Day Sixty Four

Elvis Slept Here. Really.

My family is here in Huntsville, Alabama, today and tomorrow for my mother-in-law's funeral. We're staying at the Holiday Inn on Monroe Drive near the Von Braun Civic Center. When we checked in this afternoon, I said to my daughter Holly, "I wonder if this is where Elvis stayed when he did concerts at the civic center back in 1975."

It turns out he did stay here, and of course, this hotel is quite proud of that fact. There is framed memorabilia in the lobby where I took this picture. At the time, the hotel was the Huntsville Hilton.

One of the coolest items is this receipt for a breakfast signed by "The King" himself. He had yogurt, fruit, 2 eggs, 1 milk, 2 pots of coffee and OJ. Sounds like a healthy meal. The total came to $15.05. He left a $4.00 tip.

His entourage rented the entire third floor, which is where we're staying tonight. They say he would enter and exit through the kitchen to avoid the crowds waiting for him and that hourly employees would literally bump into him in the halls. Apparently he was very friendly and called everyone "Hoss".

He stayed in room 1331--their "presidential suite", which is just off the elevator. Even though it's been 35 years since he stayed here, it's cool to think some of his rock and roll DNA might still be floating about. (I mean, you know how clean hotel rooms can be. Not!) Getting to unexpectedly stay on the same floor Elvis Presley hung out on all those years ago and walk the same halls kind of made our sad visit to Huntsville a little lighter. It also brought back some great memories of seeing him in concert--a once in a lifetime opportunity I'll never forget.