Nashville, TN…Yee-haw!
Nashville was only 300 miles away from St. Louis….notice how I now think of 300 miles driving as a normal drive…Insane - and I had a Kenyon friend who was from Nashville so I was hoping to meet up with him while I was there. We had run a marathon together, he was responsible for the 3 mile portion, while I ran the 13 mile portion, but he became one of my closer friends during my Senior year and I was excited to see a familiar face.
I didn’t really know what the heck I was going to do in Nashville, because, well, it’s Nashville. I know this probably comes off as condescending and closed-minded, but I never really had any desire to ever go to Tennessee in my life prior to this part of my road trip so I didn’t go in thinking much of what Nashville had to offer. It was one of the suggested points of interest in my Lonely Planet guidebook, and I thought to myself, what the hell…there was supposed to be good music.
I arrived in Nashville a little bummed because I just left Suz, but I had no time to mope, so I found my hostel, thought that the price they were asking was too steep for the accommodation and started driving to another hostel that had really good reviews online. I quickly learned that the other hostel was 30 miles away and I decided that I’d bite the bullet and pay their fee and be walking distance from downtown. This entire ordeal took 45 minutes because I started driving to the new hostel and then got stuck in rush hour traffic…yes there is rush hour traffic in Nashville, TN.
The hostel was really friendly, but I didn’t waste much time moving in before heading towards downtown. LP told me to check out “The District,” and Printers Alley and Fort Nashborough, which were all really cool, and I began gaining a much greater appreciation for Nashville. For some reason I was seriously doubting what the city had to offer and that I was wasting my time heading southbound at “random” cities in the US. I was actually closer to the East Coast then I had been in awhile, and returning home wasn’t even a consideration, but it’s annoying when you get close to home at the beginning or in the middle of a trip because it’s so tempting to return to the comfortable, routine that home provides you.
I found a garden to stroll through and checked out the government buildings before deciding that it was time to eat. I used LP’s suggestions for dining but one of the places they suggested ended up having me walk for 45 minutes outside of downtown into the middle of nowhere, where I ended up getting a little lost and eventually finding the restaurant that was closed for the night. It was frustrating, I was missing Suz, and was hungry and felt confused with other things, but I wasn’t upset. I just felt awkward.
I returned back to downtown and “The District,” ate at a restaurant called “Merchant’s” which was surprisingly good, and cozy, and headed for Printer’s Alley for a night of music. I went to a place called Bourbon St Blues & Boogie Bar which had a live band playing. I paid a $5 cover and listened to music for the rest of the evening. I ended up staying there for around 4 hours before making my way back to the hostel.
I couldn’t remember the name of the street I had to get off of on my walk and ended up getting a little lost for about 30 minutes until I realized that I should call the hostel and see if they would give me the street they were located on. This plan ended up working and I made my way back to the hostel after an emotionally and physically draining day. However, I thought that Nashville was a really great place and I was really glad that I had stopped in the city for the night. I also got my mom a Hard Rock Cafe pin, and got myself a shirt…so I now got my mom pins from Niagra Falls, Chicago, St. Louis and Nashville, and I had 4 new shirts.
Tags: Travel
