|
Nashville, Tennessee is a wonderful town. Todd, Heather, Aaron, and I made "Team Wanderlust" and descended on Nashville with a fervor for spreading the good news of the Wolverine Farm. Though one man told us the lovely city was "the buckle of the Bible belt" the residents seemed more than thrilled to have Tour de Fat at Centennial Park in the vicinity of Vanderbilt. The people of Nashville were very excited about their local breweries, namely Blackstone, Yazoo, and my personal favorite, Jackalope. Owned by two ladies who honed their brews for years, Jackalope seems to be a town favorite. Local beer is something that has taken off in Nashville in the last few years, thanks in part to the members of The Music City Beer Society. It was a great example of community that the beer society had so many volunteers at the event. Beer isn't the only local thing that Nashvillians wanted to expound upon; they also held forth on green markets, bike trails, and the glories of the restaurants and taprooms in East Nashville and the Five Points region. I was told of many splendid sounding watering holes where the locals go to find their favorite micro-brews; outstanding were Coopers, Flying Saucer, Corsair Brewery, and the Three Crows. We were also told of great places to ride on the shores of the Cumberland River. We were all struck by the beauty of this place, the greenery and old trees, and the beautiful classical architecture. All in all, Francis Nash would be proud of the great place his city has become.
The people of Music City also love books, notably our Matter Journal 13 Edward Abbey, and were so excited to find a little respite from the roar of the crowd and the smell of grease and paint. The patrons paged through Boneshaker and the glossy pages of the brand spanking new book, Tour de Fat: Sights, Sounds, Feelings, Flavors, and stuffing our special edition of Matterhorn into their back pocket for reading later in the shade. A little bird told me that Nashville has been losing a lot of its independent bookstores, a monumental tragedy, but the crowds at "Bookman, Bookwoman" the morning after Tour de Fat dispersed that raincloud somewhat. I had such a great morning, getting breakfast at Fido's and then browsing the shelves of such a extensive collection. Do all you can, Nashville, to keep that store alive. Of all the progressive places, full of locally owned business and independent industry, Nashville is my favorite dive in Dixie. Hope to see you all next year!
|