After having breakfast and a morning swim in the Howard Johnson motel, we drove further towards Nashville. Our main objective was to see how the Capital of Country Music lives. There were only 35 miles to drive. We had some flyers taken from the motel, which suggested going on the river cruise on the Cumberland River.
We also ordered a Hertz Never-Lost navigation system when we rented a car. Honestly, $81 rent for that tool for 12 days was a good payoff. It saved us lots of time and nerves. The usage of that tool is straightforward; you type in the address where you want to drive, and it directs you to the voice of your choice.
We drove to the parking lot at Opry Mills shopping center and bought a ticket for a lunch cruise on the General Jackson Showboat. The General Jackson Lunch Cruise is a casual, country-themed 2.5-hour cruise with a lunch buffet and the show “Now That’s Country,” featuring Tim Watson. There is an option to purchase the cruise without the lunch and show.
General Jackson, at 300 feet long, is the largest paddle wheeler in the world. It is named after the first steamboat that operated on the Cumberland River in 1817; it is styled in the grand tradition of the original.
We sat most of the time at the top of the riverboat. There was a band playing a good country beat, the sun, and beautiful views of Nashville. The American audience is the best-they go along with the artist. It was just enjoyable to follow it. We have only the best memories from that lunch cruise.
After the cruise, we drove to downtown Nashville, parked the car, and walked the streets of Music City. Nashville is the capital of Tennessee. Nicknamed “Music City,” Nashville is the home of the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Nashville is nicknamed “Music City” because it is widely known as a center for the country music industry. It is home to numerous recording studios and a popular destination for touring musicians and music fans. Additionally, Nashville has also a thriving scene for other genres of music like rock, blues, and gospel music. The city of Nashville has a population of more than 500 thousand people. With this figure, it is the second-largest city in Tennessee (after Memphis).
We walked down Second Avenue and Broadway and entered the Hard Rock Café, Wildhorse Saloon, B.B. King Blues Club, and souvenir shops. Good music sounded like it was just on the streets.
After an excellent time in Nashville, we still had 500 km to drive to Memphis. It was an easy drive on Interstate 40. Before the darkness fell, we checked into another Howard Johnson motel.
The story continues at Elvis Presley’s Graceland.
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