We are docked on the starboard side today so we could see that it was a long walk up a red corkscrew or a ride in a golf cart that at most would hold 5 passengers so Clay scouted ahead and told us to come on up. We did and loaded the first bus. We were not the first aboard. There were 3 buses and none of them left until after the water had been loaded at about 9:10am. Last week if we had a 9am tour, they wanted the buses loaded by 8:45am and then they would bring out the water but never after scheduled departure before. Our tour description said we would drive past a lot of things and one was the St. Jude’s Children's Hospital. We however had an appointment to visit at 9:30am and the tour guide was anxious. We drove by Beale Street since we were docked right at Beale Street Landing. It was another fiasco of a morning since no one knew or cared about going to the St. Jude Hospital and if you load and unload a bus with disabled people on it you’ve spent 30 minutes. Next stop was not even listed on our tour description, but I was happy about it. We went to the Peabody Hotel to see the 11am duck march from the elevator to the fountain. (Video in photo album!) I was pleased. We decided to ditch the tour here. We were told that we would miss the drive by of the Civil Rights Museum where MLK was assassinated and past Mud Island. OK.
We went back through the Peabody and got some souvenirs and then out
the other side to the cab line. Yesterday Mom and I had gone online and
purchased Mansion Tour tickets for Graceland for 12:30pm today. The tickets
were with Mom’s AAA discount, so instead of paying ACL $65pp, we paid $27.55
for each of the seniors and $30.60 for me. There was a $4.95 convenience fee
for the order. The cab ride was about $30 with tip for the 4 of us. It was
pretty far out to Graceland. The website for planning your visit did not
mention that you get in an hour long line for a shuttle ride to Graceland. That
and carrying ipads were the downsides. (The website says the ipads debuted the week before our visit! I should also point out that when we visited the website to book our tickets the ipads were not mentioned at all and we assumed audiotour was just that audio, not mixed media. It was not nice surprise for us despite all their online hype now. Now, Clay thought it was a fantastically well done interactive program and that may have been true. But, if you want to see Graceland and learn all about while holding a big ipad then you don't need to go in person, do you? The ipads had a strap around the neck and were too heavy and cumbersome. The cords to the headsets kept touching the screen and messing up or changing tracks/programs and other people bumping into your screen or cord would do the same thing. Judy got one that the audio was not working on and it was her wish to visit Graceland that brought us. So, Judy had more trouble than Mom or I but really the ipads were just a huge distraction all the way around in my opinion.) All the tours of Graceland entailed a
self-guided audio-tour so the ipads were unavoidable, but the planning website
should have warned that a timed tour ticket only meant what time you can get in
line! After picking up 12PM Tour No. 5 tickets at will call, we walked over to
Rockabillies and ate grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches for $4.95
each. (I never had anything like this before, but I really liked it and we have tried it at home since. Doesn't beat grilled cheese for me though.) We also got a basket of onion rings and one of fries to share. Then we waited to be allowed in the shuttle bus line and then we waited about an hour or more in that line before actually arriving at the mansion. So much for the website's planning function. You can spend 1 to 1.5 hours touring the mansion if it takes an hour or more just to get on a shuttle bus! All in all I have to give thumbs down to Graceland. Lastly, if you want to see Graceland then check out their website because all photography is for individual use only and not for publication or public display without permission. I assume that published on this blog would violate those terms, so I won't put any photos. Also, if you look online you'll see the rooms without the throngs and jostling or the heavy ipad hanging around your neck!
We were back from Graceland and in the last of the gift
shops when the Queen of the Mississippi tour bus arrived. They must either not have to wait in the shuttle queue or the CD staff sent a place holder to the line for the bus. We never learned which, but they would not have gotten back in time if they had waited an hour for a shuttle like we did and they were all scattered in the gift shops when saw them as they first arrived. We walked on over to the taxi line hoping to have time to walk on Beale Street before re-boarding the boat. We got a taxi van with a local character
with a bad limp and a humpback who appeared to be blind and we couldn’t understand a word he said. We thought he was just an annoying guy getting people loaded in the next taxi in an orderly fashion. Not! He got behind the wheel and off we went on to the highway with the whole van shimmying like it would fall apart and all the windows open! He got us
back to Beale Street at the Hard Rock Café which is exactly what we were shooting
for and for about the same cab fare. So while we were all worried when it was happening, it turned out fine. Better, it was an adventure! We walked a couple of
blocks up and down Beale St. while Clay moaned about not having Memphis BBQ
ribs. We all tried to convince him to pick some up to go as all the restaurants had windows out front for that purpose, but he wouldn't do it. Oh, well.
We walked on back down to the riverfront in about 10 minutes or so and were back onboard Queen of the Mississippi by
about 4pm. It is sailing time, 5pm and the bus hasn’t returned. We just heard
the dock crew discussing that they were 10 to 30 minutes out yet. And Davina
nearly had a fit about us holding up the boat’s departure when we told her our
plans. The tour group was all aboard by 5:15pm. We set sail immediately.
Cocktail hour followed by dinner. They rang the dinner bell
early and it was a mad dash to a closed dining room. You’d think everyone
onboard had skipped lunch. Of course, I don't know, maybe they did. We ditched the tour at 11:30am. Another unhappy time at dinner. It is unconscionable
that ACL uses us as a training school for wait staff. We are not paying training
school practice prices. You don’t pay salon prices when you go to a beautician
school to have a haircut or a manicure and this is the same thing. We are paying too much to
put up with this and frankly it is quite unfair to the 18-23 year olds who are
faced with serving us without proper training, practice, management or supervision. I am
not happy about it and I am certain it is not mentioned anywhere in the ACL
literature. If it is the practice, then it should be fully disclosed as anything else is deceptive advertising.
Dinner was first course, Caesar salad or crab meat ravigote.
Entrée was red snapper, duck breast or pork tenderloin. Dessert was flourless
chocolate torte or cherry pie or ice cream. During dinner all the lights except
emergency lighting went out for a few minutes. That was not too disturbing as
the boat was still running. Then the engines stopped running and we slowed to a
drift. That was a bit worrisome. Gerardo and the chef both tore out of the
kitchen and through the dining room and out and down the hall. No idea what
happened, but within a few minutes we had lights back on and the engines
restarted.
