December 10 -- Birmingham to Charlotte

I started the day in Homewood, just outside of Birmingham, with coffee and a muffin at an independent café, Coolbeans.

I took I-20 (and a return to the Atlantic time zone for the first time in more than a month) to Atlanta, and I-85 through Greenville and Spartanburg, SC up to Charlotte, not far over the NC border.

The drive was warm and sunny, with the temperature close to 80° throughout, and I arrived in Charlotte around 5:30 p.m. Pics below:


Birmingham suburbs.

Downtown Birmingham from the Highway.

Alabama Countryside.

Atlanta in the distance.

Even though the temperature stayed warm. It started to look like winter just past Atlanta.

A friend in Georgia.

Atlanta seems to be a vibrant and diverse FM radio market, including a large number of religion-oriented stations. It was curious to hear these radio stations and, at the same time, to see these billboards just north of the city. (I captured 4 of 6, positioned in rapid succession, at the side of the road):




Arrival in Charlotte.

December 9 -- Easy Riding in Birmingham

It took only about four hours to get from Memphis to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Leeds, just outside Birmingham.

There was a friend outside of Starbucks in Memphis.

This museum houses far the most extensive collection of motorcycles in the United States; almost not to be believed!

Many of the visitors are real motorbike aficionados. (I'm glad this man and woman were wearing dungarees under their chaps!)

Here are a few pics of cool bikes:

Chopper (unidentified).

Navy Harley Davidson, 1944. My Unlce Joe rode a motorcyle while serving in the Navy in WWII. I wonder if it looked like this?

Army Harley Davidson, 1944.

1933 BMW.

1925 Bohmerland.

Parilla, 1956. The faring allowed this road bike to go especially fast. It also made it very easy to crash, so it was discontinued after a short time.

Harley Davidson replica of the chopper in the 1969 movie, Easy Rider.

A couple getting married in the museum! I'd like this sort of setting.

1902 Steffey.

1925 Harley Davidson biscuit delivery motorcycle.

Two 1980's BMW's that rode around the world. (What do you think about trying to drive a Mini around the world? Could that be my next great project?)

1950 Indian Chief.

1950 Indian Warrior with winter driving attachments!

A racing bike with no clothes.

2004 Honda Rune, with a 6-cylinder motor.

Lotus 11, 1956.

A brace of Lotuses from the 1960's.

1989 Renault-powered Lotus Formula One race car.

In addition to the motorcycles, the museum had a collection of Lotus racecars, some old Formula One racecars, and a miscellaneous handful of other vehicles, mostly sports or racing cars

Also, Barber Motorsports was running a driving school for Porsche right outside the windows. Great to watch.

December 8 -- Beale Street

In the evening I went to Beale Street, a place famous for its music and eating. There’s a link, to the right, to Trip Advisor’s web page on it. The street was shut to traffic, and its restaurants and bars were hopping with people of all ages. Live music oozed out around the doors and windows of what seemed like one out of every couple of establishments. And yes, Mustang Sally was one of the numbers!

One of my faves:

December 8 -- National Civil Rights Museum

The National Civil Rights Museum is at the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King was shot dead on April 4, 1968. It is a moving place. I can’t describe it properly in words, and no pictures of the inside were permitted.

(The Lorraine Motel, with the entrance to the museum at the left of the photo.)

One half of the museum, attached to the motel, chronicles the history of discrimination against black Americans and the historical struggle for civil rights in this country. An excellent, one-hour audio guide takes visitors through the exhibits. It’s important to allow at least two hours for this because you need to spend extra time looking at the exhibits in detail – something the audio guide encourages.

Across the street, there is a second facility which encompasses the boarding house from which James Earl Ray assassinated MLK. I didn’t get to spend much time in this part of the museum, but I was able to glance at what appears to be an excellent exhibit about the investigation and prosecution of the King murder, and then a large installation addressing the ongoing struggle for civil rights.

(Closer view of the balcony, with the wreath, on which MLK was killed.)

It’s depressing to see how long and hard so many people fought to treat other human beings in vicious, immoral ways. In contrast, it is inspirational to be reminded of those who risked their lives to achieve justice, and who had the moral strength to do so without violence.

This, from Martin Luther King, was new to me: “That old law about 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing.”

December 8 -- Graceland

Graceland is ironic. In some ways, it’s way over the top -- green shag rug on the ceiling, wild chandeliers and decorating, a meditation garden, etc. In other ways, it’s oh-so-ordinary --most countertops are formica, there’s plenty of low-end appearing wood paneling, the house itself is not that large, etc.

(Less enormous than I’d imagined; trees and all Christmas decorations original.)


Elvis bought the mansion and some 18 acres when he was 22. He lived there until his death in 1977, only twenty years later, not long after an intense game of racquetball on the court he built at the estate.

(Plenty of fans leave their messages on the front gate.)

Without question, the place is a slick operation. There’s a large visitors’ center across the street from the house. You take a shuttle bus to and from the mansion.

After viewing the property, you can go to a number of separate exhibits if you’ve bought a “platinum ticket” ($30 instead of $25 for the mansion tour alone), allowing you to see Elvis’s costumes, cars and planes as well.

(The original Pink Cadillac. Elvis often called it “Gladys’ car” because his mom, although she never learned to drive, loved it so much. It was one of the few cars that the King kept from the time he first became famous.)

(Former Delta Convair 550, the “Lisa Marie,” named after Elvis’s daughter.)

The highlight, of course, is the mansion:


Front stairs. Lisa Marie remembers the jangling sound all her father’s jewelry used to make as he descended.

Living room.

Front hall.

Dining room.

Kitchen.

Blue suede covered stairs down to basement. The photograph is courtesy of mirrored walls and ceiling.

Basement entertainment room. Elvis was inspired to install three televisions when he learned that President Johnson watched all the networks simultaneously on just such a set-up.

Basement pool room. Note the fabric on the ceiling and walls.

“Jungle Room.” The wall at the end is a custom-designed waterfall. There’s green shag rug on the ceiling, as well.

The den.  And a glimpse of the green shag rug on the ceiling.

White fur bed from Elvis’s dressing room.

Elvis’s guns.

“Shotgun house” in Tupelo, MS, in which Elvis grew up.

Gold records on the wall of the racquetball court.


A couple of great outfits.

Mediation garden.

The end.