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Published: April 12th 2010
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State of Tennessee
Love the state song "Rocky Top" it plays in my head! It is a very early spring in Nashville with wisteria, forsythia, redbuds, and all manner of fruit trees in full bloom a little prematurely. We are at the Nashville KOA for three days. The sign calls it an "award-winning" RV Park and the honor seems deserved! There's even a little opera house here where KOA people can attend fun concerts FREE!
The restaurant, Cock of the Roost, is next to the RV Park. Interesting place and the food great, home-style, southern cooking. I had a basket of catfish, shrimp and chicken with hushpuppies and tons of fried potatoes. The sides included a cast iron skillet bread that the server "flipped high in the air" at the table. We didn’t notice collard greens were on the menu; but a nearby table got them served in small black cast iron kettles. Wes's beer was served in a tin cup and all the table ware was “tin ware,” even the plates.
We caught the talented Preston Walden at the KOA opera house after dinner. Bought two CD's and caught him the next night with his trio at the Caney Fork Fish Camp!
We love Broadway in Nashville and like to
Preston Walden
Preston gave a free concert at the little opera house at the Nashville KOA tonight. The person at the registration desk said it would be "Pickin & Grinnin." From original tunes to "The Boy Named Sue" to Elvis to Hank Williams and an attempt at the super difficult "Devil Went Down to Georgia," this talented man played it all. stick to the side of the street where Tootsies is. It is the non-smoking side of the street --- yes, tobacco products are allowed in the joints on the other side of Broadway. We went to Second Fiddle, it was fine; Tootsies, it was great; and Legends Corner, it was fine. Legends has the best restroom. Must mention the fab fiddler at Tootsie’s. Man did she ever rip it up “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” with speed and panache! There was a young man from Scotland in this band. The leader was funny and engaging as he strutted on the bar flirting with the gals.
The historic Ryman Auditorium, the previous venue for the Grand Ole Opry, is the Mother Church of Country Music, is downtown between 4th and 5th Streets a block up from Broadway. Our friends, the Vanderwerkers, recommended the tour that showcase the legendary stars who have graced her stage including Mae West, Rudolph Valentino, and W.C. Fields, but we ran out of time. The building has been restored after having been closed for 20 years when the Grand Ole Opry fled to the “burbs” and its present location at the Gaylord complex. We had
Legendary Bathroom
Legends has the best restrooms - nice & clean with a few musical artifacts in the waiting area. tickets for “Opry Country Classics” at the Ryman Auditorium on Thursday, April 8. We don’t know many of the “names” in country music, but this was a fun time even in our ignorance. One, artist, Mandy Barnett, has an outstanding “Patsy Cline” voice. The Ryman acoustics are said to be second best, only to the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, in the whole country. .
The Waymans recommended we stop in to see the courtyard of the Gaylord complex; but we didn’t get to do that. We had been to the present Grand Ole Opry on a previous trip. Our RV Park was very close to it, and one could spend a day shopping, etc.
World’s best bar b que at Jack’ on our favorite side of Broadway.
Our plan for a city tour, on the Nashville Aqua Duck, fell through. Two “Ducks” were down! The company graciously refunded our money and we signed up for a well-narrated one hour trolley tour of Nashville instead. Well worth $12 each. Especially impressed with the parks.
Here's a new word to describe the Nashville sound, "Countrypolitan,” you figure it out!
From the notes:
Charlie Daniels Museum
Big Mouth Grass at Caney Fork Fish Camp
Great food, great service, great atmosphere, great band! "Boy Named Sue," "Hey Good Lookin," "Heartaches by the Number," and more including "The Orange Blossom," which we had never heard before, but is a great tune and popular with the rest of the audience. We are actually not BIG country music fans and don't know artists or tunes very well; but we're trying to fit in. on 2nd Street. It’s free and has a nice collection. We shared a tasty sub from the café on the lower level while we were waiting for the Aqua Duck which never came.
Printers’ Alley I had this idea that Printers’ Alley, the former “Gentlemen’s section of town”
would be a kind of quirky, funky slice of Americana! Not! The best description is scary, even at 2pm! The red lights still remain!
The Hermitage (Andrew Jackson’s plantation), Frist Art Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame, & Hatch Printing are all worthy and covered in a previous Nashville blog.
There is an incongruity about the Bible belt. A billboard advertising Big Jim's Boobie Bungalow and an adjacent billboard extolling Jesus and His righteousness! Same in the souvenir shops - some rude & crude items for sale an aisle away from plaques quoting scripture. Seems weird to be so open and public about both sex and religion! But the people are nice and that's what counts.
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HELENE DARMER
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GOOD OL'NASHVILLE!
YOUR SUMMARIES OF DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE AND RESTAURANTS BROUGHT BOB AND I GREAT MEMORIES...I REMEMBER BEING IN THE BOOT STORE.......SOOOO EXPENSIVE, BUT I ASSUME MOST PEOPLE BUY THE ONE PAIR AND THEY LAST A LIFETIME...WELL, AT MY AGE ANYWAY... LOL.....YOUR WEATHER LOOKS WONDERFUL AND LOOKS LIKE YOU AND WES ARE ENJOYING EVERYTHING...BOB AND I SAW AN ALL-STAR LINE UP AT THE RYMAN AUDITORIUM WHEN WE WERE THERE AND WENT TO A FANTASTIC HONKEY TONK/WESTERN BAR AFTERWARDS WHERE THE WANNABE CROONERS AND GEE-TAR PICKERS WERE PLAYING THEIR LATEST, AND HOPING TO BE DISCOVERED.....YA KNOW, THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO AND SEE IN THIS GREAT USA...WE STILL HAVE NOT SEEN IT ALL...SAFE MOTORING AND BEST REGARDS...HELENE