i’m hungover, a little sick, tired from walking around being a tourist all day and hot… even if i’m having a great time. but this is just a disclaimer that it’ll mostly be pictures telling the story of this blog.
beatup old car in paradise park
leaving my mark
i like nashville. i like nashville a whole lot. i hate getting here, i hate the hangover i got from being here, but i really do like this city. it’s places like this that make me absolutely love being a backpacker.
whoa, i look bloated
jigsaw mural
it’s beautiful. like really, there’s awesome architecture and monuments, married to this old tyme feel that quickly welcomes you in. admittedly, the city is a driving city and so loses a mighty lot of points in my book as such, but goddamnit, when there’s this much sun, you can’t help but love it.
so after the shit ass bus ride and updating the blog, i took myself a long nap ‘fore i headed out into the city with a new friend, a former navy man by the name of Bryan. Bryan’s an awesome card magician, a good guy, great sense of humour and from the middle of nowhere kentucky. so it was young men full of sharp contrasts that hit the broadway strip.
bryan from kentucky in front of ryman auditorium
card shark
we hit up jack’s bbq, which is one of the famous spots around these parts. awesome food.
jack's bbq: home of the flying pigs
bbq combo platter
then we started drinking. i love me some country music and nashville is the home of country music. i enjoyed myself so much going from bar to honky tonk bar listening to music. seeing live music is something so fundamentally touching. especially when folks are mostly playing for tips, so there’s no cover. mighty beautiful.
shawna at the Wheel
i love country music because it’s always about the stories… stories of heartache and of home, things that touch the spirit. being surrounded by it, even if it’s somewhat kitschied out and touristified is wonderful. i am hella happy i decided to go to nashville. happy to the point that i’m actually going to stay an extra day.
andrew who played a mean sweet home alabama
awesome singer with the copperhead road tattoo
dude who did an amazing version of johnny come lately
real country
and it’s not just the music that makes me like this place so much… it’s the people.
god, i’ve met so many awesome wonderful people here.
... we were sober.
you gotta understand, i knew no one when i got here, trusting only in my luck and the kindness of folks that i’d be able to find people to hang out with and to vibe with.
and boy did i ever.
from bryan who got my drunk ass home last night, to robyn, steph and mary beth who were the first locals i met and got to hang out with. boy were those ladies cool as hell, and fun to boot. who else would’ve thought to make a set of googly eyes and take ‘em all across the city to take pictures? what a great idea.
pbr eyes
me and the most well dressed girl in nashville
group picature!
the ladies with pat googly eyes
of course, $6 pitchers of beer are an even better or worse idea, depending.
hell, they were so awesome i even gave one of ‘em a set of my buddha beads. i don’t really do this often, it’s kinda a big deal with me, but nothing’s ever felt so appropriate in my life, and let’s face it, i have a tendency to go with feeling more often than not.
when they left, we met even more locals, though these folks were originally from kentucky. which is trippy considering bryan was also from kentucky. i was the only non-kentuckian getting drunk at our table. what a beautiful group of folks. lizzie and christian. and especially heather.
kentuckians and vinh
too cool for school
fun and fun
it's not just northern women who can be scary
i’m going to let the pictures tell the story mostly… but i had a great time yesterday. i had a great time today so far and am probably going to have one tonight and tomorrow.
see you on the road.
life is like a bottle of milk, you gotta drink it up ‘fore it spoils.