Alleyways and Pay Phone Calls.
ALL PHOTOS BY CLAIRE AND MRS. HOGAN
Reporting from... the road. 70 west going to Missouri. Who KNOWS where exactly that is. Anyway, we have a special guest here with us. Her name is Claire and she is my travelling companion for this week but normally, she is my life companion (we're best friends) and for next year, my yearbook companion! Yes, this is the co-chief Claire (great nickname, we know).
Claire has decided to make a cheer with this little nickname. She had the wonderful idea to do a spin off of the Hillshire Farm commercials (Hillshire Farm... GO MEAT!)... so far, we've got.
Memorial High... CO-CHIEFS!
R206... CO-CHIEFS!
Reata 11... CO-CHIEFS!
And my personal favorite and a reflection of Claire's wonderful creativity...
Holly Hartman's minions (you get to say it really fast)... CO-CHEIFS!
Ms. Hartman, if you're reading this, what are your thoughts? Is there one you would prefer?
Wooh. So, after arriving in Nashville at 10 p.m. And on the way to our hotel, we stopped at the famous Blue Bird Cafe. While enjoying some delicious spinach dip and chips, we listened to some fellows play country music. Now, I am not one for country music OR concerts but I sure did enjoy that night. It was very intimate and, unlike the concerts I'VE been to, you could tell that the reason people were there was because of the music. They quietly, calmly and happily listened to the music, which was actually pretty enjoyable. After purchasing t-shirts and taking some pictures, we drove over to our hotel. Funny situation our hotel. We planned on staying at the Grand Ole Opry but sadly enough, it got flooded so the guests were moved next door to The Radisson where we had an outdoor room and a toilet that, as Claire put it, sounded as “people shrieking and dying in a dark alley.” Claire says it was as if she was being attacked by a Death Eater. We got some sleep after chatting about our trips and I managed to steal the covers right off of her cold, miserable body. Lana: 1, Claire: 0. Win! Then, we started off our day.
After waking up, chatting some more and leaving Magda (our maid) a nice note, we headed out. First, we went to Vanderbilt and had a disappointing adventure (we chickened out of setting off the alarm in one of the buildings we allegedly broke into it). We did, however, make some friends with a mom and son, Carson or Carter or something, who were from New York City. Oh, they LIVE the life. Deciding it was time for lunch, we drove on over to Broadway street and ate some absolutely delicious barbeque at Jack's. While Mrs. Hogan waited in line (it's a popular place, folks), Claire and I walked around and into some stores and it was at THAT moment that I realized just how southern Nashville is. Oh, so southern, guys.
Typical (ha) Nashville Mural
Record Store (Only country music. Shocker.)
Hatch Show Print. It's actually a historical building AND a shop. It was AWESOME.
So anyway, lunch. Let me tell you, I've never had a BBQ sandwich (and OKAY, like 4 ribs too which may or may not be double what Claire ate) as great as that one. After another walk down Broadway St, we decided to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum for a little bit.
We stayed a lot longer than expected and actually got kicked out but only because it was actually a really nice time! It's very thorough and well done, the museum is. Next up was a short walk down 21st St where Claire and I popped our heads into some stylish, and way too expensive stores. I'd have to say they best part was that a lot of stores have pets! One of which, an adorable little kitten, fell in love with Claire. I was super jealous. Then, to finish the day off, we went to the Grand Ole Opry.
It was definitely some great entertainment. We listened to many different singers perform and some FANTASTIC musicians and it really was a great experience.
On the way to the car though, we ran into some trouble. We decided to take the service elevator down to the garage floor and only after closing the door did we realize that you are not allowed to go on the service elevator and the only way to get the doors to open again is to have a pass key.
Trapped.
Between Mrs. Hogan hitting the alarm button, Claire laughing and me banging on the door, the security guard heard us and happily released us. It was hilarious. Eventually, we made it to the car and I fell asleep shortly after that in the car while Claire and her mom got lost (that's what they told me anyway. I was long gone at that point) and enjoyed a good rest after a good, long day.
Sunday, (today) we woke up early (ha.) and drove on over to the Pancake Pantry where we feasted on some delicious sweet potato pancakes after waiting in line for an hour an a half (it was worth it). Our tummies full, we drove on over the Chihuly Botanical Garden Exhibit and even though it was extremely hot, we were still able to appreciate the art. Chihuly is a glass artist and he is original and wonderfully talented and his pieces looked so good amongst the beautiful flowers and plants.
WAY too hot.
Claire doing something she loves and is very good at, taking photos
Afterwards, we stopped at the Loveless Cafe and Motel to grab some fried tomatoes, which are pretty good, and then carried on our way to Missouri.
After thinking about the name Loveless Cafe and Motel, I decided that Claire and I should open up a small cafe in Houston specifically for people who have just gone through break-ups called, wait for it, the Loveless Cafe. At this cafe, we'll serve all the best comfort foods, have fresh baked cookies on demand and comfortable couches and, of course, a lending library. We'll get rich so there's really no point in us continuing to look at colleges.
And that was the end of Nashville.
