Day 6--The National Civil Rights Museum and Nashville, TN

We needed to get on to Nashville but before leaving Memphis we wanted to make sure we had seen the historic National Civil Rights Museum. We arrived just as it was opening for the day. Pulling up in front of the museum is like seeing a bit of history flashed before your eyes only instead of the tragic black and white images televised back in 1968 we were seeing a peaceful scene in living color.

The Lorraine Motel was the site of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination on April 4, 1968, but today it has been incorporated in the National Civil Rights Museum. You walk through exhibits detailing the civil rights movement, winding your way through the historic events I'd seen on TV or read about in news magazines as a kid. The climax of the tour is standing at the window looking out on to the balcony where Dr. King was assassinated. I remember the black and white photo of Dr. King lying on his back mortally wounded while his friends and colleagues pointed in the direction from which the shots were fired. The rooms he and his associates used are also on view. It is a sad and emotional place to stand even after all these years.
The museum in general was a disappointment for me. It relied too heavily on wordy displays and included too little realia, memorabilia and interactive displays that would have made it much more interesting. I thought the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute was much more appealing. Still, to stand in that place and realize the history that occurred there was a moving moment.

One last thing to do in Memphis before heading for Nashville. We stopped by The Cozy Corner BBQ, a local BBQ hole in the wall highly recommended by the Road Food team. The smell of the BBQ overwhelmed our senses as we got out of the car and when we walked into the shop we were nearly bowled over by the aromas. We had heard we needed to especially try three items on the menu so we ordered the thickly sliced bologna sandwich smothered in the spicy house BBQ sauce, the pulled pork sandwich and the ribs. The bologna sandwich was topped with a spicy cole slaw all on a hamburger style bun. I've had bologna sandwiches. In fact I grew up eating bologna sandwiches. But I've never had any bologna sandwich as good as that one. The bologna was BBQ'ed in the same way as their ribs and pork--smokey and delicious and then slathered with their sauce.

The ribs were a wet style, different than the ones at Rendezvous, but every bit as moist, tender and smokey.

The pulled pork was equally delicious. Topped with the Cozy Corner's own BBQ sauce and the cole slaw the pork was tender and melted in your mouth.

We took the food to go and balanced it on our lap as we drove out of town and headed east toward Nashville.

Arriving in Nashville we headed straight for the Ryman Auditorium to pick up our tickets for the concert we had purchased months ago. We discovered the tickets were for a concert the next evening instead so we parked and walked down Broadway into honky tonk row. Along this street you'll find one honky tonk after another, music pouring from every door. Walk into any bar, find a stool, order a beer and listen to musicians looking to be or that may have already been discovered. It was cool inside and they are almost all smoke-free now so it was a pleasant atmosphere to hear music--country, hillbilly, blue grass , rock and the blues. Over the next couple of days we heard two groups we particularly enjoyed. We tossed a few bucks in their tip jar and were handed an autographed CD of their music.

We headed over to another Road Food suggested spot for lunch--Arnold's Country Kitchen, a James Beard award winning cafeteria style restaurant. We found it easily, and got in the long line of folks waiting to get in. The line moved along quickly and we soon found ourselves standing in front of a wonderland of choices. Meat and three is what you do here--pick a meat and three side dishes. I chose the smothered country fried steak, the collard greens, fried green tomatoes and corn bread. The steak was so tender and the rich beefy gravy with chunks of onion must have been simmering on the stove for hours. Leslie decided to just go with some sides--corn bread, mac and cheese, creamed corn and greens. We had also heard about the fabulous pies at Arnold's so, what are going to do? I tried the chocolate cream pie and she went with the chess pie. They lived up to their reputation. Silky, rich, great flaky crust-yum!

After checking into our hotel and taking a quick dip in the pool and an afternoon nap, we decided that if we didn't hit another of the recommended Road Food spots we wouldn't get to all of them we had chosen in Nashville. So we headed over to Bolton's Hot Chicken and Fish. Bolton's was a real hole in the wall and in a shady part of town. We walked in to a concrete block building with little in the way of air conditioning and an order window covered with wrought iron bars. The floor was sticky with the dried remnants of sweet tea. The window slid open and a smiling face stuck her head out to take our order. We got an order of the chicken and the fish, both mildly spicy and two glasses of sweet tea. Two black ladies sat in the dining room arguing about their phone bill. Between their loud over the top dramatics and the black dialect it was difficult to understand the whole conversation but it was entertaining while we waited for our food. When it arrived my first taste told me I was in over my head. Unless you LOVE and I mean LOVE spicy food, order it as mild as possible. Whatever method they use to deliver the heat, Bolton's manages to get it deep into the juicy meat, not just in the batter they fry the food in. I gave up after a while and took it back to the room thinking maybe I'd try it later, but wound up tossing it. It was just too spicy hot for my taste. Wimp!

Next Up--The Ryman and The Hermitage