East to West Trip Day 2

Today was another loooooong day but it was so great. After a restless night with not a lot of sleep, we got the complimentary breakfast and then headed over to the Girl Scout museum. It was teeny-tiny but had a few gems, like a sampler of the Promise (which we can still recite), examples of various uniforms and some that you could try on.

From there we headed out to Nashville, TN. We didn't have too specific of a plan but kind of knew some of the general things we wanted to do. One thing we did not want to do, however, was to pay $5 for 2 hrs of parking when we were only going to be downtown for maybe half an hour, so we pulled a "St. Louis Arch" and I drove around the block while Roni jumped out and took pictures of the Capitol. No dome, sadly. There were dedications to Andrew Jackson and Andrew Johnson, James K. Polk, and more.

Meanwhile, I was driving around the block, past Occupy Nashville, Printers Alley and the stadium where the Tennessee Titans play.

From there, we drove to the Parthenon. Yes, you heard that correctly. The Parthenon in Nashville is an exact-to-scale replica of the one in Athens. We didn't go inside but wandered about the outside. To me, the Parthenon is like the Angel of the North. It's weird, it's bizarre, it's unexplainable but yet, people still flock to see it. Who knows why but that's the way it is.

Because we wanted to see some Civil War things, we headed over to Fort Negley, where the Battle of Nashville was fought. We saw a short video about the fort and then headed up to wander around. It would have been nice to see the views of Nashville but there were a whole bunch of trees in the way. The fort was built up on a hill and had three different levels, as well as uneven, almost star-shaped borders, which made it a lot easier to defend.

From Fort Negley, we headed up a short hike to Shy's Hill, where the Battle of Nashville was also fought. It was beautiful up at the top of the hill, but again, so hard to see the various views because of the trees. There was an old Napoleon cannon up there as well as a Minnesota State flag. We don't know why that was there and still haven't figured it out...

Finally, we went to Traveller's Rest, one of the oldest historical homes in Tennessee. It was built by John Overton in 1798, two years after Tennessee became a state. It was actually built on a Mississippi Indian burial ground and was originally called Golgotha. We were the only two on the tour- the guide showed us through the house, pointed out the original artifacts still there, including a pair of glasses, several couches and sets of chairs and all the books in the shelf. The house was also important for the Civil War because it became the headquarters of the Confederacy in 1864 while the weather was being bi-polar. However, nobody in the house ended up dying, which was pretty remarkable as far as civil War houses go. Unfortunately, you couldn't take pictures inside, but I got some shots of the house, as well as the slaughterhouse, the weaving shed and the herb garden.

Then we began the long drive out to Memphis, most of it with the sun on our eyes. We listened to Phantom of the Opera and Love Never Dies on the way, which helped us pass the time a lot quicker. Our motel in Memphis was only two blocks away from Beale Street, the home of the Blues. It was bustling and busy with a lot of lights, music and packed with people. We got dinner, some delicious pulled-pork sandwiches and beer, at a place called Club 152 which had a live singer inside the bar area. He was great- singing OldCrow Medicine Show, Oasis, Rambling Man, Train, and more. The atmosphere was vibrant and the opportunity for people watching was ripe.

Tomorrow, the plan is to wander around Memphis, going back to Beale Street and the hotel where MLK was assassinated, as well as a few more neighborhoods. Then it will be off to Little Rock to see Central High School, the state capitol, the Clinton house, and then another long drive out to Dallas for the night. See you on the flip-side!