I mentioned in the first part of this two part reflection that the main goal of our little road trip was to go to Memphis and visit Graceland. None of us have ever been, including my grandmother, who loves to tell the story about how she was on her way to pick up my uncle from football practice, when she heard the news of Elvis' death on the radio and had to pull over to compose herself due to the amount of shock which followed.

With that being said, Graceland did not disappoint us or my grandmother. There was way more to the estate than just the tour of the home. We saw his planes, all of his cars, and what seemed like countless mini museums with photos and belongings. The whole experience was definitely surreal and entertaining for all of us. For me, it was inspiring, as well. I can totally get behind Elvis' "go big or go home" style and over-the-top taste, and spending the day surrounded by a whole new level of glitz and glam was a dream come true for me.

That night for dinner, we ventured into downtown Memphis to eat ribs at Rendezvous, which was recommended to us as a must-visit, and that did not disappoint either. They were easily the best ribs I've ever eaten, especially the lamb ribs my dad and brother ordered, which were insanely delicious.

Other than Graceland, the highlight of Memphis for me was also seeing the Mississippi river for the first time as we briefly crossed the bridge which borders Arkansas. I've never been that far west before, so seeing a completely different part of the country other than the southeastern part I'm used to was really quite the experience for me.

tennessee road trip: nashville.

Back in March, my dad, sister, grandmother, and I took a road-trip to Tennessee. My brother, an officer in the Air Force who's currently training in Mississippi, met us in Nashville, the first stop in our two-night adventure. We spent the 2nd leg of our trip in Memphis, but since I have so many photos, I'll be covering that portion of the trip in a separate post.

As you can see through the photos, Nashville was pretty rainy, but nothing too unbearable for walking around. What made things extra difficult, however, was the flood of blue-clad University of Kentucky fans that you can see can in the last picture. Without realizing it, we timed our trip perfectly with the SEC tournament. We all couldn't help but just laugh at our luck, because these kinds of things seem to only happen to the Robinson family on big trips and vacations.

Fortunately, this didn't change much of our plans because our main goal was to get to Memphis and see Graceland. Nashville was just a fun stop along the way for us, and it still was despite the weather and the crowds. We were able to go to the Johnny Cash Museum, which is probably one of the biggest highlights of the trip for myself, since I'm a huge fan.

Nashville was a colorful town glittering with neon lights, and it shined bright even in the rain. Walking around, smelling barbecue and hearing familiar country songs, it felt like home and Hollywood all rolled up into one. I'd definitely like to go back sometime when I have more time to truly explore the city, but I'm thankful for getting a small taste of what it's all about.