Pit Stop in Memphis, then Oxford and Tupelo
My sister and I road tripped from Chicago to Miami in less than a week. We made our way through St Louis, Missouri (which, we will be back!), Memphis, Tennessee, Oxford and Tupelo, Mississippi, and Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama.
After St Louis, we had a pit stop in Memphis, Tennessee. We probably made this trip more about Elvis Presley than anyone else, because we learned a whole lot at Sun Studio!
Sun Studio: The Birthplace of Rock ‘n Roll
We got there just in time for the last tour. Because of covid, everything was more limited, but we were able to get the full experience! I absolutely loved everything about Elvis Presley’s story, especially since I’ve been able to visit a few of the main spots that make him who he is.
Elvis was born in Tupelo, Mississippi and later moved with his parents to Memphis, Tennessee to kickstart his dream. Little did he know, he would begin singing with Sun Records Label in 1954 and signed a contract with RCA Records the following year. I actually visited that studio as well! By 1956, he had become an international sensation! What’s not to love?!
Continued our road trip to Oxford, Mississippi
And of course, we had to stay a night (trying to visit all 50 states before I turn 50, but I have to stay at least a night in each). What a cute little town! We first stumbled upon Oxford, because we HAD to see Ole Miss (aka University of Mississippi).
We had dinner at Boure Restaurant, which was actually extremely spacious and right across the street of the court house. What a cute little town!! I also had gumbo soup for the first time. 10/10 recommend!
Woke up early to start our adventure around town.
But first, coffee!
My sister and I are the type of people to look for foodie places or adventure out to areas that we don’t necessarily have at home. So we visited a local shop, Uptown Coffee. They had rearranged furniture to make it easy for us to social distance and sanitize. The shop also didn’t have indoor seating, so if you’re coming during the cold weather times, keep that in mind.
We were warm and cozy, or trying to be, walking around the town. While we could have probably walked to the Ole Miss campus, we definitely drove there. Ole Miss is beautiful!
It’s a huge college campus. By the looks of it, the town came after the fact. Ole Miss, aka University of Mississippi, was started in 1848, currently has 20,000+ students enrolled, and has had a successful football team for more than 120 years. The campus has so much landscape and all-brick buildings- definitely my type of atmosphere!
But our adventure doesn’t end there.
We made our merry way to Tupelo, Mississippi. Or as we all know it- Elvis Presley’s birthplace. It was about a hour drive from the campus.
Welcome to Elvis Presley’s home!
While Google Maps said it was open, covid changes everything. We called when we arrived (our mistake), and they had just started to close that day. We walked around the whole ‘museum’, but couldn’t enter his home. At least we were able to stand by his childhood area and experience it in a different lens.
It was an exciting sister trip nonetheless, but up next- Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama!
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