Road Trip: Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas

Getting In

After having a blast in Birmingham, we had to decide whether to drive south towards Louisiana or north towards Tennessee. However, as life would have it, the decision was made for us when we found out that heavy rains had flooded roads around New Orleans. Therefore, we decided to make our way north towards the country music capital of Nashville, Tennessee.

For the first time we felt a little bit of time pressure to get moving further west (more on that in later posts), so over the next five days we spent a short amount of time in Nashville, Little Rock and Dallas.

Accommodation

In Nashville we were lucky enough to snag a great Airbnb with Ron, his partner and their two super sweet pups. Our two night stay in their beautiful home was absolutely fantastic.

What to Do

Family Wash: A great spot to come in for a coffee/drink/dinner, but most importantly for live music. Per recommendations of our Airbnb host, we decided to stop by this place our first night and boy, we were not disappointed.  We had the chance to listen to The Tyler Mire Big Band, a take on soulful jazzy original music written by Tyler.  As we learned that evening from a local couple, there are so many musical events taking place every night in Nashville, that it almost becomes impossible to choose one.

Tennessee State Museum: There are many museums to choose from, but being that we were short on time, Kieran decided to go to the State Museum which he enjoyed while I sat at a coffee shop finishing the required continued legal education classes.  Per Kieran, the museum was a little dated but worth a visit!

Whiskey Tour Corsair Distillery:  Then the Irish had a desire to taste some locally made whiskey. The tour was great with plenty to taste and a really cool space (oh, and their logo was really well done).

Broadway Street: Located right in downtown is Broadway Street which is better known as the Music Mile.  It is like a mini Las Vegas strip with neon lights and live music blasting out of every restaurant/bar/venue from early in the morning to early the next morning. Just be prepared to drop a few bucks into the tip bucket as it is passed around regularly during performances.

Where to Eat

Hattie B’s Hot Chicken: Fantastic reviews, but the food was just ok. If you want a quick meal, it’s worth a trip, but I am sure there are far better places to choose from.

Jeni’s ice cream:  Someone said ice cream?  Yes, please!

Wild Cow: A yummy vegetarian cuisine which was right next to our airbnb.

Peg leg porker BBQ: For sure the most memorable meal from Nashville.  It was fantastic!  Get the ribs – the end.

Little Rock, Arkansas

Our brief one night stay in Little Rock was really just a rest stop on the long drive to Texas. About an hour outside of town I got on my phone and started looking for hotel rooms. We were fortunate to find a reasonably priced Garden Inn & Suites at the last minute.  Nearby we found Mylo Coffee where we spent some time on our laptops planning out the remainder of our trip.

Once the planning and resting was somewhat taken care of, we had a really nice dinner at Lost 40 Brewery where we had the opportunity to chat with a few US Army guys who were passing through after being stationed in Japan.  The food was great as was the beer!

Dallas, Texas

After a good night’s sleep, we were back on the road to Texas with a planned stop in Dallas specifically to check out the Kennedy Museum and the Memorial Plaza where President Kennedy was assassinated back on November 22, 1963.

Located on the sixth floor of what was then called the Texas School Book Depository, the museum does a great job of recreating the events leading up to and beyond the assassination using both audio and visual guides – there’s an abundance of very interesting material.

The second to last floor (right side window) is where Lee Harvey Oswald was located when he shot the president.

The view from the window towards Dealey Plaza . . .

The grassy knoll . . .

The street on which the motorcade turned onto and where JFK was shot . . .

With the day coming to an end it was time to start driving the final three hours to our next scheduled overnight stop of Abeline, Texas.

En route, a familiar sign (one that I hadn’t seen in 11 months) appeared on the horizon that almost caused us to crash the car in excitement: In-N-Out Burger – thank you, Texas!

Double double please and hold the onions . . .

Arkansas and Texas, we are sorry that you were robbed of our attention and devotion, but we shall be back.

Next stop – New Mexico!