Mom's trip to Memphis

April 2, 2009: I flew to Kansas City, Missouri where I met Jackie for a quick little vacation. We drove to St. Joseph to my Aunt Bettye Kay lives. She is just a few years older than me and it had been several years since we had seen each other. It was fun to get to meet her kids (my cousins) and get to know them a little.

April 3, 2009: Jackie, Bettye and I left on a road trip to Memphis. It was about a 9 hour trip, with many stops for drinks and then bathrooms. We talked, laughed, reminisced, did some sightseeing on the way.

Crossing the bridge between Arkansas and Tennessee, over the Mississippi River.

We stopped briefly at a bowling alley where April, Leigh, Andy and Keri were playing in their league and visited for about an hour. Then we headed to our hotel to relax after the long drive. Bobbie picked me up and I went to see her new house that she had just moved into that week. We visited for about an hour or so.

The next morning, we woke up, ate breakfast and headed to downtown Memphis, to Graceland to experience the Elvis history.

The Elvis Mansion

We wore these lovely headsets so we could hear the story of Elvis and Graceland.

This was Elvis' family room, where they would sit and listen to music and relax with friends.

This was a replica of the house Elvis was born in, in Tupelo, Mississippi, just down the road from where my dad, Freddie Welch, was born just 2 years later.

I couldn't resist - he's so HOT!

Outside the Mansion

Aunt Bettye at the Elvis Auto Museum

If I remember right, this car was driven by Dale Earnhardt.

One of the many motorcycles Elvis owned.

Inside the Lisa Marie (Elvis' plane)

When we were done with Graceland, we headed to April and Leigh's house, so we could see Tyler and Courtnee. Tyler was on a quick break from work, so we only saw him for about 5 minutes. Courtnee was getting ready for prom, so it was a crazy time at the house. Bobbie and Haylee came over to see Courtnee too, so we got to visit for a few minut

Courtnee in her prom dress before heading out.

After sending Courtnee off, Jackie, Bettye, April, Leigh and I headed to dinner. We met Andy and Keri at this little hole in the wall BBQ place that's really famous there. The waiter had been there for almost 50 years. He was sarcastic and funny, and put up with my wanting a picture with him. The food was great.

After dinner, we walked down to Beale Street. First, we went into Coyote Ugly. Yes, the girls were really dancing on the bar. It was fun to see that it's just like in the movie.

Our next stop was BB King's Blues Club. There was a band playing and a dance floor. The place was so crowded, but we had a great time dancing and hanging out. We were there for a couple of hours.

Jackie and Bettye went back to the hotel around 11pm and I stayed out with the rest of the group. We went back to Coyote Ugly and hung around for awhile. All the girls were up on the bar, and they convinced me to try it out. I was a little worried I would fall off the bar, but it was all good. We made it back to the hotel around 4am.

The next day, we headed back to April's. Courtnee came home and slept most of the day, making up for the lack of sleep the night before from prom. Tyler worked all day and we didn't see him at all. We grilled with Leigh and April that night. Later, Andy, Keri and their kids and Bobbie, Haylee and Ryan came over to visit for a couple of hours.

The next morning, the three of us headed back to Kansas City. We weren't so thrilled with the freezing temperatures and the snow flurries. Jackie and I stayed in a hotel near the airport and flew back to San Antonio together on April 7th, 2009.