Belmont Terrace

Woke up at 8.30am & again decided to give breakfast a miss again.

Jackie had the bright idea for us to call in at AutoZone Auto Parts to seek advice on the damage to Doodle. It wasn’t great news, the damage of scratches & bits snapped off on the lower bumper were irreparable. Worst still, the guy who came out to look at our car noticed that the offside of the bumper was also cracked. Worse even still, we discovered that some c*#t had scratched an ‘M’ into the same bumper. We think it must have happened in Memphis & the motive for the mindless damage was that the car plates are from California. The verdict was that a new bumper would be required by the hire car company. Brilliant!

We drove on to the Casey Jones Museum & lots of other things. I always thought that Casey Jones was a fictional character, but no, he was John Luther Jones who died on his train ‘Old 382’ on the 30th April 1900. Our minds were more still thinking about the damage to our car & how best to deal with it, so we didn’t take too much in. I can say that the Museum included his house he lived in when he died, his train, a carriage on a pole, a motel & several shops & odds & sods.

Trying to put the damage to the back of our minds, we found our way to Ridgeway Cemetery still in Jackson, where the Mausoleum of Carl Perkins was situated. After a quick photo & a blast of Blue Suede Shoes on the car stereo, we were off & back on Interstate 40, Music 🎶 Highway.

We stopped for fuel & a MaccyD, then cruised on to Hurricane Mills, the Ranch belonging to that Coal Miner’s Daughter, Loretta Lynn. Her Ranch is enormous, it contains her family home, a Museum, a Chapel, a Shop & Cafe, a graveyard, a championship motorcycle cross course, an RV park & chalets. The grounds were very scenic, particularly with the river running through it.

We continued towards Nashville, with our soft top roof being put up & down several times due to the irrational weather. Our next stop was the Loveless Cafe & Motel & Shop etc that sold overpriced Jams & Hams & other gifts. We browsed, but didn’t buy.

Next on the trip, was the Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge. It was slightly underwhelming, probably because we only passed below it. We continued to a little town called Franklin, then joined the masses on Interstate 65 heading into Nashville.

At 4:30pm, we pulled up outside our hotel for the night, the Hilton Garden Inn on Broadway in Music Row, but so had seemed had everyone else. It was chaos, cars everywhere blocking the entrance to the car park. Jackie went in to reception, whilst I queued with the car. Eventually I got to the barrier only to discover I needed a bloody passcode, so I reversed back & abandoned the car & went in search of Jackie.

Half an hour later we were finally in our room & after uploading Jackie’s little Nutbush dance on Instagram, we went down to reception to catch the shuttle bus down town. This was also chaotic, so we set off down town on foot. It was possibly not the best time to visit Nashville, being the eve of the 4th of July!

We weren’t the only ones walking, there were streams of people, but soon we had arrived at the other end of Broadway. At the junction with 5th Avenue S, there was a huge stage set up & a band going through a sound & lights check. There were tv cameras everywhere getting set to record the concert. After enquires with both security guards & ticket touts (ELO were playing that night in the Bridgestone Arena), I only established that all the activity on & around the stage were preparations for tomorrow night. Surely a well-known band or artist were playing, but no-one seemed to know who. I have since googled it & it is Brett Eldredge, Mac McAnally, Jessy Wilson, Dylan Scott, Nashville Symphony & many others.

Broadway in Nashville is like, Beale Street in Memphis, bar after bar of neon lights & excellent live music. Better still, the Broadway bars didn’t require a cover charge!

Our first stop of the evening was Kid Rock’s Big Honky Tonk & Rock ‘n’ Roll Steakhouse. We went to the downstairs bar & purchased a beer & watched an excellent band playing at one end on an elevated stage. The band were playing cover versions of classic songs such as Mr. Jones, Piece of my Heart & Sweet Child O’ Mine. The music took a stranglehold on me & I could’ve stayed all night, but Jackie dragged me away for food.

We walked down toward the Cumberland River & found the quieter Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery. We had a pint each & a large portion of spicy wings to share. Apparently that was enough! From our seats, we could see across the river to the Nissan Stadium, which was open, I think to screen the Jamaica v USA football match.

After a ‘substantial’ meal, we wandered back & stopped at Nudie’s Honky Tonk, where another excellent band were playing under a Cadillac attached to the wall. As we approached the bar, a woman accosted me & asked if I was from the Bronx. “No, why?” “Because it’s on your T-shirt”. She was from the Bronx & wanted to know all about our trip, fortunately after a while her husband ushered her away.

We sat at the bar & listened to the band, but Jackie was getting itchy feet 🦶 & wanted to get nearer the band. Before I knew it Jackie was dancing with all the other tipsy women to foot-tappers such as Billie-Jean, Faith & 9 to 5. I might have accidentally recorded a small bit of it.

I extracted Jackie from the dance floor & headed further up Broadway. My final intended stop was Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, but the ‘Gary Glitter Lookalike Jobsworth’ doorman wouldn’t let Jackie in with her rucksack. We had seen signs saying that people may be refused entry to bars if they had anything other than small handbags. Now we appreciate the need for security & caution at such events, but Jackie’s rucksack is foldable & only contained her lipstick, perfume & cardigan!

We couldn’t be bothered to argue & as the venue was between swapping over bands we decided to call time on another great night. We had a very pleasant walk back to our hotel.

Song of the Day - Nashville Without You by Tim McGraw

Bonus Songs of the Day -

Casey Jones by Johnny Cash
Blue Suede Shoes by Carl Perkins
Coal Miner’s Daughter by Loretta Lynn
Loveless Cafe by 20 Minutes To Park
American Rock ‘n Roll by Kid RockLæs mere