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.
Wish I was there, Pops! On a side note, I've payed to play many times in Hollywood. No, not that kind of "playing", music clubs.
ReplyDeleteJR.