But what weather could be more appropriate to stand by the Graceland graveside of the King, so cruelly taken from us by "prescription medication" if you listen to the official audio tour. Fried banana and peanut butter sandwiches might have been partly to blame too...which we were able to sample at the on-site cafe.
One spiritual experience led to another when we moved on to Sun Studios. Here we walked the same floors as Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Otis Redding and Carl Perkins. We even got to sing into the actual microphone that Sam Phillips used to record Elvis. Wow.
The rain hadn't let up, so we went to get advice from some ducks. The Peabody ducks! They live in a penthouse at the top of the Peabody Hotel and process down every morning to sit in the fountain in the middle of the lounge, only to process right back up again in the evening. And hundreds of easily amused people turn up to watch. Including us.
Today it was the first day of a new set of ducks (the hotel restaurant's canard a l'orange was excellent last night, I hear) and they did really well. The Duckmaster had to coax them a little more than usual but no feathers flew.
After all the excitement we went out for Memphis barbecue and catfish, then returned to the motel to finally dry off. Tomorrow we're following the rain all the way back to Nashville. This is the danger of three British people being in the same place.
The motel's swimming pool. A few hours later it overflowed.
Mat and Emily in Elvis's sitting room. He didn't mind.
The infamous jungle room.
A corridor of hits.
And some more.
Who's the Lord and Saviour of mankind again?
David contemplates the eternal.
Mat contemplates a fried banana and peanut butter sandwich - an Elvis favourite.
In Sun Studios, a record cutter. "Think of it as a prehistoric CD burner," the guide advised.
B.B. King's favourite guitar. Maybe.
David takes over the Sun Studio front office. (Who's Marion Keisker? Only one of the most important people in the history of rock'n'roll!)
Who's that with David and Emily?
Mat strikes a curled lip rock pose.
David...not so much.
Emily and a Peabody duck.
Here's the Duckmaster (that's honestly his title!) getting ready to corral his ducks.
And there they go along the carpet!
Emily finally gets her hands on the barbecued ribs she's been craving since arriving in the States.
Beale Street in the rain.
