Having stocked up on white sequined jumpsuits at Graceland, our next stop was Beale St and the legendary Sun Studio. Sun is the record label and recording facility started by Sam Phillips, that was the home of historic recording sessions by Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and many more. The tour was expertly delivered by Eldorado, a guy with some of the finest sideburns this side of the Mason-Dixon line.

Standing in that room and hearing clips from classic rock n' roll recordings was a memorable experience and we were bowled over by the overwhelming sense of history. An awesome experience for any musician or anyone interested in popular music culture.

In late afternoon, we popped over to the Stax Records museum on McLemore Avenue, a replica of the Stax studio built on the same site where many of the historic Stax recording sessions took place. The museum houses a similarly excellent collection of music memorabilia for fans of Memphis soul music.

From the Hammond organ used on Green Onions, to Isaac Hayes' gold plated Cadillac Eldorado, the place is a joy for anyone who ever appreciated the clothes, records and instruments of this incredible era of soul music.

At 6pm, with the temperature at 92 degrees, we got back on the road and set the dials for Texas. Seeing as how it was midnight back home in the UK, we all sang Happy Birthday to Loll, who was born on May 6. She'll be spending her birthday Crossing the States this year. Hopefully, we can make it special for her. After a short while we entered Arkansas, passing through its capital city Little Rock, and eventually pulled in to a small hotel offering free wi-fi and breakfast.

After a few exchanges with the locals, one of whom's brother in law recorded Sweet's Love is Like Oxygen (geek out), we went for dinner and spent a few hours choosing sides from a menu equivalent to the instruction book for a stereo. This much choice invites chaos for British people, but we're getting used to deciding everything that comes with a dish. We did a bit of shopping before bed and were sure to ask for 'styrofoam' cups instead of 'polystyrene' ones and 'band aids' instead of 'plasters'.

We're about four hours from Dallas, so we should be there by lunch time tomorrow if all goes to plan.

Today was a Memphis music day for the Crossing the States team. We got up early, had breakfast then headed the few remaining miles into Memphis to visit Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley. Everything ran really smoothly and we were able to check out the house and all of the surrounding exhibits such as The King's cars and airplanes with virtually no queues.

Everything at Graceland has been left exactly as it was when Elvis died. Coca Cola bottles from the 1970s still stand on the counter. His suits, the TVs, even the cutlery are all perfectly maintained. He sure lived well and the opulence of the Jungle Room and the TV room are really something. It's a terrific tour with an informative audio guide and well worth the money to visit if you are in the area.

Without getting too morbid on the blog, the tour ends with Elvis's grave which is also on the grounds at Graceland. Although we were not allowed to use flash photography during the tour, we did manage to grab this brief clip:

Here are some images from the city of Lynchburg, Tennessee. It has such a cool feel and some stunning historic design features. We loved spending time walking around and talking to the locals:

After dinner in Lynchburg, we got back on the road. We passed through Alabama and Mississippi briefly, which was every shade of awesome. We've noticed that there is a strange emphasis on selling fireworks out here. There are huge shops every ten miles or so housed in these giant supermarket sized warehouses. I guess there are a lot of holidays to celebrate?

Also ubiquitous here are the fast food restaurants. Everywhere you look, there's a Wendy's, an Arby's and a McDonalds. It would be very easy to turn into Morgan Spurlock out here, so we're all trying to eat well whenever possible. We've certainly enjoyed some fine cuisine in southern diners. 

After a few hours on the road, we stopped several times to get a place for the night. Unfortunately, none of the motels outside Memphis had vacancies. As the black highway stretched out before us, we decided to press on with the final 90 or so miles. It was a long stretch and we were pretty tired by 11pm. We ended up pulling off the Interstate at Memphis International Airport and getting rooms at the Radisson there. Now I know why Marc Cohn was Walking in Memphis. He was looking for a hotel.

The good news is that we're now ahead of schedule and we did some time travel too. Memphis is six hours behind, so we get an extra hour in bed! Big fat win! Let's celebrate with fireworks!

This afternoon we visited the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. It's a beautiful set of buildings housed in glorious surroundings and we had a wonderful time touring the distillery and learning about how the whiskey is passed through charcoal, tasted and tested. Jack Daniels is the oldest registered distillery in the USA. Established in 1875. According to the guide, every drop of Jack Daniels you've ever come across came from this small city.

During the tour, Dale and I were fortunate to be able to kick the safe that gave Jack Daniels gangrene. Further explanation is provided in the following videos:

The city of Lynchburg is dry, so I bought a bottle of Single Barrel Jack Daniels exclusive to the gift shop. Received it in a brown paper bag, which was pretty neat. We then drove into Lynchburg to check out the other souvenirs that were on sale. Incidentally, the tour was free! It was a great experience and is highly recommended!

Last night, Loll and I slept in a king-size bed that was so large, I had to send her a telegram that said 'Cuddle. Due South West. Stop.' The bathroom was so big, we had to take a golf cart from the sink to the shower. Speaking of showers, Dale says he had one the other night that was so powerful, the settings were 'Tommy Gun', 'Taser' and 'Stun'. I'll tell ya, I don't get no respect.

We started the day with a quick look around Knoxville, Tennessee, and bought a few t-shirts. The city has a nice vibe. The people are incredibly polite and always interested in us, especially once they hear our British accents.

We then headed on to Lynchburg, Tennessee, home of Jack Daniel's whiskey. Dale claims that while we were on the road, we drove past a truck driver eating a Big Mac while driving a big Mack. However, this has not been verified. We detoured past the Nashville floods in our white 4x4, dodging potential storms. I didn't pretend to be Bill Paxton's character from Twister, with Dorothy strapped on the back. Not once.

During the drive, we were happy to briefly cross into the beautiful state of Georgia and to pass through Coffee, Tennessee. We all instantly felt more awake. I should also point out that while refuelling in Chatanooga, TN, Dale's three day search for a 'Twinkie' Hostess cake came to a satisfying end.

We started the day in Harrisonburg, Virginia with breakfast at Shoney's. When we arrived, we lowered the average age in the place by about 50 years. I thought we had walked onto the set of a new Cocoon movie.

As with most restaurants in America, the meal sizes are colossal. Most of us have healthy appetites, but I don't know how anyone can pack away these great slabs of pancakes, grits, sausage, potatoes and eggs with syrup, butter, sugar, cream and 'jelly'. We're gonna have asses like New York cops by the time we get home.

We hit the road by about 9.30am and continued across Virginia on yet more eerily quiet roads. We soon realised that we were in the vicinity of the Mountain Lake hotel which doubled as Kellerman's resort in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing. A staple with all young girls growing up in the 1980s, this news thrilled Loll and Sooze. I have to say, having grown up with two sisters who watched the movie frequently, I was more than a little curious too.

Sooze expertly guided the Ford Explorer up the foggy mountain side and we soon happened upon Marsha, the owner of Mountain Lake and a wonderfully enthusiastic and kind person who gave us a personal tour of the sights, despite the fact that we were a week early for the season opening.

Judging by the amount of bugs on our windscreen, Marsha could have been forgiven for thinking we're on a cross country killing spree. Aside from narrowly missing a turtle and a plastic bin, we're actually doing pretty well so far on the interstate highways. That said, roadkill in America is not like the occasional hedgehog you see in the UK - here we're talking deer, badgers and all manner of larger animals. There are also hundreds of abandoned tyres. Mostly they look like the rubber has just peeled right off the wheel. If anyone has any info on this phenomenon, we'd love to know why this is the case.

Mountain Lake has many elements that have been frozen in time since Hollywood descended upon it and so many of the locations for the key scenes in the move were immediately recognisable, particularly the cabin where the Houseman family stay; the lake where Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey practice the lifts (though this is currently mostly dry); the Gazebo; the main lawn, and the dining room. We were even allowed to see inside the kitchen where the character of Penny (Cynthia Rhodes) is found crying. Loll masterfully recreated the role before our eyes as you can see below:

Special thanks to Marsha for her incredible generosity and fantastic stories. If you are in the area, we highly recommend visiting Mountain Lake. After our morning of movie nostalgia, we stopped in Pulaski, Virginia for a snack and then headed on towards Knoxville, Tennessee, stopping for the night about 20 miles short in Kodak, TN.

Tomorrow we'll hit Knoxville before heading on to Lynchburg, Tennessee. It looks like we'll have to modify the route slightly and miss Nashville due to severe floods on I-40. Memphis is still a worry too. We'll keep you posted. We've done 1,000 miles so far. Damn roads don't get any clearer.