Day 2 – Nashville, TN

Today we had tickets to visit the Grand Ole Opry House for their first tour at 10am.

Once we went into the building we got to go by some of the dressing rooms. Each of them have a different theme and she talked about the different starts who had used the rooms we saw and told us some of the history.

Then you head out to the main stage. It’s really an awe moment and you feel like star when you walk out there. I even got a little butterfly in my tummy. Then you get to take pictures on the famous circle. 

After our tour we headed to Jack’s Bar-B-Que on Broadway Street. I don’t suggest dilly dalling in line the lady keeps the line moving and there’s not a lot of room to stand around and look the menu over so best to review the menu online before you go. We ordered a Combo Plate $13.99, which included 3 meat, we picked ribs, brisket and pork shoulder. We also just asked for water, but you get charged 50 cents so if you have a water bottle just request no drink. We had 3 sauces to choose from, but I forgot which one we liked best, I think it was the Kansas City Style. We also got Cole Slaw and Baked Beans as the choice of 2 sides. Personally the best thing was the beans.

After eating we walked around on Broadway and took some pictures of all the bar signs.

Since we had some extra time before our next tour we stopped in Broadway Brewhouse. I had Yazoo Hop Project out of Nashville, TN $5.75 and D had Star Hill “The Love” out of Charlottesville, VA $4.75. The atmosphere was really good and I would recommend stopping in. They also serve food if you’re hungry.

On our way to the Country Music Hall of Fame tour we walked through the Walk of Fame Park, it’s sort of like the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Country Music Hall of Fame and RCA Studio B Tour, Site Visit and Audio Tour $33 per person

 

Our tour guide, while a very nice lady, was a total space case. RCA Studio B is located on downtown's famed "Music Row" so you’ll have to get on the shuttle bus that takes you over there. The recording studio which is Nashville's oldest was built in 1957 and reopened as part of the museum in 1977. Many of country's biggest stars, including Elvis Presley (who cut 150 tracks there), Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Lee Ann Rimes, recorded more than 1,000 top 10 hits in the studio. Today, Belmont University uses the facility to teach future recording engineers, musicians and singing stars the fine art of making music. We where lucky enough to go into the recording space and listen to some tracks of what it sounded like while Elvis was recording. Honestly it was neat, but all we did was listen to a lot of music the whole time. I liked being able to sit at the same piano used in many recordings.

When the shuttle bus dropped us back at the Country Music Hall of Fame we moved on to our audio tour, which is at your own pace. I was amazed at all the records lining all the hall ways and 3 story wall area. It’s neat, but there’s a lot of reading while listening to the audio tour.

 

We where parked near the Ryman Auditorium, but we didn’t have time to do a tour of it. It’ll be on our list for next time.

Once we got back to the car we went to scope out the best places to be later that evening for some night shots. The Bicentennial Capitol Mass State Park is a pretty neat place and has a nice view of the Capital.

We also went by The Parthenon. We had been to the real one in Rome, but it was neat seeing a scaled down version. The recently renovated building now serves as Nashville's city art museum and features two galleries exhibiting American art from the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as temporary shows and exhibits. In addition to the artwork, the building also houses a 41-foot-tall statue of the Greek goddess Athena, sculpted by Tennessee artist Alan LeQuire in 1990.

For dinner we had reservations at a place a friend recommended The Standard. First off the place is a little tricky to find because they list 2 addresses on their website. We dined in the back upstairs area which was pretty, but it was way too dark. The night we where there they had a lady singing songs with a guitar player. I swear she sounded just like Norah Jones!

We ordered the MacMurray Ranch wine by the glass at $10 glass, Crab Bisque $7, The Standard Steak $32 (7oz filet with red wine demi-glace, mashed potatoes and asparagus), Smith House Chopped Salad $8, Grilled Bone-in Cowboy Ribeye $35 (with Henry Baine sauce and herb roasted fingerling potatoes), Four Cheese Macaroni $5. Well, we’ve had better the meal was ok, I just wouldn’t go back. I did like the seasoning on the butter so I’ll be stealing that idea for my next dinner party.

After dinner we went back to the Capital to take some night shots which where some of my favorites from the trip.

Day 1 – Lynchburg, TN & Nashville, TN

Our flight landed an hour late due to weather so we have to get in our rental car and book it from Nashville to Lynchburg. We had 1:00pm reservations at Miss Bobo’s Boarding House. There’s only 2 available times (11am and 1pm, there’s also a 3pm on the weekends) and if you miss it you miss it so we tried as hard as we could to get there on time. Turns out we where a little over 40 minutes late so we didn’t get to sit with our other table mates to eat because it’s all done family style and they where on dessert.

The kind girls there where sweet to make us a plate and said they would refill anything we needed. We did have to sit in a separate room that they weren’t using, but it all worked out in the end. The cost it about $20 a person, but it’s well worth it. The food is really good and you get to learn about all the history. The menu does change so you might not get the same thing we did. We had fried chicken, black eyed peas, cream of corn, fried okra, broccoli casserole, corn muffins, buttermilk pie and Jack Daniel’s candied apples.

After we stuffed ourselves we headed over to Jack Daniel’s to take a tour of the distillery which was something D was really looking forward to. He also just became a Squire so we got the visit the secret room. You can’t take any pictures in the buildings on the tour, but you can of the outside part. The tour is pretty neat if you are in the area be sure to check it out, they are 9am-4:30pm and last about 1hr 15mins. It’s also free. Since they are in a dry county you won’t be able to drink any, but you can join the $10 tasting tour or buy a “collectable” bottle of liquor there.

We stayed at the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville. I had found a good deal on Groupon. While the hotel seemed nice and the rate was good, we where on the 9th floor out of 10. Normally that’s a good thing, but beware the 10th floor is the ballroom floor and if there’s a party going on they will last till midnight. We thought it was a club or something and not knowing complained to the front desk which just laughed at us on the floor then 10 minutes later called back and asked if we wanted to switch rooms. Since it was late we just stayed where we where. This is also a hotel where traveling school groups stayed so there where a ton of large groups of kids.

I though the area was ok until we ventured out to the nearest liquor store which I don’t recommend! I’ve never felt so unsafe in my life. You walk in and you are in a tiny area surrounded by bullet proof glass with a man and all the liquor behind it. I don’t suggest venturing out into the neighbor hood around the hotel just stick to the main street in front of the hotel.

Our room view:

View from the elevator of Nashville: