On the Road 8 x 30; 24 x 7

05-05-2005 Nashville Cats!

I was wide awake at 6:00 a.m. so I got up and did some correspondence. Around 8:30 I walked to the office in the chilly 49 degree air to mail my letters. Our neighbor with the Mini-Winnie was in the office and we walked back together. His name is Jeff and he is originally from Pennsylvania. This was their first time in Tennessee. When I said the map decals on the side of his RV looked like they had just about done the entire US of A, he said they bought it used and it was not his map decal. But they have been to quite a few places. They started with a pop-up, then a travel trailer and now this small Class C. He says it's too small and they want a bigger one. He and his wife and one of their mothers are in it. He said sometimes one of his 10 grandkids joins them; but never all of them at once! When I got back home I saw all three of them at the laundry room, then they packed up and left. It was hard to tell if they just left the campground for the day or if they were gone for good. It's kind of hard to tell since they have no toad and have to move their whole rig if they just want to go out to the grocery store or to eat.

Looking out the window, I saw a lady with four Frou-Frou dogs on a lease; 2 Bishon Frises, a Schnauzer, and a Pug.) Bob and I headed into Nashville around 11:00. We fought through the maze of highways that form a spaghetti loop around the city and found our way to 501 Commerce and the Gaylord Entertainment Center & Visitor Bureau. We secured a good map of downtown and walked down Broadway where we found Big River Grille & Brewing Works at 111 Broadway and 2nd Avenue. The Brewery was founded in 1993 and has garnered attention with several award-winning ales and lagers. Bob ordered the Sampler of 6 different ales and lagers in 4 ounce glasses so we could try them all. We started with the lightest brew; Southern Flyer Light Lager. (See the photo on this page and start at top left and go counterclockwise.) Then we moved on to 16th Avenue Pilsner, a German style Pilsner fermented with a classic German lager yeast and adding up to an alcohol content of 4.00%. The next one proved to be my favorite; Nashville Steamer Golden Ale. It combines Honey malt with Liberty hops resulting in a refreshing taste.

Ales and Lagers at Big River Brewery, Nashville, TN By this time I was in need of food. I had ordered Hazelnut Crusted Chicken with a sun-dried cherry sauce, served with White Cheddar mashed potatoes and sugar snap peas. Bob chose the Grilled Chicken Cashew Salad with artichoke hearts, Feta cheese, tomatoes and of course cashews served with a Balsamic Vinaigrette. But our order was pending so we forged ahead trying the beers. Next on the list was Gold Medal Winner Sweet Magnolia American Brown Ale. We both liked this medium body (4.13% alcohol) ale with a floral hop aroma made from Mt. Hood hops. Crystal and Chocolate malts from the United Kingdom helped it win a gold medal in the 1998 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO.

Moving along the light to dark continuum we tried the Thick Brick Red Ale. They called it 'robust' with a distinct citrus flavor of Cascade hops. We called it motor oil! And finally, the Award Winning Iron Horse Stout, a two time medalist. This opaque black stout has a roasted flavor stemming from rich UK malt. This one Bob's favorite and was awarded the top medal in the 1998 World Beer Cup Competition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the Bronze Medal in the 2000 Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO. This one had a whopping 4.50% alcohol content. At last our food arrived and saved us. It was all so good we couldn't resist their Signature Carrot Cake with Caramel Sauce. We enjoyed our relaxing lunch on the patio on this busy downtown street corner. It is a gorgeous 65 degree day. Bob spotted a dog standing on top of one of horses pulling an open carriage through the streets. He was perfectly balanced up there like he did it all the time. Later Bob saw him almost slip off as the horse moved unexpectedly.

We needed a walking tour of downtown after our huge repast. We walked along the Cumberland River to get a better view of the Coliseum. We could see the new home of the Tennessee Titans from our patio table at lunch. We walked over to get a better view of it rising up on the eastern shore of the Cumberland. We moseyed along Riverfront Park. This looks like a great place for outdoor concerts the way the lawn is tiered in front of the stage area that hangs out over the river. We followed the street behind the nightclubs and saw a big musician's RV and trailer. The crew was unloading sound equipment but we couldn't tell who it was. We went up a few streets to the famed Ryman Auditorium (newly refurbished for $8.5 million!) We picked up a schedule and couldn't believe that John Hiatt is going to be there in July. How I would love to see Hiatt at the Ryman!

We walked along Commerce until we found a newspaper machine that wasn't empty. Wow! Our first newspaper in three days. We're having withdrawal symptoms. We headed back to The Beast to plan a route out of downtown around 2:45. The traffic was okay but a funny thing happened. On the local TV commercials we've been seeing these ads where trucks are pulling news Regions Bank signs through town (apparently a bank is changing names.) Well we got between a bunch of trucks carrying these very signs through downtown Nashville (three in front of us and two behind.) Anyway we were home by 3:30. The lady from the front office was walking a cute little miniature long-haired black and brown dachshund. The Mini-Winnie people never came back so I guess they were just over-nighters. We read the paper and watched a Blue Collar TV Marathon.

It's 10:25 p.m. and 55.8 degrees. Today's weather couldn't have been more perfect.