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Published: January 8th 2009
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Me standing in the same Stuido (Sun Stuido) where Elvis got his start.“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgement. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” Martin Luther King Jr.
It was tough to leave the sunny south but it was time to continue on my journey. I would be heading north for only a short time. My first stop is Atlanta Georgia to continue my journey in Martin Luther King Jr. footsteps. The first step was to see the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC where he gave his “I have a dream” speech. Now I am in the city where he was born.
I arrived in Atlanta about 4:15pm on Sunday December 28th and checked into the hostel. I didn’t do anything but hang out, relax and plan the next day. I had a lot I wanted to see in my one day. I decided not to get internet access as they wanted to charge $5.00 and out of principle I didn’t want to pay it. Also, I thought it is no big deal to go without internet access for a couple days.
On Monday I
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Birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta hit the road to see the sites. I first visited Margaret Mitchell’s house (writer of Gone with the Wind). Then I explored the Atlanta Underground (Toronto Concourse is much better) and took a tour of the World of Coca Cola. It was cool to taste the different Coke products that are distributed around the world.
I then had a tour of CNN. That was good too. It was interesting to see what they do behind the scenes to put everyone on air. At one point, the guide turns on the speakers to the back room and we can listen to them live calling out the cameras to go to etc. We then walked to a room where we were able to watch from behind the scenes them live on the air. We were above the studio behind glass (so we couldn’t interrupt it), but it was still neat.
While in CNN, they had a poster on display and flyers that said “Stop Panhandling, GIVE CHANGE THAT MAKES SENSE.” It was basically telling us not to give money to the panhandlers. It was suggesting giving to the organizations that help them. They mention that it is a LOSE-LOSE situation
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Me at the piano in RCA studio in Nashville. if you give money as it usually supports the bad habits. The more you give to panhandlers, the more their lives don’t change. There is food and shelter available for them. It thought it made sense. I actually saw somewhere else that it is against the law to panhandle in downtown Atlanta and after dark anywhere in Atlanta.
The next day, before leaving town, I went to visit the birth place and grave of Martin Luther King Jr. The man who gave the tour of the birth house was amazing. He was an 85 year old reverend who actually marched with Martin Luther King Jr. several times. You can hear the pride, respect and love in his voice. The tour of the home was great because most of the items in the house were original and if not, it was an exact replica so it wasn’t just period pieces like most places. By the end of the tour, I couldn’t help but give this guide a big kiss.
Now it was time to head to Music City. I arrived in Nashville in 4pm. I really wasn’t feeling very well today so after settling in, I took some pain
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Ryman Auditorium - Nashville killers and went to bed at 7:30pm.
Dec 31st, New Year’s Eve: I was feeling better today so all the rest last night helped. I walked downtown and my first stop was the Country Music Museum and Hall of Fame. I spent a few hours there. It was great to get the history of country music. Museums are usually kind of boring and I tend to skim over things but I found myself reading everything. I wanted to understand this thing called “country music”. By the end of the museum, I did have a better understanding and a little more respect. Nashville was growing on me.
I also went on a tour of Studio B. It was the main studio which Elvis recorded at along with other names like Dolly Parton etc. It was neat to be standing in the room where they all stood. The piano which was used was still the original that had been in that studio since the beginning and our guide let us sit and play if we want. I had my picture taken, but no one was brave enough to attempt a tune.
After Studio B, I went over to the
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Me on the stage at the Ryman Ryman Auditorium for a tour. That was cool to go in the place where the Grand Ole Opry had originally played so long ago (and still plays sometimes). I was able to sit on the stage and wander around anywhere. They were preparing for the New Year’s Eve celebration so I wasn’t able to explore backstage though.
I walked back to the hostel and hadn’t decided what I was going to do for New Year’s Eve yet. I finally thought I would just go down to Broadway and go in whatever club looked good. One of the hostel workers (my buddy Cameron) suggested Roberts Western World. I ended up going to Roberts because when I looked around, some of the other places allowed smoking and outside Roberts people were smoking so I knew it wasn’t allowed inside.
Soon after arriving, I met Catherine and Joel from San Diego California. They actually just met each other today as well when their connecting flight to California was cancelled due to fog so they were stuck in Nashville for the night and decided to go out. We hung out all night and had a blast. The alcohol was flowing just a
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Me, Joel and Catherine on New Year's Eve - Nashville little too easily and before I knew it, I was a little too far past my limit. I have decided to tell you my story of New Year’s Eve, but just know I am not proud of it, but I can look back now and laugh. For those of you on Facebook, you know I made a resolution for this year to only have 3 drinks at the most in one night. After you read this, you will know why. Here we go:
After midnight, my memories are a little hazy. I know that Catherine, Joel and I left Roberts. When we were outside, there were huge crowds on the sidewalks. Some man started talking to us. I don’t know how we got onto the subject but he wanted me to go with him. I kept saying over and over that I wasn’t going to have sex with him and he said he wanted to just cuddle (Yeah right!). I kept turning around but I couldn’t find my new friends anymore all the while this guy was leading me towards a taxi. Again, I kept telling him over and over again that I wasn’t going to have sex with
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Catherine and me - New Year's Eve - Nashville him.
The next thing I knew I was in a taxi with him. He wanted to go to my place but I told him I couldn’t as I was in a hostel (He didn’t really know what this was and I just told him I slept in a dorm with other women). It was one of those van taxis and another couple (unknown to either of us) was in the back. I guess this guy decided we would just go to the hotel these people were going to. Once we arrived, the couple got out of the taxi and so did this man. I just kept sitting in the taxi. The driver asked if I wanted to go, and I said yes. He started to drive off while I was closing the door and I remember the guy running after and yelling at the taxi.
All the way back to the hostel I kept thanking the driver over and over for rescuing me. When we arrived, I paid him the fare and was about to get out of the taxi when I guess he thought I owed him a little more and he started kissing me. When I
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Me and Joel - New Year's Eve - Nashville tried to pull away, I couldn’t as his hand was behind my head holding me there. I eventually got away and got out of the taxi as fast as I could. I got a glass of water from the office then went to my room (After running into Hope, the manager of the hostel who said I was swearing and saying something like “That SOB”). I eventually went to bed, but not until I made the toilet my best friend.
Needless to say, January 1st , 2009 was a write off. I got up around noon and still couldn’t do anything. I went back for a nap after a few hours. I thought I was actually getting sick as I felt a fever coming on. I eventually went back to bed early and woke up the next day feeling much much better. Phew!
January 2nd, I walked up to the Parthenon. Yes, you read that correctly … I am not in Greece. It is a life size replica of the original and was only 7 blocks from the hostel. I walked a little more around the neighbourhood. In the evening, it was time to discover why they call
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Me and Hope at the Grand Ole Opry. this Music City. I headed down to Broadway to listen to the bands. I started at Layla’s to listen to Jypsi because Angela DeBenedetti (from VON) recommended it. After them, I listened to a bit of the next group and thought they were only ok so it was time to move on. I then went into “The Stage” which was very good. It was more like a dance club for country and rock. I stayed there for about an hour or so. It was time to move on when the guy who had been looking at me from across the room had almost made his way beside me. I then went to Tootsie’s where they have two bands on two floors. The first floor was traditional country and the second floor had a band that did some 80s tunes and some rock. I stayed here for the rest of the night enjoying the music and dancing. I stuck to my new year’s resolution and only had 3 drinks in my 6 hours of club hopping. At about 1:30am, it was time to head back and I decided to walk home. It was about a 20 minute walk but I felt
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Hope and I in the Ryman Auditorium pretty safe. Nashville was growing on me even more.
January 3rd will be a day I will never forget. It started off quite simple. I woke up late, read emails and facebook then decided I was done procrastinating and it was time to go to the gym. There was a YMCA about a 10 minute walk away so I went to work out. It was a very nice facility and I found out later it was brand new. They had these awesome weight machines that actually counted your reps for you and if you had a “key” it would record the data for you on your key. After the gym, I got some protein in me with a chicken sub then headed back to the hostel.
Tonight Hope (the manager from the hostel) and I were having a “date” and went to see the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium. It was very good. Vince Gill was the “headliner” host and he sang a beautiful song called “Threaten me with Heaven”. During the show, he mentioned he might go back to “The Station Inn”. This was a place that Hope regularly hung out at so we decided
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Vince Gill jamming at the Station Inn - Nashville to go and enjoy it. It was a quaint little bar that was famous for its bluegrass performances. True to his word, Vince Gill actually did show up and jammed with the group that was playing for a couple hours. It was so nice to see him so humble. He took center stage a couple times when the lead of the other band asked him too, but just hung in the back just playing and singing along most of the time. This is one of those once in a lifetime moments when you see a big name dropping in and playing a small venue.
The next day it was raining off and on and was cold. I was going to head downtown as I still hadn’t been in the Wildhorse Saloon but I just didn’t feel like going. Hope and I went out for lunch at a nearby place called Cafe Coco which is open 24 hours. After that, I just hung out at the hostel and a few of us played scrabble and just relaxed. My visit in Nashville had come to an end but I will be back someday. It is funny how things can change. I
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The view from our seat (and we were at the back of the club) with Vince Gill on stage. had originally only planned to stop in Nashville for a couple days out of respect for my family and friends who like country and ended up staying 6 days and leaving a huge fan.
It is January 5th now and it is time to head to Memphis. I first met Jorg (from Germany) at the Nashville Hostel and he told me about the hostel in Memphis so I joined him there. His next stop is also New Orleans so I agreed to give him a ride there. The whole drive to Memphis was in the rain. I took my time getting there. It is only a 3 hour drive, but it took me 5 hours. I stopped and had lunch at Loretta Lynn’s Diner. When I arrived, I just settled in and read about Memphis and what to do the next day. Jorg and I met up and chatted for a bit. It was good to get to know the guy I was going to spend at least 6 hours in a car with.
January 6th and it is again raining all day. Because it is a Tuesday, the places I really want to see are closed so
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Cameron playing me a few songs at the hostel - Nashville this is the day I planned to just walk around. I took a tour of the Rock and Soul Museum and Sun Studio (where Elvis got his start) and then walked down Beale street. The place was dead. I looked for a place playing some music but there wasn’t any. It is at this time I am missing Nashville. In that place, the bands start at 11am and you could find live music at anytime of the day.
It is January 7th and it is my last day in Memphis and Tennessee. Jorg and I went to the National Civil Right Museum in the morning. We spent 3 and ½ there. It was awesome. It is actually built around the motel that Martin Luther King was shot so you stood outside and inside at the exact locations. As part of the tour, you were also able to go across the street and view the hotel and see a replica of where the shots were fired from and read about all the facts in the case.
The museum takes you through the complete history of the civil right movement. It has a life size replica of the bus that
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Beale Street - on a cold and rainy day - Memphis Rosa Parks was on and you actually get on to hear some of the comments when you sit in the “white” seats. It was too bad that I couldn’t carry my camera in this place … I would have been taking pictures every minute.
After that Jorg and I grabbed a bite to eat then I headed off to Graceland while he walked around downtown. I enjoyed Graceland. I liked looking at the home and furnishings. It is so quaint for a man who was very successful and rich. It was interesting seeing the 70’s style of things. I liked the TV room all in Yellow and Blue. I also toured his jet and checked out all his cars. All in all, I enjoyed my trip to Tennessee. It will be a long drive tomorrow, but at least I will have company. Jorg and I will leave early in the morning.
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