Chattanooga ... Nashville ... Memphis ... Chattanooga

I arrived in Nashville on a Friday night just as the snow began. I was supposed to drive there the next day but the forecast was for snow and ice, so I had to readjust and leave a day early. In Nashville the temperature dropped 30 degrees in less than two hours. Saturday night it dropped down to 17 and by Sunday afternoon it was in the 60’s. Seems that’s the way the weather is in the middle of the country.

The weather did not deter me from seeing the sites, I bundled up and off I went. There is live music in every bar and restaurant on Broadway in Nashville. Even Taco Bell had a band playing. My first stop was the Country Music Hall of Fame. The tour I did included a bus ride to tour Studio B (RCA Victor Studio). That was the best part … it's the studio where Elvis, Dolly Parton and countless other stars recorded their hit songs. The piano Elvis played is still there and the marker on the floor where the singers stand is the same marker that has been there for over 60 years. I also toured The Ryman Auditorium, The Johnny Cash Museum and the Grand Ole Opry. One night I even went to a Nashville Predators game. While I was there it dawned on me that it was the only other professional sport I’ve seen besides baseball. I’ve never considered myself a hockey fan, but the game was a lot of fun and “The Preds” won!

After Nashville I drove to Memphis for the weekend. Jeannine flew to Memphis to meet me for the weekend. She was there less than 48 hours but we were able to pack in all the sites we wanted to see. First stop, Graceland! We did the VIP tour … I think we were there for four hours. As we were walking towards the Meditation Garden I started getting a little choked up and shed a few tears when we got to his grave. Across the street was a huge campus with 11 different Elvis exhibits, starting with all his cars and motorcycles and ending with his outfits and gold records. We ate at “Gladys’s Diner” before leaving for Sun Studios. That was a great little tour. We sat at the drumset used by U2 when they recorded Rattle n Humm there. We also posed with the microphone Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins – aka The Million Dollar Quartet used. We ended the day visiting the Lorraine Museum … another very moving part of the day. For dinner we had the best ribs at BB King’s on Beale Street. We had a great breakfast at Sunrise Memphis before I brought Jeannine to the airport.

After the airport I drove back to Chattanooga. The AirBnB I’m at now is the best yet! It’s really small but it has a nice deck with a beautiful view of Chattanooga and Signal Mountain.