We took a little trip last week.
Our niece got married in Nashville, Tennessee, of all places.
Long story short, she went to Nashville to dance ballet and eventually got a degree from Belmont University and a job with the Nashville Predators hockey team. She met a fine young man from the Cincinnati area. They decided to get married in Nashville.
This meant we had to travel to Nashville from Marietta, which used to be a three-hour drive.
However, you must go through Chattanooga on Interstate 24, which has been in a perpetual state of highway construction since the Nixon administration.
When you leave the Metro Chattanooga area, you go up a hill for about 400 miles. There was a wreck on I-24 this trip, which turned our three-hour drive into a six-hour drive.
Add to this, I drank an extra large cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts before we left, which meant I had to go to the bathroom every thirty minutes.
On top of that, Nashville has apparently ordered some Metro Atlanta drivers because cars swerve in and out of lanes without using a device known as a turn signal, which I understand is standard equipment on all cars. Why would I want to know that you are changing lanes?
Driving on the Nashville surface streets was no picnic either. Like Atlanta, there are some Nashville drivers that see STOP signs as a suggestions.
Before you go, be aware streets in and around downtown Nashville have some of the longest names ever in the history of streets. ( I took History of Streets when I was in college. I made a B.) You would see a street name like "Dr. Rev. Horace B Hawgwollop, Jr. Blvd." Back home in Atlanta, it would be known as "Hawgwollop Blvd" or "Peachtree Street".
We had some time before the wedding, so we went to The Johnny Cash Museum, across the street from The Florida-Georgia Line Bar, next to the Kid Rock Bar. Both bars were open at 11:00 in the morning, blasting out that good old fashioned genre of country music known as "Hard Rock".
As far as the museum goes, if you like Johnny Cash, you will love the museum. You see his guitars, awards, an honorary doctorate from Gardner-Webb College, and album covers, including "Hey Look At Them Beans." (This was during the time of his career when he recorded anything that was put in front of him. But on the plus side, the song "Hey Look At Them Beans" was written by Joe Tex. You can't get that information in any other blog)
I never had the pleasure of meeting Johnny Cash, but I know a guy who did-at J.C. Penny's in Cumberland Mall. Back in the old days, Malls were a happening place in Cobb County and Cumberland was our only one. J.C.Penny had a home and garden department and this guy worked there. John R. (His real name) came in and bought a plant. Honest. And no, he didn't say, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash and I want to buy this plant". I wish he had.
The wedding was held at a church that meets in a concert venue. It was a great wedding: short and sweet. The food was good. The groom didn't want a groom's cake, so he had ice cream. I like that kid.
We came home the next day. The trip from Nashville took less time than the trip to Nashville. However, we had to make a stop.
At Buc-ee's.
I've written about Buc-ee's before, but it is a fantastic store. First of all, the bathrooms are clean.
We had to stop at this gas station for relief during our many stops going to Nashville. There was a sign in the bathroom room that read, "Let us know if this bathroom does not meet your expectations." The problem was the bathroom was about what I expected.
A word of advice: never go to Buc-ee's on a Sunday afternoon. The place was an absolute zoo. A zoo that sells BBQ, but a zoo still the same.
Buc-ee's sells Coke Icees. Not a Slurpee. An Icee. (What's the difference? Shut up.)
I'm almost Medicare age, but I love a Coke Icee. The problem is a Coke Icee machine in most stores is like a McDonald's ice cream machine: it rarely works.
Buc-ee's had two working Coke Icee machines.
Armed with my Icee, I bought our supper: two BBQ brisket sandwiches. The sandwiches were marvelous, and I don't use that word lightly.
We got home and I prayed a prayer of thanks to The Lord for giving us traveling mercies and for providing the bathrooms at Buc-ee's
