Back in September I drove with a group of friends from Minneapolis to Nashville for a five-day vacation. As usual, I took my Olympus XA with me to photograph.
Camera: Olympus XA
Lens: Standard Olympus F-Zuiko 35mm 1:2.8
Film: Kodak Portra 400 & 800
Our final day in Nashville was more or less without schedule. We booked tickets to tour Nelson’s Green Briar Brewery in the afternoon, and decided on a late brunch before that over in Germantown. We started out over near the state capital and walked through these sculptural towers on the top of which were chimes, which played music on the hour. There were some war memorials and other things scattered on the grounds and while we decided against going all the way up the hill in the direct sun, we did stop at a fountain representing the river to cool down some. Every day in Nashville was hot and sticky, and this was so far the hottest. On the way between the capital green and Von Elrod’s, we made a pitstop (mostly for the AC) in this charming vintage store nearby. We weren’t expecting to do much there other than cool down some. The walk itself was only a few blocks but it was sweltering hot and we needed to stop sweating for a moment at least. We each ended up making a purchase in the vintage shop, though. Myself some 1980’s earrings and Taylor and Jess both got sweaters. We then went over to Von Elrod’s to have brunch proper – although it was probably around 2pm in the afternoon. I had a Bloody Mary and some sticky buns and Jess had ‘the best biscuits and gravy [she’d] ever had.’ I can see why Nashville is also a food town by now – we ate so much battered and fried food and it tasted so much better than any of that kind of comfort food which we might expect to find back up north at home.
The distillery we selected, Nelson’s Green Briar, was part of this complex of former brick warehouses which had been converted to boutique shopping spaces. Jess and Taylor stopped at a moonshine place (whose name I can’t recall and didn’t write down) to sample some whisky and moonshine, which I abstained from. To tell the truth, I’ve never much cared for whisky and wasn’t about to start trying on it. They seemed to enjoy it though. At Nelson’s Green Briar, we got a good dose of alcoholic history and toured the distillery ending in a tasting. If you’ve been on one brewery or distillery tour you’ve more or less been on this one, but this one was charming in that there was extra scandalous history involved and some sexy marketing of the late 1800’s that we really enjoyed. I can confidently say that I still don’t care much for whisky, but at least I know how to drink it right now. The tasting ended with a nutty liqueur and I admit that it was definitely my favorite. I took with me some post cards and would be sending them out the next morning once I had them written out.
After a relatively lazy day out, mostly of wandering and avoiding the outside heat, we returned to the BnB for some time to relax. That night we went back to the seven corners area to see some live music. We got burgers first at a nearby restaurant, and then walked over. Jess and Taylor told me that the bar was remarkably less crowded than the night before, but I enjoyed it on this particular night. There were three acts that we saw most of, the first a female singer with a backup guitar, a sad guy reading poetry second, and third some punk band. It was alright, relaxed, just like the rest of the day. We night capped relatively early on a porch next door and then headed back to the BnB for the night. A kind of non-event ending for our time in Nashville, but I enjoyed it.
The next morning was up (relatively) early and driving the three hours over to Memphis. Jess was most looking forward to being in Memphis, and had the day more or less planned out for us. We started out getting some barbeque at a ribs restaurant (delicious) and we’d learned by then that if there’s a line out the door at 3pm you know it’s good. Across the street we spent as much time as we could in the Civil Rights Museum, the former hotel converted to history museum on whose front balcony Martin Luther King was assassinated. The museum comprised almost an entire city block, both buildings facing each other across a closed street. It was like a living museum and experience, wherein the path of the killing bullet was etched in stone crossing the street and the parking lot with a time capsule of 1960’s cars in it. We had to rush somewhat through the end of the museum because it was closing, but I thought the presentation and layout was well-designed and interesting. I had never heard the entirety of the I Have a Dream speech, and I found it moving all over again to hear it in that context. A little awkward though to exit through the gift shop at the end.
We were almost obligated since being in Memphis to visit Sun Records and the Pro Bass Shop pyramid, and we hit those both that evening in record time. We kind of rushed through Memphis truthfully, and these things are all a blur. The Bass Shop I could not stop laughing while we were there. Did leave with a t-shirt. Sun Records we didn’t tour but did enjoy the atmosphere of the small coffee shop inside for a little bit of time. Like Nashville, we were more or less moving from shaded, air-conditioned space to another to keep cool and sane.
That night, we rented electric scooters (my first time riding them) and went down to Beale street – more or less the Memphis equivalent of Nashville’s Broadway. It was relatively quiet, although there were still people all over. We started at a piano bar (I could have stayed there all night) and ended at BB King’s. Jess got serenaded on stage, and I think it made her whole trip. I had fun, although I was by that time about ready to head home.
I suppose if you’re looking for my overall impression of Nashville and Memphis they seemed like alright towns. I’m trying here to sum everything up but also feel that all this barely covers it. I think we had fun. I’m not sure I could live there, but I could definitely visit again. I guess then all we did was drive home the next morning and then I finally got to really relax some.
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