Nashville Part 2
Mar 05, 2022 | Asheville, NC
The next morning we went to a farmer/flea market that had one of the coolest garden shops we'd ever seen, and then we tried to go to a second flea market / pop-up thing, but this is where everything started to go wrong.
When we arrived at the parking lot for the flea market we had to drive over some very basic looking railroad rails. Shouldn't have been a problem, but through some freak accident Megan's muffler caught on the rail and got completely ripped off. There was a really gnarly noise and when I turned around to look, I hoped that the muffler I saw laying on the railroad track was just already there and was the reason why we heard the noise. But it soon became clear by the continued dragging sound of our loose exhaust pipe dragging in the gravel that it was our vehicle's lost organ.
It turned into a whole ordeal, of course, where we had to figure out who to call and what to do. We had ideas about wiring up the dragging pipe since it was decided that she'd be fine driving around with no muffler as long as the pipe wasn't touching the road, and I even found a wire laying around in the gravel, but it was too hard to reach under her car and do all that. So we did the obvious thing and called AAA.
There was still a lot to figure out though, because it turned out Megan didn't have her AAA card on her, so Erika and Kori Uber'd back to the house to get the card, with Erika coming back separately in her car since Kori didn't want to go to the play we were going to attend after. It was pretty confusing. I just chilled with Megan while she waited for the tow truck guy, so it wasn't too overwhelming from my end.
The tow truck guy was surprisingly unknowledgeable about cars, because he declared that this was a catalytic converter rather than a muffler (I looked it up later to confirm that he was wrong) and that CC's have "gold in them" (they have platinum not gold.) And we made the mistake of telling him about our wiring idea so he spent 20 minutes trying to pull that off rather than just towing the car. But he did actually pull off a form of the wiring technique by zip-tying the pipe up. I was worried that the zip ties would melt, but whatever.
We decided to check out the pop-up market thing very minimally since we were running out of time before the play. We got lunch at the single food truck that showed up, where I decided to get 2 cheesed-out items: Nashville hot chicken mac n cheese (I had seen lots of "Nashville hot chicken" food items in Austin and Atlanta and hadn't taken any of them on, but decided that the time was right since I was in the eponymous city) and nacho "southern fries". It was very tasty and the chicken was definitely spicy. Erika got a quinoa burger that she seemed to think was passable. The lady who ran the truck had the most "Southern grandma" accent you can imagine, so it was nice that she not only had a vegan option, but packaged the food in the cotton-y fiber clamshells rather than polystyrene.
After we ate we headed over to a church to see the play. I might not have mentioned that this play was a production of "Aladdin Jr.", and that it was to be performed by Megan's middle school aged students. Not sure why a school production was being put on at a church, but it's Tennessee I guess. She had asked us before we arrived if we wanted to see her kids' play, and we knew sure well that it was going to be entertaining. And it sure was. Actually it would have been a fairly legit play if not for the young actress who played princess Jasmine. She was constantly breathing into the mic, giving a Darth Vader element to her character. Also her big dangly earrings were always banging loudly against her mask. The real high point was when she was singing A Whole New World. Not sure if it was her fault or Aladdin's, but during the big key change they both remained stubbornly on the old key, which clashed hilariously with the accompanying music for the whole next verse.
After the show we went home and then got ready to go out on the town. First we went to a rooftop bar called Lou/La, which I think was on a Marriott hotel but maybe it was a Hilton. The drinks were expensive of course, but the view was pretty great. Afterward we went to Assembly Food Hall where there were lots of different restaurants to choose from in a single indoor setting. I got birria tacos because I wanted to try them against the ones I got from an actual Mexican food truck in Austin. I might have actually liked this version better, unless it was just that my stomach was more ready to handle the immense amount of grease on this day. Erika got a vegan chicken sandwich that she seemed to like.
I don't think we were prepared for the level of activity that was happening on Broadway. It was almost a Bourbon Street level of people, bars and music. Even the Taco Bell had a live band playing in it. We went to an arcade bar called Headquarters and played a few pinball and arcade games. We actually all got a free drink here because there was a guy out front handing out free drink tokens, which was nice because they had a pretty legit selection of beers and I got a Belgian quad that was normally 12 bucks completely on the house. After that we went to a bar called Bowie's and watched a classic rock cover band. They had a female singer with quite a talented voice for hitting all those 70's and 80's high notes.
We ended the night by walking out over the John Seigenthaler pedestrian bridge and looking at the views over the water.
This is Nagiri. Yes it's a Harry Potter reference.
This is Nagiri. Yes it's a Harry Potter reference.
Looking cool with corn. This was at the first event we went to.
Looking cool with corn. This was at the first event we went to.
Here's what's left of her exhaust.
Here's what's left of her exhaust.
Somehow it also ripped off her back fender.
Somehow it also ripped off her back fender.
We eased the stress with a couple Yee Haws from the outdoor bar at the pop-up.
We eased the stress with a couple Yee Haws from the outdoor bar at the pop-up.
This was a drawing I found hilarious on-display at the play.
This was a drawing I found hilarious on-display at the play.
Fancy rooftop bar.
Fancy rooftop bar.
Look we're on Nashville's roof.
Look we're on Nashville's roof.
Got red tacos here aka birria tacos. Only my second time getting them and it was definitely tasty.
Got red tacos here aka birria tacos. Only my second time getting them and it was definitely tasty.
Classic rock cover band at Bowie's. She had a really good voice.
Classic rock cover band at Bowie's. She had a really good voice.
Liked the sculpture homage to Lunch Atop a Skyscraper.
Liked the sculpture homage to Lunch Atop a Skyscraper.
Party buses are very popular in Nashville
Party buses are very popular in Nashville
Sometimes they are pulled by tractors
Sometimes they are pulled by tractors
And sometimes they're "phancee"
And sometimes they're "phancee"
If you haven't heard "Big Iron On His Hip" (the Glen Campbell version, not Johnny Cash) do yourself the favor.
If you haven't heard "Big Iron On His Hip" (the Glen Campbell version, not Johnny Cash) do yourself the favor.
This was at the arcade bar. It's a cheesy quote but I support it.
This was at the arcade bar. It's a cheesy quote but I support it.
This was on the ceiling of the arcade bar foyer
This was on the ceiling of the arcade bar foyer
The (seemingly very popular) hockey team in Nashville is the "Predators". We were wondering if they have possibly regretted that naming choice in a post-Cosby world.
The (seemingly very popular) hockey team in Nashville is the "Predators". We were wondering if they have possibly regretted that naming choice in a post-Cosby world.
At first we though they lit up this bridge in support of Ukraine, but it turns out these are just Predator colors
At first we though they lit up this bridge in support of Ukraine, but it turns out these are just Predator colors
