December 19, 2004
Day 4
It's easy to get up early in the morning when you're in a city that doesn't offer much to do at night. Due to this, we were at Graceland by 9:30. Neither of us are huge Elvis freaks, but you can't go to Memphis without visiting it.
Graceland in a nutshell: Everyone has a relative with no taste in interior decor who has left things pretty much as they looked in 1977. Picture what this person would do with unlimited money. Green shag carpet on the floor and the ceiling. Fake fur everywhere. It was an atrocity.
An even greater atrocity was the cost: even with a student ID and a AAA card, it cost over $21 for an hour and a half of mild entertainment. A.G. calculated that the full non-discounted cost of admission came out to about 30 cents per minute, which means you'd spend less money calling Nigeria.
After a plate of mediocre ribs, it was off to Nashville, 200 miles away and far, far more fun.
Just like with Jeff's help figuring out what to do in Little Rock, ex-Tennesean Smith gave us a detailed list of things to do, all of which were absolutely perfect.
Whole Hog BBQ in the West End? It was worth eating outside in a cage.
Ernest Tubbs' record shop? You're reading the blog of a proud owner of Van Lear Rose, due entirely to the fact that I liked the store so much.
Goo Goo Clusters are indeed a delicious treat. They're like a Milky Way hit with a mallet, topped with nuts and coated in chocolate again.
Broadway honky tonks? They had actual locals, not to mention cheap beer and great live music. I always zip past country stations on the radio, but when you're in a smoky bar and it's loud, it makes sense: I too have a belly full of domestic beer and do not know where neither my dog nor my pickup can be found.
Roiter's does indeed serve the best cheeseburger in America.
The Sweetwater is a dive bar of the highest order, and is consequently a lot of fun. Washingtonians: take note that a real "dive" does not have three kinds of IPA and does not charge $2.75 for a can of Schlitz.
Major lesson learned: A.G. and I both owe Smith some drinks. That, and you can get blitzed on cheap booze the night before driving for 11 hours and live to tell the tale.
Posted by rj3 at December 19, 2004 4:29 PM
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