Nashville Trip: Music, Saloons, and Axes

Most of my time in Nashville was spent in a conference room at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro. Sound glamorous? Our whirlwind trip into Nashville for a group activity at BATL and then dinner made up for that!

BATL stands for Backyard Axe Throwing League. When we pulled up to the venue I thought, “You’ve got to be kidding.” By the time we left, I was hoping we had something like this in San Diego! Corey from BATL showed us the fine art of axe throwing and then the fun began.



Think of it as a bowling tournament with axes and you kind of get the idea of what it was like. IT WAS A BLAST!



Afterwards we headed into Nashville to see Hatch Show Print, which began in the 19th century as a family-owned print shop that created posters for circuses, minstrel shows, vaudeville acts, and carnivals.



Simple, bold, and well-designed, their work is unmistakable. They found their niche with Country Music shows and the legend was born!





Today, they are located in the same building as the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.





Just a few gold records on display in the gift shop:



A sculpture of cymbals adorned the wall:



Dinner was at the Famous Saloon:



Naturally there was “live” music:



We ate up on the Rooftop of the restaurant.



The views were pretty cool:



…and got even cooler after the sunset:



See more Nashville, Tennessee photos at my main website.

Nashville Trip: Patsy Cline Museum

On my recent trip to Nashville, our group was on the way to dinner with about 45 minutes to kill. We stumbled upon the Johnny Cash Museum and all were excited to go inside and check it out. I noticed that a slightly smaller sign was promoting the Patsy Cline Museum one floor above. I quickly left the group.

It was a whirlwind for me, as I did not really have the time to absorb all the details as I would have liked. Instead, I adopted a “snap now look at later” mentality. Patsy has been a favorite of mine for years, ever since my early 30s when I discovered her vocal magic. This gal could sing like nobody’s business and put her heart and soul into every number.



On the way to superstardom, she tragically died in a plane crash in 1963 at the age of 30. Despite her life being cut short, superstardom was achieved posthumously, as “Crazy” and “Walkin’ After Midnight” are still favorites of music lovers everywhere.



The museum is small, but packed with a number of rare and extremely personal items related to Patsy, including many of the letters she wrote to fans and friends. Her down to earth quality is evident in all of them.



The soda fountain that Patsy worked at as a teen is represented by an actual booth and sign from the Drug Store in Winchester, Virginia:



You can even get a glimpse of Patsy’s house from the key:



to the den:



to the dining room, re-created with Patsy’s original decor:



Here’s La Cline in the actual room:



How about this lovely serving set?



It would have been a nice touch if they had put 3 cigarettes in the ashtray.



One of the most touching parts of the exhibit were these two costumes created after Patsy’s death. She had given very specific instructions to Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors about what she wanted them to look like just before her fatal crash. Finally, in 2017, Nudie’s carried out her wish; you can just about see her wearing these.



If you’re ever in Nashville, make sure you stop by here; and leave plenty of time!

See more Patsy Cline Museum photos at my main website.

2017: Leaving On A Jet Plane

Although not quite as hectic as last year, 2017 saw me get on and off a plane way too many times. I am plum tuckered out. Still, nothing like a little travel to open up your eyes and broaden your horizons with new experiences. Here's the Reader's Digest version of 2017. First up in February was Nashville, Tennessee for a Board of Director's meeting. Despite a ton-o-meetings I had a whirlwind tour of Music City that included the Ryman Auditorium and Union Hotel.



In March, a quick trip to Las Vegas introduced me to the Neon Museum Boneyard...



and the Cosmopolitan Hotel. What a view from my balcony!



One month later it was off to Greenville for a Design Conference I was chairing.



May found me back in Vegas for one night to shoot the wedding of my barber at the Little Church of the West.



What a blast!



I had a slight break until September, when I boarded a plane (again) for a whirlwind trip though Virginia including Richmond:



Colonial Williamsburg:



and Charlottesville:



One month later, another conference and Board of Director's meeting for UCDA took me to Baltimore:



with a detour to Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, to see Mom:



November was fossil hunting in The Berkshires:



with a one day excursion to San Francisco in December:



None of this post documents the many additional trips to LA, Palm Springs, and other semi-local areas to which I had a number of fun photo shoots. So thankful for a week off to catch up on rest...and figure out where 2018 and will take me! Hard to believe, but not once did I set foot on a Disney property in the entire calendar year. Will that trend hold? Who knows.

See more Daveland photos at my main website.

Union Station Hotel

Built in 1900, Nashville's Union Station became a luxury hotel in 1986. I love a good adaptive reuse that preserves historic detail while finding new life for something that might have been torn down instead.



Last year, a $15.5 million renovation was completed that helped bring the property into the modern age while retaining its history.



The lobby is really a stunner:





Vintage tile: check.



Handcrafted stained glass windows: check.



An impressive staircase: check.



An inviting fireplace: check.



This was one of the few things that made me wish I'd had more time to linger in this city.

More Nashville, Tennessee at my main website.