Nashville Road Trip

And This is How I Carpe'd Every Diem....

This is my mini photo blog for my seemingly never ending road trip to Nashville with my friend Ariana. This is my best effort to give my friends and family a chance to see all my photos and hear the stories of all that we did, with out me having to repeat the stories multiple times on end. Enjoy the tales and photos! (Pardon the bugs on the windshield and some blurry photos, I was driving a lot of the time and did my best!)

Our first leg of the trip started off on Wednesday afternoon going to Collin's Grandmother's house in Lake Havasu. Warm welcomes and great food were waiting upon our arrival! Many many thanks for the hospitality and love from Mammow!

Our second day started off rather early (6 AM) but we were met with an amazing sunrise that was worth the sleep in our eyes. After a quick breakfast and coffee grab'n'go, we were heading full steam to Amarillo, Texas! 

 Clearly, it was rather flat. We did go through Flagstaff, AZ which is one of my favorite places we hit. Just outside of Flagstaff we hit one of, if not THE, worst storms of the trip. The wind was blowing the rain so hard, the raindrops on the windshield were going sideways WHILE we were going about 60 MPH forward. THAT was a crazy sight. Of course, it was over quickly and we were into New Mexico!

As usual, our first day was filled with multiple long stops that
pushed our arrival time waaay back. We finally got to Amarillo somewhere around
9:15. At this point, staying in a tent at multiple KOA campgrounds seemed like
less of a great idea. Needless to say, set up a ten in 14 minutes (we put a rush on it after seeing a toad) and were on our way to dinner at the famous Big Texan Steakhouse!

Amarillo had some of the best weather, if you are into lightening storms. About 3 AM the wind really picked up, there was a part of me that half thought we'd blow away. 5 o'clock came much faster than expected and before we knew it, we were walking to the showers to start our next day. While walking to our showers, we noticed a huge black cloud looming in the dark sky. It was actually a storm cloud that contained a full on lightening storm that light up every so often from the lightening inside. That is a sight that will not be soon forgotten.While driving through all the farmlands, we noticed a cowboy actually riding a horse to heard cattle. We got to talking and decided that we both wanted so badly to ride a horse, I mentioned we would be getting to Little Rock the next day rather early and we could probably find somewhere to ride horse. A few phone calls later, we had a ride booked!

 After getting on the road to Little Rock, the sun came up and we were able to see just how many clouds were in the sky. At one point, we drove head on into this dark abyss that seemed like it never ended.

 Oklahoma. Oh Oklahoma... The highlight for me was going through Muskogee. We did go to a Bass Pro Shop and get lost in Oklahoma City and drive through Garth Brooks' home town, but Muskogee was much more of an accomplishment! While driving through all the farmlands, we noticed a cowboy actually riding a horse to heard cattle. We got to talking and decided that we both wanted so badly to  I will not be wanting to move to Oklahoma any time soon though. 

 Finally we got through Oklahoma and into Arkansas! This was hands down, my favorite state. So green, so beautiful. Such nice and awesome people. We high tailed it to our riding lesson only to find that our trail leader was... talkative... to say the least. My horse was Bourbon and Ariana's horse was Whiskey. Within the short hour we had with him, we learned that he had an assault and battery charge, 9 siblings, 4 kids, his Grandpa was Indian, a torn ACL, and much much more. He was quite the informant. Up until our horses got spooked by a deer. Then there was zero information about what to do. Luckily, my horse was a nervous eater.

After story time, er, I mean our horse ride, we went to Cracker Barrel and dined on some chicken and dumplin's. They were not my Momma's chicken and dumplin's, but they were tasty. 

Then we headed to our KOA site, pitched our tent, and relaxed for a bit! 

 

We hit the road early again to ensure we arrived in Nashville in time to check in and head over the The Opry for our tour!

On our way to Nashville, we found these little gems. Yes, they were good. But not quite spicy enough for my taste. It was a good find and I wish we would have found the Chicken and Waffle flavor.

 On our way to Nashville, we stopped in Tupelo, Mississippi and saw Elvis' hometown and house he was born in. So cool. Pretty big highlight for me.

 On the same property was the church he attended while he was a child. They had moved it from its original location.

 This fountain was really cool too. It had all the years a major thing happened in Elvis' life beginning with his birth and ending with his death. I really appreciated how much emphasis they put into his early years here. Very few places mention anything about his twin, which to me, is a little bit of a big deal.

 From Mississippi we headed into Alabama! Stopping for a quick second for a super awesome photo op!

 
 We rolled into Nashville with about 30 minutes to unload our stuff into our hotel room, clean up, and then go to our tour of the Opry. This was when we discovered we picked up a hitch hiker in Arkansas. A very nicely sized centipede fell from a bag onto the floor and took cover under my seat. With the clock ticking we sprayed as much hair spray as possible in its general location and hoped for the best. For us. Not for him.

 This is where I have a ton of photos of things that I thought were cool, but may not seem of much importance. Ill do my best to give a quick description!

 
 These photos were of the the names of the people who have been made members of the hall of fame. Some old, some new. All very cool.

 This is what one of the many many dressing rooms look like that the performers get ready in. All of them were different themes and had all kinds of photo's in them.

After the selling of what has been filmed there and who has been backstage, we finally got to the big stage!

 The circle of wood was cut from the original stage at the Ryman (this will be further explained later). It was taken from the side of the stage so they were sure that every artist who ever got to play the Opry stood on it and that way people can say they stood where "you fill in the blank" stood. Very cool to see it in person and stand on it. After the Opry, we did some seize the day things and Ariana decided to go to the show that night while I explored more of downtown.

My first stop was Cooter's. This was the coolest memorabilia museum ever! The case pictured on the right is just a sample of all of the Dukes of Hazard stuff they had. I really just about died! They also had a few of the cars they used in the show! 

 And of course... They had the General Lee!!!! I jumped in this thing faster than you could imagine!

Nashville at night was really exciting. There were so many people too. I think this one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. I got to go into the Honky Tonk's and bars that George Jones, Johnny Cash, and Waylon did. Broadway is located just behind the Ryman, so after their shows at the Opry they would go over to Tootsies (right) and play their full set. Doing Nashville like they did was really awesome. 

 Sunday morning we went to the famous Loveless Cafe. I had the best grits I have ever had here. They also made these peach preserves that were to die for. Part of me wishes I had bought a jar to take home! After breakfast, we headed to downtown Nashville to do our tour of the Ryman and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

The Ryman had displays of clothes other memorabilia of different stars. Above is Johnny Cash's guitar and alligator boots. To the right is an outfit that Dolly Parton wore while performing with Porter Wagoner. They had a few things from Patsy Cline and Hank Williams as well. Below is a poster of a show one night. If I had a time machine....

 The view of the stage from "the best seat in the house".

 The view looking out from the stage. The stained glass windows were so phenomenal.

 This is the view from the performers perspective. The Ryman was home to the Opry for 20+ years. While they have the Opry house now, all of the legends (Pasty Cline, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, George Jones... ect) actually played in this building (OK, most played in the other building after it was built, but you know what I'm sayin'). This was THE Opry that they speak of. This is what they saw when they played. And I love that they restored the place to its grandeur and allow people to get to see it. It was unfortunate that they didnt have a show here while we were in town. Then we went to the Country Music Hall of Fame...

A suit worn by Charley Pride

Elvis' Gold Piano

Sound Boards

Wall of Records (3 Stories)

One the many records, really appreciated the southern rock section they had.

Merle Haggard's boots

Accordion from the Streets of Bakersfield video.

A suit worn by George Jones

Johnny Paychecks guitar

I dont think this one needs indentifyig... But Dwight Yoakam...

Garth Brooks' guitar

Kelli  Pickler's mirror ball and outfit

Taylor Swift's guitar

After the Hall of Fame, we headed east for Memphis to check out Sun Records! Really excited to walk in and know that THIS was where Elvis made it happen. The photos alone on the walls were so cool. To see Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis doing there thing was so awesome. Not to mention the photo's of Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two.

 Memphis was very...industrial...

 After Sun Records we headed over to the Lorraine Motel (Civil Rights Museum now) and took in a lot of information. They had the whole case the FBI performed to find and convict the shooter of MLK on display. The whole tour was evidence and facts about the case so you can draw your on conclusions of what happened. Below is a picture of the spot where MLK gave his last speech. I am so glad we stopped here. (Big shout out to Marcus for suggesting it)

 It was finally dinner time and how convenient that we were in Memphis for dinner and right across the street was a Memphis BBQ restaurant! Hello BBQ sauce bar and best pulled pork I have EVER tasted!

 

Of course on our way back to Nashville we remembered we wanted to stop at a Piggly Wiggly and a Winn Dixie. After much research and a few phone calls we found out that there were no Winn Dixie's in the area, and there was ONE Piggly Wiggly that would be open late enough for us to go to. Also, we stopped at a gas station only to find BOILED PEANUTS! The heavens rang out for that one.

 After a very event filled Nashville stay, it was time to head back west. We started out for Louisville at 6 o'clock the next morning. While entering Kentucky I wondered if we would go through Elizabethtown and thought about how many of my friends would die if I got to. Unfortunately, it was way off the path, but I did get to the Junction which was worth the photo!

Kentucky really was a beautiful state, and I wished so much that we
were able to stay in Louisville longer because it was SUCH a cool place

 

 Getting to see the Louisville Slugger Factory was really amazing. They had windows all around the building so you could watch them make bats. I am totally going back some day to do the tour and see the Museum.

 Then... the unexpected...unplanned...most random event........

 
 We got to see SANTA!!! We were on our way to St. Louis, ahead of schedule none the less, and BOOM.  Santa Claus, Indiana! The whole town is Christmas themed! And while we were looking around an ornament shop, who do we see?!?!? SANTA HIMSELF. Over joyed, I jumped on that mans lap and couldn't get my money out fast enough for documentation. There was also a church in the town, St.Nicholas Catholic Church to be exact!

 
 After a very nice visit with Santa and a stop at an Antique shop, we were back on the road to St. Louis where we saw the Arch. It was very big. Too big to fit in a photo unless you were far far away. But I gave it my best effort!

Then... there was Lambert's Cafe. THE best food on the trip. The BEST pork and beans AND greens I have ever had (sorry Momma!) Honestly, I can't even begin to explain the experience. Just go. If you are ever in Southern Missouri.

Setting up camp was hard when we had just gone through the luxury of a hotel for two nights, but we did it and even had some time to ponder life. The next morning it was a mad dash across Kansas to Colorado!

 
 We finally got to the Colorado Reptile Park where we are greeted with light showers and some odd folks. This was such a huge deal for me. Many don't know this, but I love alligators and I love watching alligator shows. Recently, I made it a life goal to hold and alligator, yet there isn't anywhere to do this in California. So it became a distant dream. One day, yes, I would do it. But not soon. And then I found out about this farm in Colorado in an area we would be going through. It was unreal. So as we pay for our admission, the woman asked if we wanted to feed the alligators too. Again, I could not get my money out fast enough and even said "Please, take my money." 

 These were the "baby alligators". They were separated by size.

This was Elvis (yes, very ironic that this was his name). He was 25 and I would say the largest one there. But there was one inside that was pretty huge and he may have been bigger. Elvis was about 12 feet long. 

 This little cutie to the left was totally begging for food. Or an arm. Meh. To the right is an albino alligator. Very rare and totally excited to see it!

 This was their crocodile. Yes there is a difference. And as a sign of love, God sent us a rainbow on our way to dinner!

 Colorado was such a beautiful state. I really wouldn't mind living there. Not one bit. 

 The storm we drove into to get to Zion.

 Entering Zion. I will not make an attempt to explain any of these pictures. The sights were astonishing. It really was one of those places where no amount of photo's or expensive camera would translate what we saw. We set up the tent in a rain storm, but it passed over night and we were welcomed with a breath taking morning. Zion is a place everyone should at the very least drive through. We hiked the Emerald Pools trail. It was very easy. A few very small hills and the altitude was nothing worth mentioning. I can't wait to go back again.

 

 

After our hike we jumped into our car and headed home. 8 Days, 17 states, and somewhere over 5,200 miles. We did a whole lot, saw a whole lot, and learned a whole lot. #full2nash