Side Trip to Nashville
The side trip to Nashville is about 155 miles which meant three travel days for us plus one lock. We wanted to break the trip up into two long days and one short day so we would be in Nashville early Friday. So leaving late on Wednesday meant we would be pushing daylight. We had 70 miles to cover to get to our planned anchorage at a place called the Steam Plant.
We also knew we would have a head current which would slow our forward progress. Fortunately the current was pretty mild so we were able to average 8 mph. And as things would have it we had rain and lightning move in on us for part of the cruise. We had a bit of luck as the skies cleared near sunset which gave us the much needed extra light.
We dropped the anchor right at 6:20 pm which was the official sunset time for the day. Sue made a great dinner and we called it a day.
Thursday we weighed anchor at 7:30am and began a very chilly morning cruise to our planned stop at Harpeth Shoals Marina 56 miles up river. The temps rebounded nicely giving us a comfortable sunny day to cruise the beautiful Cumberland river.
The master was at work painting the trees with the wonderful fall colors. The landscape was that of rolling hills right up to the water’s edge. There were many sections that were quite remote and gave us the feeling that we were truly in the heart of Tennessee. We connected with couple Looping from Georgian Bay aboard Call Me Curly. We met them at the lock and went thru together.
We arrived at the Marina about 3:30pm and headed for our slip. As I was backing the boat in I heard this awful metal scraping noise. I yelled to Sue, “What was that?” She yelled back, “I don’t know.” All engines stop! So we were backing into a covered slip, first time by the way. Well I forgot to lower the antennas. Fortunately no harm done due to the flexibility of the antennas.
So I lowered them and finished backing so we could secured Next Chapter in her slip. I managed to sneak in a run and a bike ride to explore the very small town near the Marina. We shared docktales and dinner with the crew of Call Me Curly and closed the night with a bit of TV.
Friday morning was again very cool with temps in the low 40’s but it was very sunny. Now when you combine cold temps with warm water and little wind you have the perfect receipt for river fog. Well that’s exactly what we had. Fortunately as the sun came up it started to burn it off. We planned to pull off at 8am but delayed till 8:30. Even then we ran into some fog that caused me to spin up the radar.
By 9am we were in the clear. With only 30 miles to Nashville we had a great short cruise. The Cumberland river gets very torturous the closer you get to Nashville. Reportedly there are many country music stars homes along the banks. We reached the municipal dock at 12:30 pm and were ready to hit the ground running. The Municipal dock is right next to Titans Stadium and directly across the river from the end of Broadway.
There is a nice pedestrian bridge that connects the two sides of the river. From the vantage of the boat we can see the giant guitar at Hard Rock Cafe spinning. We can also hear the blaring of the endless live music pouring from every bar, honky tonk and rooftop. Our first mission, BBQ. So we headed of to Peg Leg Porker, an award winning BBQ joint in the Gultch district. It did not disappoint.
Then it was off to the mash pit of Broadway. If you have never been to Nashville and like country music you are missing quite a spectacle. Broadway is lined with endless multi story bars and restaurants all with live music. We wandered into Whiskey Bent and listened to these two young girls sing their hearts out. The one played the violin and treated the crowd to the best version of Devil Went Down to Georgia that was better than the original.
The other girl sang Independence Day by Tina McBride. They brought the house down. We made our way back to the boat and joined our Looper friends for a planned night to at the Grand Ole Opry House for the Friday night live show. It was awesome. The Opry House is where country stars are born. Tricia Yearwood opened the show followed by a number of other artist including the Oak Ridge Boys.
Tricia closed the show with a surprise appearance from none other that Garth Brooks. WOW what an experience. We spent the rest of our three days sightseeing, listening to great musicians and exploring the many eating and drinking establishments. The variety is unmatched. There is one thing for sure and that is there is no shortage of incredible talent and in this case musical.
What is the secret sauce that propels one to stardom and the many others to lifetime pursuit of struggle and bare survival. Is it luck? Is it timing? Is it that special internal star quality? I certainly did not find the answer from our time in Nashville but sure enjoyed those truly talented artist trying to get that major break and stand in the “Circle” at the Grand Ole Opry House where country stars are born.
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