A matter of life and death

Today was another full day to say the least. I visited spots where some famous Americans were born, lived, and died. In the morning I visited the Lorraine Motel in Memphis where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.

He was staying in room 306 and was shot on the balcony just outside the front door where the wreath is hanging. It was quite an experience to see the spot I had first read about as a third-grader working on my famous Americans project. From there I went across town to 1408 Rayner Street, one time hideout of infamous bank robber and kidnapper George "Machine Gun" Kelly.

He was arrested here on September 26, 1933 and just 17 days later on October 12, 1933 he arrived at the Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, KS to begin serving a life sentence. That's right, in just over two weeks he was arrested, tried, convicted, sentenced, and incarcerated! He would die at Leavenworth (after a 17 year "vacation" to Alcatraz) on his 59th birthday. While this house is where Kelly left the free world for good, my next stop was where "The King" entered the world.

The birthplace of Elvis Aaron Presley in Tupelo, MS. He only lived in this house until he was three years old but lived in Tupelo until age 13. It was an interesting place and they do a good job telling the story of his childhood and the way it influenced his music and character throughout his life.

Finally, no cross country trip could be complete without a Lewis & Clark site. Just before sunset I made it up the Natchez Trace to the place where Meriweather Lewis died and was buried. Most sources say he was on the way from New Orleans to Washington D.C. to publish his journals. Most historians also call his death a suicide but some say it was murder. In any case, there is a nice memorial to remember him and some new exhibits are being installed.

I finished the day by driving into Kentucky, my last of the lower 48 to visit! I just need to go to Hawaii and then I'll have visited them all!