Nice day again today-low 80’s and sunny. Did some laundry in AM, then read and relaxed most of the afternoon.
Drove into town, started at Demo’s restaurant, a family owned steak and spaghetti restaurant, but they have lots of other stuff, all good, all reasonably priced. The honky-tonk bar area is about a seven x ten block area with Broadway between 4th and 5th Ave. being the main street with bars on either side of the street offering bands all day and all night long for nothing but tips and the chance to play in Nashville. Each bar has a different theme, some western, some hillbilly, some rock, some bluegrass, some honky-tonk, some XXX (Coyote Ugly), even a Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville bar, all decorated differently but all really cool to see. All good bands tonight, we must have heard 20 or more, some we remembered from last year. Tootsie’s bar on Legend’s corner is the probably the most famous where lots of singers started out and then hung out at intermission time during their performance at the Grand Ole Opry across the street (the old one, the Ryman). Each one has a long bar where you can get a drink but none of them require it. You can just sit, listen to the band and then move on to the next one. Music pours out onto the street from all over, this is my favorite part of Nashville. Lots of restaurants, gift shops, boot stores, Ernest Tubbs music store where you can get any music you’re into, old and new. This is also where the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Convention Center and Bridgewater Arena are located. Last year we took a horse and carriage ride from here, they’re all lined up in front of Mike’s Ice Cream Store. The General Jackson Showboat is also moored here, right down the street on the Cumberland River. Lots of partying, music, street performers waiting to get discovered, neon lights, two-steppin’, fiddle playin' on the bar, boot stompin’ action and noise in this part of Nashville. Even saw Elvis on his cell phone. Classy, elegant, cheesy, glitzy, rowdy and refinded all at the same time. I love this part of Nashville, it’s friendly, care-free, laid back and just a happy place, everybody’s smiling and singing. There are other areas, The Gulch, Printer’s Alley, SoBro, the District with other bars and entertainment but we tend to stick to “Honky Tonk Highway".