"Birthplace of Rock and Roll"- Memphis, Tennessee

By Yingying Zhang 

 On March 6, 2015, my friend and I departed on a road trip to Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis is approximately 300 miles away from Springfield, which should be about a 5-hour drive. Unfortunately, however, we had the misfortune of choosing to go during one of the largest blizzards, which the region has seen in many years! Needless to say, the drive took several hours longer than anticipated.

Memphis is the largest city in the State of Tennessee, and it is located on the largest river in America, the Mississippi River. The city has a rich cultural heritage, particularly in the area of musical genres such as jazz, blues and of course Rock-N-Roll. Memphis is also home to arguably the most famous rock musician of all time, Elvis Presley.

During our trip to Memphis, we visited Graceland where Elvis lived from 1952 until his tragic death in 1977. Graceland currently serves as a museum where hundreds of thousands of tourists flock each year. Visitors are able to tour the bottom level of the mansion, the grounds, and a car museum that houses a dozen or more classic cars owned by the “King of Rock and Roll” himself. A tour of the mansion also gives you a glimpse through time since the rooms are frozen in time as if it is still the mid 1970's. I would highly recommend visiting Graceland if you are ever in the city.

Memphis is also home to the Memphis Grizzlies, which is a professional basketball team in the NBA. I was lucky enough to received tickets to watch the Grizzlies play the Los Angeles Lakers. A highlight of the basketball game was watching Jeremy Lin play basketball. Jeremy Lin is the first Chinese American to play in the NBA.

To sum it up, I had a wonderful weekend getaway in Memphis! It is one of several cities within driving distance of Springfield, and it has an amazing culture waiting to be explored!