We've Become Country Music Fans

The Requisite Photo With Elvis

It's just after 6:00 and I am up, too early, sitting downstairs in the lounge of our hotel, with a coffee and my computer, getting this blog finished. We are heading for New Orleans today, another eight hour drive through Birmingham, Alabama, then south to Louisiana.

Yesterday we were fortunate to avoid the forecast of rain though we never saw the sun. From the moment we got up, it looked threatening but we only had a few brief drizzles, nothing serious.  In the morning, we took a cab to Broadway and we browsed some of the country western shops, but mostly, we spent the morning in the Johnny Cash Museum.

Music Icons from the Past

Gold and Platinum Records

The King

It was surprisingly crowded, perhaps because of the cloudy day.  We were able to listen to Cash music though the ages, from the 1950's to the 2000's.  Lots of pictures, information, a couple of movies and the hand written lyrics to many of the songs he wrote were the highlight of the visit. And his album covers and golden records decorated the walls.  It was worth the money. On our way back we stopped in Union Station, built in 1900,  now a hotel, to see it's lobby, an amazing piece of architecture.

Union Station

The Beuatiful Barrell Vaulted Ceiling

Clcok and Mural

Home Of Poet Randall Jarrell

 We then walked back to Hattie B's Hot Chicken, a block away from our hotel. We got there about 12:30 and waited in line with others for a chance to order, then wait at a table in their covered patio for the chicken to be delivered.  There were lines outside during the entire time we were there.  It took us an hour to get our food, counting the time waiting in line, ordering our food until it was delivered.  It was an experience and the chicken, whether mild, medium, hot, and damn hot, was good, served with two sides.  It's deep fried of course, with a thick batter, mixed with a hot sauce according to your taste.

Waiting For Hot Chicken

Hattie B's

Afterwards, we took a walk up to Vanderbilt and meandered around its beautiful campus.  School was still in session, lots of kids out on the paths, around the dining hall. The campus buildings are all old, the quads and walks surrounded by all many ancient trees trees and lush landscaping.  Even in late fall, the foliage was amazing.  I can see why anyone would want to go to this school.  We walked as far as Century Park, to see the replica of the Parthenon, from a distance.  We did not get back till 3:00 having walked almost 6 miles according to Evie's iPhone.  Both of our feet were sore from all the walking, so we relaxed in our hotel room until 6:00, reading ,watching TV, and reading on our devices.  It was good to have a nice place to go back to after sightseeing and walking.

The Campuis

Strolling With The College Kids

Cornelius Vanderbilt

A Hawk On the Grounds

Oak Leaf Hydragea

Around 6:00, we got a cab and were dropped off at Merchants, the restaurant we tried to get in the previous night.  This time, with a little luck, we were able to sit at their circular bar downstairs, along with about thirty other people.  It has a great feel and, of course, we ended up meeting lots of people. I met a guy from Tulsa who is here for a convention for churches; his company's niche is building churches and he was here to drum up business.  At the moment, they are building a 5 million dollar church in Woodbridge, VA.  A neat guy, he was here for the week.  Evie meanwhile met a couple from New Jersey who have moved to Arkansas, which they love, the northern part. They spend most of their year in Arkansas, some in Florida and back to New Jersey for holidays.  We also briefly met another couple who finally came over to ask if they knew us, we looked so familiar.  They didn't and they were from Alabama where he builds both guitars and mandolins in Tangled Springs Studio in Huntsville. They were going to hear guitarist Joe Bonamassa at the Music Hall.  We also met another couple from Vegas and Orlando, whose job is to develop the tags people wear at conventions.  Interesting people and jobs and they let us taste their appetizer, tater tots fried in duck fat.   I had fish tacos, Evie home made chips and we were happy, along with a couple of beers.

Enjoying The Bar At Merchants

We then walked some, tried to get in Tootsies but Evie did not have an ID so we could not get in, the only place like that.  We stopped at the candy store, bought some turtles for late night snacks, and ended up at the Honky Tonk, which proved a great venue.  We sat at the bar for a couple of hours, drinking Long Necks, no yuppie micro brews here.  We of course met up with some young kids, gals working at Vanderbilt, a guy who lives in New Orleans.  He gave us the names of places to go, and the girls got Evie out on the floor to dance.  The band was really good, fun to listen to, playing lots of requests.  All they did is dial it up on their iPhones and they we able to get the lyrics.  It was not too busy when we got there  but by 9:30 when we left, is was starting to get packed.  I guess we should start later rather than earlier.

The Candy Store

Our Favorite Bar

The Band

We took a taxi home, got there around 10:00, in time to get lots of snacks for our trip tomorrow. We then watched some TV before going to bed, exhausted from a night of music, beer, food and dancing.