Then on to Nashville. The drive along I-40 is busy with trucks. Driving is fast-paced where laggards are doing 70 MPH. We checked into the Capitol Hotel and had to use the valet service to park the car. The hotel bar/restaurant had only snack food. The bartender recommended Puckett's, which was down the street. It was a casual place with good food and beer and live music at 7pm. Unfortunately, we were too late for the show that night.
Day 3: We had breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast options are provided on a check-off sheet and the selections are delivered in Styrofoam. I didn't think anyone was still using Styrofoam since its half-life is millennia. We met an English writer gathering material for a book on Bob Dylan.
At 10 am we had the Live Nashville Walking Tour with Ryan. It was a great walking tour. Ryan had lots of interesting stories about people and places. We met across from the Ryman Auditorium. There were about 20 of us on the tour. (Tour description: Relive President Andrew Jackson's most famous duel and meet Timothy Demonbreun, the first citizen of Nashville, with his, ahem, two wives, untold mistresses and umpteen kids. Come along as Johnny Cash makes history on the Grand Ole Opry stage…right before he gets kicked off of it. Presidents, generals, suffragists, Cherokee warriors and pill-popping rock stars abound on the original REALLY ENTERTAINING TOUR.) We learned that the 3rd floor of many establishments provided liaisons by the hour. Gambling was usually on the 2nd floor.
We heard stories about Jacques-Timothée Boucher, Sieur de Montbrun-better known as Timothy Demonbreun and the first white citizen of Nashville. He was born in Quebec in 1747, into family named nobility by Louis XIV, Timothy was already an experienced fur trader by the time his was a teenager. A fur trapping expedition down the Cumberland River led him to this cave, around 1766. From Atlas Obscura, seemingly little more than a wide crack in the rock on the Cumberland River, Timothy Demonbreun's Cave actually served as a makeshift home for the locally famous fur-trapper, among the 650,000+ Native Americans of various tribes that called Tennessee home. This area is squarely located in what is known ancestrally as Chickasaw land.
We also heard stories about Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, world-famous honky-tonk, situated across from Ryman Auditorium, on Broadway. Supposedly, it was mistakenly painted purple, but the color was never changed.
After the tour, we had lunch at the Twelve Thirty Club and listened to some tunes while we ate. Nashville had music playing everywhere.
We visited the Civil Rights Room on the top floor of the Nashville Public Library and watched some videos on the civil rights movement.
Jackie visited the National Museum of African American Music. Luckily, it was free on Wednesday, and for a couple of hours I enjoyed the interactive exhibits tracing the history and influence of multiple musicians. And I walked up the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge, which offers great views of the city.
At night, we returned to Puckett's and listened to Oklahoman native Jordan Rainer sing some country ballads while we ate. We next walked down to Broadway to soak in some country music ahead of the Country Music Awards festivities. Broadway was hopping and the sidewalks were packed with country music fans sporting their best boots. Music establishments opened windows so that the music could spill out onto the streets and entertain the throngs both inside and out. Finally, we stopped off for a drink at Margaritaville, not a country music venue, but still offered some fun entertainment. Then back to the hotel. It's a bonus to have a hotel within the city limits.
Day 4: We had breakfast at the hotel and met up with our English writer-friend again. Then headed out to Memphis
Author: Jackie