Jackson to Tupelo (Paupers to Kings)

Yesterday we stayed at the Quality (or lack thereof) Inn, Jackson, Mississippi. After the moronic women at the front desk told us we had no reservation we spent over an hour making phone calls and waiting until we finally got a room. Actually I should make that three rooms; our first we couldn’t even get into because the lock on the door was broken and our second was swarming with flies. We had to make do with the third as it was there last room available with a double bed. It was disgusting and by far the worst hotel we have stayed in so far. If for any reason you are in the area, avoid at all costs...in fact just avoid all Quality Inn’s in case they are that bad across the board.

It was a shame because it marred a day that prior to arriving at the hotel was very nice. We left New Orleans in the morning and escaped an incoming tropical storm that was blowing in from the Gulf. When we got to Jackson we went to the Natural Science Museum, it was a $10 entry fee. I gave the lady $10...and she gave me $10 back. Turns out she thought it was a $20 so we had a cheap day! The museum isn’t huge but it was well run and had a few interesting exhibits including a temporary display of Megalodon artefacts, the largest shark ever to live on earth at around 67ft in length with a jaw span of 6ft! They also had some great little nature trails out the back that meandered through forest swamp lands. The trails were littered with lizards and the smallest frogs I have ever seen jumping between the leaves. Amazingly we also got a brief glimpse of two white tailed deer through the trees, making their way back from the waterside. After realising that she couldn’t take home a naked mole rat from the last zoo we went to, Jenny now has a new pet of choice, a terrapin. The museum even had a two headed snake! (check the pictures).

Today we were relieved to be leaving our grotty hotel room and driving to Tupelo, the birthplace of the King! We stopped by Elvis Presley’s Birthplace before we checked into our hotel. The site features the tiny two bedroom house he was born and lived his first three years in, as well as a museum and a few other points of interest. Neither of us are Elvis fans but being in the area it is something we thought we have to see and it was pretty cool standing in the room that he and his twin brother (who was stillborn) were delivered in. Afterwards we headed to the Hilton Garden Inn, hoping for a better experience than we had the previous night.

To our relief we checked in within minutes and with no fuss, Tchaikovsky played in the lobby and freshly baked complimentary cookies sat atop the front desk. Our room is lovely, our bed even has adjustable dials to change the mattress firmness. We have a pool, a Jacuzzi and a gym. This is how a hotel should be run and coupled with our trip to Elvis’ birthplace this morning explains why we have gone from paupers to Kings! Tomorrow we follow Elvis’ journey as we head to Memphis and the site of Graceland, going from his birth room to his grave within 24 hours.