Day 19, Nashville, TN to Memphis, TN 212 Miles

Greetings my favorite Blogeees,

   This morning we returned our rental van and had the "free" breakfast at our Holiday Inn Express. We loaded up the bikes and departed Nashville for Memphis, TN. We had a nice morning ride under clear skies and arrived in Memphis before noon. We checked into the Springhill Suites hotel and parked in the designated motorcycle parking indicated by the hotel staff. It seemed an unlikely place in a parkway between two hotels, but that is where they told us to park. As we were unpacking we were advised that the Sheriff was downstairs preparing to cite our bikes for illegal parking.  Apparently, the city is fighting with the hotel over parking rights. Not wanting to get caught in the middle we moved.

   After settling in, we walked about a mile in 95 degree heat and 96 percent humidity to Gus's World Famous Chicken on Front Street. After a twenty minute wait we enjoyed some of the best fried chicken ever! If you visit Memphis, you might not see Graceland, but don't miss Gus's Chicken, it's outstanding.

   We discussed visiting Graceland, but most of us have already seen it and the remainder were not willing to get back on the bikes in the heat and humidity. After a leisurely afternoon in the hotel, we opted for an evening walk to Beale Street, which is blocked off to facilitate strolling down the middle of the street, beer in hand. The drinking establishments rock with blues music blaring onto the street, and adult beverages are available at walk-up windows along the route. The street is replete with blues clubs with hawkers on the sidewalk trying to entice you in. Probably the best blues we heard on the street was Big Sam's Band set up on the sidewalk between two clubs. Beale Street in Memphis is not unlike Bourbon Street in New Orleans, just shorter but just as dirty, yuch!

   After walking the length of the street two or three times looking for the perfect eating spot and not finding it we opted for a corner restaurant of which no one remembers the name. Guess it was not that memorable. We had an alright supper there but nothing to brag about.

Tomorrow we're off to Joplin, MO, to visit Lane's Step-daughter Amanda and her husband Will and to see the devastation wrought by the recent tornado. Stay tuned.

John and the Usual Suspects.

Day 18 Nashville,TN, All Day

Greetings again my friends,

   Another leisurely day in Nashville, Tennessee, and another opportunity to sleep in. I could get used to this kind of traveling. Today we took care of some housekeeping chores and eventually wandered downtown, some ten minutes from our hotel, for lunch at Ribbys, known locally for their BBQ ribs. We sat at their upstairs outdoor covered patio just as it began to rain and thunder. Did I say thunder, I mean THUNDER! It was the kind that shakes the ground and sends small children screaming for their mothers. We rated the ribs at Ribbys, thumbs up, very good, but watch out for the "hot" BBQ sauce. It's fire, burn your tonsils, throat, stomach, colon and exhaust pipe, hot. 

    After lunch we returned to our hotel. We spent the next hour repairing Steve's motorcycle, which necessitated my second shower of the day due to the heat and humidity in the unventilated parking structure.  We then made plans for the evening. Bob, Bill, Steve, Tim and Sylvia opted for a 7:30 show, a tribute to Patsy Cline at the Ryman Auditorium. Lane and I opted to slum around town checking out the local sights, eateries and honkey tonk music and drinking establishments.

   Lane's and my first stop was the Sheraton, previously Crown Plaza, Hotel's roof-top restaurant that rotates 360 degrees every hour providing a panoramic view of the city, only to find that the Sheraton closed it five years ago. Bummer. So, we opted for the Riverfront Brewery for supper where we split a salad and a pizza. They were okay. Coincidentally, and unbeknown to us, the rest of our party ate there before their show as well. We just missed them.

   Later, Lane and I wandered up and down Broadway and Second Avenue, the two main entertainment streets in Nashville. One sign caught my attention, Smokers Welcome. You will never see that sign in California.

   We tried to poke our heads into Tootsies, one of the two most famous places to be discovered in  town, but the Sunday night crowd and seating would not accommodate two more butts. So, we ducked in next door at Legends on the Corner, the second most popular "discover me" honky tonk where some good country tunes were spilling out of the front door onto the sidewalk in front. These two clubs have a similar practice. Bands and singers actually pay the establishment to play there in lieu of the club paying the entertainer. Apparently, it's a privilege. We left Legends about 11:00 p.m. just as another band was starting to play for the remainder of Sunday night. It's a late-night town, seven days a week.

   Our companions said they really enjoyed their show and if you closed your eyes you would swear that Patsy Cline was actually singing. Tim commented what a great acoustic venue the Ryman Auditorium was.

Tomorrow we're off to Memphis, TN. So, please hang in there with us.

John and the Usual Suspects.

 

Day 17 Nashville, TN, All Day

 

Greetings friends,

   I cannot tell you how nice it is to sleep in while on a road trip, especialy as a light rain is falling, which it was. We decided today that we would rent a van and drive the 60 miles south to Lynchburg, TN, home of Jack Daniels Whiskey, for a tour. Some of us are inclined to sip the grain on occasion. And Jack only imports the best grain. Then, in the evening we would take in the Grand Ole Opry.

   Just as we got the van the sky cleared and we never saw another drop of rain all day. Oh well, at least it will be easy to stay together today. Our first stop was Boswell Harley-Davidson to pick up a new engine guard for Steve's bike. Boswell's is unique in that it features a diner in the store. Before we could make good our escape from Boswell's some T-shirt purchases were also made. Speaking of Harley shopping, everytime we stop at a dealer Lane asks if they have dealer specific charms for his wife Bonnie's charm bracelet. Frequently they do. He's amassing a good collection. Bonnie is going to have to re-up her gym membership to support the weight of her bracelet or get a sling. I've finally figured out the Harley T-shirt shopping formula; it's incredably simple. One T-shirt shopping spree equals one stop at the post office to mail home T-shirts. Why didn't I realize that sooner?

   We took the Interstate south to Murfreeboro and then took a two lane through the gently rolling green hills of middle Tennessee to Shelbyville and on to Lynchburg. The Jack Daniels distillery has a beautiful facility and showroom on the outskirts of quaint Lynchburg. We signed up for the free one hour walking tour. Our tour guide, David, called our tour group and off we went. David was the perfect image of a whiskey distillery guide. If you looked up "Good Ole Boy" in the dictionary you would probably find a picture of David, short, overweight, bib overalls, full beard, ball cap, a strong Tennessee accent and a dry sense of humor. David volunteers there, he is a professional chili judge by profession, and it shows

   One of the most interesting things about the Jack Daniels distillery, founded in 1866 by Jack himself, is that it is located in a dry county, where alcohol sales are prohibited. However, in 1995 they received special dispensation to offer bottled sales of the product at the facility. No samples, free or otherwise, were available on site, but David suggested at certain times during the tour that we inhale deeply and enjoy. David described the entire distilling and bottling process and the three main products, Old No. 7, their staple, Gentleman Jack, twice filtered through 14 feet of charcoal made on site, and Single Barrel. It's the top of the line personally selected by the head distiller. The whiskey is stored in American Oak barrels, also made on site, for approximately four years, or until the distiller decides it's just right by sampling, before bottling. Only the wood for the barrels and charcoal is locally grown. The water comes from a spring cave on site. All of the grains used in making the whiskey comes from the midwest. You can buy a full barrel, approximately 244 bottles for $9,000 to $12,000 depending on our state's tax rate, if you are so inclined.

   Following our tour, we drove back to Nashville just in time to connect with our transportation to the Grand Ol Opry for an evening performance. Regrettably, no current country western stars were performing, but it was an interesting walk down memory lane with some old Opry standards including Jim Ed Brown, Little Jimmy Dickins, who is 90 years old and still performing and telling jokes, and Connie Smith plus some new young talent hoping to make it big in Nashville. Overall, it was nice evening of entertainment.

   Our bus driver got us back to town lickety split about 10:00 p.m., but we had not yet had supper. So, we walked a few blocks to the corner White Castle burger joint for a brief repast. If you are not familiar with White Castle "sliders'" they are small (3" square) hamburgers with grilled onions, some with cheese, that sell for about a buck apiece and are guaranteed to sit inert in the bottom of your stomach for the remainder of the night. In the morning . . . well, I don't want to get too descriptive, but you probably get the idea. Some folks call them "gut bombs" for obvious reasons.

John and the Usual Suspects

Day 16, Knoxville, TN, to Nashville, TN 320 Miles

Welcome back friends,

   Today we were hoping for continued good weather as we departed Knoxville, TN, under sunny skies for the dreaded Tail of the Dragon ride in North Carolina on Highway 129. As you may have read, the Dragon incorporates 311 tight curves in only eleven miles over a mountain in Deal's Gap, NC. As we approached the Dragon, the sky began to cloud over and the temperature dropped.

   At the north end of the Dragon we pulled into the US 129 Harley-Davidson store for the obligatory T-shirts. Before we could even complete a purchase the sky opened up and soaked our bikes, helmets and gloves with a tremendous downpour with lightening and huge claps of thunder shaking the entire building. Great, not only are we going to ride the most dangerous highway on our entire 6,000 mile trip, we're going to do it in a thunderstorm with limited visibility.

  There was no point in waiting any longer, so we shoved off in the rain for the Dragon, seven miles down the road. Entering the first curve, with only 310 remaining, we slowed for red and blue flashing lights of police cars and an ambulance. A red Honda Goldwing motorcycle was lying in the ditch and the rider was being lifted out on a back board by paramedics toward the waiting ambulance. It was not a good omen or the way we wanted to start the Dragon. We motored on. Actually, absent two idiots on sport bikes who passed us on a curve in the rain, it wasn't unlike some California canyon roads at home. But, the rain made it challenging so we just took it slowly and made the eleven miles without any real difficulty.

   The difficulty began after we completed the Tail of the Dragon. As we entered a small town, traffic ahead stopped. Apparently Steve didn't see the slowdown. When he did, he hit his breaks on the wet pavement and his HD Deluxe slid out from under him depositing him on the street as the bike slid to a stop on it's left side. Steve suffered some abbrasions to his left arm. His rainsuit did not fair as well. It's now well ventilated. His engine guard, left passing lamp and freeway peg were all damaged.

   A young man, Storm Moose, (I don't make these things up) driving with his grandmother saw the accident and wanted to stop but his grandmother insisted on driving home. Undaunted, Storm grabbed his bicycle and rode back to the scene of the accident in the rain to check on Steve. How many young men do you know today who would have done that? Thank you Storm, you are our local hero!

   Coming out of the Dragon we parallelled a river for several miles with dozens of white water rafters floating downstream in the rain.  No one seed to mind.  They were having a great time and so were we.

   Some 300 slow winding miles later, we intercepted Interstate 75 into Chattanooga, TN, just in time for the afternoon commute. It took us over 30 minutes to get through Chattanooga and transition onto Interstate 24 to Nashville, TN. Leaving Chattanooga it was clear sailing to Nashville under partly cloudy skies. After checking into our hotel, we all walked downtown past the numerous honky tonks on Broadway. We enjoyed a late super at Jack's BBQ, reportedly the best BBQ in Nashville, and went to bed with full, happy tummies. Tomorrow, we'll be in Nashville all day, no riding.

It's all right here in the dairies my friends, mostly true, most of the time.

John and the Usual Suspects.