In Search of Davey Crockett and the Wild Frontier

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I first met Davey Crocket when, as a young English kid living in Singapore I was taken to see Fess Parker in Davy Crockett and the River Pirates. I was hooked, I got my first "coonskin" hat that Christmas.
Imagine my delight when our American friends Dante and Barb moved to Tennessee after a hurricane destroyed their town, Punta Gorda, in Florida.

Day 1

We flew Continental from Heathrow to Newark, a pleasant flight but not a pleasant welcome so let’s not spoil this journal and skip our arrival at Newark Airport.
We stayed the night at a Howard Johnson Hotel, well we wanted close to the airport and we could not have got any closer, unless, that is, they moved the 6 lane highway that came between us. Still we were not disturbed as jet lag meant we did not sleep well anyway.

Day 2

Again, we flew with Continental from Newark to Charlotte, North Carolina, both pleasant airports, and again a pleasant flight. We were surprised to bump into our friends Dante and Barb before we reached baggage claim which was an area open to anybody. But as Dante said, “who else would want your bag?”
We had a pleasant 2 hour drive to Asheville where we checked in at the Marriott Inn and for some reason had a huge, luxurious suite, Dante muttered something about having Status# (?) Another pleasant surprise was that the hotel must have been pre warned that the Brits were coming, as there were free ribs laid on that night, so we moseyed on down to the liquor store and grabbed some vino. (See I’ve got the lingo already!)
(# Pronounced Stattus)

Day 3

Bev woke up feeling like SH(one)T and our disconcerted hosts thought, godarnit they’ve imported Swine Flu! A decision was made that we would visit Biltmore Estate as planned and Bev would drag herself around behind us. The house and grounds were huge as befits the Van De Bilts. It is the largest privately owned home in the United States at 175,000 square feet and has 250 rooms. We also visited the botanical houses and the winery, where we got free tastings, unfortunately Bev missed out, as she also did with lunch.

We departed Biltmore heading over the Blue Ridge Mountains part of the Appalachians into Tennessee and on to Jonesborough, the oldest town in the state.

We fell in love with this patch of Tennessee, and could understand why Dante and Barb had opted to live there. Their house was wonderful, a split level in four acres of woodland paradise, with Squirrels and Chipmunks scooting around and Blue Jays and Red Cardinals flitting from tree to tree to the sound of Woodpeckers hammering away.
We were shown into the guest suite which took up the whole of the lower floor, but we were soon rocking away on the covered porch in the “granny rockers”, with a glass of wine in hand. But jet lag meant another early night.

Day 4

Bev was feeling better so we headed for the Pancake House for breakfast, yum!
We then supermarket shopped for vitals, whilst I was distracted and tried on hats assisted with opinions from half the ladies in the supermarket.
A light lunch back at the “ranch” was followed by a Storytelling session at the local theatre. Jonesborough is home to the International Storytelling Center ,(sic) and is Storytelling capital of the USA, and therefore the World.

Although living in the town for 4 years and being a big fan of good beer, Dante had never found the local Micro brewery so we decided to cross the railway tracks in search of the Ale. Twenty sweaty and thirsty minutes later we enquired about that strange US measurement that we Brits don’t understand “one block” and decided that it would be better if someone returned for the car, well done Dante. We made it to the Depot# Street Brewery and Dante was like a child in a sweet shop we all wondered why he had never been before. (# Pronounced Deepo)

We had a choice for our evening entertainment, Friday night in Jonesborough was Music in the square night but we opted for choice 2 as there was a weekend fair close by where a BBQ competition and Classic car display and music from a Beatles tribute band was more of a draw.
Bad choice! the fair was a waste of time and money. Barb tried to get a refund on our tickets but we (well Dante) ended up touting them at half price in the car park. We ended up in the House of Ribs in Johnson City. Ribs were to be a continuing theme of our journey.

Day 5

A 4 hour drive to Nashville, Music City, today, crossing another time zone on the way. Ironically we stopped for lunch at a place called Crossville, (maybe founded by a distant reletive?) we were introduced to D+B’s favourite restaurant chain, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Restaurant.

As usual we stayed at a very nice Marriott Hotel conveniently located only two blocks from Church Street, where it all happens. Dante muttered something about Status again (?).
We spent most of our time listening to live music in the clubs and bars, especially the Stage. (http://www.thestageonbroadway.com/)
We took in an afternoon session where we watched (Easy on the eye) Melissa Paige who we enjoyed very much. (http://www.myspace.com/melissapaigemusic)
We learnt new terminology like “Holler and Swaller”! Most of the bands seem to rely on tips for their services as there is seldom a cover charge to get in these places.

Day 6

We headed across the border for a two hour drive into Blue Grass country, Kentucky to visit the Mammoth Cave National Park the longest cave system known in the world.
En route we were lucky enough to find a Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Restaurant where we had a late breakfast/brunch. It was at 1960 Mel Browning Street, Bowling Green for all you spotters out there!
Tel [phone]
Did you know that Cracker Barrel can be found at 570 locations in 41 States, there is a map to help you find one if you are desperate. How the folks in the other states manage without one I never would guess!

We arrived at Mammoth early to have a look round before the tour but there was nothing to see so we just waited for the tour to start. We took the 2 mile Historic tour, the caves are a constant 55 degrees so jumpers were the order of the day. We crossed the Bottomless Pit and squeezed through Fat Man's Misery, and then we climbed 138 stairs up Mammoth Dome.

We headed back to Nashville deciding not to bother with the other local attractions on offer such as Dinosaur World, Chaney’s Dairy Barn, Mammoth Cave Wax Museum and Mammoth Fun, we even passed by 2 Cracker Barrels in our hurry to return to the delights of Music City. After a pleasant meal, we spent the rest of the evening back in The Stage where we stayed until the end of the set, as the act were so compelling.
We were watching Savannah Jack a three piece band who had recently returned from supporting Kenny Rogers on his European tour. Dante was disappointed that they were not pure Country, but it suited Bev and I we were so impressed we bought their CD.

Day 7

We left Nashville in search of breakfast luckily just 8.92 miles along I40 at junction 201, Charlotte Pike we found the ideal place in the form of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Restaurant (tel [phone]).
NB Be sure to get to your nearest Cracker Barrel location early for some good bargains and some good country cookin', too. Everything on our porch, except the rockers, will be on sale.

We approached Memphis in some good ole storms that we had been avoiding all through our Tennessee Travels. We had another prime location hotel, The Marriott Downtown. We were located on the executive top floor which required card access in the lift (elevator). I think this must be something to do with “Status”! We had great views of the mighty Mississippi and the Memphis Pyramid.

The Memphis trolley car stopped right outside our hotel so with a 10 minute ride, we headed straight out to see what the famous Beale Street - Home of the Blues had to offer. We hit the first diner we came to which was not a great advertisement for Memphis, Barb was appalled that we had been taken in there. We than searched out BBQ Rib establishments that had been recommended to Dante as having the best ribs in Memphis, therefore Tennessee, therefore the USA, therefore the World! Unfortunately a lot of the places allowed smoking which was strange as it was against State laws. The big question was should we opt for Wet ribs or Dry ribs? As we had 2 nights in Memphis it was decided that we could have both.
We strolled up and down both sides of the street occasionally stopping to listen to street artists sing unique blues compositions such as “Meat on the Bone”, he must mean BBQ Ribs!
At around 4.30 we headed for the world famous Peabody Hotel to join the crowds gathered to watch as the “Duck Master” laid out the red carpet ready for The Peabody Ducks to enter the elevator as they return to their penthouse accommodation (Duckingham Palace...PLEASE!!!) at 5pm after frolicking all day in the fountain in the foyer.

The fun over we returned to Beale Street and had a drink in B.B. Kings Restaurant & Blues Club and thought we might return later as the menu looked quite good.

We then continued our search for the perfect BBQ Ribs, and we were propositioned on the street by the very persuasive owner of Superior Ribs. He told us if we did not think his ribs (and beans) were the best then he would reimburse us and eat them himself. He admitted his singer/guitarist was not the greatest but hey! The ribs were fantastic! And the beans….wow!
He was right about the guitarist/singer as well, but hey!

We went for drink in Silky O’ Sullivans where the pianist was quite good considering the audience was so small. Unfortunately he was followed by a trio with a pianist who was carrying a big chip on his shoulder, he tried his best to alienate everyone, he succeeded with me, we left!

Day 8

This was one Bev was looking forward to and Dante was not, our visit to Graceland
None of us would call ourselves Elvis fans but we all appreciated his music, and no trip to Memphis would be complete without a visit to Elvis Presley Boulevard.

(Graceland is the 13.8-acre estate and large white-columned mansion, located at 3734 Elvis Presley Boulevard. It currently serves as a museum. It was opened to the public in 1982, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 2006. Elvis Presley, who died at the estate on August 16, 1977, his parents Gladys and Vernon Presley, and his grandmother, are buried there in what is called the Meditation Gardens).

We has an audio tour of the house (which was surprisingly small), the gardens and annexes, where his awards collection and memorabilia were displayed. We then crossed the road to visit the automobile collection, the aircraft collection, an exhibition of his movies and one of his short army career. All this, with a constant soundtrack of Elvis Presley music, that we all remembered so well.

We were all impressed by the tour, even Dante had to admit that it was better than he expected, Bev was quite moved by the experience.

On our way back downtown we paid a flying visit to Sun Studio, opened by rock pioneer Sam Phillips in January 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label business. Reputedly the first rock-and-roll single, Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats' "Rocket 88" was recorded there in 1951 with song composer Ike Turner on keyboards, leading the studio to claim status as the birthplace of rock & roll.

Rock-and-roll, country music, and rockabilly artists, including unknowns recorded demos and others like Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich, and Jerry Lee Lewis, signed to the Sun Records label recorded there throughout the latter 1950s until the studio outgrew its Union Avenue location.
In 1987, the original building housing the Sun Records label and Memphis Recording Service was reopened as "Sun Studio", a recording business and tourist attraction that has attracted many notable artists including U2.

We went back to Beale Street for our evening entertainment. We returned to Silky O’ Sullivans but this time sat in the beer garden and listened to live music.
For our rib experience we decided to give BB Kings Club a go, and Dante was hoping for some Memphis Blues. The BB King house band were playing and were very good although to Dante’s dismay (and our delight!) were not purely Blues. The ribs, again, were great.

Day 9

We departed Memphis en route back to Nashville, bypassing Jackson, home of Casey Jones.
We decided that we would forgo lunch at Cracker Barrel and give “Applebees” a try instead.
We then called on some old friends of Dante in the Nashville suburbs, the Schnaars.
Ken Schnaars is the only person I have met to have his surname turned into a verb. To “Schnaars” somebody is to let them down, turn up late, or not at all, it was a character trait that his childhood friends identified in him!
We were made very welcome at their charming home and they later joined us for dinner and a further tour of the clubs in Nashville.

Day 10

Before we left Nashville Dante was determined that we should experience breakfast at a favourite “Greasy Spoon” of his. They don’t quite throw the food at you, maybe that’s because its on polystyrene plates and cups!
Back at Jonesborough that night we had a completely different experience when we went to Dante and Barb’s favourite restaurant The Bistro 105, very nice indeed!
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review

Day11

Well, we departed for the airport at Charlotte, not having found Davey Crockett, but having had a great time discovering Tennessee. Thanks Dante and Barb.
En route to Charlotte we had breakfast, our first visit to McDonalds, couldn’t find a Cracker Barrel!
We were enchanted by the departure concourse at Charlotte Airport, it was full of rocking chairs, how quaint!
Farewell Tennessee, next stop the Big Apple.

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Photos

Boone st, Jonesborough, TN
A quaint old town, very picturesque.

Jonesborough, TN
With our US buddies in the oldest town in Tennessee

Mammoth cave, Kentucky
Dante struggles through Fat Man's Misery

Jonesborough, TN
A quaint old town, very picturesque.