Day 27 Nashville

Well we had a plan and all of that changed early this morning when we stopped at the KOA office to have a chat with the GrayLine representative. We were considering taking the Hop On-Hop Off Trolley Tour as we have had such great experience with them in other cities for giving us an overview and inside tips. We really just went in to confirm our best place for parking and by the time we left for town David had parked the truck back at the campsite, we had a ride on a free (mostly private, but more about that later) return trolley into town, we had arranged transportation to the Grand Ol’ Opry for tomorrow night and made tentative plans for The General Jackson Showboat Dinner Theater Show later in the week...and it wasn’t even 9:00 am!!!!

We looked through all of the new information we had been given while we waited for the trolley to arrive. Shortly after 9:00 am Roy drove up in an empty trolley car and offered a, “Howdy! Welcome y’all to Nashville!” He drove around Music Valley (who knew that’s where we were, but it was important to remember for the trolley ride back!) apologizing for the delay in getting us downtown but he had to check his other stops to see if anyone else needed a ride. Honestly, apologizing – the riding around must have taken all of ten minutes! Our introduction tour of Nashville started as soon as we met Roy. He told us so much about the area where we were including great places to eat near the campground that we might never have noticed! Roy is a fisherman and was very excited when he learned we were from Canada. He has dreams of going there to fish! As I said, a mostly private ride, but a couple of people got on at the last stop and then we headed straight to the Trolley Station on the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville.

Instead of going into the station straight away we set off in search of the Nashville Visitors Center. We had decided we would buy the Music City Total Access Attraction Pass that would allow us entry to four area attractions, entrance to the Parthenon (I know, sounds cheesy, we thought so too, but just wait) and, among other discounts, 25% off the GrayLine Hop On-Hop Off Trolley Tour! Looking at the map and with assurances from Roy we felt the city was very walkable and easy to navigate – so true! We passed so many things we had heard about – Honky Tonk Row, Tootsies, Wild Horse Saloon, Ernest Tubbs Music Shop, and even though in was still barely 9:00 in the morning we could hear the strains of tuning instruments through the doors of the bars! Clearly this was going to be an easy place to find things. With our City Passes around our necks we set out for the nearest Trolley stop to buy our tickets. The lady manning that booth was cranky but honestly she is the only cranky person in Nashville – maybe in the entire state of Tennessee  – so we just got our tickets and moved on to find the happy people. We learned (from Cranky Pants so we weren’t sure it was accurate) that trolley tickets here are timed and we were told to be in front of Ryman Auditorium at 11:00. Not sure how a timed trolley works in a Hop On-Hop Off system but we did as we were told since taking time to wander around and rubber neck in Nashville is a pleasure all its own. For example I was standing on a street corner looking at my map. David had wandered off toward the strains of guitar (remember here the emphasis is on the first syllable)! This young couple approached me and asked if I knew of a good place to eat. I explained my 30 minute relationship with Nashville and apologized when two young girls approached and asked if they could help. They actually couldn’t but apparently this was a ruse to connect with them since this guy was a lead singer for some hot band or other. A lively conversation ensued as these girls explained they were band photographers looking to move to Nashville and this band guy and his girlfriend were here for the first time because the band had a gig in town. They swapped stories about who they all knew giving me time to consult my maps and set them off in this direction of a row of restaurants – that was pretty much all I had to offer the conversation! Hey wait a minute! I just realized mine was the only useful contribution!! Anyway apparently I saw someone who was a big deal but by the time I got to blogging...I can’t even remember what the name was! I would make a hopeless autograph chaser!!

It may not be Memphis but no trouble to find The King in Nashville.

David seemed excited?

Street art in front of Ledgends and Tootsies.

Roadies (weird lookin' dudes!) unloading for Sarah McLachlan at Ryman.

Here comes our Trolley!

Our Trolley arrived right on time and although Grumpy Pants told us we couldn’t ride the whole circuit and Hop On/Off later (they were too busy, and this wasn’t like other cities, blah, blah, blah), that’s exactly what we did. Our driver and tour guide Mike was great and we didn’t want to miss anything he might have to share. We learned:

·         Honky Tonk Row on Broadway is the place for music but Church Street is the food district

·        Puckett’s Grocery Restaurant at the corner of Church and 5^th is a Cracker Barrel with live entertainment! That’s worth a check!

·        Tennessee State Museum is, like so many government run venues here in the US, free.

·        Chet Atkins gave Jimmy Hendrix guitar lessons when Jimmy was stationed here is the army.

·       Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park (again all free including parking) is a great place to come back to, maybe on the weekend when there are free concerts in the park. The park is divided into three sections for the three regions of Tennessee. The gardens, sculpture, displays, etc. all are designed to lead you through a tour of Tennessee in this one park. At the entrance 31 dancing fountains represent the 31 rivers that feed into Tennessee. Special displays like the Civil War Memorial with a piece of granite marked North-South and divided down the middle and a giant open air market with bike racks that resemble giant slices of tomato and ears of corn were all enticing enough in our drive by tour that we’ve decided a day here will be time well spent.

·       The Parthenon Centennial Park in the west end sounded sort of goofy to honest. When we arrived though Mike explained that when the World Fair was held in Nashville in 1854 various reproductions had been created. When the fair closed Nashville fought the dismantling of the Parthenon and asked that the  be left behind. A full scale replica down to the “no straight lines” detail it houses an art museum and certainly appears worth a second look – stay tuned.

·        Following the Civil War there was movement to offer education opportunities for freed slaves. Fist University was established but funding was an issue since it was envisioned to be free for freed black slaves. In an effort to raise funds they started a school choir called the Jubilee Singers!! Funny since that’s the name of the group I sing with in Dufferin-Peel! They travelled all over the world singing and at one time sang for Queen Victoria who apparently sent a letter back to the State of Tennessee praising their performance and stating that these singers clearly came from the music city in the USA. That was the beginnings of referring to Nashville as Music City USA!

·       We were surprised to learn that music was not the largest employer here though. 63% of employment is related to health care and they boast 113 health care facilities! We passed various hospitals and research centers. One of note was the Sarah Cannon Cancer Research Centre. A breast cancer survivor, she died (of a heart attack actually) without having had children and her husband had died before her so she left her sizable estate to the establishment of what is apparently the largest cancer research facility. Later we learned that Roy (our driver from this morning) had known her and spoke very highly of Sarah Cannon. The world knew her as Minnie Pearl!

·       David and I weren’t particularly interested in exploring further but they did point out the area around the Belle Meade Plantation. It was a Civil War Battlefield at the end of town but is now where all the stars live!

·       We did pick up interesting (pronounced inneresting here) star facts though as we passed by Adelicia Condos where Toby Keith, Tanya Tucker and Kelly Clarkson live. The top two floors are a glass penthouse that Taylor Swift calls home. We passed Toby Keith’s bar(s) beside one another called Winners and Losers! We saw recording studios for everyone who is anyone! Reba’s with her helicopter pad on top, the Sony Music Studio that is still being fought over in Michael Jackson’s estate, all the names in country music are on banners out front along the road.

·       Traffic here is surprisingly great! It may be because of their free transit system, who knows, but traffic is light and moves well. We asked Mike about this and he agreed this was usual except during the CMA awards! Seemed a bit of a sore point with the locals that construction slows the city down and decisions are made about city improvements to host the 50 million visitors that come for one week a year! They did admit though it was great for the economy and truthfully road work, construction and traffic was all a lot less trouble than in Pigeon Forge!!

·        Little Richard lives on the top floor of the Hilton Hotel. Apparently he comes down every day to chat to the concierge in the lobby and locals know that’s where they will find him! Again not being big star chasers we have decided to leave the poor man alone but we did have the sense that he does enjoy his retirement!

·        Rosanne Cash too can almost always be found leading folks through the Johnny Cash Museum. We were told the tour takes about an hour but better plan for 90 minutes if you get stuck talking to Rosanne!

These are all just glimpses from a trolley drive-by! Nashville has much to entertain it seems.

Bike rack at the farmers market.

US Capitol buildings always so pretty!

Reba's studio.

In the center of the recording studios is this sculpture. Called the Sound of Music it caused a bit of a stir to local "tender" sensibilities when it first appeared. Locals now refer to it only as the naked statue

Back at the station we decided it was about time to have a bite to eat and asked Mike on our way out if he had a suggestion. Not only did he have a great lunch suggestion the tour was extended by 15 minutes (of his break time) and he told us about an event called Dancin’ in the District. On Thursday nights the River Front is transformed into a large outdoor concert venue and local food trucks move in and the wineries in the area provide refreshment as Nashville, literally, dances in the street. The whole thing is free and GrayLine provides a roundtrip ride from the campground directly to Margaritaville for $5! He says they run until 4:00 am. Not sure we will need that much time to carouse with the locals but you can be sure we’ll be there! Eek! Thursday was the night we were thinking about the dinner cruise, I’m gonna run out of time here!

Rippy’s was a great place for lunch. Like everywhere here there was live entertainment. All acts play for tips since there is so much talent the bar and restaurant owners don’t have to pay. From the musician side they all want to be discovered. We learned Keith Urban played in the Legends bar across the street for four years before his big break came. Next door in the world famous Tootsies Orchid Lounge Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynne and countless others got their start. Most of these spots have multiple floors and there is live music on each of the floors! The sound on the street is a cacophony but a step inside anyone of these honky tonks is a chance to listen to incredible talents and perhaps watch a star be born! Only one week how will we ever get to it all?

Supporting the local economy while waiting for lunch!

Our entertainment. This kid was only 17 but what a voice.

Quite the menu - feature drinks Charlie?

View from my window of the at&t building with the top designed to resemble the cradle of a rotary dial phone!

The guys in the yellow jackets on Segways are Nashville Ambassadors. They ride through the city looking for tourists to help!

After lunch we wandered and noticed so many things that hurrying to the next venue we would have missed. There is a strange combination of seedy and charming here. The hopefuls are here of course! The homeless are ever present, as they are and will continue to be until we truly remove the stigmas attached to mental health. The memory seekers are here commenting openly on the glory days of country music. The funky are here presenting an eclectic mix of fashion. The tourists are here being led by a platoon of service providers surprisingly invisible compared to our recent experiences in Gatlinburg but not difficult to find. And the local are here friendly, helpful and proud to share their city.

Honky Tonk Row



Walk of Fame stars are an eclectic mix of everyone from Little Jimmy Dickens to Peter Frampton! Didn't make much sense who was included and who wasn't??

LOVE architecture! Glass buildings on a cloudy day seem to disappear into the sky!

I know it's an insurance company but come on people think of a better name if you're going to put in on your building! Cool though are the many reclaimed buildings in downtown. The building across the street was a bank building repurposed as a Marriott. The teller wickets inside were your registration desks!

This waterfront sculpture that looks like a broken roller coaster is called Ghost Ballet was commissioned as a tribute to the railway. Seems locals reserve the right to call it like they see it though and this one, locally, is called "studip"!

More sidewalk art. My guys would love this!

By late afternoon we were tired and made our way back toward the trolley station. We were early for the return trip to Music Valley but met Roy once again! He was on his way out to do his last tour of the day and then he would be the one, he told us, driving us back to the campground. If we wanted, we were welcome to join him on the last tour. We wanted! Although the tour followed roughly the same route we had taken with Mike earlier, we learned that each driver has some different stories to share and their own unique tour flavor! We learned loads of Nashville and Tennessee trivia on this trip – we didn’t know that milk was the official drink of Tennessee (I guessed moonshine!) and that the state animal is a racoon! Just as much fun the second time around!

Roy was training a new driver and once we dropped the others people on the tour off at the station and we were on our way back to Music Valley the trainee started to talk, and do I mean talk! We learned about his tattoos, his wife, his Christian biking (?!!), the flood he was in a few years back, his carving and artistic pursuits, the jobs he has had, his parents, his fascination with dragons, and his born again experience. We saw pictures of his motorcycle and a body tour of his tattoos! As we arrived back at the campground Roy laughed and said, “They know you well now.” Before leaving David offered Roy a $10 Canadian bill as a tip for all he had done for us throughout the day. David mentioned the desire to come to Canada fishing and offered it as a start to his saving for the trip. He was clearly thrilled with the bill and fascinated by the pretty colour of our money! It was one of the new plastic bills so that was an added bonus! It was fun to watch him get so excited about it! He shook both of our hands, twice, and wished us a great time in Nashville! Such a cool part of the day and to think we would have missed it had we gone with our first thought to drive into the city!

A relatively boring evening of laundry but it must be done! Besides we need to rest up – who knows what tomorrow might bring...besides the Grand Ol’ Opry I mean.