Packed a rental truck on June 4th, drove three days down what used to be Route 66, and rolled in at the in-laws' in southern Illinois — trading high-desert sand roads for overabundant greenery, songbirds, deer, and wild tiger lilies, with the hospitality of the Coen residence as home base until job and house were found.
Unfortunately we could not pick up the moving truck in Holbrook as promised, but U-Haul had one in Show Low. About 45 min further south, but we got a 20% discount, wich is a lot with these across-the-nation moves. Then a mild shock at the gas station: I just wanted to top off the half-empty tank and had to pay $75 for 24 gal. That was half a tank…
Got the truck parked like I wanted it, so that the loading will be easier. The kids were running up and down the ramp and only stopped for a few seconds so I could snap these pictures.
Since our truck is apparently from New York, we even got real graffiti on it. 8-)
Update, Tuesday, June 6th: We’re still here. The packing and loading is taking forever, as usual. We (or shall we say Amy and Janet) were planning to leave Tuesday Morning, but as it looks we’re lucky if we leave Wednesday at noon…
Sorry for the current dead air here at the Schlabitz-Blog. We are busily packing and I still have to finish one more translation before we break camp here. The present plans are to pick up the U-Haul truck on June 4th, load it up, drive 3 days on Route 66 (ok, ok, I-40) and arrive around June 10th (Happy Birthday, Antje! Just in case… 8-D ) at Dan and Janet’s in Illinois. There you can reach us by phone and mail (with or without e). We can also stay there for a while, thanks to the hospitality of the in-laws, until we find a job, house and Internet provider. More in June. See you then!
Here are the rest of the photos that I made during the parent’s visit in Illinois. Depicted above are the two Germans on the Coen grounds with the hunting lodge in the background.
There we sang, drank, bugled, bag piped, elk roared and quacked into the New Year, employing all reachable instruments and animal sounds simulators,…
… zogen alle Anwesenden vor die Kamera, …
… dragged everybody in attendance in front of the camera, …
… watched the masters of the houses puff cigars, …
… enjoyed walks in the Shawnee National Forest, and generally had a great time. Everybody agrees, that it was a sucessful meeting of the Coens and the Schlabitzens, and that we should repeat it in the near future. Of course, the American branch of the Schlabitz family can’t wait at all and is moving all the way to Illinois at the beginning of June. Amy noticed how much she missed her parents and wants to live closer by mom, despite the beauty of the reservation. Now Edeltraut and Dieter only need to nudge themselves a bit and move here, too. It would save a bunch of plane tickets! ;-)
I had one of the coolest brain farts just before my parents arrived for their Christmas visit in Illinois. Mommy dearest is, despite the Wall and media censorship, an Elvis fan of many years, and never had the faintest chance to even remotely squeal towards a pink cadillac. And what is just a pithy 4 hours south of the in-laws’s house? Memphis, home of the Blues, birthplace of Rock’n’Roll! And what else is in Memphis, other than legendary Sun Studios that is? Yup, Graceland, home of the King. There he lived and there he lies in peace. 3717 Elvis Presley Boulevard.
I didn’t take my camera, because I had misunderstood the warning sign that said that no flash(!) photography was allowed, but the pictures probably wouldn’t have turned out so great anyway, because of the dimmed lighting. However, there is a virtual tour on the official website.
Here is mom in front of the famous “music note gate” and can barely keep herself from just running inside already. But no can do, we got to go back across the street, stand in line and wait for the next tourist shuttle…
The brick wall was covered in thousands of inscriptions by fans from all over the world and from all decades since the 50s.
After the tour of the mansion, there are the Meditation Garden, where Elvis, his brother and his parents are buried, the two custom jets, the car museum with the cars he owned and used in movies, and loads of souvenir shops. You can also stay the night and live like the King at the Heartbreak Hotel.
I expected a big deal of kitsch and glare, but was pleasantly suprised. While you can only smile over the all pink all plush king-sized bed with huge round canopy, the rest of the rooms of the first floor and the basement were furnished with much taste. The second level is off limits to the public, as the privacy of this area is guarded just as much today as it was when Elvis lived there.
When we were finally done, it was getting dark already and we drove a lap of honor to gape at the Christmas lights. All in all, it was a great trip, which I sincerely can recommend to all music and Elvis fans.
