Hello Everyone! I am thrilled to be back on the road after a wonderful two months at home in D.C. It’s definitely tough to leave my folks and my friends, but it’s time to get back to it and I’m very excited for the road ahead. I left on Sunday afternoon and have been making tracks to get south to warmer weather, which I have found here in Northern Alabama where the sun is shining and temperatures were in the mid-fifties today. While I’m sure you all know by now that I prefer the back roads and scenic byways, the interstate is definitely a nice option when you’re trying to hustle. I do love seeing all the exit signs on the way which remind me of some amazing times I’ve had in these southern states. My drive to New Orleans could have taken months, as it has in the past, but I do want to get out west sooner rather than later.
It is always nice to be back in the South, where the food and music are great and people hold doors and wave a ‘thank you’ when you let them in in traffic. I’ve been somewhat surprised at the number of people I’ve seen with masks on, but I’m also well aware of the low vaccination numbers and high hospitalization rates down here as well. It breaks my heart, really, because I know and have met so many good people in these parts who, because of whatever news they are reading, have decided not to get vaccinated. And now so many are getting sick and dying unnecessarily. I wish they knew as many doctors and nurses as I’m fortunate enough to know who could tell them, as they’ve told me, that vaccination is both safe and effective. But I’m not here in this area or here in this newsletter to preach, I just want people to be safe and healthy.
I certainly had a great few days at home this past week before I took off on Sunday. On Thursday my folks and I headed out to the Surratt Tavern in Clinton, Maryland for a tour of this fascinating historic building. My mom and I had been there before when we were on the Trail of John Wilkes Booth Scenic Byway last year, but it had been closed. We were happy to get back and see the inside of the place. Our guide was a wonderfully informative and we enjoyed or conversation with her. She realized that we knew the basics of the story of Mary Surratt and her son John and the role they played in the assassination of President Lincoln. Mary Surratt was the first woman executed by the federal government. Since we already knew most of that story, she wanted to tell us more about the property itself and the role Mary may have played in the death of her own husband. She also wanted to share what she knew about the enslaved people who worked at the tavern and on the property. We were able to take our time wandering around the building and my mother was thrilled to look in all of the closets, nooks and crannies. It is certainly an interesting place and worth a visit if you’re in the area. From there we drove back into the city and made a quick stop at Mount Olivet Cemetery to show my stepfather where Mary Surratt is buried. We stopped for a beer at the relatively new Other Half Brewing Company in Ivy City. Their beers were good, but whoever named them needs a class in creativity and they were awfully expensive, even for D.C. Then we went around the corner for another beer at Atlas Brewing Co., an old favorite of ours. While we were there, the man in charge of their trivia night recognized my mother from her time working with the Boy Scouts. I was really glad he came over to ask because it really made her night. For dinner, we headed over to the Panda Gourmet just down the road. Tucked away in the Days Inn at the corner of New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road, this is the restaurant Chinese President Xi Jinping ate at during his visit to Washington. It’s a pretty great spot although it’s not what it was before the pandemic. I’m sure they’ve been doing mostly takeout and delivery as there was only one person working the front of the house when we were there. The food was still good though…
Whew, I'm taking a deep breath. Sorry for the lack of content over the last few weeks. I've been out guiding a quick tour from New York to Miami for my old tour company. I had planned on getting a bunch of work done as I went, but running a tour is just always so all-consuming. Even with 12 years experience and being in a region I'm really comfortable and familiar with, there's just so much to do behind the scenes to keep a tour running smoothly and keep up with all the paperwork etc. And that's not even mentioning the 5,000+ miles I've driven in the last few weeks. It was awesome to be back in the driver's seat though, and it was a really good tour all around. But it's also good to be back on my own and back with my Shadow Catcher.
I met my group in Newark on a rainy Sunday morning and we set off to historic Philadelphia. Despite the rain, they kept their spirits up as I gave them a quick tour through Independence National Historical Park, pointing out some of the more important buildings and recounting stories of our Founding Fathers and their lives. We stopped into Carpenter's Hall, site of the First Continental Congress and also in to see the Liberty Bell. From there we headed out for cheesesteaks at Reading Terminal Market and a quick run up the "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphis Museum of Art before departing the City of Brotherly Love…
Tennessee is one of the country's most visited states for music lovers, and for good reason. From the Birthplace of Country Music in Bristol to the one-time home of W.C. Handy in Memphis, Tennessee's musical tradition dates back to the very beginnings of recorded music and beyond. Cities like Memphis and Nashville have multiple options for great live music seven nights a week, and incredible museums like the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Memphis Rock and Soul Museum provide plenty of information when you finally wake up. Tennessee is a great destination for any fan of American roots music, and will no doubt leave you tapping your feet and humming along. I'm going to break this post into East, Central and West Tennessee for easy reference. Also, be sure you check out my Spotify playlists for Tennessee…
If you are a fan of pork ribs like I am a fan of pork ribs, then Tennessee is one of the places you really have to go. Good Tennessee ribs get a dry rub of spices and are then slow smoked over a wood fire. Back in the 1950s in Memphis, Charlie Vergos combined his father's Greek spices with some New Orleans style cajun seasoning and turned scrap-meat into something altogether magical. Charlie Vergo's Rendezvous still sets the standard for ribs in Tennessee and is definitely one of my favorites. In my travels around Tennessee, I stopped into a few different rib-joint though and found some great spots around the state. While Rendezvous ribs still tops my list, some of these places gave them a run for their money…
If I'm going out to have a drink and I'm not going to see live music, I try and seek out the best dive bars wherever I am. I have a nose for them and usually know a good one when I see it. I've been asked a few times what makes a good dive bar, and the truth is that the answer to that question would be different for everyone. For me, a dive bar is in no way synonymous with a dump. There are some really bad, unfriendly, filthy bars in this world - those I classify as "dumps". A dive bar to me is a friendly neighborhood bar, full of locals, where drinks are cheap and conversation flows. If these places are on Yelp or TripAdvisor at all, they probably don't have over 3.5 stars because they aren't what many people are looking for. They aren't fancy and most don't have expensive or expansive beer lists. The usual wine selection is "red or white?". There are probably neon signs on the walls, and oftentimes, for reasons I can't explain, Christmas lights. Somewhere on the wall is a photo of someone nobody remembers, but they were important enough to the patrons at some point in the past to put their photo up. The bartenders are generally friendly…
I have driven Highway 40 from Memphis to Nashville many times. In fact, when discussing the trip I'm currently on, I often reference this drive. I tell people that when I was working as a tour guide I always rushed between the two cities because there is SO much to do in each, but I always wondered what was happening in between. Now I have an answer to that question, and the answer is A LOT. If you have the time to spare, making a day of this journey is well worth it. Here are just some of the things you should definitely check out on the way, with stops in Jackson and Brownsville…
I haven't gotten very far this week! When I wrote last week, I was in Nashville, and this week I am still in Nashville. I did spend three days in nearby Franklin, which was really great, but otherwise I've been in Music City. It's been a good week though, full of great music, good food and good times, so I guess I can't complain. Plus I finished a podcast and got some other work done as well. I have signed up to work at the Bonnaroo Music Festival the second weekend in June, so I won't be l leaving Tennessee until after that. That has left me with a little extra time in Tennessee, so I've been getting to know one of my favorite cities a little better. I've been able to explore some areas of the city I have been wanting to check out but haven't had the time, and been catching up with some friends too. In all, it's been a fun and productive week, even if I have been in one place.
After I finished writing last week, I headed back to Bobby's Idle Hour to check out Sam's Jams, a local singer/songwriter show which is held every Wednesday from noon until 8 p.m. It really is a great thing to see, and very Nashville. The musicians were great, and I got to hang out for a little while with Sam Cooper, the host…
I started the week as promised in Falls Creek Falls State Park. This really is a beautiful and well done state park. I enjoyed it so much I ended up staying two nights. There are some great trails to hike, some fun suspension bridges to cross, and of course some beautiful waterfalls. When I arrived, I got my campsite organized and then hiked from there over to the namesake Fall Creek Falls. It was, I believe, the third waterfall I've seen this month which claimed to be the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi. Well, the waterfall didn't claim that but the signage did. I've always been fascinated at how difficult it apparently is to measure a waterfall. Either way, it really doesn't matter. They've all been awesome in my book. Along the path, I saw more of one of my favorite flowers: Mountain Laurel. A lot of them are just starting to bud, and the buds look like little vanilla soft-serve cones with strawberry syrup. They make me happy every time…
