Hunka Hunka Burning Love

I seem to have more images than words floating around in my brain these days, which in the end I suppose is a good thing, since I am a photographer. On the other hand, it's not so fantastic because it's been keeping me from filing the pages of my blog. I've decided that while I work on my voice, I'll share some of the things my eyes have seen.

Here's where I begin to play catch-up....

When Zac and I took our road trip back in November, we drove through Memphis, TN. We're not particularly Elvis fans, but how could we possibly pass through Memphis and pass on Graceland, the home of The King? As we arrived, I immediately put on Paul Simon's Graceland, which I happily played in my mind all day long.

I found myself inexplicably drawn to all the Elvis souvenirs (both in the gift shop and in the displays). I could have spent days looking at all the chatchkas. I was blown away by the kitch factor and the empire that is Elvis.

The house was really something special, and I would highly recommend it to everyone. Elvis fan or not. Graceland is spectacular. It's like walking into a time-warp. A wonderfully gaudy, imaginative, shiny, upholstered time-warp. I wish I could have taken more pictures of the inside of his house, but the tour was crowded and the house is extremely dark. Getting a clear shot with a proper camera was tough. My two favorite rooms were the "Tiki room" complete with indoor waterfall (below left), and the billiards room (below right) where the floor, celling, walls and furniture are all covered in matching fabric. Unreal. I can only imagine that his cleaning lady hated that room.

As the house tour came to an end, a larger than life oil painted Elvis bid us adieu.