September 19 2004: Memphis, Tennessee



If only Lola Aiding were here, she would have enjoyed coming with us to Graceland in Memphis. Elvis Presley is her idol!


We went to Memphis one weekend at the invitation of some of Papa's friends whom he works with here in the US. They brought along their wives and children, too, so Mama and I finally got to mingle with lots of people :D I enjoyed the trip a lot because we went to a barbeque party afterwards and I played with the other kids.


Anway, when one is in Memphis, it is a must to drop by Graceland whether one is an Elvis fan or not. It's always great to look back into history and reflect on the great contribution of special people like Elvis to the events of the present. I would still have been born in Pleasantville, if not for Elvis' legendary gyrations.


Here are some of our pics:



Welcome to Graceland!




Mansion facade.



Papa posing beside Elvis' picture by the staircase. They let us use those headphones to hear the electronic tour guide explain to us the history of Graceland.



The Graceland living room. It's so nice here, very... ostentatious (whew! long word! but it really describes Elvis' life, says Mama).



Photo-op for my Papa!



Elvis' game room. Ready for a game? Oops, no touch!



We are at the Jungle Room!



Elvis' TV room. Old fashioned but still nice!



Here's mama and I posing beside Elvis' golden costume which he used in 1957. Wow! That's 46 years before I was born :)



Elvis had many costumes... here are some of the ones he used during his concerts.



The award winning family.. hehe! So many awards... so little time!



Here are more of his gold and platinum awards!



Hanging out at the king's backyard :)



Elvis named his private plane Lisa Marie, after his daughter. In return, she married Michael Jackson :P



Up up and away, Mama!



Inside Lisa Marie (the private plane of Elvis).



Papa at the entrance of Elvis' Auto Museum.



Elvis' pink owner jeepney... hehe cute!



The legendary Pink Cadillac!



Goodbye Elvis.



It's now or never,
come hold me tight
Kiss me my darling,
be mine tonight
Tomorrow will be too late,
it's now or never
My love won't wait.

When I first saw you
with your smile so tender
My heart was captured,
my soul surrendered
I'd spend a lifetime
waiting for the right time
Now that your near
the time is here at last.

September 04-05 2004: Niagara Falls, New York


It's a holiday again! Very apt to say that we labored in Niagara Falls on Labor Day. It was difficult because, again, there were a lot of people who were there for the holiday, too. The lines for the Maid of the Mist boat ride, the trolleys, and the Cave of the Winds attraction were sooooo long! I even fell asleep while we were queueing, and eventually I woke up still queued!


But it was ok overall, we were able to take a Niagara shower twice! Once on the boat, and second at the Cave of the Winds. Too bad, we were only able to really spend one whole day in Niagara. Niagara was sooo far! Good thing we were able to spend a night over at Tito Alex's and Tita Jas' home in Ohio, Friday night, before we continued on to upstate New York the following day. On the way back on Sunday, Papa drove straight home for about 8 hours.


It was sooo tiring but, we had a great time! The Falls were so beautiful! Next time, we will try to stay longer so that we can also visit the other attractions around the area.


Here are some of our pictures :D





Welcome to NY




The American Falls. Spectacular!




Night was falling on us, on our first day in Niagara. But papa and I have got to have a pic here!




Mama and I are the Maids of the Mist!




Love my poncho! Blue was always my fave color!




Canada is just a river away... just perfect as a background for me and my mama. Nice!




Here's papa and I at the Cave of the Winds. This time our poncho is yellow. It's such a pretty color, too! Pretty like me!




The Cave of the Winds got us all wet! It's a good thing you cant tell from the picture.




My hand tastes great! Oh by the way, that's the CN Tower behind us.




At this time, i was taking a nap. So mama and papa took the opportunity to take solo pictures. Like this one of mama's on the Observation Deck. There's a big balloon behind her. When I'm bigger maybe we'll be able to ride it.




The aquarium was not as pretty as I expected. The building was kind of old and we had to enter via the back door because there was no access at the front for strollers and wheelchairs. Also, the fishes seemed old and tired. So kawawa :(




Papa and me, just horsing around the park.




On our way home, we made a stop at this rest area in Ohio. Photo-op, of course.




Papa has to have a picture with me, too!


And so our Niagara adventure ends. Guess where we end up next time!
(more of our experiences at Niagara on my mama's blog: http://mrspartygirl.blogspot.com)

August 28 2004: Louisville, Kentucky


We sometimes go to the mall in Louisville because the malls in Lexington are not as big. That's how desperate we are to go malling... Papa drives an hour to take us there. When we go to Louisville, though, we just stay at the mall. This time, Papa decided to finally take us all the way downtown so we can see what Louisville looks like outside the mall.

It was getting late when we reached the riverbank park, so we just contented ourselves with the pretty view of the three bridges joining Louisville and Indiana. Afterwards, we took a walk and had our picture taken beside the Louisville Slugger Field, which is where they play baseball there in Louisville. If we had time, Papa would have wanted to go to the house of Muhammad Ali. Well, maybe we will get to do that next time.

Meanwhile, it was really nice to get fresh air and feed the ducks from time to time.





Here is me. Ready, as always, to go strolling. The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades.



That's the baseball park behind us. There was a game going on but, we're not really baseball fans, we are picture-taking fans, so here we are!



Mama is a fan of pictures, too.



Here is me on the chicken. What's Kentucky without chicken? Of course!



Nice sculpture, we just forgot what it was for. We were too busy looking at the camera.



Ohio river and me



It's nice to relax under the tree, on the bench, with my mama.



We're going home now, bye!!!!