PLANTED IN NASHVILLE (at least until Tuesday)

DAY 3: Nashville (6/29/09)

Woke up & the BW room still smelled toe-ish. Anyway, we do try to get some exercise when on vacation.  Took a run from the BW all the way downtown and over the Shelby Street Bridge.  Gotta say that the vacation runs are usually darn rewarding just to see things in a different perspective.  Ernest Tub Record Shop, Hatch Show Print and all Lower Broadway, lots to see when huffing it on foot. With a few miles under the belt and the night before hopefully all sweated out, we hit Nashville.  First stop was a little country cookin', meat & three style which is a staple in these parts.  Arnold's was the joint located on 8th Ave S.  Cafeteria style and legendary for their meat & three.  (Meat & 3 = a meat item with three sides.)  We got their early, but the crowd was steady.  I opted for the roast beef with mac & cheese, pintos, and collards while the other half went for the tilapia with rice, collards, and mac & cheese.  All just what the doctor ordered for Northeasterners hankering for Southern style.  Next stop was Krogers to get some canned goods to get us free admission to the Frist Art Museum located downtown.  Hit a vintage store and grabbed a few items, not to mention running into our house concert pal Justin Townes Earle.  One of those R.I. one degree of separation moments.  From the vintage store, we hit Grimey's Records which while smaller, is right up there with Waterloo in Austin on the list of good ones, make that great ones.  Got some stuff - Detroit Cobras, Black Lips, and the R. Crumb blues card series which is back in print!   From there, it was off to the Frist where the main exhibit was works from Chuck Close.  Very cool and an incredible job they did turning this former Nashville post office into an art gallery.  The other exhibit was on various museums, some finished and some not, all over the world.  Real interesting.  Next stop was the Nashville Public Library for a printmaking exhibit that was n the verge of opening.  What was hung was cool and all from Middle Tennessee State students.  I did the Rad font now.  Made a quick stop at Hatch Show Print before taking a ride over to East Nashville.  Nashville pals tell me it's the South Austin equivalent.  Looking at the old cool houses and neat shops and joints, I'd tend to agree.  We did a few pints at the Three Crow Bar at Five Points.  Excellent tap selection.  Departed about 6 and went in search of food.  Being a Monday, the options in Nashville are not as many.  Add to that the fact that we hadn't done our homework and it all adds up to the low point moment of the trip.  Jackson's was the place and the food was mediocre, the server emotionless, and one big mistake.  Oh yeah, we got a ticket for illegally parking, unbeknownst to us when we were doing it.  What if we don't pay it?  Anyway, that disappointment gave way to glee within an hour, that being hitting the Station Inn for the 2nd night in a row to catch Monday night institution The Time Jumpers.  An all-star band that includes Ranger Doug, Joe Spivey, Paul Franklin, Aubrey Haynie, Dawn Sears, Kenny Sears and more amongst its 11 members (on this night), Western swing and C&W was the order and this band did it to perfection.  Most highly recommended to anyone coming to Music City.  It was the perfect end to a real good day.  Room still smells like toes.

DAY 4: Leaving Nashville for Oxford, Mississippi (6/30/09)

Sad to leave Nashville (another day would have been just right), but we got rooms booked, etc.  Made the 199 mile drives to Memphis and then headed SSE to Oxford, MS, our next stop.  On the way the plan was to hit Phillips Grocery in Holly Springs for what multiple people told me is the ultimate cheeseburger.  Not the easiest place to find, but we did.  A relic of a building right next to another relic, the old Holly Springs rail station, Phillips was absolutely no frills.  Sweety got a straight cheeseburger and I opted, as usual, for the larger item, a deluxe cheeseburger.  Really good, but I'd rank it behind the burgers at Rotiers in Nashville.  Holly Springs is also home to Graceland Two run by an Elvis fanatic, obviously.  We found the place pretty easily, knocked on the door, but no one ever answered.  While I wish we could've gotten the tour, there was a definite twist to the place.  Maybe next time.  With temps creeping to near 100, we made the trek to Oxford and checked in at the Downtown Oxford Inn for the night.  The home of the Univ of Mississippi, Oxford has a beautiful town square with shops and buildings on all side.  We walked the square and ended up at the bar at City Grocery for a Reb Ale.   Cool upstairs bar overlooking the square with folk art of musicians painted on the walls.  While there, read an article about a newish joint offering happy hour oysters & drinks called The Snackbar.  Located just outside of town, we made tracks.  18 Louisiana oysters, two beers and a couple of Mint Juleps later, we left very happy.  (Should mentioned the bartender and shucker, both recently graduated from Ole Miss, who definitely made the visit real good.)  Back to our room for some R&R&swim  for a few hours before heading in search of dinner.  The beauty of the Downtown Oxford Inn is it's walking distance to the square.  We set out for the Ajax Dinner, a very cool restaurant that reminded us of the Salvation some.  Lamar Sorrento paintings graced the walls, among other cool folk art.  Food was excellent with Sweety opting for chicken dumplings and myself the hot tamale pie.  The end to another swell day.