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seabird78Nothing like a little lunch break blogging to make the day a bit more bearable, right? With half an hour to spare, I might even be able to power through and wrap up my summary of my Nashville trip. That's the goal of the minute, although I reserve the right to stop and drag this out a little bit more if I write my way to a nice dramatic pause.
So when I last left you, I was at my hotel, faced with the prospect of entertaining myself while awaiting access to my room. I didn't relish the idea of wandering aimlessly, if only because it was a tad bit chilly outside, but since the sun was shining I decided to man up and take some time to explore. First on my agenda was the public square, which was adjacent to the big Nashville courthourse. It was rather deserted thanks to the weather, but still very pretty, and I imagined it would be a nice place to relax with a sandwich and a drink when the temperature was better. Off to one side there was an area known as the Founder's Pavilion, which had a row of long stone panels, each one detailing a particular aspect of Nashville history. Nerdy Jenny took over when I saw that, and I read a bunch of the tidbits. None of them stuck with me enough to rattle them off here, but it was interesting nonetheless. I know there was one about the rules and hours for the Nashville Public Library in the late nineteenth century that was amusing. And a few had old-timey images that were nice to look at.
From there I wandered down a staircase and found myself staring at the Mississipppi River. I've always found something soothing about massive bodies of water, so I walked along the riverbank and just stood and listened to the sound of the rushing current for a bit. I also took some time to thumb through the entertainment magazine I had on hand, and ended up finding a lengthy article that was really absorbing. It was a feature on a Nashville woman who inadvertently married a pedophile, and it told the story of how she'd hooked up with him in the first place and what happened when she eventually learned of the ugly secrets he'd been keeping. Definitely not feel-good journalism, but it was well-told and thoroughly researched and gave me some insights into my sister's motivation for getting herself into a similar situation.
When I was done reading I contemplated a visit to the capitol building, which was directly opposite the public square and the courthouse, but then I remembered that the Tennessee State Museum was a little closer and had free admission. I figured it couldn't hurt to check that out, if only to get warm for a bit.
I ventured into the building and was directed toward a staircase leading to the lower level (the space also housed a concert hall and some offices in addition to the museum). Most of the things on display were things I'd expect to see at the Field Museum here in Chicago, stuff like Native American pottery, Civil War-era clothing and furniture, and lots of other quaint artifacts. My favorite exhibit, though, was a small display case that contained an Andrew Jackson-themed Les Paul guitar. It was crafted from the wood of a 275-year-old tree that up until recently was standing in front of The Hermitage mansion, where Jackson lived from 1804-1845. The tree was destroyed by a tornado, giving the Gibson guitar folks the opportunity to create a collectible that might help raise money to fix the non-tree-related damage that The Hermitage sustained in the storm.
This exhibit appealed to me because it seemed so utterly bizarre. Never until that moment would I have imagined that Andrew Jackson and Les Paul could be uttered in the same sentence. But indeed they were. And unfortunately my camera was packed in my checked suitcase, so I wasn't able to get a photo of it.
More on this and the rest of my afternoon later, though. My half hour of writing time is long over, and I need to get back to work!
So when I last left you, I was at my hotel, faced with the prospect of entertaining myself while awaiting access to my room. I didn't relish the idea of wandering aimlessly, if only because it was a tad bit chilly outside, but since the sun was shining I decided to man up and take some time to explore. First on my agenda was the public square, which was adjacent to the big Nashville courthourse. It was rather deserted thanks to the weather, but still very pretty, and I imagined it would be a nice place to relax with a sandwich and a drink when the temperature was better. Off to one side there was an area known as the Founder's Pavilion, which had a row of long stone panels, each one detailing a particular aspect of Nashville history. Nerdy Jenny took over when I saw that, and I read a bunch of the tidbits. None of them stuck with me enough to rattle them off here, but it was interesting nonetheless. I know there was one about the rules and hours for the Nashville Public Library in the late nineteenth century that was amusing. And a few had old-timey images that were nice to look at.
From there I wandered down a staircase and found myself staring at the Mississipppi River. I've always found something soothing about massive bodies of water, so I walked along the riverbank and just stood and listened to the sound of the rushing current for a bit. I also took some time to thumb through the entertainment magazine I had on hand, and ended up finding a lengthy article that was really absorbing. It was a feature on a Nashville woman who inadvertently married a pedophile, and it told the story of how she'd hooked up with him in the first place and what happened when she eventually learned of the ugly secrets he'd been keeping. Definitely not feel-good journalism, but it was well-told and thoroughly researched and gave me some insights into my sister's motivation for getting herself into a similar situation.
When I was done reading I contemplated a visit to the capitol building, which was directly opposite the public square and the courthouse, but then I remembered that the Tennessee State Museum was a little closer and had free admission. I figured it couldn't hurt to check that out, if only to get warm for a bit.
I ventured into the building and was directed toward a staircase leading to the lower level (the space also housed a concert hall and some offices in addition to the museum). Most of the things on display were things I'd expect to see at the Field Museum here in Chicago, stuff like Native American pottery, Civil War-era clothing and furniture, and lots of other quaint artifacts. My favorite exhibit, though, was a small display case that contained an Andrew Jackson-themed Les Paul guitar. It was crafted from the wood of a 275-year-old tree that up until recently was standing in front of The Hermitage mansion, where Jackson lived from 1804-1845. The tree was destroyed by a tornado, giving the Gibson guitar folks the opportunity to create a collectible that might help raise money to fix the non-tree-related damage that The Hermitage sustained in the storm.
This exhibit appealed to me because it seemed so utterly bizarre. Never until that moment would I have imagined that Andrew Jackson and Les Paul could be uttered in the same sentence. But indeed they were. And unfortunately my camera was packed in my checked suitcase, so I wasn't able to get a photo of it.
More on this and the rest of my afternoon later, though. My half hour of writing time is long over, and I need to get back to work!
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Date: 2010-03-05 12:30 am (UTC)Nashville has its charms, mos def. I went down there a lot when I lived in western KY.
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Date: 2010-03-05 03:37 pm (UTC)But that said, I did make it as far as the gift shop! More on that to come....