I’ve wanted to go to Nashville for a long time. I was sure I would enjoy it because I love music and everyone I spoke to that ever went there loved it. While I don’t listen to a lot of contemporary country music, I was raised on a steady diet of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Conway Twitty, Dolly Parton, and all of the wonderful musicians like them, so I was excited to go to the place where so many of them thrived. As a bonus, my good friend James lives in Tennessee and I got the chance to see him as well. This trip was poised for success from the start!
I boarded my plane in Boston full of excitement! My mom and her boyfriend Greg, also came on the trip. We all get along and travel very well together.
The city looked especially charming as we took off that night.
By the time we got to our hotel, it was time for dinner. So we set off to explore a little and find some food. We walked down Broadway and settled on a place called Rippy’s.
I had nachos and a drink called a Revenge-a-rita, which was incredibly sweet.
Some folks got up and did some fancy dancing involving intricate arm movements.
We also popped into a place called Robert’s Western World, which we all loved. The Don Kelley Band was playing and they were fantastic! 
The guitar player was named Daniel Donato and he was excellent. Along with being extremely talented, he was a pleasure to watch. His facial expressions were so animated and he looked like he was surprised at what he was creating and seemed to be wondering, “Whose hands are these?!”
They were playing there for the next two nights so we stopped in to see them each time. They were all very engaging and contributed to an enthusiastic and fun atmosphere.
The next morning started with breakfast at the hotel, as all good mornings do.
Please notice how healthy I was trying to be with my yogurt and grapes. It didn’t last long. SO MUCH SOUTHERN FOOD TO COME! Fully fueled, we set off for a day full of activity. First up, Broadway!
I’ve always thought Elvis was handsome.
We walked along the main drag to see what it looked like in the day time. We wandered in and out of a few places. Even this early in the day, there was live music in many of the bars. It was great!
We hit off to the Ryman Auditorium, the mother church of country music.
It’s a beautiful place and is said to have wonderful acoustics.
It was so special to be in the same place where so many great musicians had performed countless shows. Anyone who enjoys music would appreciate the significance of the Ryman and the special place it has in the hearts of so many. There were a number of objects on display like posters and outfits.
I particularly liked the title of this book.
We went on the backstage tour, and learned a lot about the history of the place.
Sometimes you have to take a sneaky selfie in a famous dressing room when you’re not supposed to.
We went to Robert’s Western World for their Recession Special. It’s a fried bologna sandwich, a bag of chips, and a PBR all for $5! I loved it!
After that, we headed off to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
I could have spent so much more time here. I wish we had dedicated a separate day to it because there was so much to see and learn.
This was Elvis’s Cadillac. It was all gold inside and had a television in the back.
Hank Williams’ suit.
You can always tell which dresses were Dolly Parton’s because of the boobs!
We headed back to the hotel that evening and my friend James came to pick me up.
I hadn’t seen him in three years so we were in need of a good chat and proper catch up.
He took me to Peg Leg Porker, a place famous for their ribs. I enjoyed them, as well as their mac ‘n’ cheese and green beans.
After a brief encounter with some proselytizing folks, James and I hit the town!
We hit up a load of honky-tonks and a piano bar and I had my first drink of Tennessee Fire. It was a really great night.
The next morning we woke up eventually, feeling a little worse for wear. Mom and Greg had already taken off for the day and ended up going to a town called Franklin.
Since it was late enough after James and I surfaced, we decided to go straight for lunch. We wanted to go to the Loveless Cafe but the wait was about 90 minutes long so we headed down the road and found a restaurant a few miles away.
I tried Catfish for the first time and I loved it!
I also sampled fried okra for the first time. I found it to be kind of bland and slimy but not bad.
We met up with some of James’s friends for drinks.
The day wore on and soon it was dinner time.
We went to Edley’s Bar-B-Que, which was really trendy with nice decor and I loved the lights strung across the patio.
I had pork tacos and tried Frito Pie for the first time. I didn’t love it. It’s a bag of Fritos with beans and shredded meat and cheese. I expected it to be delicious since I like all the ingredients, but I’d have rather just have a plain bag of Fritos.
After dinner, the time came to say goodbye to James. I’ll miss him until I see him again but I feel sure I’ll see him sooner rather than later.
I met up with Mom and Greg and we trotted into town again because we had tickets to see the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman! Weee! I was so excited!
We saw Little Jimmy Dickens, which was a surprise and a treat. He’s very old (93!) and so little.
Ricky Skaggs
Charley Pride. My Mom was thrilled about this. She loves Charley Pride.
Bill Anderson
Charles Esten. Mom and I were excited to see him because we both watch the show “Nashville” and he plays Deacon Claybourne on it.
I was so happy to have seen the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman. It was a great show and it felt really special to be there.
The next day we went to the Johnny Cash museum. I became a really big fan of Johnny Cash the summer before I started high school. I got a bunch of his CDs that September for my birthday, just a few days before he died.
We went to the Loveless Cafe for a late lunch. There was a much more reasonable wait time of a 15 minutes.
We started with delicious biscuits and preserves.
Then I had fried chicken with mashed potatoes, caramel sweet potatoes, and gravy.
Once back in Nashville we stopped by the Bluebird Cafe. It wasn’t open yet but we wanted to have a look at it since it’s one of the famous sites.
Later on we hit up the Savannah Candy Kitchen.
I treated myself to a scoop of strawberry and a scoop of chocolate.
We went out and enjoyed music again that night and then we were off the next morning back to Boston. I would highly recommend Nashville. I’d love to go again! Good job if you made it to the end of this post. I know it was super long!
Mims Memes 