Where are we now?

We arrived in Red Bay Alabama Friday afternoon. We are here to take the factory tour at the Tiffin Motorhome facility Monday morning, Joyce and I really love the 36 foot Phaeton.
So in the meantime we are going to tour the area, and will take a ride to Tupelo to see where Elvis was born.
This is the Tiffin Company campground where we are staying at $10 a day with full hook-ups. We are the only ones that aren't in a Tiffin motorhome. Everything else in here are large diesel coaches that cost in the range of $250,000.00 - $500,000.00, boy do we feel out of place!

They are here for factory service and most are full-timers which means that they live in their motorhomes. There are 92 slots and the place is full except for a few spots.

We aren't far from the Natchez Trace Parkway, which is a scenic drive so we will take it to get to Tupelo today (Saturday). Along the parkway are some historic sites such as the one below.

Then we made it to Tupelo, Mississippi where Elvis was born. Below is a portrate of him and his parents. Did you know that Elvis' father spent time in the penitentiary?
Elvis Aaron Presley was born in January 1935 and his father, Vernon Presley, was jailed for forgery in 1938, so he was three.Vernon Presley was jailed for three years although he only served eight months. He had, along with his brother in law (the brother of Elvis's mother) and another man called Travis Smith, altered the amount on a check from $3 to $8. The check had been made out by Orville Bean, who was Vernon's boss at the time.While this amount may seem incredibly small now, three dollars was worth a lot of money in 1938. But it was quite a tough sentence, since he was sent to the Mississippi State Penitentiary. While Vernon was in prison, Gladys (Elvis's mother) could not cope financially and she and Elvis were made homeless when she lost their house. They had to move in with Vernon's relatives, in order to survive. Throughout Elvis's childhood they lived in poverty which is thought to have had quite an impact on him in later life.

This is where Elvis was born, along with his identical twin brother Jesse Garon, who was still born.

A bronze statue of the "King" when he was 13 years old. Note that he was taller than Joyce but they only guess at his height when the statue was casted.

Below are some interesting comments from friends and relatives of Elvis. Clicking on each picture will increase the size so you can read it easily.