see how happy Lorraine was just being there, definitely a highlight of our trip!
This is the original home where Elvis Presley was born.
Lorraine is about to step into the home of Elvis Presley for the first time! She’s in cloud 9!
After visiting Elvis Presley’s birthplace it was off to Memphis Tennessee. We hit rain again but already had the rain gear on in anticipation. Also found a strong radio signal as we neared the city 103.5 FM that played old school R&B Ballads.
I had asked around about hotels in Memphis and most of the feedback I got was not to stay near Graceland including the Heartbreak Hotel. The input I got was to stay in the downtown area so we would be within walking distance to the other attractions Memphis has to offer like Beal Street, Riverwalk, Main Street and all the popular restaurants. We stayed at the Comfort Inn Suites on Front street. It was ideal as it had a overhang garage that protected the bike. The hotel let me park the bike right in front of the registration office so it was fairly safe.
After hotel check-in we headed out for a bite to eat. We found a place off of Main Street called Huey’s that was more like a sports and grill joint. I had a philly steak and Lorraine had a philly chicken sandwich. Nothing great but thought I’d mention since I will forget the name later. Oh, another thing to mention. I have noticed in the few restaurants we checked out they have an area on the walls that you’re allowed to write on. Most people will sign their name but I’ve seen a poem or two.
more to come..