Sunday, July 7
Knoxville to Nashville
We packed up and could leave Tammy’s house at about 10 am. We were both excited to get back on the road. I drove this time as we expected the drive out to be a little harrowing and some possible big mountains on our way to Nashville. It ended up not being as bad as we thought it might be.
Two Rivers RV Park
When we arrived at our campground, they told me they were not expecting me until the following evening but could accommodate me. Whew! I am unsure what we will do with an extra day in Nashville, but I am sure we can find something.
We had a primarily treeless backend spot that was pretty level but offered no privacy like most commercial campgrounds. I do miss the state parks. Once we got set up, we went to Walmart and did food shopping. Lisa started cooking some burgers on the grill, but it started raining so she had to finish them up inside. Afterward, we looked through the tourist brochures to determine what I might like to see in Nashville. Everything was so expensive there. I was so tired that I ended up falling asleep and taking a nap right on the couch while we were doing this.
I woke up in time for us to wander down to the pool area where they had a free concert featuring Tim Atwood, who we later learned was a singer/pianist at the Grand Ole Opry with over 2800 shows. He was a good keyboardist with an ok voice. He was a good entertainer, though, and loved to tell jokes. He also had his son with him, who played drums at the Opry and for several big Country stars, and he played a couple of songs with another notable Country star and old partner, Jeannie Seely. She was in her 70s now but still very spunky. It rained several times during the show, but we were able to stay up under an overhang that kept us dry. A lot of the audience of about 40 or so seemed to live in the local area and they knew each other. I would say the average age of the audience was probably about 65
.
Monday, July 8
Old Town Trolley Tours
Today we rode a bus, Old Town Trolley Tours, from the campground to the city. Though we were supposed to board it at 9 am, it did not arrive until 10 am because of an overturned semi on the highway. We could see the wreck still being cleared when we finally got picked up and headed toward Nashville.
It was already almost noon before we finally got to our first stop. The bus was a hop-on-hop-off bus that gave you a tour of the city and had 15 stops where you could get off and get on another bus every 20 minutes. We decided to stay on for the entire loop and then pick a stop to get off after that. The tour showed us a city whose primary industries were tourism, music, entertainment, higher education, government, and medicine. The downtown area was full of bars and museums relating to the music industry, predominantly leaning toward country music. Other highlights for me included the immensely large medical complex, the beautiful parks full of monuments, and the number of recording studios along the music row.
We got off at a stop that took us to “The District,” or the party district in downtown Nashville, full of bars and museums.
SUN Diner
We first stopped for lunch at the Sun Diner, where we split a lunch of Chicken and Waffles. This was a 24-hour diner next to the Johnny Cash Museum that is decorated with old-school diner booths and chrome counter seating, vintage napkin dispensers, and neon signs proclaiming, ‘Fresh Coffee Hamburgers and Breakfast Served All Day.” The diner had partnered with Sun Records to decorate the walls with cool photographs of Sun stars, including the Million Dollar Quartet: Presley, Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Many of their menus had cute names for their food, such as the Johnny B Good, a flatbread topped with scrambled egg whites, fresh spinach, white cheeses, and pico de gallo. It was a relatively new restaurant that opened in 2016, but the tour bus driver led us to believe it was much older.
Goo Goo Cluster Museum
After visiting the museum, we crossed the street for dessert at the Goo Goo Cluster Museum. The Goo Goo Cluster, invented in Nashville in 1912, holds a special place in candy history. Before its creation, candy bars were typically simple, rectangular or square in shape, and made from a single ingredient such as chocolate, caramel, or taffy. The Goo Goo Cluster broke new ground as the first candy bar to combine multiple principal ingredients: a delightful mound of caramel, marshmallow nougat, freshly roasted peanuts, all covered in rich milk chocolate.
Despite its historical significance, the museum itself was underwhelming. It wasn’t located in the original production site of the candy, which diminished some of its charm. The space featured a decorative wall display made of Goo Goo candies, a couple of vintage candy machines accompanied by informational signage, and a small ice cream bar offering desserts that had little to do with the iconic cluster. There were only two tables for customers to sit at, and the gift shop, while expected, was modest, offering Goo Goo-themed merchandise and candy.
Overall, I found the museum to be a disappointment. It lacked the depth, history, and immersive experience I had hoped for, leaving it feeling more like a retail shop with a few token exhibits than a true celebration of a candy icon.
The District
The downtown area of Nashville, known as The District, was a vibrant hub filled with bars, museums, shops, and historic landmarks. One of the most notable buildings was the Ryman Auditorium, a venue steeped in history and famously home to the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. We strolled down to the Ryman, drawn by its iconic status, but the admission fee of $36 per person—and significantly more for backstage passes—deterred us from going inside.
Instead, we opted to explore the bustling bar scene in The District. With dozens of venues offering live music, most without a cover charge, the area pulsed with energy. The loudest venue by far was Kid Rock’s Honky Tonk, its music spilling into the streets and drawing a crowd. We decided on a quieter bar where we could enjoy a more laid-back atmosphere and sample some excellent local beers at the bar counter.
After finishing our drinks, we resumed our exploration of The District. A shop offering free samples of a lemonade vodka slushy caught our attention, and we couldn’t resist trying it—it was a refreshing treat after the lively bars. From there, we went to the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge, which spans the Cumberland River and connects The District to Nissan Stadium. The bridge, known as the world’s longest pedestrian bridge, offered stunning views of the river and the city skyline. However, the experience was slightly marred by the elevator leading to the bridge, which carried a strong urine smell and looked poorly maintained. Once on the bridge, though, the sight of kayakers gliding along the river below added a sense of tranquility.
Next, we headed to the George Jones Museum, which was included with our trolley tickets. The museum showcased a fascinating collection of memorabilia from the legendary country singer’s life. Among the highlights was his infamous lawn mower, which he once famously rode down a highway to a liquor store to avoid getting a DUI—an amusing anecdote that brought his colorful personality to life.
To cap off the evening, we visited the ACME Feed & Seed, one of the tallest rooftop bars in the area. The views from the rooftop were spectacular, offering a panoramic look at the city as the sun began to set. We sipped on another round of local beers, enjoying the lively yet relaxed atmosphere and soaking in the charm of Nashville from above.
Madame Tussauds Wax Museum
A trolley took us back to our campsite around 5 pm. We then quickly got into the truck and headed over to Opry Mills Mall which was about 10 minutes away to see the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. The entry tickets were included with our Trolley purchase, so we decided we might as well check it out.
The museum wasn’t very large but it did have dozens of wax figures with some of them very life-like. They were all posed in various scenes throughout the museum with many situated so that you could pose with them. Some even had some props available for you to use. It was corny but fun.
Our Campsite
We returned to the campsite, and Lisa cooked up some chicken on the grill before we headed down to watch Pork McElhinny.
Pork McElhinny was a really great acoustic guitar player with a so-so voice, but it was a good show. For some reason, he called me out and said I looked like Steven Spielberg. HA HA
.
Tuesday, July 9
Bicennial Capitor Mall State Park
Our first stop today was the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. We passed this on the trolley tour the previous day and were told that it was a 19-acre park that was created in 1996 to celebrate Tennessee’s bicentennial. Besides a beautiful view of the capital building, it had a lot of different monuments that looked interesting.
We parked near The Walkway of the Counties or a sidewalk that includes a marker and time capsule of the state’s counties to be opened in 2096. Along this path were rock landscapes and a strange collection of pillars that was part of the original facade of the Tennessee State Capitol building.
About a quarter to the hour, a portion of the Tennessee Waltz was played by the 96-bell carillon announcing that it was about to start playing so we rushed over to them. At the top of the hour, it played several songs.
Afterward, we continued to explore more monuments at the park to include a 200-foot-wide granite map of the state and the Court of Three Stars.
As we headed over to the other side of the park, we found the Tennessee State Museum open and free to visitors so we decided to tour it also. It was a very nice museum and we enjoyed our time there.
When we left the museum, we headed toward the Veterans Memorial and the Pathway of History. The Pathway of History was a 1,400-foot-long wall along the entire length of one side of the park that had engravings of significant events in the history of the state from its founding until the bicentennial. Each decade is marked by a large granite pylon. A symbolic break in the wall represents the division within the state and the nation during the Civil War.
The centerpiece of the World War II memorial was an eight-ton carved stone globe suspended on a cushion of flowing water and can be easily rotated. In front of the globe is a stone platform littered with stars honoring the 5,731 Tennesseans who died in WW2. Ten pillars, five on each side, line the east and west of the platform and depict. The ones on the east depict moments from the war in Europe, while those on the west depict moments from the war in the Pacific. To the south is a long bench with the names of seven Tennessee recipients of the Medal of Honor. I thought the allegory of children playing with the globe and the lists of dead soldiers very powerful.
Marathon Motor Works
After eating lunch at the park, we decided to head over to another Trolley stop that looked interesting called Marathon Motor Works. This was an old auto factory from 1907 to 1914, that now houses various businesses and shops. Throughout the halls, there are numerous displays of old auto and factory parts, and in one building you can see four of the eight Marathon cars in existence today.
We stopped and sampled some Moonshine at the Tennessee Legend Distillery, got some dipped marshmallows at the Bang Candy Company, enjoyed a flight of beers at the Corsair Artisan Distillery, visited the Jack Daniels General Store, enjoyed the quirky gifts at the Market Street Mercantile shop, and stop into Antique Archaeology to look at some of the junk collected by Mike Wolfe of American Pickers.
Just down the street was Nelson’s Greenbriar Distillery. Named after a distillery that was operated by Charles Nelson in Greenbrier, Tennessee, from 1870 until it was closed by Prohibition in 1909. Before it was closed, it was one of the largest producers of sour mash whiskey in the United States. Two great-great-great-grandsons of Nelson opened this distillery in 2014 using Nelson’s recipe and brand in 2014. Though we did not tour the distillery, we enjoyed watching the bottling plant in operation.
Cooter’s Museum & Willie Nelson and Friends Museum
We then decided to head back toward our campground and visit Cooter’s Museum. Cooter was one of the characters from the Dukes of Hazzard. It was mostly a store that was full of collectibles in display cases, a couple of cars from the show, photos, and some costumes, including the famous Daisy Dukes worn by Catherine Bach. It was free, and fun to revisit the memories of the show.
Next door was the Willie Nelson and Friends Museum. This cost us $10 each, but it was fun seeing another exhibit about the life and career of a country performer while standing in Nashville. It also had another exhibit of Jeannie Seely that enable even more appreciation of her impromptu performance two nights previous at the campground.
Cock of the Walk
For dinner, we decided to go out to a restaurant we had seen near the campground called the “Cock of the Walk.” It seemed to be a local favorite, and we both split a “Keelboat Special” that had both catfish and chicken strips. Sides were Riverfries, Hushpuppies, Coleslaw, Pickled Onions, and a Skillet Bread that they flipped high in the air at your table. We did not find anything special about the food though.
We learned that the name of the restaurant came from the custom of riverboats on the Cumberland River pitting their best fighter against the best fighter on the other boats they met for the honored title of “Cock of the Walk”—the “Best of the Best.” The restaurant claimed that they were the best catfish restaurant.
Wednesday, July 10
Centennial Park
This morning we decided to go to Centennial Park and see the Parthenon, and we wanted to take off before it got too hot. Before we got going we got into a long conversation with our next-door neighbors that were from Canada. They were flying a flag that was half US and half Canadian flags, so I assumed that maybe one was from the US and the other Canadian. They explained to me that this was a friendship flag and that they flew it every time they were in the US as a sign of respect. They were a very interesting couple and we enjoyed our conversation so much that we did not mind the delay.
We finally took off with our Google Maps on avoid highways and arrived at Centennial Park in about 20 minutes. We were fortunate to find a parking spot right away next to the Parthenon. My first impression was that it was huge! Unlike the one in Greece that was made of marble, this one is made with concrete and pebble stone, but the scale was supposed to be the same. Built for the 1898 Tennessee World Exposition, and later restored in the 1920s, it was in incredible condition.
After taking some photographs outside, we walked around and went into the basement entrance that took us to the gift shop and ticket booth. After buying tickets, we immediately went up to the top floor to see the giant Athena that was added to the Parthenon in 1990. Again, my first impression was that it was huge and a bit cartoony, especially the face. With the sculptors at that time, I would think that they would have done a better job. There was a large bronze statue of the President of the Exposition outside the building that was about half the size, but lifelike. Anyway, the statue is filled with imagery.
Castings of the original sculptures that adorned the pediments of the Athenian Parthenon, dating back to 438 BC were also on that floor. The missing detail was added to complete them. The originals of these powerful fragments are housed in the British Museum in London. Downstairs was an art museum and a small display area of photographs of the Tennessee Exposition. One of the most shocking details that we read was that though this exposition was 30 years after the Civil War, they still had a display at the exposition outside the agriculture building of blacks picking cotton. I guess now they were just “free” blacks?
We walked around the park and saw the gardens and various historical markers and statues before returning to the truck, pulling out the chairs and putting them on the grass facing the Parthenon so that we could have lunch. At the end of our lunch, heavy rain fell so we scrambled to put everything away and planned our next destination. I thought we should head toward Murfreesboro and possibly check out some sites around it.
After a half-hour of weaving our way through Nashville traffic, I changed my mind and we decided to go check out the Opryland Hotel.
Opryland Hotel
We parked at the Opry Mills Mall and walked across a pedestrian bridge to save us the parking fees. The hotel was huge with several atriums, a water park, and a convention center. One atrium was large enough to have a small river flow through it where you could take a boat road through the atrium. It had a lot of cartoony lighted flowers and mushrooms, dangling lights, fountains, and various lighting effects all in a Smurf theme around that probably gave the place a fantasy look at twilight. There were lots of restaurants and bars in these atriums.
Opryland
After getting back to the truck, we drove around trying to find Opryland. Google Maps took us in some circles before we accidentally found that it was right next to the hotel and the mall. We enjoyed walking around the outside of the building for a short time, before deciding that we should go out for some ice cream.
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
I found a top-rated place about 20 minutes away called Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. Our route took us through East Nashville and some rough parts of town, before arriving at an area that looked rather like Brookside. My ice cream was good, but I think Lisa hit the jackpot ordering some Peanut Butter Caramel.
We then headed back by first stopping at Murphy’s to get some gas and Walmart for dinner that night. After burgers and salad outside, we headed inside to watch a couple of episodes of Netflix before bed