Nashville

Caitlin and Darrin were awesome to host us on short notice. They are bicyclists and neither them own a car. Darrin has never owned a car. Last year they drove rode through quite a few of the southern states and couchsurfed along the way. That’s how they met Steve. They have a cute little house on the east side of Nashville which some say is not so great, but they have a lot of great things happening.

In the morning, Darrin made us eggs and toast for breakfast. Caitlin invited us to an advanced yoga class with her. Her friend Georgia picked us up and drove us to the studio. I think for an advanced class Lauren and I did fairly well. We both hesitated at the kick-arm-stands, but we held our own with the rest. After yoga we felt refreshed and ready to walk Nashville. Caitlin directed us to a coffee shop and we headed in town. We parked next to the Titans football stadium (because it was free) and walked across the pedestrian bridge into downtown Nashville. We walked along Broad Street which is lined with bars, boot shops, and tacky tourist traps. We saw more than two Elvis statues along the sidewalk.

While in Nashville, Steve, Lauren, and I noticed how in cowboy boots and skirts was. I would like to have a pair of cowboy boots, but I am not ready to dole out that much money and I think my muscular calves look odd sticking out the top of boots. That didn’t stop me from trying on a few pairs. If Lauren and I were interested in buying boots, a lot of places have them “buy one get one free.”

We also went to the Country Music Hall of Fame. The museum was very interesting and had quite an array of artifacts from guitars, costumes, posters, correspondences, audio and video clips – even Elvis’s gold Cadillac and a Hee Haw patch – Lauren’s favorite part. We learned how country music got started and about the artists who influenced country music. Most of these artists are the older ones – a very small part of the museum focuses on newer musicians (the ones I know). I like country music alright, but I don’t know much about old country – though I am better informed now. I think my favorite part was the ridiculous outfits that some of the stars used to wear on programs at the Grand Ole Opry – they were almost all designed by a guy named Nudie who lived in Hollywood.

After the Hall of Fame, we walked down the other side of Broad Street. We stopped at Hatch Printing that made and makes all the posters for the Grand Ole Opry shows as well as other posters for other events. Hatch Printing is an old fashioned printer – they use a printing press much like the original. I explained to Lauren how the people have to manually choose each letter, clamp it into a rack, and then ink it and print it. Each color has to be done separately and as another layer.

We walked uptown to Bicentennial Mall to walk around the farmer’s market and pick up some ginger for Caitlin and then south along the river to see Fort Nashborough – an original fort in Nashville. We walked back across the bridge to the car and drove to Centennial Park to see the Parthenon. At one time Nashville was described as the Athens of the South because of its great number of education centers. For the centennial, Nashville planned a huge exposition that included a lot of temporary buildings including the Parthenon – a full size recreation of the original in Athens Greece. I thought the Parthenon was a collection of columns with an open center but it actually has a building inside of the columns that was closed when we arrived. We decided that we would come back in the morning.

Next we headed to the deli that Caitlin works at. Lauren and I both picked out delicious sandwiches with some well known brand bacon that Caitlyn says people drive long distances to savor. I also enjoyed some jalapeño sweet potatoes. Caitlin insisted we go next door for fantastic homemade ice cream and indeed it was. Lauren I both ordered Red Velvet cake ice cream that was super delicious.

After partying with Steve for three nights in a row, we weren’t really feeling the Nashville night scene, but after Caitlin told us the bars were smoke free, we decided we had better at least go sample the night life because all the bars feature live musicians. It was totally worth it. While we were walking up Broad Street we passed an obviously famous person being hounded by fans and an ABC camera – we asked and it was Sam Owens – whoever that is. Some old man bellowed,”Who are you?” at him which made me laugh. We found the Charlie Daniels Museum in the back of gift shop chock full of memorabilia from Mr. Daniel’s extensive touring. We went in four or five bars, listened to a bunch of bands, and people watched – the best musicians were two groups from Australia at bar called ‘The Stage.’ After a bit of listening we headed home for bed.

For breakfast, Caitlin directed us to the Sweet 16 Bakery (on 16th street). We toured the market again only to find that there were really weren’t many vendors. We thought there would be more in the morning because the previous day we were sort of late in the afternoon. Then we went to the Parthenon. The bottom of the Parthenon is a museum with a little history of the Centennial Exposition about the making, remaking, and preserving of the Parthenon. It was only meant to be a temporary plaster structure, so when Nashville decided to keep it, it had to be remade and reinforced with concrete. Dominating the inside of the main layer of the Parthenon is 49 foot gilded figure of Athena. This is not a replica or copy but original drawings and writings were used to influence the sculptor of this figure. I think she was ugly, but it was still an impressive statue. Also inside is an art exhibit of American artists and casts of the original figures that decorate the two ends of the Parthenon. These figures are only partial because the heavy damage the Parthenon has sustained, but they were used as the basis for the figures across the Parthenon in Nashville. There was a miniature display of what is across the outside ends on the inside so that you could see it up close and see how the originals were used as a basis for the replica. Both Lauren and I really enjoyed this art museum and structure.

After the Parthenon, we headed north on 65 into Kentucky. We stopped at the visitor center to pick up some propaganda and found a brochure for a Duncan Hines exhibit at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. That was on the way to Mammoth Cave so we decided to stop. It took some finding, you know university campuses really only make sense to the students, but it was an excellent deal of museum. The museum cost five dollars and had exhibits on the history of Bowling Green, a fun exhibit on the history of the students of the university so silly photos of events, classes, trips, etc., an in-depth section on the civil war and slavery including a chance to try on hoop skirts and a colonial outfit and a Duncan Hines exhibit. Duncan Hines traveled a lot for business and in his Christmas cards he sent a little guide about the places he stayed and ate at that were quality. These became very popular and eventually Hines started books kind of like triple a books – that’s how he got started. Because Hines was seen as such a trustworthy person and he had built such a fan base, marketers contacted him to endorse ice cream first, and eventually cake mixes, grills, and all kinds of random things that Hines thought were quality. Neat.

We had picked up a brochure for Mammoth Caves and while we were driving Lauren had read through the tour options. The cool caving tours required over the ankle boots which I did not have with me. Our next expedition in Bowling Green was the 3 Goodwills drawn onto our map by the nice lady at the museum. We searched and searched and even went in a few other consignment shopping (Bowling Green is the mecca for bargain used clothes shopping). I purchased a fabulous pair of retro green snow boots that are about mid-calf for three dollars.

It was SOOOO hot while we were driving around that Lauren and I were dying. I told her we were going to get something cold to drink before we crossed the interstate. We saw a Sonic and I remembered from my Louisiana Days with Sunshine that they had good icy drinks. I thought it was too bad that it was only 339 because happy hour didn’t start till 4, but I was wrong! At Sonic happy hour is from 2 to 4, so we scored two giant icy drinks for 2.01! It was refreshing relief. We purchased gas and took off on the Duncan Hines Highway for Mammoth Cave National Park. The drive was scenic and through rolling farm land.

We arrived in the park and headed for the visitor center to get important info on what we should do while in the park. We decided on two cave tours, booked our tickets, drove over to the campground to get our campsite and set up the tent, and headed into town for dinner. Cave City is a sad little town. A lot of the businesses look run down and closed – even the tacky tourist destinations. We found a tiny grocery store and decided on a place for dinner – soup, salad, and baked sweet potatoes. I forgot to get yogurt at the grocery store, but our server let us know there was a Wal-Mart 10 miles up the road. Lauren and I both tried on 5 dollar skinny leg jeans (Oprah says no to tapered legs and I should listen) that actually looked good on Lauren. Lauren did find me a pair that were not skinny leg that were sparkly so I got a cheap pair. I forgot to bring a pair and I will need a pair for when we go horse back riding.

We made it back in time for the Ranger program on Honey Bees in the amphitheater. It was interesting and I learned more about the honey harvesting process. After the bee program we walked over to the hotel to steal internet (when I posted the epic blog yesterday). We left the hotel to get back to our tent. When we arrived, it was late so it was very quiet. We both slept soundly.

OK I am almost caught up. Today we went caving and it was neat! Tomorrow we are hiking a bit and heading to Lawrenceburg to meet Jan and start the Bourbon Trail.

PS I POSTED OTHER PHOTOS - CLICK ON THE FLASHING PHOTOS IN THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER