Up The Coast (Pt 1)

 

Over the past weekend,  Chris and I took a trip up to San Luis Obispo, which is about 3 hours north of where we live. We used to take more trips up north to visit friends, but that's pretty much slowed down lately, and I'd been dying to go back to the Madonna Inn for some time now (which is basically the coolest and most bizarre hotel on the way to San Francisco). It was built in the late 1950's by a man named Alex Madonna who built this hotel as a stop for people traveling along the coast. We decided to stay at a bed and breakfast and just visit the Madonna Inn on our way there, because I thought that would be more interesting, and it was! In fact, the B&B was super cute and cozy, which is exactly what I had been hoping for. I'll be posting pictures of the rest of our trip tomorrow!

We arrived at the Madonna Inn on the way to our B&B (they were about 10 minutes away from each other). Of course, the first thing I had to do upon exiting the car was to snap a million pictures of the infamous Madonna Inn sign. I looked around me and noticed a few other people snapping pictures of signs around the property; clearly this is the norm here. Once inside the bakery, we sat down at a table by the window and I happily ordered a slice of their famous Pink Champagne cake, with coffee on the side. This cake did not disappoint! It's pretty much the best cake I've ever tasted, and it probably helps that the whole cake is pink and has marzipan ribbons (mmm marzipan).

 

After only being able to handle a few bites, we had it boxed up to go and made our way around the hotel to take more pictures. I stopped into the gift shop and purchased a few of their pink wine goblets before heading outside to explore (which I'll share another time).

I should mention that if you come to this hotel, go to the bar, talk to the bartender (he's really sweet) and order the Pink Cloud. It's like drinking a strawberry milkshake, only with a little vodka mixed in ;)

We headed outside to check out the views (there are gorgeous mountains everywhere) and I was curious to see what the spa/pool area looked like. I wish I'd been a little bolder and peeked into a room that a maid was cleaning, but I didn't want to be weird. If you didn't already know, each room is themed and pretty much every room has an abundance of color and textures, and they all have fun names (like Sugar & Spice, Love Nest and Fabulous Fifties, to name a few). I hope someday to be able to stay in this hotel! For now, I'll just continue to use their bathroom on the way to wherever I'm heading, pick up a slice of cake, and admire the scenery (and the pink!!)

My trip to Memphis (Pt 3)

Wearing my new shirt while watching the Kings game in the hotel room (they won.. go LA!)

Day three (our last day..boohoo, so sad) began with a nice chance to finally sleep in. We took our time getting packed, and headed back to the Blue Plate for our final breakfast in Memphis. Seeing as how the last time I ate here, I ate way too much and almost fainted in the car rental, I wasn't sure of what to order, so I stuck to a light meal. I meant for our last day to be a more leisurely day without as much of a strict itinerary, and that was pretty much what happened. There had been some spots I'd still wanted to see, so we planned out each one and ended up seeing it all with time to spare!

First up was the house Elvis owned before Graceland, on a gorgeous street called Audubon Drive. I wish there was a way I could have seen the inside because I hear that they preserved it how it looked back when the Presley's lived there, but I had to see it from the outside. It's a ranch style house that was said to have been the only house on the block with a pool at the time of purchase. I love it!

 

We then drove to Elvis' high school (which is now just a middle school), Lauderdale Courts (the public housing he lived in during his high school days), and the movie theater I'd been dying to see that he used to rent out for all night movie marathons (which is now a playhouse). Funny story: My mom pulled over so I could jump out and take a picture of the outside, but then I got curious and went in (it was open!) and no one was inside. Not a soul. I thought maybe I'd find some kind of plaque to commemorate the history of him using it) but there was nothing. I saw that the room with the stage was open, so I started to walk over when I realized the room before that was pitch black. I ran through it (trying not to scream), took a picture, and ran out. It was kind of spooky, but so fun.

 

I found Overton Square! This was high on my list, since I'd heard that it was full of cute shops and restaurants. Actually, I found it by accident while driving around looking for the theater. I spotted the mural and had to take that picture I'd been wanting to take, along with some pictures I took at the cutest cafe ever called Java Cabana in Cooper-Young that also sold vintage clothing and yummy cupcakes (I bought their strawberry one, mmm). I also found the record store that has that Elvis shrine, and we found a cute overpass as well. I love this part of town and I wish we'd known about it sooner or had an extra day to eat at one of the restaurants there. 

(Aside from having the coolest shrine, Goner Records is one of the best record stores I've ever walked into. You have to check it out if you're in Memphis, and stop by Java Cabana for some yummy coffee and cupcakes!)

We took a wrong turn on our way back downtown, and ended up stumbling upon a funny little tire garden. I never knew these existed before, and I'm so glad that we found it. It's funny, but also really creative! If I lived in a more country setting, I would paint some tires in pastels and go crazy with plants.

After that, we drove to the Civil Rights Museum which I'd always wanted to visit. But, honestly, seeing the Lorraine Motel in person was such an emotional experience, I still can't believe I was there to see where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Truly a powerful moment. We first entered the museum that was very descriptive with all kinds of information about the civil rights movement beginning from the 1800's going up through the 1960's and 70's. Then you went upstairs to the room that MLK Jr stayed in while he was there to do his speech (which they preserved through a glass door), and the room he was taken to after he was shot. So moving. Then once you were done, you went outside to see it from the ground level. You also went up to the room where the guy shot him from, which was just too disturbing for me and we decided to leave. Overall, I am so glad that we visited. I never thought I'd ever be seeing that in person, and I'll never forget it.

 

We also had the best fried chicken.. ever. It was from Gus' which wasn't far from the museum, and we were in heaven. In fact, the restaurant was so packed we took it to go and ate it in the car. Super classy, I know. :)

I couldn't help but snap a few pictures of more murals in Cooper-Young that I just thought were cool and interesting.

Memphis was honestly one of the coolest cities I've ever been to, and I'm still so sad that the trip is over. I hope can go back someday, and now that I know the city like the back of my hand (we got lost SO many times), I know I'll have as much fun as I did the first time.

My trip to Memphis (Pt 2)

 I wish this picture was real! I don't ever like taking those silly green screen pictures (growing up  around Hollywood they're basically everywhere), but I could not pass this up. I was joking with my mom that I really look like I could have been in the real picture in the 1960's, and that my name would have been Diane or Nancy and that I was the president of his fan club, or his little sister if he ever had one.

Day two was just as busy as day one was. In a really silly move, I had reserved us the back booth at the Arcade Restaurant for 9 am, which really for us was 7 am, and we were exhausted. When we got to the restaurant, I couldn't help but fall in love with the old blue and pink booths. I ordered the famous sweet potato pancakes, and they were amaaazing. I think I need to learn how to make these at home so I can have them whenever I have the craving. Elvis' booth was adorned with some photos of him, and wasn't particularly interesting, but I liked thinking that he sat in the same booth once and maybe even had the same meal as me.

After we ate, we drove over to Sun Studio to see where Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins recorded some of their most popular early hits. I truly felt like I'd stepped back in time, and I love that feeling. The bottom floor was a shop for Sun Studio merchandise, along with a cafe (where Elvis signed his first contract with Sam Phillips!) I picked up a couple of shirts for myself and Chris, and then we headed upstairs for the tour. The tour guide was funny, and I just loved every second of it. The top floor was dedicated to the original artifacts of the artists who were part of Sun, like old guitars, clothing, records, etc. Then we walked downstairs to the "church", aka the studio where it all happened. I can't believe I got to stand there (or rather sit on the piano bench that they had all once used). I even got to fake sing into the famous microphone!

 

After Sun, we decided to be crazy (well, it was already planned, so we were already crazy) and drove an hour and a half into Tupelo, Mississippi to see where Elvis was born and first grew up. We did some Yelp research and found ourselves dining at a restaurant called the Neon Pig which was an exit before the one into Elvis' neighborhood, and were SO pleased with what we discovered. It was a cool, hip little cafe with a butcher shop and a shelf of homemade goodies to take home such as sauces, dry pasta, local coffee, etc. I ordered something I don't think I'll ever forget: It was a chicken sandwich but the bread was a steamed bun, and it was presented like a taco, with crispy chopped chicken, pickles, bacon and harissa. Oh my god. It's one of those dishes that you can still taste whenever you think about it, even if it's been months or years!

The house that Elvis was born in was as small as everyone says, and it really does put things into perspective. I had learned a while ago that Vernon (Elvis' dad) built this house himself, and that is truly unbelievable. I'm so glad I was able to visit. We also sat inside the church he attended, and the museum was fun, as well.

 

After Tupelo, we headed back into Memphis so that I could catch my Elvis Radio interview live. The plaza was empty by that point because tours to the mansion were over, and that gave the experience a pretty intimate feel. There were still a few people walking around, sitting on the benches to listen to Elvis Radio. Little did I know when we got there, that George Klein (Elvis' oldest friend since middle school) was finishing up his Friday radio show. I knew that he did that show, but had forgotten he might be there. Jim (the DJ who interviewed me) saw us outside the booth and waved to us, and later came out to say that George wanted to meet us and to talk business with my mom. I can't believe that I got to meet him! He is such a sweet man, and has lived such a crazy life. On top of having history with Elvis, he wrote an amazing book recounting his friendship with Elvis, along with being one of the most famous radio dj's and tv hosts of all time in the music world. It was an honor to meet him. He gave me a copy of his book and signed the inside jacket! I was freaking out, and still am a little bit. And my interview was so fun to hear! I put my phone up to the outside speaker and recorded it, and I'm so happy to have that forever.

You'd think by this point we'd be too tired to do anything else, but by 6 pm we were off to have dinner at Flight in the downtown area. Flight is a cool concept because you can pick and choose three small plates as your "flight", or choose regular portions (but what fun is that?) and you can order wine flights, too! We opted for their harvest salad, and flight of veal scallopini (I'm not normally a veal girl, but it was my mom's choice), chicken and waffles, and red snapper) which all were delicious. My mom also killed a gigantic mosquito afterwards which caused a funny scene, and once we were done eating, we made our way to Gibson's Donuts! It's amazing how much I can eat. But there's always room for a donut.

All in all, Friday was a day full of laughs, great food, history, hearing my interview and meeting George! I didn't want the day to end, and Saturday was our last day. More on that tomorrow! :)