On to Nashville

The next morning all of us regrouped. Mom seemed to think we'd go do something but Dad and I both knew better. After breakfast and some lolly gagging it was time to pack and head out. Besides this way we'd all be at our destination before rush hour. My folks had a three hour drive and according to Google Maps so did we.

Unfortunately for us Google Maps was a little off, the directions were correct but the estimates were not.

We drove through Frankfurt KY. This looks like a really neat town. We might have to visit some time. Outside of Frankfurt we spied this:

Rose was just as excited as I was. It is called the Castle Post. Here is a long and sometimes redundant history of the castle. Apparently it burned to the ground a few years ago, was rebuilt and opened only recently as a luxury hotel. We will have to save our pennies because it looks like it would be worth it for one night.

Since we wewre not on interstate we snuck up on Louisville where we picked up the interstate, finally. According to Google Maps we should only be 125 miles to Nashville though it took us two of the three hours to get to Louisville. The first mileage sign we saw said Nashville 185 miles. Dammit. That was a real buzz kill. Since we were at this point hungry but had planned on being in Nashville at 3:00 and now it was looking like 6:00 we decided to get some grub at White Castles!

I love White Castles and no Krystals are not the same. Perhaps my love of White Castles comes from their being headquartered in my hometown of Columbus OH, though I did not eat them growing up (I didn't grow up in Columbus). We got a sack of 10 sliders. Rose seemed excited about "little tiny cheeseburgers" but after one bite she gave it back. I don't think she liked the onions. I should have known better.

Finally we rolled into Nashville as Dinah gleefully made sure we were listening to the Indigo Girls, arriving at the Holiday Inn Vanderbilt. We pretty much always stay at a Holiday Inn and I try to get a good one for Dinah. I wanted the Indigo down the street but you had to pay for parking. I have thousands of Priority Club points allowing for free nights but my stash is dwindling. Maybe that means it is time to go back to work?

This hotel was very nice. We were on the exclusive executive floor. There was no bath tub but a beautiful walk in shower. Poor Rose, she's petrified of showers. If only Dinah and I were skinnier, this shower was made for shower sex.

Anyway, it was the 5th of May, Cinco de Mayo, one of my favorite holidays and once again Dinah and I failed to celebrate it properly. After a long drive I didn't feel like driving to the "good" Mexican restaurant recommended to me, nor did I feel like walking across the street to the Mexican restaurant and dealing with the college crowd. So we opted to eat at the hotel restaurant/bar, order chips and salsa and Mexican adult beverages. This way we could both imbibe and all we had to do was not lose Rose and be able to find the elevator.

Dinah had her usual, margaritas. I had a free drink coupon for domestic beer so I got a Bud Light Lime, closest I could get to something Mexican. I followed that with Dos Perros from Nashville's Yazoo Brewery because it sounded Mexican and finally an Enlightened Black Ale because I love black beer (Xingu maybe my all time favorite beer). Rose got a cheese quesadilla, Dinah is a sucker for hot wings and I got a cheeseburger. Dinah's wings were hot. They were so hot I think she only ate three. I finished the rest. They were hot. And they weren't vinegary as so many are, just good and hot, hot but really really good. The way a hot wing is supposed to be. Rose was too distracted to eat her quesadilla so I think Dinah finished it. Maybe it helped to get the heat out of her mouth. I realize my cheeseburger was not very Cinco de Mayo-ish, but if it wasn't the absolute best cheeseburger I have ever had it was darn close. Damn it was good! I was in shock. At a Holiday Inn! I was having a hard time not justifying coming back the next night. Man that was an awesome cheeseburger. I am going to be sorely disappointed trying to find a matching one after that.

I mentioned that Rose was distracted. As you might expect, there is live music all over the Country Music Capital that Nashville is. And that includes the Holiday Inn Vanderbilt. They have Songwriter Night every night. Some acts are bands that play a full thirty minute set, other times they have multiple songwriters on the stage at the same time and they play their songs in a round robin fashion. Rose loves all music but she really gets into live music. You should have seen her dancing.

My favorite act of the night was the Arthur Godfrey Band. They played a thirty minute set. Lyrically they reminded me a little of Kevn Kinney (a major favorite of mine), just a little. We also liked Melissa Bollea. She shared the stage with Doug Mays and one other guy I didn't care for. They took turns singing their songs. I really liked Melissa Bollea's voice. At times she reminded me of Feist though the style was different. Doug Mays was good. He reminded me of South Carolina/Savannah beach music like Hurricane Jim though Mays is more blues than reggae. I might have to track down CDs of all three.