Day 15 #TeslaNashvilleRoadTrip
Memphis breakfast. Graceland visit. Drove 234 miles to NV. Dinner with Charlie and Lisa.
The Index of all 30 posts from day 1 of our #TeslaRoadTripUSA is HERE.
On the way to Graceland stopped at Sun Records. Not that big.
Graceland was 8 miles from our Hotel. Entry was $82 to include the mansion, the cars and the planes.
Pictures from inside the mansion.
Walking through the Mansion. Enjoyed the less seen pictures of Elvis through the years.
I guess if you’re born looking like that opportunity was always going to visit.
Elvis loved his guns. And his police duty.
Graceland design uses mirrors. Every room has mirrors.
The tour ends with a visit to the family graveyard. On one side is Lisa Marie and her son. Benjamin Storm Presley Keough. Keough’s father Danny Keough was a touring musician for jazz pianist Chick Corea. Danny met Lisa Marie at the Church of Scientology’s Celebrity Center in Los Angeles. The two Keough children got the first shock of their lives when their mother left their father for Michael Jackson in 1994. But that marriage ended in 1996 and young Keough watched as his mother quickly left the King of Pop for fellow Hollywood scion Nicolas Cage.
Their marriage lasted only 100 days. By the time he turned 17, Keough’s desire to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps led Universal to offer him a $5 million record contract in 2009. Despite the deal outlining the possibility of as many as five albums and despite actually going into the studio to record some songs, no music from the young singer was ever released. Benjamin struggled with drugs and alcohol. He blamed his upbringing in the Church of Scientology for many of his issues and claimed the controversial church “messes you up.” A friend reported “His entire family was shaped by Scientology, and [they’re] paying the price.”
Meanwhile, Lisa Marie was going through a bitter divorce from her fourth husband, Michael Lockwood, including a custody battle over their 11-year-old twins, Finley and Harper. Speaking about Presley, a friend said “Ben was her baby. More than Riley. More than the twins. This will be beyond inconceivable for her. I really worry that it might be too much for her.”
Ben experienced depression. On July 12, 2020, he shot himself while at a joint party for his girlfriend, Diana Pinto, and brother-in-law Ben Smith-Peterson. Neighbors alleged that they heard someone scream “don’t do it” before hearing a shotgun blast. The Los Angeles coroner later confirmed that he died by shotgun wound.
We listened to my favorite Elvis song driving away from Graceland. In the Ghetto. After Graceland set off for Nashville. The views from the road are as usual, stunning. The car is a pleasure to drive, as all Tesla drivers agree. A better driving experience.
With over 300 miles every recharge, usually 321 miles, there is no range anxiety between stops for charge. Takes some 40 minutes for a full recharge. The charge points are usually interesting in one way or another.
As usual the religious imagery on the roadside is ubiquitous. Almost all advertising on this trip has been either religion (Jesus only religion) or Lawyers. Religion is everywhere. If you don’t have it, they will pray you get it. Relentlessly.
The landscape is always spectacular. The roads are generally good, although in this stretch of Tennessee we saw three cars on the side with broken axles. Many potholes. Many sections of ragged road that can be punishing if you hit them wrong. So far we have been lucky.
Late afternoon arrival in Nashville.
