Flat Elvis Tour page 2

Here I am in Riverside Rhode Island visiting Kim and Rob Atherton.	Rhode Island	Thank you Kim and Rob for a great time in Rhode Island.
Lord have Mercy the last time I was here was in May of '77.... I Performed at the Providence Civic Center !!! It's now called the Dunkin' Donut Center... Lawd... coffee sure has come a long way. Kim and Rob took me to see Historic Rhode Island. Here we'r hangin' out (and I do mean hangin') with Roger Williams.. He founded this here state..	Thank the Lord Kim had a grip.. that would have been one hell of a fall. After all my years of searching for the Holy Spirit...I'd never have imagined I'd find it here in RI but as luck would have it Kim's parents were celebrating and hosting the feast of the Holy Ghost.. and dang if I didn't get me my fair share of that sweet, sweet, spirit.. It sure was a sight to behold.	Sure Am sad to have to say good bye to Kim and Rob.. But I'm really looking forward to spending time in the Caribbean with them when they go on their cruise come October. It was good to be back in Rhode Island
Visiting and traveling with Priscilla LeBlanc	Rochester, New Hampshire	We went to room 809 and it has been renovated but Pris and I went in and looked out the window and I checked out the bed.
It really was raining on Wednesday when I arrived in Rochester, New Hampshire to visit Priscilla, just in time for a 100-year flood that damaged much of Southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts On Sunday, Mother’s Day we traveled to Livermore Falls, Maine to visit Richard, Nicki and Xander . What a charming family and do they love that boy. Reminds me of my own mama and daddy. They really enjoyed taking photos of their family and me. We had a nice visit and returned to Rochester for a few days. We then went to Camp Sunshine, in Casco, Maine on May 19-21 to attend the Annual Spring Retreat for the True Fans For Elvis Fan Club. While we were there we met some people who attended my concert in Augusta, Maine on May 24, 1977. They were happy to pose with me for a photo session. It seemed like old times with camera’s clicking all over the place. This fan club started after that concert and I got to meet the President of the club, Dot Gagne and we posed for a picture in front of the new Projection Room donated by the club to Camp Sunshine.	I was very proud of all of the money they have raised, $115,000, donated in my name over the years. I also, ran into Robert Washington, who won the Idols concert in Memphis in 2003. I was very proud of his interpretation of my music. Unfortunately I never got back to Maine for that other concert so Priscilla and I drove to Portland to take a look at the Cumberland County Civic Center where I was to perform. We stopped at the Sheridan Hotel, which was the Sheridan Inn, when I stayed there.	My, how this area has changed. When I was here this was the only hotel and I had to travel 45 minutes to Augusta for that concert. I was late but that crowd just loved me and did not complain. In 2001 when they remodeled this hotel the sink in my bathroom was given as a grand prize at the Christmas Party. A lovely young lady named Irene won it. We talked with her for quite a while and she even has copies of my room service receipts for all the boys and me on the 8^th floor. Lord she had no idea what to do with it until she realized I had signed it before I left. So when someone offered her $500.00 for the sink she decided to keep it. I was glad I could tell her I really did sign that thing. Not only that, DOWN EAST magazine even wrote an article about that sink. Can you believe it? Well my journey in New Hampshire, has come to a close but I just wanted to tell you about the beautiful horses in a pasture as we were leaving Camp Sunshine, kind of reminded me of Rising Sun at Graceland.
I'm back in Texas Visiting Patti Ross	Beaumont, Texas	HEY PATTI THANKS FOR A WONDERFUL VISIT !
My first stop with Patti was her office. Everyone seemed happy to see me, even her boss who doesn’t take kindly to holes in his walls but Patti has my pictures on the walls, shelves, desk, desktop, screensaver, on top of her monitor. It’s almost as if it was my own museum in her office. She says she has more but adds them slowly so as not to upset her boss. My next visit was to meet Patti’s grandchildren, Falon and Joe. They even had a sign awaiting my arrival that said “Flat Elvis is in the House!” There are pictures of me with Falon and Joe in each of their rooms thanks to a guy named Rich on the Elvis Insiders message board, and Patti always dresses them in clothes with me on them. Joe is only 3 but he has my Viva Las Vegas moves down pat. He has his own guitar, microphone and loves the 68 Comeback Special and the Aloha Special. Joe wanted to know why I didn’t arrive at his house in a helicopter.	Patti and I headed to the Beaumont City Auditorium in Beaumont, TX where I did three shows on Monday, July 20, 1955 at 2, 7 and 9 p.m. and again on Tuesday, July 21, 1955 at 7 & 9 p.m. and all five shows filled the 2,400 seat capacity. It sure brought back a lot of memories of the good old days. We then headed to Woodrow Wilson High School (it was a high school in 1955) where Scotty, Bill and I performed on Friday, November 25, 1955 for $350. We thought we had made a fortune! The school hasn’t changed much except that it now a middle school, whatever that is! While we were down in that end of town, Patti took me to the Museum of the Gulf Coast where they have all kinds of neat items inside. They even have a replica of Janis Joplin’s Mercedes Benz. Patti says she’s going to get to work on having one of my cars in this museum. She’ll have to talk with EPE about that.	I couldn’t leave Beaumont, Texas, without seeing Patti’s dedication to me in her bedroom. She even has an Elvis bedroom suit. I’m everywhere in there, too, even has one of my gold records, It’s Now or Never which has always been one of my favorites. It’s been a fun journey with Patti but now I must move on, Baby, move on! Patti thanks for introducing me to your grandchildren, they seemed to know me pretty well... GOOD JOB !
I'm home visiting Bubba and Terry Sue Blancq (Also known as Yard Boy)	Bartlett, Tennessee	HOME SWEET HOME.. GRACELAND MEMPHIS, TN It is so good to be home!
Had to stop in at Graceland to check up on things. Boy, it sure was good to be home again. Graceland never looked more beautiful. My Boy...Yard Boy rode me around the place on the golf cart. Sure brought back sweet memories. Rode through the pasture and checked on the horses. It's good to see everyone has been TCBing with TLC!!	Couldn't leave without checking out "The Wall". Yard Boy's wife carried me to St. Jude Children's Hospital where she works. Man, that place sure has grown! My friend Danny would be so proud. Look, my name is on the special wall honoring the founding pioneers of St. Jude, back when Mr. Thomas was only dreaming of building a hospital for kids. I see they've got one of my gold records hanging by the juke box! Check it out...it's me painted on the wall!	Next thing I knew Yard boys wife and her friend Mandy, carried me down to Tupelo, Mississippi. Now your talking about some memories....we visited the old home place. Then we went to the 50 year celebration of the 1956 Homecoming Concert! Man, they sure are proud of their home town boy. My boys, the Jordanaires were there too, singing just like old times! It was so good to be home, but Flat Elvis has to keep on moving...got a lot of ground to cover by this time next year.
Visiting Faith Fraser In Wisconsin	Oshkosh, Wisconsin	I love football GO GREEN BAY !!
I arrived at Faiths house and rang the door bell, it took her about 2.5 seconds to get me in the door when she saw it was me. I thought I about lost my arm boy lemme tell ya. We sat and talked awhile then she showed me some of her Collection, There was a whole room just for me and then some, there ain't a room in her house that I didn’t see my picture in. After I was awake, I wanted to drive around Oshkosh and see what was happening at a place they call Menominee Park. There were a lot of people there and they all smiled at me when they walked by. We had stopped by a nice monument of the man they named the city of Oshkosh after, Chief Oshkosh. He was the chief of the Menominee tribe of Indians whose greatest achievement in life was in giving. I really admired that! After we left the park I wanted to see the Leach Amphitheater, that’s where my daughter Lisa Marie was scheduled to play on one of her tours. I took a mess of notes for her about the size of the place. The stage is pretty big man, and the acoustics are great with plenty of space for parking. They’ll need it too, cuz she’ll sell the place out! Later on we had a cook-out and ate some of them Wisconsin brats they’re always bragging about up there in Wisconsin, they were pretty good but they ain't nothing like my peanut butter and banana sandwiches. After the cook-out I got on the computer so I could check out what was happening back home at Graceland.	When I finished Taking Care of Business back home, I talked to Lynda Lauderback on the phone, she’s a great fan of mine too and she's a member of the Elvis Insiders too. I wont tell ya’ll what she all said to me but she used the word HOT a lot! After I got off the phone I went to bed and rested up before heading up to Green Bay, WI. to see the Green Bay Packers! I wanted to see their new stadium, Lambeau Field, and I heard the boys were going to be there for practice. We got up early and headed to Green Bay, it was about a 45 minute drive, good weather and traffic was moving steady so we made good time. There it is, Lambeau Field! It’s a pretty big place with a lot to see. We walked through for awhile and checked the place out, the Packers hall of Fame and some other stuff but I wanted to get over by the guys for practice. We got there just in time, there they are out on the practice field. Hey Brett, over here man, Its me, Elvis! When they saw me at the gate one of em ran over to let me in. I took a few pictures myself when they were warming up & they made Faith stay outside the gate. She wasn’t too happy about that but she took some pictures for me anyway cuz I wanted to write down some of them plays.	I had a great time with the guys during practice, they had some good plays and I yelled out a few of my own for em too. If ya look behind me here, you can see Brett Favre getting ready to get the ball, he’s in a few of these pictures. That kid has a great throwing arm! He makes Mississippi proud and the people in Wisconsin too! After we left the practice we stopped off for something to eat at Green Bay’s famous Chili Johns. Talk about some HOT chili boy, Whew, I was sweatin’ from the brow when I got done. We had fun today and was plenty tired by the end. After a couple days just messin’ around we all got ready for our meet up with Orlinda in Madison, I swear that girl is following me! I think I might well just jump in the car with her. Before we left Oshkosh, Faith decided to take me to the famous Hostess store, I guess that’s where she and some of the other’s from the Elvis Insiders get them Twinkie cakes they’re always throwing around. I shoulda known better then to go in there with her, all I heard as we were escorted out the doors was “clean up in isle 8” After the little Twinkie toss at Hostess and heading to the Highway, I saw the EAA Museum, so I told Ken to stop there first so I could write a few things down, I might wanna bring the Lisa Marie up for one of them big air shows they have every year. I got back in the blazer and we headed for the highway to for our meet up. We all had a great time at the meet up, Orlinda and Faith were a mess boy! but Ken and I kept em in control as best we could. It was alotta fun but it was time for me to go.
Visiting Mary Beth Moak	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	I arrived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana late Saturday, June 10th.
Oh man it is hot down here but we headed out to town anyway. Stopped by the USS Kidd on the Mississippi in downtown Baton Rouge for a short visit.	Next we drove on out to LSU where I was able to visit the P Mac. That lower section is where Mary Beth and friends spent the night in line to buy tickets for my show in March of '77. I had to cancel that one - but I made it back in May of '77 and was able to give'em a great show to make it up. Mary Beth's grandson Travis Aaron (he's named after his daddy who is named after Guess Who?) went with us to LSU. Travis sure knows a lot about my music and movies - I wonder if his Maw maw is the one teaching him?	While we were out we visited the Louisiana Memorial Plaza which honors all Louisiana veterans and active service people. Being a veteran myself I felt a surge of pride as we checked out all the names and events shown there. Well I've had a wonderful time in Baton Rouge but it's time for me to move on now. I wonder where I should go next? Thank You Mary Beth
Back in Ca.Visiting Barbara Tynes	Roseville, California	Thank you Barbara for a fun time in California..
As soon as I got to Sacramento, Barbara insisted on taking to the California State Lottery. I think I met every single one of her friends, but they were too camera shy to have their picture taken with me Since Barbara had a lot of work to finish, I just hung out on her desk for awhile. After we left the Lottery, we decided head over to the State Capitol. It’s really beautiful. We tried to get an appointment to see Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, but he wasn’t in the office that day.	After that we drove up to Roseville and I got to meet Barbara’s granddaughters, Baillie and Kaela. We had lunch at In ‘n Out Burger. I think I had one of those burgers when I lived in Los Angeles.	We finally got to Barbara’s house late at night. There was no place to sleep except next to her cat Jett, and she was so sleepy she didn’t even care that she was sleeping with The King of Rock and Roll. I had a great time in Sacramento and Roseville. I’d like to go back one more time before the tour is finished if I have time. We were so busy that Barbara forgot to have a picture take of us together. Too bad Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was not in I could have made his day, but "I'LL BE BACK"!
I arrived safely in Hope to visit Terri Perkins	Hope, Arkansas	Thank you Terri for a wonderful Fathers Day!
When I arrived Terri was showing me the Radio Fan Club site. Terri was pointing it out to me and Sandi's name in the corner. I thought that was cute, I was telling Terri Sandi is a really great gal! Having a great time in Hope. Terri has taken me all over this small town ,starting with the Clinton tour. I have been to Texarkana (Arkansas/ Texas) I was impressed to meet Terri's mom, who was the 1st Miss Texarkana in 1933.She just celebrated her 89th birthday and still is a beauty!!!! We are going to Little Rock this Tuesday, have a busy day planned.( this girl keeps me on the GO!!)	I cannot believe I have such a gorgeous granddaughter...I am amazed!!!!!!and very proud. I have seen current pics of Lisa...I had a very happy fathers day :) Ok.. So NOW I KNOW how to groom dogs!!! I even have my own grooming apron !!! This is not as easy as it looks !!...I am tired !!!! I think we are going to Quiznos for a 'FLATBREAD' salad tonight :) Hey, this dog has on an I love Elvis collar !! Wonder where that came from.	A peek into the replica of the Oval Office... BTW, The ELVIS Exhibit was GONE!!!!!I found out it was a temporary exhibit...I wanted to see all the stuff President Clinton had collected of me over the years, I heard he was a REAL fan of mine!!!(Good Fella, that Bill)!!!! Nice Limo!!But he'll never have the collection I have in My car Museum!!
This is Clintons first home. It is now a museum...pretty interesting! Next we went to the old City Hall were I performed Feb 22,1955 ..well I performed in many small towns in the surrounding area. We are going to the old Municipal auditorium in Texarkana where I performed several times. It is undergoing a huge restoration right now (it was almost torn down!) Scottie, Bill and I had a car burn up on the road (Hwy 67)from Hope to Texarkana in those wild early years!!! These are some of Terri's drawings (I am thinking MAYBE I am her FAVORITE subject!! :) She gave me a sneak peek of her newest project she will send to Memphis for the art contest in Aug.... I SWORE I wouldn't tell !!!. At the Arkansas/Texas Stateline..	We visited Old Washington (which is just 8 miles from Terri's house). It was the 1st State Capitol of Arkansas, its now a State Park. It was the sight of a civil war camp. We visited the original State Capitol building, a HUGE Magnolia tree (oldest in AR), a Pioneer Cemetary that had stones dating to the 1700s! A working Blacksmith Shop...Oh, and it is also the home of the Bowie Knife. Many old original structures. This is the Old Hemstead county court house in Old Washington Next is was on to Little Rock and a visit to the Clinton Presidential Library. This is the front of the Library. Downtown LR reminds me so much of Memphis, made me feel a little melancholy today, has the trolleys and and downtowns shops on the riverfront. Even has a Peabody Hotel!	I was craving some good catfish and Bar-B-Q,looks like we found the perfect place for lunch..love that southern food!! From the 3rd floor of the Library, looking out across the Arkansas River...if I could see a little bit farther, I would see Memphis!!!Home Sweet Home!!! One more for the night...thought we would pose together in our black leather jackets :) A farewell kiss...had to say goodbye!!!I think I'm gonna miss this Arkansas gal!!!
Visiting Threcia Pentecost	Joshua, Texas	On The Road Again!
Well even though Threcia knew I was coming work still had to be done. Threcia works in the bakery at Albertsons. So the day after I arrived she had to get up and go to work. I volunteered to go with her. But little did I know that meant getting up before the sun!!! I was glad when we were able to sit down and have a break. That girl runs around like chicken with her head cut off. She's always busy! Well we had a great lunch with the store director Larry (who also happens to be a BIG fan of mine). We had my fave fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches and washed them down with a Pepsi. That was some good stuff.		After lunch we went back to work. But Threcia suggested that I walk around the store and hand out samples of some of the delicious cakes they make there in the bakery. She said that no one could resist buying something from such a handsome face as mine. She is a crazy one, that girl! Well when the work day ended I had smelled those wonderful cakes all day and told Thercia we had to take one home to enjoy for ourselves. It was a short trip to see Threcia, I had to leave and get back for a show in Vegas. But I had fun while I was there. I hope next time I can spend a little more time with Threcia and all those SWEET ladies there in the bakery. Oh and one more thought while I am thinking about it Threcia has the greatest boss. Her name is Vickie. Her daughter is a member of the Elvis Insiders. Her name is Mary(TXwoman4). Well until next time.......
Visiting Freda Robison and daughter, Donna, in Marysville, IN	Marysville, IN	Fantastic Trip Freda, Thank you!
Man, these girls have been takin' me all over the place! First we went to Freda's granddaughter's graduation. Her name is Kayla, she must be one smart cookie, because she won six scholarships for college! Next we enjoyed dinner and a live show. Here I'm with the singer, Eddie Mile, at Derby Dinner Playhouse. Thanks Freda and Donna, for taking me back to my roots in Tupelo for my homecoming! Man that has been a long time ago, but what a trip. First we went to see all these guys singing and acting like me, some even looked a little like me! Let's see there was Travis LeDoyt (I think the girls liked him best of all), man this was really squirrelly! Oh look, Donna collared on to Travis as soon as he finished singing. Freda sure drew a lot of attention at the HOME COMING with me tagging along with her...she met several members of the Insiders, and she met up with some ole friends in her fan club, Elvis International...they are Marion and Trevor from England, and that's Bubba's wife, Terry Sue on the left, in the picture with Freda. That Bubba is sure doing a fine job on keeping the grounds really nice at Graceland, we may have to give him a raise! Ha! Ha! Ha! My old home town sure looks different these days, never seen so many new buildings at one time. This new hotel is where Freda, Donna, and yours truly stayed while in Tupelo. These ladies sure love visitin' the hardware store where my Mama bought me my first guitar. I'm sure glad she didn't talk me into buyin' the gun I wanted!	Freda finally caught my ol' friend, Ray Walker, in the lobby of our hotel. She is loony over this guy! LOL Here she is again with Gordon Stoker and his wife Jean, and another Jordanaire Lewis, we were all staying in the same hotel. The Jordaniare's were putting on a gospel show on Sunday in a church, with Travis LeDoyt singing all my gospel songs. This was one of the highlights for Freda, she sure loves for me to sing gospel music! Time to head up to Memphis... Now look where these girls have taken me! While I was taking a nap, Donna stopped for directions to Graceland and someone sent them here, we all got a big laugh out of it though! Ahhhh, that's more like it, but what are all those people doing at my front door?	Here's another DJ on my radio station, his name is Doc Walker. He's a cool dude, he was a little under the weather today, but sounded great on the radio. We sure love to eat especially at the Cracker Barrel, Freda got something that looked like Polk Salad. Okay, as soon as Donna gets us parked in this underground parking lot (the largest in the world) we will be on our way to the COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME. That General Lee sure looks good considering all the jumps and crashes the Duke Boys put it through. Hmmmmmm, they sure have a lot of records on the walls. Freda said a lot of them were my records, even more than any other artist, imagine that! The girls were surprised to see my GOLD CADDY here, and the gold piano that Pricilla gave me. I use to drive that car from Memphis to Nashville every time I did a recording, so I finally just gave it to the museum in 1976. Hey, there's my plaque on the wall with all the these great singers I love to listen to...there's even one of the Jordanaires on here.
This has to be the nicest DeeJay I've ever met. His name is Argo, Freda and Donna just happen to run into him on the front porch of my little home in Tupelo. He's a real down-home guy and he's from Memphis too...he tells me they now have my music playing 24/7 , with a radio station of my very own. WOW! What will they think of next! Sure looks different around here, especially having this bronze statue of me when I was thirteen right out here in the yard and the beautiful chapel that was built with donations from all my wonderful fans.	We better investigate a little closer... where'd they all go? I'll go down to the gate and see if I can find them...not in here, oh well maybe their takin' a look at the Lisa Marie. Okay, here we are at the Sirius Radio Booth, man they even have blue suede chairs in there! Argo interviewed Freda, live on the air, when she stopped by the station, they talked about my homecoming at Tupelo.	Here we are at STUDIO B, I recorded over two hundred songs in this building, along with many other great entertainers and musicians. Freda and Donna were anxious to see the spot I curled up on the floor with the lights out and sang "Are You Lonesome Tonight." Freda didn't want to move off the spot for some odd reason! LOL We are relaxing on the beautiful Ohio River, at a place called Bull Creek, this is where Freda went swimming all the time as a kid. I crossed this river many times, playing all those concerts in Indiana. Those Hoosiers couldn't get enough! Well, I really hate it that my visit has ended with Freda and Donna, they sure are a couple of funny gals, and they are two of my most loyal fans! Thanks for the 'ride' girls, see you again in Memphis in 2007!
Visiting Deenna Jones Party at Hooters	Tustin, California	BOY IT IS HOT IN CALIFORNIA!
	Hot dang, those HOOTER gals sure are pretty. I sure was hungry, and they sure are nice here in Orange County. They all seem to want to take pictures, I was wanting to hug them but I ended up here! MAN O MAN Deenna are you around these diamond jewels all the time? We need to talk... I wonder if I could get that diamond set in my TCB Ring? Man, Boy have things changed since I performed here at the Anaheim Convention Center in April of '73. I sure would love to see my name on the marquee again!
Visiting Cathy Saladino	Las Vegas, NV	Flew in to Vegas for the unveiling of my statue at the Hilton
Drum Roll!!	Wow! There I am! I'm lookin' pretty good! Photo by Sue Lorenz This plaque reads: ELVIS: "The King" of Las Vegas An eight year exclusive run in the Las Vegas Hilton Showroom. 837 consecutive sell out performances Entertained over a million people..... Enough to fill the super bowl 25 times over! Las Vegas' all-time famous and success performer.	Photo By Sue Lorenz Cathy said I had to get back to Vegas so she could take me to the Hilton for the unveiling of my statue. This statue was the one inside the Hilton and it has been redone and now resides outside where I can easily be seen. When I arrived at the Hilton everyone remembered me! It was nice to be back at the Hilton, I did a lot of shows in that Hilton showroom and I have a lot of great memories of my time spent there. I feel very thrilled that the Hilton still honors me.
Back in California visiting newlyweds Laura & Scott Colling	Vista, CA	Congratulations Laura & Scott on your wedding at Graceland...
This is my friend Laura who lives in north San Diego county. She and her husband Scott just got married at Graceland on June 3rd. Wish I could've been there, but I was visiting with another Elvis Insider. Scott and Laura took me to the casino that night, and we got to be on TV again! Well I'll be...a video slot machine with ME on it! We won!!	We were out REALLY late at the casino, so Laura made sure I had some coffee when we all got up at my usual time of around 4:00 p.m. I'm all ready for the Padre's baseball game -- got my cap and bat -- let's go! Here I am arriving at Petco Park in downtown San Diego	Wow! These are great seats! We got to go to a premium skybox suite. People always did try to give me the best. The Padres decided to let me hit a ball during the 7th inning stretch, so here I am warming up in the batter's box. After the game, Scott and Laura drove me through the Gaslamp District which is really nice. Lots of clubs with live music and restaurants where you can sit outside on the sidewalk to eat. We drove down to the San Diego Harbor and they showed me the old Star of India sailing ship. We also drove past the big aircraft carrier "Midway" which you can tour. I had a really good time with Scott and Laura. They wished they'd had more time to show me all the many other things there are to do in San Diego like the beaches, the world-famous zoo, and Balboa Park to name a few. Laura also wanted to take me to the Self Realization Fellowship in Encinitas for some quiet reflection like I used to do in L.A., but we just couldn't fit it into our weekend schedule. Now I'm off to visit another new friend! Bye Scott! Bye Laura!
Back to Clovis for a quick visit with Bev before traveling on.	Clovis, California	INDEPENDENCE DAY
Bev took me to the baseball game and for fireworks after the game. We lost the ball game by 1 but the fireworks show was spectacular !!	HAPPY 4TH OF JULY !! WOW! The fire works show reminded me of when me and the boys used to shoot off fire works at home. It's a wonder we didn't get into trouble!!!	A little holiday relaxation. I hope everyone had a fantastic 4th of July holiday. I wonder if my daughter Lisa and my grandchildren had a good holiday. Tomorrow I leave again to continue my tour. I will be off to Alaska.

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