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Total Mileage: approx.6390

License Plate Total: 49 (We parked next to Rhode Island at Graceland)

This morning we woke up and headed up to Memphis, TN. Our first stop was the famous home of the King…Graceland. We took a tour of the house and grounds. The tour only shows the first floor and lower level of the house but there was still plenty of over the top style and design inspiration. We then were shuttled back across the street to the auto museum where they had many of Elvis’ restored cars and even Graceland’s John Deer tractor. Then we battled the heat walking over to tour the airplanes- the Lisa Marie and Hound Dog II. Since the Memphis heat was in full force we headed to the hotel to cool off before dinner. While reading in my travel book Graphic USA (thanks again Andy!) they said that seeing the sunset at  Mud Island River Park is a must. We hurried over and were able to catch the sun setting on the Mississippi. Since we were only in Memphis for one night we had get some BBQ for dinner. We chose The Bar-B-Q Shop, another place we found in Graphic USA. We both had their Pork BBQ dinner that was so flavorful. It's a little further out from the main streets but definitely worth it. My favorite side was their coleslaw because it wasn’t too mayo-ie (that’s a technical term) and had a kick to it. After dinner we went to back to the hotel to plan out our sight seeing day in Memphis. 


-Cassie

(Crossing the Mississippi River)

(Graceland Elementary School)

(Graceland Mansion)

(The mirror in the hallway I loved) 

(The Living Room)

(The fireplace in the living room)

(Elvis' parents' room)

(The basement lounge- with three tvs! So that he could watch the three networks at once)

(Inside the trophy building)

(We desperately wanted to hop the fence into the pool)

(Elvis' grave located in the meditation garden)

(The famous Pink Cadillac)

(the Lisa Marie)

(Sunset over the Mississippi)

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Total Mileage: approx. 6045

Total License Plate:48

After a day of seeing the Dallas tourists spots we wanted to see some non-tourists spots, which for us means consignment shops and antique stores. Back in the planning stages of our trip I found a Dallas City Guide from Design Sponge for unique restaurants and shops. Besides a Dallas guide Design Sponge has a ton of guides for cities across the US and abroad (Be sure to check the links because some places have closed). First on the list was Uncommon Market- a 15,000 square foot warehouse that is FILLED with antiques from England, France, Belgium, and else where in Europe. They had some really beautiful pieces that were fairly inexpensive for the great condition they were in and having been shipped from Europe. While Dallas didn’t have too much to see in tourist attractions they made up for it in their Design District. Rachel and I joked (but were sorta serious) about flying back to Dallas when we are older and driving back a U-Haul with goods for our homes when we finally join the real world.

Next up when traveled to the Greenville Goodwill (because where else would we go?) Unfortunately it was our least favorite of the Goodwills that we’ve been to. It was unorganized and there wasn’t anything that caught our eye. That is except for the Texas flag purse and the margarita glasses. They were so large they covered Rachel’s face.

After our short stop at the Goodwill we went around the corner to a little strip mall that had a unique shop called We Are 1976. They had a lot of cute handmade things but it was a little on the expensive side (at least for 2 non-working college grads).

We had decided to leave Dallas no later than 2pm and when we finished looking around we still had a few hours left so we headed over to another place on the list called Curiosities. And boy are we glad we did. Curiosities is a rummager's paradise. Every surface from floor to ceiling and every drawer are filled with interesting knick-knacks and quirky items. Afterwards we grabbed lunch at the Whole Foods across the street before heading on the road to Arkansas where we stayed for the night. While we’re both East Coast girls at heart we were definitely disappointed to leave Texas and their Southern Hospitality. Texas is a state we’ll definitely want to visit again. 

-Cassie 

PS- I apologize in advance for such blurry pictures, I didn't have my flash on inside the stores)

(Inside Uncommon Market)

(A wine rack in Uncommon Market)

(Cologne Dome music box)

(A spiral staircase- unfortunately not for sale but cool none the less)

( A giant hutch, I made Rachel stand in the picture so you can see the scale of it)

(Reminders that you're in Texas are EVERYWHERE)

                         

                            (Too bad they don't come with margaritas already poured in them)

(Goodwill bag)

       

(Inside Curiosities, sorry for such a blurry picture)

(A souvenir pillow of the Grand Canyon from Curiosities)

(They had a ton of letters in different styles, colors, and sizes)

(This pair of cowboy boots was only 48 bucks!!! But a women's size 5....whomp)

(Texarkana is a town shared by Arkansas and Texas. Apparently it's twice as nice)

( The overpasses on the Texas side of Texarkana)

(The Arkansas overpass) 

(Yes that does say Arkadelphia)

(Our finds, mine are the two on the left and Rachel's are the two on the right)

(Rachel's earrings and ring she bought)

(The red bag Rachel bought)

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Total Mileage: 6034
License Plate Total: 48

Today was our full day in Dallas. We started off at the Dallas Zoo, the largest "zoological experience" in Texas. It wasn't as Texas-sized as I was expecting, its over twice the size of the Philadelphia Zoo and it's less than half the size of the Bronx Zoo, but it was still a really nice zoo. They had a giraffe feeding area and an albino alligator from the bayou. We walked around and saw the animals. In the Koala Walkabout area Cassie got to hold a lorikeet.

After the zoo we went back to the hotel to park the car and take the bus downtown to dealy Plaza. The sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository building has been turned into a museum (The Sixth Floor Museum) dedicated to John F. Kennedy's presidency, assassination, and his legacy. The museum features video clips and photographs starting from his marriage to Jackie O, his campaign, the 1963 visit to Texas, the assassination and investigation, ending with his funeral. There is a recreation of the "sniper's nest" at the southeast corner where Lee Harvey Oswald fired the shots and another recreation of where the rifle was discovered at the northwest corner. Unfortunately photography is not allowed in the museum so you should check out the photos of the exhibit on the website. After walking through the exhibit we went outside to Dealey Plaza on the grassy knoll where the famous Zapruder film was recorded and hundreds of citizens witnessed the tragedy. We then walked to theJFK Memorial Plaza and then to the Neiman Marcus Flagship store before heading back to the hotel to go out for some tex-mex food.

After dinner Cassie and I were craving some Texas donuts so we went on a search for a donut shop. All of the places we found were already closed so we went to the nearest grocery store and went on a snack buying spree in an attempt to satisfy the donut cravings but nothing compares to a Texas donut!

- Rachel

(View of Texas School Book Depository from Dealey Plaza)

(The Grassy Knoll where the Zapruder film was taken)

(Partially opened window at the "sniper's nest")

(JFK Memorial Plaza Cenotaph)

(Neiman Marcus flagship store)