Day 1: Go West, Young Woman

Madison graduated from college (ahhh!!!) and, just like one of her idols, Walt Disney, she’s heading to LA with “a suitcase and a dream.” Plus a car full of stuff and a six month internship.

She needs a car in LA, since to be without “is like having your legs cut off,” to quote Joe Gillis. We thought briefly (very briefly) about shipping her car, but with all her stuff, too, we ultimately decided to just make the drive.

This is our THIRD time driving across the country, but our first time where the goal is just to get there. And in less than a week. I plotted it out multiple ways, but we finally decided to just break it up into four equal 9-10 hour days. The challenge is that the further west you go, the smaller the towns. And further apart. The easy part is that we just get on I-40 and keep driving to the end.

We left this morning about 9:30. We’d considered leaving earlier, but I didn’t want to rush out in a panic and likely forget something. For that reason, departure went very smoothly.

Marsha and I are both working in the car to conserve vacation days for when we get there and go apartment hunting. We look a bit like the Beverly Hillbillies (and heading to the same location, no less!) with so much crammed in the car.

We’re also taking turns driving, so that makes it more of a challenge to work. Day 1 went well, but I suspect we’ll have to take a half day or two when we get out West and the cell service isn’t as good.

The drive itself went well today. We drove in a monsoon through Nashville and lost some time having to slow down. Plus there was the Nashville traffic. But I managed to keep up with every time the highway split off (chock that one up to experience) and was glad.

We made it to Memphis around 7:30 and had dinner at Rondezvous, which is famous for its dry rub ribs. And I do not exaggerate on the famous part. They told us people driving down 40 pull off to eat there (we did) and I think there was a bus load leaving when we did, too. We’d eaten there many years ago on a previous trip to Memphis and just had to go back!

Afterwards, we walked down to Beale Street for just a minute. They had it blocked off for a car show. It reminds me a lot of Broadway in Nashville. Then we strolled through the lobby of the Peabody. Too late to see the ducks, but that is one beautiful hotel!

And we were stunned to see a giant, life-size pyramid which is actually a Bass Pro Shop! Marsha had to look that one up. We were tempted to stop just out of curiosity, but it was getting late and we have another long day in the car tomorrow!

Day 4: The Parthenon

Our final stop in Nashville was the Parthenon, which is both an historic building and an art museum. The Parthenon had been on our list for some time and we finally made it. I'd been there once before on a Father's Day trip with my Dad, but it was closed the day we went, so we'd only toured the outside. This was our first time going inside.

It's a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. It was originally built in 1897 (along with a host of other buildings) for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Nashville was known as the "Athens of the South," which is why they copied the real Athens' most famous structure. Madison remembered reading that it was used in filming Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

Like most structures built for grand expos, the buildings (including the Parthenon) were only meant to be temporary. So everything else was torn down, except for one other building, which was moved to nearby Franklin. After a few decades, though the Parthenon was looking rather shabby. By 1925, it was in such bad shape that the city either had to tear it down or restore it to a permanent structure. Luckily, they decided to restore it.

I really wanted to learn more about the building and was not disappointed. Despite the giant doors on the main level (which were open, but covered with glass), you enter through a tiny set of doors into the basement level. The front halls tell the history of the building with a fantastic collection of photos of the Expo. In addition to the Parthenon, the other major attraction was a giant see-saw. There weren't too many photos of it, but there were plenty of photos taken from it, which provided an excellent aerial view of the expo grounds.

The back part of the basement is a small art museum. The collection of paintings were anonymously donated to the city by James M. Cowan on the condition that they not reveal his identity until after he had died.

Upstairs you enter the replica itself, which is divided into two rooms. The smaller room contains pieces of marble statues and the enormous bronze (and glass-covered) doors that look out onto Centennial Park.

The larger room, however, contains the main attraction: a giant, 42-foot high statue of Athena surrounded by columns. This reproduction (again) wasn't added until 1990, and is the "largest indoor sculpture in the western world." She is fully painted and her clothing and more are covered in gold leaf. It's quite a sight to behold and was the perfect ending to our trip to Nashville.

Day 3.2: The Hermitage

We'd wanted to do a couple of historic sites while we were in Nashville, such as Belle Meade Plantation and The Hermitage, but ended up only having time for one (and we had to rush that one a bit).

The Hermitage was the estate of President Andrew Jackson, aka "Old Hickory." On our way there, Madison recounted a story she'd learned in history class where Jackson had gotten into a duel with a man, Charles Dickinson, who'd insulted his wife, Rachel. Jackson took the bullet and then killed Dickinson.

Our first stop was the Vistor's Center, which we actually skipped since it was open later than the house. When we arrived, there was a tour guide telling the exact same story of the duel that Madison had told us in the car.

The house was very nice and roomy. Like most historic homes, they wouldn't let us take pictures inside. Also, the original house was much smaller and had been remodeled a couple of times during Jackson's lifetime. From there the tour led back outside to the outer buildings, such as the kitchen, food storage, and more.

Just past the house was one of the slaves' quarters. But further back was a one-story building that had actually housed slaves, still standing, the he'd given to his slaves. Jackson had converted it from a two-story log cabin where he and his family had lived while the main house was being built.

Much of the estate had been a cotton farm; hence the need for slaves. While Jackson seemed to treat his slaves well, he didn't have any problem with slavery itself. Unlike Washington and Jefferson, who'd clearly struggled with it. That was the first thing that gave us mixed feelings about him.

The property us still quite large. To the back is a small stream and an old well that was a favorite spot of Rachel. We could certainly understand. It was quite peaceful there and the wooded trails made you want to explore.

Jackson and Rachel are both buried near the house, in a small graveyard in the garden that she loved. She died several years before him; though, they're both buried together under a domed monument.

Our last stop was the Visitor's Center, where we got to learn more about the man himself. On the one hand, there was much to be admired and with which to sympathize. His whole family had died by the time he was thirteen. He managed to educate himself, become a lawyer, a devoted husband, and eventually President of the United States. Born a common man, he remained a champion of the poor man.

But he had no regards for the rights of women, Native Americans, or African Americans. He had no problem at all with slavery and, as President, violated the treaty with Native Americans and put them on the infamous Trail of Tears.

They tried to put a positive spin on it, saying that while what he did was wrong, his ideals for poor, white men were right when applied to others. It was a reach, but I couldn't blame them for trying. 

As I said, it all added up to a lot of mixed feelings.

Day 2: Plenty of Love for the Loveless

Today was an awesome, relaxing, scattershot, and all-around fun day. We got up late and toured some more of the hotel, especially Delta. Despite my photos from the previous post, this was actually our first time seeing it in daylight.

John suggested that we drive out to Loveless Cade, which thrilled me to no end. I'd hoped to go there during our summer trip, but we ended up going to The Pharmacy instead (fair trade-off, to be sure). We hoped it wouldn't be too crowded, but no such luck. This was New Year's weekend, after all.

The Loveless was originally a motel (the original sign still says so). The motel rooms have all been converted into quaint little shops. Between those and the two gift shops, there's plenty to look around. I nearly bought a shirt, but didn't find one I liked. I did buy some bacon-flavored popcorn (interesting) and some buscuit mix and preserves to take home. Looking forward to making some biscuits of my own.

After an hour wait (which wasn't too bad), we finally got a table. Luckily, the service was quick and the food was good. Especially the biscuits, of course. They're smaller than typical Southern biscuits, but melt in your mouth. Good old southern cooking.

Our original plan was to go to the Parthenon, but since we were nearby, John wanted to take us to McKay, a used books games, movies and more warehouse. We'd been to a couple of Edward McKay's (to which John thinks this is loosely related), but those are tiny compared to this place. It was GINOURMOUS! We ended up spending too much time and money there (Madison was the big spender), so when we finally left, it was too late to go to the Parthenon.

We had dinner at Tin Angel, further proof that Nashville does actually have some fantastic restaurants. There's just none near Opryland. The food was excellent and the atmosphere perfect. I'd go back in a heartbeat. John says this is now his new favorite restaurant besides Bobby Flay's Bar Americain in New York City. Lucky him. It's a lot closer.

After dinner, John gave us a real treat. Something his new girlfriend, Katie, had shown him. We drove to the top of Love Park, near Vanderbilt, perhaps the highest point in Nashville. It has the most incredible view of downtown after dark. Just amazing! And the perfect way to end our evening out.

Afterwards, we drove downtown to see what was going on. As expected, it was busy and crowded. So, we dropped John off and headed back to hotel. Before we went in, we made sure to stop and see the large Natvity outside the hotel, which was up for it's very last night. Just beautiful, and the perfect way to end our evening out.

Happy New Year!

Day 1: New Year in Nashville

For the New Year holiday, we decided to head back to Nashville to spend it with John. Now that we've been there a few times (and John lives there), we're starting to get the feel of Nashville from the local perspective, which makes us appreciate it even more. Of course, because our previous trips there have been so short, we still have plenty of touristy things still to do.

We decided to stay at the Gaylord again. It was an easy choice, actually, since it wasn't as expensive as we thought it would be.

We stopped in Asheville along the way to finally see the Gingerbread Houses at the Grove Park Inn. It was almost the very last day. We usually get there earlier, but it just didn't work out. I was worried for a while that we might not make it at all. Some of them had already collapsed.

I was stunned at how many fewer entries this year. A good half as many as they usually have. I've toyed with the idea of entering myself a few times; this would have been a good year to do it. As usual, I saw lots of entries where I said, "I could do better then that." Then several where I said, "There's no way I could do that." Very impressive work. We were surprised though, that some of the more impressive ones we saw didn't even make it into the Top 10.

Got to Nashville at a reasonable hour and checked into Gaylord. Unfortunately, we were placed next to some very noisy neighbors, who were already getting a head start on celebrating. Luckily, though, the hotel was able to move us from Cascades to Magnolia. It was great finally getting to see more of the hotel in daylight, especially the Delta section, which is easily our favorite part (and the most Disney-like).

John joined us for dinner. Long waits at the two most popular, Jack Daniels and Findlay's Irish Pub. Ended up at STAX build your own burger (you don't actually build it; you give them a checklist and they build it for you). Burgers seem to be the theme this week: we have two others on the list, including a return trip to The Pharmacy, which we discovered at the end of our road trip this summer.

After dinner, we did the boat ride again, which was just as much fun. This was John's first trip to the Gaylord, and he also remarked at how much it was like being in Disney World. It's already become our go-to hotel in Nashville.

Day 15: Lost in Opryland

Last day before we head home. After two-plus weeks and everything we've done, it feels like we've been gone forever.

We enjoyed dinner at the hotel restaurant/bar so much, we went back for the breakfast buffet, which was also pretty good. Then we drove by the Arch again, trying to get a better photo (which you can see on yesterday's post). Finally, it was time to hit the road. Only one goal for the day: drive to Nashville.

We got on the highway and immediately crossed back into Illinois. Feels like we're coming full circle, since we'd already passed through there two weeks ago at the very start of the trip.

We hadn't been on the highway very long before we got stuck in yet another traffic jam for 45 minutes. I have a theory about traffic jams (one that would be sorely tested today, but in the end still held true). It's like that scene in The World According to Garp where Garp buys the house after the plane hits it because its been "pre-disastered," with the odds against another one. In the end, we went through road construction four times today, but only the first one slowed us down.

Eventually, we got back underway through Illinois farm country. Again. If there's one thing we've seen more of than road construction, it's farmland. Saw lots of corn, as expected, but not a single bale of hay. So now I have no idea where Illinois stands on the whole small rectangle vs. large roll debate. That all changed, though, when we crossed into Kentucky, which was all large rolls all the way.

Halfway through Illinois, the thought occurred to me that we might pass through Metropolis, and sure enough we did. We had come full circle once again, since we had stopped by the Superman house on our very first day.

Gary, Indiana, and even Marceline to a degree, could learn a thing or two from Metropolis. By sheer luck of the draw, the name of their little town is most-closely associated with Superman, and they've embraced it whole hog. In addition to the giant Superman statue in front of the courthouse and official recognition by DC Comics, they also host an annual Superman celebration.

We'd visited the tiny hamlet of Metropolis a few years ago and I was anxious to see if it had changed any. Previously, it was was a little run-down (except for the statue). The Super Museum even more so. I was thrilled to see that things were much improved. 

The Super Museum has been repainted, the street lights all have hanging planters with fresh flowers (can you beat that?), and they even installed a tourist information booth next to the statue.

What's more, the outside of the booth answered my biggest question: whether or not the Lois Lane statue honoring the "First Lady of Metropolis," Noel Neill, had been installed. Sure enough, it had. Just a few blocks from Superman.

We were also surprised to see that the little town is growing. They've added a new hotel and new fast food options since we were there last. The annual Superman Celebration is clearly paying off. 

From there it was just a short drive past one of my favorite-named towns, 

Paducah, KY (which has an awesome movie theater, by the way), on our way to Music City.

We got there around 6:00 and checked into the Gaylord Opryland, which we'd only really seen from across the parking lot at the Grand Ole Opry. Now, we knew this place was big, but like Yellowstone, we weren't quite prepared for just how big. I started to get an idea when they gave me a map of the inside of the hotel.

We had plans to meet my old friend, Hal, and his daughter, Claire, for dinner. So, it was off to the room real quick to drop off our suitcase (just one -- we'd wisely consolidated since we only had one leg left to go) and freshen up. You know those freaky horror movies where someone is running down a long hall and the further they go, the longer the hall gets? Yep, that's what it was like going to our room.

The one thing that really puzzles us is how they manage to fill all those rooms, especially without a casino. There's so many restaurants inside and things to do, you could spend a week in there without ever going out. I mean, the Opry is popular, but it doesn't hold that many people.

Hal picked us up in the Magnolia section, which was clear on other side of the hotel. We actually got a little lost trying to find our way there. Later that night after dinner, I had to go back to the room for a few minutes, and really did get lost. Even tried to put my key in the wrong door. Luckily, an employee helped me get back on track.

Hal took us near downtown to The Pharmacy Burger Parlor and Beer Garden, one of the best new restaurants in Nashville with award-winning burgers. It was really crowded, so we had to wait just a bit, but surprisingly it was only 30 minutes, just like they said. They have a really cool automated system where you input your cell number and it calls you when your table is ready. That was awesome. The food was fantastic and the service was quick. Can't beat that. And can't wait to go back.

Afterwards, Hal took us on a quick tour of downtown, past Broadway (the main drag, not to be confused with the one in NYC), Music Row where all the producers' offices are, and the absolutely ginormous brand new convention center. This place is so unbelievably huge (shades of Gaylord), a street runs underneath it.

From there it was back to the hotel to explore. It's like the Bellagio with the layout of Caesar's Palace or even Wall Drug (confused). In fact, it's the biggest hotel in the US without a casino. As I said, this place is unbelievably ginormous. Imagine Disney World with a roof.

There's actually several attractions inside with DreamWorks characters. Marsha had her heart set on the narrated boat ride around Delta section, and luckily it was still open despite the website and hotel information telling us it wouldn't be.

The Delta section is actually filled with all live plants. At first we thought they were fake until our boat captain told us otherwise and showed us the banana trees growing fruit. Since it was night, it was too dark to get a decent picture, though. We'll have to go back in the daytime on our next trip. Walking around there made me think of being in Disney World at night. I couldn't help but think about how cool (literally) it would be if the park had a roof and was completely air-conditioned.

All in all, it was pretty magical and the perfect place to end our trip. Tomorrow, the final trek home.