Nashville Yeeeeehaaaaaa!!!!

Having finished our Natchez Trace journey full of the serenity of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennesee we arrived at Nashville by 8.30pm and booked in to our Hotel.......we contemplated rest but were out in search of food and fun by 9.30.

Entertainment and dining in the Country Music Capital seems to be based around Broadway so that area was the destination that was put into Mrs G. Getting to the general area was relatively easy but some construction at a critical moment put her into somewhat of a tizz. Luckily for the CuRVy (and the Frosty's) the pilot was able to overcome those difficulties and we found a space in a Parking Lot on Broadway.

After the quiet of the past few days Broadway was in a word LOUD with amplified country music coming from everywhere around us and everyone in sight, no matter what their clothes and wearing boots. Hmmmmm what to to?

Retreating from the cacophony of country we headed for the relative quiet of a sports bar for a meal. Surrounded by at least 6 big screen televisions broadcasting 2 NBA (basketball) games, 2 NHL (Ice Hockey) games and 2 fights we tucked into an overdue meal and a drink. 

Meal was was nice and tasty, though finding low saturated fat options proved difficult, however the drink was needed and time away from boots and hats was necessary.With thirsts and hunger satisfied we returned to Broadway for a while before we punched "recently found" into Mrs G and made our way home to bed for a well earned rest.

Next morning refreshed after almost enough sleep and another hearty hotel breakfast we returned to Nashville and started our day at the Visitors Centre. After gathering more help, pamplets and maps we headed straight to the nearby Ryman Auditorium where we asked about and purchased tickets for that night's show at the Grand Ole Opry. 

The self guided tour of the Auditorium was great and gave us far more insight into Country Music than either of us previously had and it left us looking forward to the return to Broadway in daylight hours and later to the show we'd booked for that night.

Checking one last time on what we'd booked we realised the tickets were actually for another venue! The Grand Ole Opry is at a venue of its own! Oh well luckily we didn't find that out when we turned up at the door that night!!!! We have a little bit to learn about Country music.

Armed with information we gathered from a performer we'd heard at Pam'n John's @ Cadgee, we headed back to Broadway and re-entered Roberts Western World  bought a Miller Hi Life and Woodchuck Pear Cider and sat back. Dave Cox, who apart from singing "Ring of Fire",  entertained us with an hour of his songs and acoustic guitar. His songs were both entertaining and melancholy (we are in Nashville) but "My Neighbours' Ass" stood out! Lol!!!!

Next stop was the institution that is Tubbs Record Store and although there were many, many temptations we managed to escape before we spent the rest of our US funds although a recently remastered double CD of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" will be keeping us singing for a little while! It has been a long time since I've seen such a great collection of CD's, DVD's, books, posters, sheet music, and records. And by the way they were RECORDS!!!!!

Hunger pains were reminding us that it had been quite a while since we enjoyed breakfast and there was no shortage of variety in the culinary treats on offer, especially if you enjoyed BBQ or Ribs or Burgers, or Fries!!!! Or all or them at once as many of the people in the street seemed to have enjoyed!!!!

Lunch was at  Jack's BBQ. Pork for Julie & Turkey for Frosty, nice food and a reasonable atmosphere but we were really here for the music so we headed back onto Broadway.

Listened to a band at  the Second Fiddle but it was similar to some of the fare of the night before so we found a quieter venue and listened to music from a duo/ trio at another bar before roaming the busy streets for a while.

Two city blocks were blocked off for pre game entertainment before a Nashville Predators (Ice) Hockey game that was being played that night. We could have bought scalped tickets but we already had our night planned so we gave up the chance to go to the game. It's kind of difficult to get enthused about a winter sport when it's around 38C (100F).

Saying goodbye to Broadway was difficult but we had to get home and into our finery for the Grand Ole Opry. Yeehaw!!! We arrive at our customary time, fashionably late and took our seats and for the next two hours we were astounded at the quality of the show.

In total 12 acts played 2 numbers each with time in between each act for a live advertisement ( the show is broadcast live on Radio 650AM WSM) and banter between the musicians and the hosts. We left stunned at the fabulous music and super- slick production in a great venue!

Our great night only got better when due to a Random Act of Kindness from great looking couple, we were offered their tickets to the Grand Ole Opry Backstage Tour. What an unbelievable end to our only full day in Nashville.

We were tired and happy little vegemites that night!!!

Natchez to Nashville via the Natchez Trace Parkway

Following our Swamp tour we pointed the CuRVy back towards the Blues Highway for a brief visit to Highway 61. After lunch in Baton Rouge we returned to Mississippi and after a stop at the very welcoming Mississippi Welcome Centre at Woodville we headed toward our night's destination. Natchez.   

We headed straight to the Natchez Visitors Centre but as it was 5pm and the centre was closing we had a brief visit before we went in search of local restaurants and a bottle of wine and a  beer. The different Liquor Lisencing Laws in each state make this tricky but we are tricky people...This beer/wine expedition proved to be a little more difficult than we expected but our difficulties were overcome and possibility of dehydration was defeated. Adding to our difficulty our friend Mrs G (and maybe the navigator) accidentally led us into Arkansas (other side of the bridge) but we rose above these minor difficulties. 

Cotton Alley Cafe http://www.cottonalleycafe.com was our destination for dinner that evening and the reviews we had read proved to be accurate and had a great meal. Following the meal we headed "under the hill" to the original port of Natchez and it was appropriate that we called into the Under the Hill Saloon where we were entertained by one of the patrons. She gave us a local's version of things we needed (or didn't) need to visit in the area!!! She also told us about mudsliding at the New Orleans Jazz Festival as a 16 year old......

We finished our night with a wander along part of a riverside park before calling it a night. A well earned rest followed.

Rising (reasonably) early the next morning and with appetites satisified by our Hotel breakfast (the Apiarist is getting to like Grits) we left for a daytime look at some of the historic sites around Natchez. This, like many of the towns of the south has great history but unfortunately we don't really have enough time to fully explore it. But we did enjoy and learn from an excellently produced film at the visitor's centre.

A walk around River Park gave us not only an update of that history but a great view of the reason that Natchez and area has been important for thousands of years...

Yes the Mississippi, what a wonderful sight!  Whether you are looking North or South!!!

The Natchez Museum of African-American History and Culture where our tall, handsome and passionate guide led us on an amazing journey through American History. Sombre and confronting at times but we left with new understanding of the past.
    
Our North American oddyssey includes travelling on 3 of America's Scenic Byways. http://byways.org/explore/ The first of those was along the Mississippi on The Great River Road and now we started the second The Natchez Trace Parkway.

The America's Byways websites says "Native Americans, Kaintuck boatmen, post riders, government officials, and soldiers all moved across this trail, creating a vital link between the Mississippi Territory and the fledgling United States. Pass through forests, cypress swamps, and farmland to meander through the rock-studded hills of Tennessee, cotton fields in Alabama, and Mississippi's rural countryside. 

We added 2 Aussies to that list. What a great drive and what a great learning experience. Even though we didn't walk or, heaven forbid, ride all of the distance, driving, stopping, walking (parts) and photographing gave us some insight to the journey.

Some sections are still as they were and you can see what thousands of people have done by walking and riding over the years.... and the drive itself on a 2 lane road with no commercial vehicles is delightful.

But to be green like this you need to have a little bit of this..........

  
 












We talk often in this Blog about "Mrs G". Mrs G is our Garmin GPS and apart from a few minor difficulties like not working in San Francisco and occasionally sending us along roads with deep snow drifts near Algonquin Park "she" has been wonderful. Unfortunately she is sometimes thrown out of kilter by human interaction i.e. the driver and navigator don't really want to go the "shortest way", the driver or navigator "want a coffee/ photograph/toilet (washroom)" and when there is a detour due to roadwork etc. 

When these communication difficulties arise life (and travel) become somewhat strained so when a number of these factors and torrential rain combined at Jackson, Mississippi, things became "hotter than a pepper sprout". For those reading this blog who are younger than 40 try and find a version of "Jackson" by June Carter and Johnnie Cash on youtube.

On a more serious note we are travelling through what is known as tornado alley and didn't want to end up like "Dorothy and Toto" and flying off in a tornado. The rain and wind that temporarily brought a halt to our adventure were unbelievable. And it wasn't only we Aussies who pulled of the road we were joined in that decision by lots of others. 

As luck would have it the wind subsided, the rain stopped and we found our way back onto the Natchez Trace Parkway. 

The rain started and stopped but it had freshened the area up even more, but driving through an area of April 2011 tornado damage reminded us of just how dangerous and deadly these storms are!

Driving and stopping rewarded us all the way until we reached our destination for the night, Tupelo.


Dinner was at a great restuarant, "The Blue Canoe". Great for not only the food, Fried Black Eyed Peas (served in a preserving jar), a Slider and Cheesecake on a Stick, no prizes for guessing who that was for. Tammy was the other reason this night was special. Southern people are open and friendly and a succession of them continue to make our trip even more memorable. We learned a new saying that night, if you're finished you just need to say "put a fork in me, (I'm done)"!
 
Tupelo is famous for a number of things but probably, no definitely it is most famous for that truckdriver who could sing and dance a bit. Yes, Tupelo is the town where Elvis was born and raised so like many thousands we headed to his first home. Not much of a house but it did produce one of the 20th century's first superstars. 

Before we visited Elvis's boyhood home we took some Tupelo advice to "love me tender and love me true" our CuRVy and we headed to the suggested Mazda/ Hyundai Dealership for an oil change. By the way that advice was given by a guy who actually filled your car with petrol (gas) and checked the oil - remember those days?

While the CuRVy was in the hands of the mechanics we were entertained by some of the friendly Tupellions who were fascinating to talk with. Jerry Hood was in a band that produced and sang "Little Band of Gold" a song that was a hit in the 60's, had recorded songs at Sun Studios at Memphis and had not only known and played with Elvis when he was young but had been entertained by him at Graceland. In addition to that he and his wife had an accent we could have listened to for ages and when they were joined in the discussion by Jim (a car salesman) we were truly in the south.  

Leaving Tupelo it was back on to Nashville on the Trace.

 What a way to finish a drive

  We continued to stop, look and enjoy all the way to the end of the Natchez Trace Parkway........

Next stop Nashville.......... Yeeeeehaw!!!!!!

NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana)

After leaving the glitz and glamour of Graceland behind it was back into the CuRVy, turn on Mrs G and on to Interstate 55 to head toward the end of the Mississippi. Even though our original intention was to follow Highway 61, "the Blues Highway" all the way from Thunder Bay to New Orleans practicalities took precedence this time. 

In this "land of the automobile" the roads are wonderful and the Interstate Highways are quick so we were soon crossing the 36km (22 mile) Manchac Swamp Bridge and heading toward our motel. Hmmmm either the Super 8 New Orleans had moved or some fool had put the wrong address into Mrs G. The latter proved to be true!

The Motel wasn't new but it was reasonably clean and comfortable, it also had a nice breakfast and a pool (necessary in the heat) and most importantly had organised a shuttle bus to get guests to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival http://www.nojazzfest.com/ Was that to prove to be a great help!!! 

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is big, no that's not really an accurate description it's actually REALLY VERY BIG!!!! And that bigness started with the line leading to the gate and didn't finish all day.

The Festival is held at the Fair Grounds Racecourse and with 12 stages there was plenty to see and hear and get around. For that reason we had organised a wheelchair which proved to be the only way the apiarist could have survived (thanks to the strength and endurance of the Educator). 

First problem was the gate we had entered was about 1 kilometre (900 yards) from the wheelchair pick-up point by the route we took. That problem overcome (thanks War Vets) and away we went....

Keeping warm wasn't going to be an issue and neither was variety and or quality of music. So what did we start with none other than the Peoples Health Economy Hall Tent (Phister Sisters) and why did we go there, #1 they were in the first tent we passed and #2 they were great!

From there we decided to head to the Acura Stage which was the "main" stage. Lots of others had thought that this was the place to be but then when the lineup for that stage was  "Jumpin" Johnny Sansone, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Dr John and the Lower 911 and some guy called Bruce. Hmmm no wonder people were running to set up  their chairs  when they got through the gate and security. 

With the disabled section fairly full and in full sun we looked at other options. Had we been short changed? With 66 acts appearing over the day, I think not!

Off we went to one of the undercover or more accurately undertent stages where not only was it cooler but there were seats and designated seats for wheelchairs. Bonus!! And luckily for us it was the Blues Stage which proved to be where Bruce spent the majority of his day.

That is apart for a few excursions to the Gospel Tent (New Orleans Spiritualettes and later Bishop Sean Elder & the Mount Hermon Baptist Church Mass Choir) , Congo Square Stage (Lindego of Reunion Island) and the Sheraton New Orleans Fais Do-Do Stage (Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys). 

Food was varied and abundant and did I mention that beer was cheap and cold!!!! And every hour or so there was a Parade by the Mardi Gras Indians. 
Interesting group...

In the end we returned to the Blues and while Bruce stayed and listened to all of Gary Clark Junior (WOW) and then Tab Benoit, Julie went off in search of another Bruce. Known by many as the Boss.

While I was comfortably seated 15 rows from the stage, Julie was feeling like one of 50,000 sardines in a overheated can!!!! 

Was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY!!!!! 

Was it worth the heat and the crowds and the $50 that we each paid for our tickets? 

Yes, 

YES, 

YESSSSSSSSS!!!

 And would we go again.......... In a heartbeat 

Getting home was another adventure as the shuttle bus took us on an adventurous tour of New Orleans before returning us to the cool of the Motel pool. Mmmm a nice cool relaxing end to a day of great music!

Revitalised next morning it was back into the CuRVy and into New Orleans. Mrs G safely deposited us in a car park adjacent to the New Orleans Visitors Information Centre where we booked tickets for a bus tour of the city and adjacent areas. 

Normally we shy away from bus tours but in this case we took the easy option and that choice proved worthwhile as we were given the opportunity to have a good (totally stress free) look around the city especially for Julie who is usually concentrating on the traffic. 

I'll let the pictures tell the story but there is incredible variation between the French Quarter, Downtown, the Cemeteries and the area worst affected by Hurricane Katrina. The city is recovering due to some innovative programs but it will take a long time.

 Following the tour food was now on the agenda and we had been told of a New Orleans Institution where we stopped next. It was to Cafe Du Monde http://www.cafedumonde.com/main.html for an order of trois Beignet. Actually they are doughnut like pastries covered in a mountain of icing sugar. Julie loved them, though 3 was beyond even her capabilities. For Bruce it was to another Cafe for a bowl of gumbo. 

Part of this North American odyssey was to follow the length of the Mississippi River and we chose a Paddle Steamer for the last few of the 4070km (2530 miles) that the river travels. It was a better option than swimming or paddling and besides there was a great southern buffet on offer not to mention a great sunset. 

Our final part of our New Orleans Adventure was on the way to Natchez when we headed to Cajun Encounters for a Honey Island Swamp Tour. Nice way to wind up three great days but we didn't realise alligators, even alligators called Brutus ate marshmallows!

 

And finally to the end of the Great River Road. What a Trip!!!!!!!