September 8, 2014 Graceland, Memphis, TN

Today we finally did it:  visited Graceland, the home of the late Elvis Presley.  He died in 1977 and his home and the grounds were preserved at that time.  The mansion tour covers everything but the second floor.  Our tour included the mansion, Elvis' auto collection and a couple of museums.  The mansion tour was by small busloads.  Each of us was handed an iPad and headphones, with the tour being narrated by John Stamos.  Very effective, much more information than docents could have provided, and we moved at our own pace.  We both enjoyed our day at Graceland, but we were a little sad that such a talent was gone too soon.

The gates and fences are covered with writings....

Quite imposing for the 1950's....

Formal living room and music room.  It wouldn't all fit in the picture,
but the custom-made sofa on the right is 18 feet long.

Priscilla remembers many happy meals at this dining table.

Heart of the home:  kitchen!

The media room.  Note the three TV sets.... Elvis heard that the president had 3 TV's going all the time,
so he decided he would do it too.

The pool room - ceiling and walls covered in pleated fabric.
Took several people days and days to do it.

The "jungle room".  Carpeted on floor - and ceiling, too.  Lots of unusual
artifacts and an inside waterfall.

We saw lots and lots of his jumpsuits everywhere we went -
apparently he had plenty of 'em.

At the racquetball court/exercise area.  He played this piano
the night before he died.

The hall of trophies.  This is just a small view of it.

More awards.

The gravesite of Elvis, his parents, his grandmother, and his twin brother.

Mama's Car.

Some of his motorized toys.

For my motorcycle friends.....

Bubba is saying "I gotta wear these old t-shirts, how come I don't have a sparkly jumpsuit?"
The end.

September 1, 2014 Nykvist Time

We stopped in the Boston area one more time for a quick visit with my family (a Nyk-visit with the Nykvists).  Here they are.  In attendance were brother Rus and wife Anne, nephew Jon and wife Lauren and son Will, and niece Kristen and husband Rob and son Kyle and daughter Anna.  Always a a good time with this bunch!

Rus and Kyle

Anna

Jon, Will, and Rob

Me, Anne, and photobomber Anna

Rob, Kristen, Kyle and Anna

Rus, Will, Anne

Lauren and Jon
our wonderful Labor Day cookout hosts!

Menfolk!
Jon, Bubba, Rus, Kyle, and Rob

August 29, 2014 North Bubble hike, Acadia National Park

Today we hiked to the top of the North Bubble.  The Bubbles are two rounded hills between Jordan Pond and Eagle Lake.  This too was a trip down memory lane, as we hiked this same trail 38 years ago.  (of course, this time we moved a bit slower....)

Up we go!

A new addition:  cairns to point the way.
(in addition to the blue paint pointers)

"On top of North BUH-ble..."

A nice young couple kindly took our photo.

Eagle Lake.

Eagle Lake.  Can you see Bubba?

August 28, 2014 Acadia National Park, Mt. Desert Isle, Main

On our way back down the east coast, we opted for a couple days at Acadia National Park.  We came here back in 1976 on our honeymoon and fell in love with it.  This is our third time here, and we really got lucky:  Hurricane Christobal was far out in the Atlantic Ocean pushing water toward shore and making the coastline waves very dramatic.  We have seen Thunder Hole twice before and were not impressed, but wow!  This time we GET it!  We could not only hear the "whomp" with each wave, we could feel it with our feet.  We must have spent an hour here, just watching the surf.  It was such a pleasure to drive the Park Loop road and see the old familiar places from 38 years ago....

This is the Town Motel in Bar Harbor, where we stayed 38 years ago.....

From the top of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the island.

Bar Harbor, from the top of Cadillac Mountain.

Sand Beach, which was VERY popular this day....

There were some fairly big waves coming ashore...

And here is my reaction to the 50-degree water!  Ai-yi-yi!
Just wading in the surf caused intense pain in my feet/ankles, followed by numbness.
(I think I this counts as my ice-bucket challenge.....)

1)  Thunder Hole, emptying out.

2)  Thunder Hole, wave coming in with a "whomp" sound.

3)  Thunder Hole, wave finishing it's inward journey.

4)  Thunder Hole, taken from a different perspective.

Surf crashing on huge rocky shore, so beautiful and mesmerizing.