Traveling without a Trace & Musings about the Music City

Aloha all,

I realize the last blog post was long enough to stretch the attention span of even the most dedicated readers, so I will try something radical and write a short post. It’s only been a week since we left “The Shoals”, how much could we possibly have seen anyway? Not much....other than the last few miles of the Natchez Trace, the Parthenon, the Grand Ole Opry, a Jimmy Buffet concert, a state capitol, two presidential homes, more plantations and civil war sites and the biggest fireworks show in the country…oh well, so much for writing a short post.

Rock carvings at Seven Springs
before rejoining the Natchez Trace

The first site on the Natchez Trace after our week in The Shoals was the impressive 'Whichahpi Commemorative Wall'. Tom Hendrix might be the most dedicated artist you have never heard of. He wanted to do something to honor his great-great-grandmother, who was forced to walk from her native homeland in Alabama to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears. She was so unhappy in Oklahoma that she then walked all the way back to Alabama, despite all the hardships on the journey. Tom Hendrix was so impressed by this story, that he decided to build a memorial by placing one stone for every step she took. For over 30 years, he and his wife stacked 8.5 million pounds of rock, mostly by hand, creating the largest unmortared wall in America and also the largest memorial honoring a woman. Unfortunately, Tom Hendrix passed away 4 years ago, but thanks to Mr. YouTube, we still got a personal tour from Mr. Hendrix right at the site of his life’s work. He told the story how he was inspired to do this and how the process “wore out three trucks, 22 wheelbarrows, 3,700 pairs of gloves, three dogs, and one old man.” Stones are still being added to the wall today, including one stone from Indiana brought here by a German couple from Hawaii.

A very small part of the 30+ year effort of Tom Hendrix

We spent our last nights on the Natchez Trace at the Meriwether Lewis Campground. Lewis died here under mysterious circumstances in 1809, only 3 years after returning from the epic Lewis & Clark expedition. Historians argue whether it was suicide or murder. Unfortunately, even the small exhibition was closed, so we weren’t able to ask a ranger what really happened. We spent two nights here anyway, not so much to learn about Meriwether, but because the weather wasn’t so merry. But just like in Hawaii, bad weather makes for the best waterfalls…

Fall Hollow Falls along the Natchez Trace

The Natchez Trace ends on the outskirts of Nashville, our final destination on the Trace was the beautiful double arch bridge just before the northern terminus. We had been on and off the Natchez Trace Parkway for over a month by then and loved every mile of it. With its unique design and limited modern distractions, there was always a sense of calm and belonging when we came back onto the Parkway. And we were kind of nostalgic for it as soon as we left it. We might have to hit the Blue Ridge Parkway next.

Hulagirl on the last miles on the Natchez Trace

There have been three Presidents from Tennessee, all in the middle of the 19th century. Interesting useless trivia: All three of them were born in North Carolina before moving to Tennessee. First, we visited James Polk’s Home in Columbia. Now, be honest: What do you know about President James Polk? He might be the most underrated US president. He served only one term, but he added more territory to the United States than any other president…yes, more than the Louisiana Purchase and more than the purchase of Alaska. Polk did that mostly by starting a war with Mexico to add the Southwest and by negotiating with Britain to add the Northwest, thus being responsible for the whole western third of the US mainland. This fulfillment of the “Manifest Destiny” to expand the country from sea to shining sea was exactly what he had promised to do. At the Polk Home they claim that this makes him the only US president to keep all his campaign promises. In any case, his accomplishments are pretty impressive whether you agree with his policies or not. Yet most people, including Chris & Sandra of two weeks ago, know next to nothing about the guy.

Andrew Jackson's Hermitage in Nashville

The second presidential site was Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage Plantation in Nashville. Now here’s a president that should be easy to dislike: Not only did he fully support slavery, but he was also the one pushing for the Indian Removal Act, which laid the ground work for the Trail of Tears. 60,000 Native Americans were forcibly removed from their homeland, including Tom Hendrix’s great-great-grandmother. They acknowledge these atrocities in the museum at the Hermitage and on a dedicated tour about the slaves at the Hermitage, but they still hail him as a true American hero. It’s easy to judge a guy with the moral perspective of two centuries of hindsight. But it’s never that simple. For example: A little fact that doesn’t fit in with the picture of a racist, slave-owning and Indian-killing Jackson is that he adopted a native American orphan and raised him as his own son. He’s still not my favorite president, but he’s definitely in my top 45. 

Carnton Plantation in Franklin, TN

We have seen many cute towns, countless plantation homes and plenty of civil war sites. But we were still VERY impressed by the town of Franklin, which combines all of the above. I don’t think the blood stains on the floor of the Carnton Plantation alone would have impressed us that much. But our truly gifted tour guide was able to transport us back to the time when the house was used as a field hospital during the civil war. And I don’t think the bullet holes in the barn at the Carter House would have impressed us that much, if our tour guide did not describe the battle that took place there so vividly.

Bullet holes from the Civil War battle at the Carter House

Nashville proudly calls itself “Music City” and it’s easy to see why. For starters, it’s where you find the “Grand Ole Opry”, the home of America’s longest running radio show, with almost 5,000 shows in almost 100 years. We did not realize it is such a mecca for country music fans, otherwise we would have reserved our tickets for the backstage tour in advance. Only single tickets remained when we got there. Sandra had seen the original location, the Ryman Auditorium, when she was in Nashville a few years ago for a conference, so I got to see the current home and now I understand why the Grand Ole Opry is such a big deal and I even like country music a little more. Sandra also showed me the Gaylord Hotel, where she stayed during the conference…that’s a hell of a hotel even by Vegas standards!

'The Grand Ole Opry'
You know a RADIO show is popular when they need
this many seats for the studio audience!

Apparently, before Nashville was known as Music City, it was the ‘Athens of the South’. So in 1896, for Tennessee’s Centennial Exhibition, they built a full size replica of the Parthenon. The temporary model was so popular that it was replaced by a permanent version in the 1930’s. It houses a very nice Fine Arts museum and the building is in much better shape than the original in Greece, it also has much shorter lines.

The slightly newer, slightly better preserved,
less busy version of the Parthenon

We had pretty lucky timing, again: We got to Nashville for the 4th of July weekend.  We spent Saturday with Ute’s friend Suzie, who we had never met before, but we instantly felt like old friends. We even had “Kaffee & Kuchen” with Suzie’s German parents. I’m not sure whether I’m more amazed that her dad comes from the same small German town as Sandra’s dad or that her dad proposed to her mom only a couple of hours after meeting her, took her to America and they are still happily married 59 years later! We then spent a lovely evening at Suzie & Philipp’s place on a hill with a beautiful view of the 3rd of July fireworks, eating, drinking and talking with our new old friends.

Meeting old friends for the first time

On the 4th of July we went into downtown Nashville. I have never seen and heard so much live music all at once.There were about a dozen bars, clubs and restaurants on every block, with each live band loud enough to entertain the whole block by itself. Plus a huge public stage on Broadway and a few hundred thousand people on the streets. Too be honest, it all got a little bit too much. Maybe we’re just not used to crowds anymore after a year of social distancing. Luckily, the RV parking lot was right behind from where they launched the fireworks, so we could watch the fireworks show with a handful of fellow RVers and even some fellow Ultimate Frisbee players. 

The biggest fireworks show in Chrisandra history

Nashville had some leftover fireworks from last year, so they had promised the biggest 4th of July firework show in the country. Sounded like a dubious claim at first, but after seeing the show, I believe it. Definitely the biggest fireworks we have ever seen, 30 minutes of wow! It was a very special celebration, not only because it was the first post-pandemic Independence Day, but also because it marked a personal milestone for us. It seems impossible, but the math is pretty simple and I checked it twice: Sandra and I have now lived in the US for more than 10% of her entire 245 year existence! Yes, we have lived through 10% of America's history and we are working hard on learning about the other 90%.

Nashville Riverfront

The celebrations continued into the next week: Jimmy Buffet had his first big post-pandemic concert at the Ascend Amphitheater on the river front in downtown Nashville. Turns out, we are not the only ones happy to be back on the road again: Jimmy Buffet said that walking on that stage made him feel as happy as anything in his decades long career. A Jimmy Buffet concert is also very reaffirming when one of your life’s choices is moving to a tropical island. Some of his songs can make you miss Maui.

Looks like Margaritaville is
a neighborhood of Nashville, somewhere on Maui

Of course we wouldn't leave Nashville without touring the Tennessee State Capitol. It might not be as bombastic as some others, but it's very pretty and sits prominently on a hill. We had a very good tour guide, who proudly shared his knowledge about the Tennessee Capitol. However, he was a little embarrassed about one statue. Not only was this guy a confederate general, he was also the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Who am I to judge, as a visitor from another state and an immigrant on top of that...but does anyone think it's appropriate to honor such a person in a state capitol? We have come a long way, but apparently there are still enough people in power in 2021 who use any possible tactic to keep this racist legacy alive in the state capitol as long as possible. But there are more and more people who want him out of there, so I am pretty sure he'll be gone by the time we come back here.

The Tennessee State Capitol
or as we call it "#28"

Without the Natchez Trace to guide us, we are not exactly sure where to go next. But since we hope to see the Smoky Mountains and our family in Germany, we are heading east for now. 

Aloha,

Chris & Sandra