6 Jun 2022 - Downtown Nashville

 6 Jun

This morning we took advantage of the downtown Nashville shuttle provided by our KOA campground.  We departed with 12 happy campers plus our driver and in about 20 minutes we were dropped off at 2nd and Broadway in what they call "The District"..  We spent some time downtown last year and saw most of the sights we wanted to see, so this year we really did not have an agenda.  

After exiting the van we walked down Broadway past Hard Rock where they were setting up an outdoor stage for the CMA Fest starting Thursday after we leave. 

Across the river is the Nissan Stadium.  It is primarily used for football and is the home field of the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League and the Tigers of Tennessee State University.

As noon approached, the temperature and humidity were rising with the impending storms, so we decided while we still had sunshine to head up to the rooftop bar of  Luke Bryant's.  The view is pretty good from there and we just relaxed a bit and sipped a cold one.  

Upper level

Lower level

We headed down Broadway a bit more and stopped in to check out Nudies Honky Tonk Bar.  This is a historic building dating back to 1954 when it housed the Lawrence Record Store.  Today it houses Nudies!  No "X" rated photos here!.  It is just a bar!

Nudies Gift Shop

Elijah Wise Band was playing some great music

We continued to further exploring Broadway with all the sights and sounds.  As we walked down the street the sounds of local talent emanated from each bar.   

Just south of Broadway is the Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League.

South on 3rd Ave we stopped into Goo Goo Clusters where you can make a custom Goo Goo or buy one off the shelf.  If you have never heard of them before, they are the official candy of Nashville.  They date back to 1912 at the Standard Candy Company in Nashville, TN.  A mound of caramel, marshmallow, peanuts and milk chocolate were combined into a delicious treat.  The Goo Goo Cluster was the first time a candy bar consisted of more than just one primary ingredient - chocolate.

We decided to save that for later and seek out somewhere for lunch.  Around the corner on Broadway again we found Broadway Brewhouse.  Doreen had a Big Daddy Quesadilla and I had the special which consisted of a seafood salad sandwich with a cup of red beans and rice.  The toasted rolls they used for the sandwich reminded me of the New England-style hotdog buns we used to enjoy in Maine.

After lunch we went for a walk and stopped in another bar where a really good band was playing. We relaxed there a bit and let our lunch settle.

We had some time to kill while waiting for our KOA van to pick us up so we walked north and east past the area where the 2020 Christmas morning Nashville bombing occurred.  The area is still fenced off and repairs are ongoing.

On the way to the pickup area we passed the Matteessen's ice cream, cookies and fudge shop and decided to stop for a treat.  The aroma of the fresh baked monster-sized cookies was overwhelming but we each got just one scoop of ice cream in a cup and we could have easily shared one.

We still had about 90 minutes before the van would arrive so we thought we would stop by the Country Music Hall of Fame, but the lines inside were long and it was obvious we did not have enough time to go in.  Next time.

The van picked us up promptly at 1500 hrs and back to the campground we went.  We had fun in downtown Nashville but were ready to get back to the RV.  This evening we took Liberty for a walk before the rain came.  

No plans for tomorrow other than some laundry and probably work around here getting ready to bug out on Wednesday and head to Memphis!