Day 5: Tennessee, part 1

A gloriously sunny day which made picture-taking fun again!

Highlights: tons of signs in/around Nashville & other fun stuff. The giant chicken in Ardmore which I expected to be falling apart has been freshly painted. I stumbled upon a modern bank with a glowing gold geodesic dome roof. The Belle Mead Theatre which I also expected to be in ruins is being restored. I managed to find a back way (crossing railroad tracks on foot) to get photos to the controversial Nathan Bedford Forrest which is situated & hard to see/photo from I-65.

Disappointments: nothing to complain about. I don't remember any dead-ends (looking for something & finding it gone).

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Art deco fans, here's a nice little building in Nashville that's an "almost" (not quite up to my standards for the website but you might enjoy seeing anyway):

James Robertson Hotel (now apartments)





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Nashville has a couple of Egyptian Revival churches as well:

Downtown Presbyterian Church






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McKendree Methodist Church





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I bumped into a touching little tribute to a local dog:






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I have often thought about creating a website section just for roadside lighting (as if I don't have enough to do!). This would make a good contribution. It's from a former gas station turned used car lot, now vacant property. These lights are above what used to be the gas pump island.




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Some of you have asked where I get the energy to drive and shoot all day and then put in another six hours or so working on the photos, flickr and this blog. My secret is Diet Coke in massive amounts. But I also believe in ingesting lots of sugar. I don't seem to experience the "drop" afterwards. I have never been to a Cracker Barrel restaurant before as I've heard the stories about it being a racist and homophobic company. But in a moment of desperate hunger coupled with its proximity to my Red Roof Inn, I went there for a grilled cheese sandwich. I discovered that they have a wonderful old-fashioned candy section and bought a few road snacks as well. I hadn't seen this beauty before and I do love Key Lime pie and coconut. The packaging and color of the treat were better than the actual product though. The photos don't quite match the brightness of the reality.






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I leave you with one more bit of roadside architecture, not quite up to snuff for my website but still fun. I've seen quite a few of these former Red Barns on this trip. For more about them, see this website.