Graceland

"I'm going to Graceland, for reasons I cannot explain
  There's some part of me that wants to see Graceland."  - Paul Simon

Like Paul Simon, I can't explain why I wanted to see Graceland either.  I just wanted to.  I'm not even a big Elvis Presley fan.  I own two Elvis CD's (30 #1 Hits, and 2nd to None), and up until recently, I rarely listened to them.  Since visiting Graceland, I went to my local library and checked out an Elvis Presley 5 CD box set called "The King of Rock N' Roll - The Complete 50's Masters."  This is the only period from Elvis that I particularly like.  I like the early Sun Studio recordings, and I like his early hits like "Hound Dog," "Heartbreak Hotel," and "Jailhouse Rock."  As he entered the 60's, and especially the 70's, he became the lounge-singing joke that most of the impersonators portray today.  However...when he was in his early 20's, the guy had talent.

As for the Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, it is the very definition of a tourist trap, but if you can resist all the many opportunities to buy Elvis memorabilia, it's fairly interesting.

Naturally, being the cheapskate that I am, I think that almost everything is overpriced.  After you pay $10 to park, tickets for Graceland are $32 (per person) just for the "Mansion Tour", which lasts about 45 minutes.  For $36 you can get the "Platinum Tour" which includes admission to about six other Elvis attractions, including his private jet.  Thankfully, kids were free, and I had a "Two For One" coupon which got all four of us in for $36.  We splurged that extra four dollars for the Platinum Tour, but you could easily do without it.  The other attractions (with the exception of the jet) are basically just gift-shops that have some of Elvis's costumes displayed.

The mansion is where the most interesting stuff is, even though they won't allow you to go upstairs to the infamous bathroom where he was found dead.  Inside the mansion is like a time capsule of 70's culture.  By that, I mean it's pretty dang ugly, yet somewhat fascinating.

Elvis, in his later years, was one pretty wacky dude.  If he were still alive today, I'm sure he'd still be touring, and the fanatics would still be flocking to his shows, no matter how obese or crazy he became.  He was a legend then, and still is today.