Because there was a wait for the mansion after purchasing our tickets, we toured the stables first. This actually worked out great because with it being earlier on such a nice day, a couple of the horses were in the pasture (we were blessed with near perfect timing on each attraction throughout the day, too) ...
We were shown a short film on the stables, Elvis's love of horses, Elvis's generosity (so that everyone could join in the fun, he bought each of his entourage - 17 or 18 - horses and because you can't ride without riding equipment, he bought each of them a saddle and other equipment and because you have to be able to transport horses, he bought each of them pick-up trucks and trailers) and clips from some Presley home movies, and then we were able to walk around some. We saw some of Elvis's riding gear...
Elvis was apparently meticulously organized in his stables - everything had a place and everything was labeled, so we got to see a wooden horse he had written his initials on...
We were shown a short film on the stables, Elvis's love of horses, Elvis's generosity (so that everyone could join in the fun, he bought each of his entourage - 17 or 18 - horses and because you can't ride without riding equipment, he bought each of them a saddle and other equipment and because you have to be able to transport horses, he bought each of them pick-up trucks and trailers) and clips from some Presley home movies, and then we were able to walk around some. We saw some of Elvis's riding gear...
Elvis was apparently meticulously organized in his stables - everything had a place and everything was labeled, so we got to see a wooden horse he had written his initials on...
We next saw the actual stalls. Because it is a working stable, we couldn't go in...
However, one of the horses, Max (a rescued horse), stuck his head out to greet us...
We also met Alene who cares for the horses...
She told us more about the horses and stables and informed us that Priscilla still comes to visit the horses. She was full of information and so nice - as all of the workers at the stables were - she even gave me a keepsake for my scrapbook!After touring the stables, Charles and I needed a bite to eat, so, of course, we had to try a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich!
I took the first bite...
Then I made Charles try a bite too...
It was pretty good, but I think Mama's smushed banana has it beaten!
I took the first bite...
Then I made Charles try a bite too...
It was pretty good, but I think Mama's smushed banana has it beaten!After gaining some energy, we lined up to tour the mansion. We timed it just right, and didn't have much of a wait at all. The little bus took us across the street, through the gate and up the drive to the home...
We finally entered the house, and after taking a look at the stained glass transom above the door - complete with a "P" - and gorgeous chandelier above the staircase, our first stop was the living room...
It had pops of vibrant colors with the peacock stained glass separating it from the music room and peacock blue curtains but was minimal - especially when compared to other rooms in Graceland...
We next saw his parents' room...
Then the dinning room...
Then the kitchen, and whoa, what a '70's kitchen it was!
We then passed through paneled hallways and down a completely mirrored (both walls and ceiling) staircase to the tv room...
From the lightening bolt on the wall, it looks like business was being taken care of in this room! The room had a wall of 3 televisions...
and plenty of records for the record player...
After leaving the media room, we entered the game room. The walls were covered in fabric and that same fabric came from the ceiling like a tent...
The next stop on the tour was the jungle room!
Green shag carpet on the floor and ceiling with an indoor fountain - what more can I say!
We didn't find any "pretty little thing" waiting for the King there, but I did take a picture of Charles outside the jungle room!
I really enjoyed the tour of the house! It was interesting to see all the '70's decor and to see all the cutting edge technology of the day and realize how much it has advanced.
After leaving the house we saw Lisa Marie's swing set in the yard...
and then took a glimpse at Vernon's office...
It was pretty funny to see the old copier machine and other office equipment and the see security footage being played on old tvs!
We finally entered the house, and after taking a look at the stained glass transom above the door - complete with a "P" - and gorgeous chandelier above the staircase, our first stop was the living room...
It had pops of vibrant colors with the peacock stained glass separating it from the music room and peacock blue curtains but was minimal - especially when compared to other rooms in Graceland...
We next saw his parents' room...
Then the dinning room...
Then the kitchen, and whoa, what a '70's kitchen it was!
We then passed through paneled hallways and down a completely mirrored (both walls and ceiling) staircase to the tv room...
From the lightening bolt on the wall, it looks like business was being taken care of in this room! The room had a wall of 3 televisions...
and plenty of records for the record player...
After leaving the media room, we entered the game room. The walls were covered in fabric and that same fabric came from the ceiling like a tent...
The next stop on the tour was the jungle room!Green shag carpet on the floor and ceiling with an indoor fountain - what more can I say!We didn't find any "pretty little thing" waiting for the King there, but I did take a picture of Charles outside the jungle room!
I really enjoyed the tour of the house! It was interesting to see all the '70's decor and to see all the cutting edge technology of the day and realize how much it has advanced.After leaving the house we saw Lisa Marie's swing set in the yard...
and then took a glimpse at Vernon's office...
It was pretty funny to see the old copier machine and other office equipment and the see security footage being played on old tvs!We then saw the smokehouse where Elvis and his buddies took target practice for a while...
We next toured the trophy room. I tried to recreate the fans from Aloha from Hawaii!
We saw the evolution of his early career and his gold lame suit...
His trophy for Suspicious Minds - my favorite song!! (I remember Mama and me watching the Elvis Aloha from Hawaii special when it came on each year and acting so silly singing along - we would run Daddy out of the living room! My favorite part when I was little was the part in Suspicious Minds where Elvis would say: "I hope this suit don't tear up baby." It made me giggle every time I heard it!!)
We saw his 3 Grammys - each for gospel...
Of course, I had to take a picture of the Aloha from Hawaii gold album!
and a shot of Charles with the In the Ghetto album - another one of my favorite songs...
and the platinum Christmas album - we listen to this one every Christmas - beginning with it in rotation as we put up our Christmas tree each year!
The trophy room had other memorabilia from Elvis's movie days and performing days...
his and Priscilla's wedding attire...
and some of Lisa Marie's toys...
and also spoke of his charitable spirit...
We next toured the trophy room. I tried to recreate the fans from Aloha from Hawaii!
We saw the evolution of his early career and his gold lame suit...
His trophy for Suspicious Minds - my favorite song!! (I remember Mama and me watching the Elvis Aloha from Hawaii special when it came on each year and acting so silly singing along - we would run Daddy out of the living room! My favorite part when I was little was the part in Suspicious Minds where Elvis would say: "I hope this suit don't tear up baby." It made me giggle every time I heard it!!)
We saw his 3 Grammys - each for gospel...
Of course, I had to take a picture of the Aloha from Hawaii gold album!
and a shot of Charles with the In the Ghetto album - another one of my favorite songs...
and the platinum Christmas album - we listen to this one every Christmas - beginning with it in rotation as we put up our Christmas tree each year!
The trophy room had other memorabilia from Elvis's movie days and performing days...his and Priscilla's wedding attire...
and some of Lisa Marie's toys...
and also spoke of his charitable spirit...
Next on the tour was the Racquetball Court...
We first saw the upper game room...
Then the lounge with the piano played by Elvis...
Then the court itself which now houses awards and costumes...
Immediately upon entering, I spotted the Aloha from Hawaii jumpsuit and cape!
We then took a look at the other items on display (I liked the tiger suit too!)...
including Elvis's microphone...
and took a closer look at some of the awards...
We then passed through the backyard/pool area...
and into the meditation garden...
We then loaded back onto the little bus to leave the grounds.
We first saw the upper game room...
Then the lounge with the piano played by Elvis...
Then the court itself which now houses awards and costumes...
Immediately upon entering, I spotted the Aloha from Hawaii jumpsuit and cape!We then took a look at the other items on display (I liked the tiger suit too!)...
including Elvis's microphone...
and took a closer look at some of the awards...
We then passed through the backyard/pool area...
and into the meditation garden...
We then loaded back onto the little bus to leave the grounds.Our next stop was the automobile museum...
We saw everything from Priscilla's cute little convertable...
to a black and a white Rolls Royce...
to a Frerrari...
to a Stultz...
to a pink cadillac..
to a custom Continential - complete with gold ostrich roof...
Charles decided to try out a few of Elvis's moves!!
We then decided to tour the planes. In order to get there, you had to pass through an Elvis fan detector!!
We first toured the Lisa Marie...
We saw the cockpit...
the cabin closet complete with some of Elvis's wardrobe just as it would have been on an actual flight...
the lavatory with the gold sink...
the many couchs and seats in the lounge area complete with gold seatbelts...
the plane had everything from tvs to a beverage cooler...
I thought the choice of Gatorade, Dr. Pepper or Mountain Valley water was pretty interesting!
We then saw Elvis's chair and control table...
Then we saw Elvis's bedroom - his bed had a regulation seatbelt running across it - of course, in gold...
and Elvis's bathroom, with another gold sink...
I was amazed by just how many "rooms" were on the Lisa Marie.
We saw everything from Priscilla's cute little convertable...
to a black and a white Rolls Royce...
to a Frerrari...
to a Stultz...
to a pink cadillac..
to a custom Continential - complete with gold ostrich roof...
Charles decided to try out a few of Elvis's moves!!
We then decided to tour the planes. In order to get there, you had to pass through an Elvis fan detector!!
We first toured the Lisa Marie...
We saw the cockpit...
the cabin closet complete with some of Elvis's wardrobe just as it would have been on an actual flight...
the lavatory with the gold sink...
the many couchs and seats in the lounge area complete with gold seatbelts...
the plane had everything from tvs to a beverage cooler...
I thought the choice of Gatorade, Dr. Pepper or Mountain Valley water was pretty interesting!We then saw Elvis's chair and control table...
Then we saw Elvis's bedroom - his bed had a regulation seatbelt running across it - of course, in gold...and Elvis's bathroom, with another gold sink...
I was amazed by just how many "rooms" were on the Lisa Marie.We then "toured" the Hound Dog...
and saw the cockpit...
and interior...
We then went through an exhibit on Elvis in Hollywood...
I had no idea how many movies he had made.
and saw the cockpit...
and interior...
We then went through an exhibit on Elvis in Hollywood...
I had no idea how many movies he had made.We then stopped for some suveniers. I just had to try on the Elvis sunglasses - I came so close to bringing them home!
We then toured an exhibit on Private Presley and learned about his time in the Army...
After all that touring, we were ready for an early dinner, so we headed to Marlowe's... 
Home of delicious bar-b-que...
We almost called for their complementary pink cadillac limo service, but decided to forgo that adventure...
Marlowe's has been featured on one of our favorite shows on The Food Network - Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and, of course, Elvis ate here...
It has also won many, many bar-b-que cooking competitions...
I really like the trophies with the cute pottery pigs on them!
We then toured an exhibit on Private Presley and learned about his time in the Army...
After all that touring, we were ready for an early dinner, so we headed to Marlowe's... Home of delicious bar-b-que...We almost called for their complementary pink cadillac limo service, but decided to forgo that adventure...Marlowe's has been featured on one of our favorite shows on The Food Network - Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and, of course, Elvis ate here...It has also won many, many bar-b-que cooking competitions...I really like the trophies with the cute pottery pigs on them!We enjoyed some delicious fried green tomatoes...
some delicious bar-b-que...
and a piece of cake for my birthday celebration!
After enjoying a delicious dinner, we drove back to Graceland and took some pictures at the fence...
and gate...
After touring and seeing pretty much everything associated with Graceland, we headed to Sun Studio...
So many greats have recorde here...
From the Million Dollar Quartet of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins...
to U2 - here is the machine used to record on the Shake Rattle and Hum album...
The tour began with displays on the building, the business and the greats that have recorded at Sun.
some delicious bar-b-que...and a piece of cake for my birthday celebration!After enjoying a delicious dinner, we drove back to Graceland and took some pictures at the fence...
and gate...
After touring and seeing pretty much everything associated with Graceland, we headed to Sun Studio...So many greats have recorde here...From the Million Dollar Quartet of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins...to U2 - here is the machine used to record on the Shake Rattle and Hum album...The tour began with displays on the building, the business and the greats that have recorded at Sun.We saw the machine which etched the recording into acetate which was then sent on to make vinyls out of...
because of the way this machine worked, we get the term "stratching records."
because of the way this machine worked, we get the term "stratching records."We saw other equipment used in the studio as well as B.B. King's chair... 
and learned about the secretary who discovered Elvis!
We also learned about Sam Phillips, the visionary who discovered so many talents...
Then we headed to the studio which is still used for recording today. We had a great tour guide who was full of energy and very informative. Here she is showing us how Johnny Cash got the unique brushing sound on Ring of Fire (he couldn't use percussion) by putting paper (here a dollar) under the strings...
and learned about the secretary who discovered Elvis!We also learned about Sam Phillips, the visionary who discovered so many talents...
Then we headed to the studio which is still used for recording today. We had a great tour guide who was full of energy and very informative. Here she is showing us how Johnny Cash got the unique brushing sound on Ring of Fire (he couldn't use percussion) by putting paper (here a dollar) under the strings... We saw an authentic microphone donated by Sam Phillips and got to stand on the spot where Elvis stood during his recordings - X marks the spot!!
We had such a fun day and had so much fun touring Graceland and Sun Studio!!
We had such a fun day and had so much fun touring Graceland and Sun Studio!! 