Nashville… before we got in, all we knew about you was that you were at the northern end of the Natchez Trace. People said you and Austin were in competition for the title of best music city in the US. We were a bit nervous that we wouldn’t be able to escape a never-ending stream of country music (and all its accoutrements). But it seemed like you were a place we had to see and explore, so we decided to sink in a bit and find out a bit more. As it turns out, Nashville, you’re a lot less country than we expected, and lot cooler too (but maybe we shouldn’t let the cat out of the bag?).

We ended up spending three weeks in Nashville – resting, hiding from the heat, eating well, celebrating my birthday. We ate lots of amazing food (and especially enjoyed the fact that Nashville is big enough to also have non-Southern cuisine, such as Vietnamese and Indian) and we discovered lots of great new beers (a great big thanks to the servers at 12 South Taproom, who answered a gazillion questions for us during our several visits). We explored many of the neighborhoods in Nashville, which all have their own distinct feel and community. We wandered through the Frist Art Center and several local galleries. We met a lot of fantastic people and had some really wonderful conversations over coffee and beer.

And we felt like we discovered a city that’s beginning to shift and grow – a city that’s moving beyond its country music roots to attract a diversity of creative people – a city that’s just a few years from a major tipping point, when it will undoubtedly become more cyclist- and pedestrian-friendly.

Thanks Nashville – we really enjoyed our stay!

We had a great presentation at the Nashville Bicycle Lounge! And then got completely soaked in the storm that hit as we were riding back afterward – and marveled at how a cow ended up toppled over on the side of the Greenway.

We were invited to stay in a beautiful, newly-refurbished, sustainably-built guest house, soon to be LEED-certified. We enjoyed the opportunity to be a little bit domestic, and had a great time getting to know Jane and Rod (who put a tremendous amount of themselves into the building of this space!).

We stood in the lines, in the heat, at the Hot Chicken Festival – to experience what we’d been told is Nashville’s signature food. Think spicy fried chicken… and sho’ nuff, it was was good stuff!

Russ and Rich went out on the water at nearby Percy Priest reservoir, and Russ caught his biggest fish to date!

\

Laura met up with some fellow metalsmiths in town… Carrie and Amanda. And shared studio space and ideas with Lisa.

And we both worked a bit…

Laura sent some new headbadges off into the world.

Russ shot some great portraits (that’s Green Fleet Messengers above).