Day 4: Nashville (second day) and Memphis

Miles driven to-date: 1,442
States visited to-date: 8


We began the day bright and early with a trip to the Country Music Hall of Fame here in Nashville. The building is shaped like a giant piano:

The H of F contained many cool artifacts, costumes, platinum albums, and even Elvis’s solid gold piano and Cadillac (we learned that the car’s pearly sheen was achieved by mixing ground-up diamonds with fish scales . . . ). We left with a new appreciation for the history of this type of music, and I promptly created a country playlist on my iPod so we could soak up more of the genre in the car.

After the Hall of Fame, we wandered down Broadway again in search of some cowboy boots for me. I was hoping to find a “less nice” pair that would serve me well on Halloween and for the occasional theme party, but they were really expensive so I abandoned the quest. Maybe in Oklahoma City tomorrow . . . We then had some amazing bar-b-q at Jack’s, a suggestion posted by Steve’s Dad in the comments section of this blog last night (see how much influence you readers have on our itinerary?). It was a GREAT idea ~ we had smoked sausage with six different dipping sauces. My clothes still smell vaguely of bar-b-q and each time I get a whiff, I start drooling. Thanks for the suggestion!

We then drove over to the Grand Ole Opry which is a few miles outside of the city. Concerts are only held on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays so we just wandered around but could tell it would be a really fun place to see a show. They also had a great free museum there.

After leaving Nashville, we drove about three hours to Memphis where once again we’re staying in the thick of things downtown. We headed to Beale Street for dinner, drinks, and some blues music. We ate at BB King’s restaurant and enjoyed some great live music over dinner. We also tried the local “must have” dish of fried pickles, which were actually pretty good!

We then ventured to another bar to hear more blues, and we weren’t disappointed. The band playing there was incredible and even featured some dueling harmonicas. I bought another CD as a souvenir. It was yet another great day. Tomorrow, as Paul Simon would say, “I’m going to Graceland!”

Just like that other song says, I'm walking in Memphis, walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale . . .

Dueling harmonicas! The guy on the left was amazing.

Famous Beale Street at night.

Just wanted to mention that we may not have internet access tomorrow night (in Oklahoma City) or the next night (in Flagstaff, AZ) but please stay tuned over the weekend. Hope you are all well! We miss you!