Monthly Archives: April 2019

Easter Sunday At Venice Beach

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VENICE-BUNNY (1)

I’ve missed Easter dinner with my family just once in my life. I was away on a work assignment, covering the Miss USA pageant for my newspaper back in 2004.

We had a local girl competing and people were really excited about it so we wanted to make a splash with the coverage. Lauren Kelsey Hall, the sweetest person you’ll ever meet, was representing the great state of Ohio in the pageant which was held in Los Angeles.

My then fiancé went as my assistant and we flew out and stayed in a hotel with about fifty others from our community. We did some things together as a group and had some time on our own between working. Since the hotel was just a few blocks from Grauman’s Chinese Theater we were able to walk to several fun things.

But on Easter Sunday we all loaded up in a big bus and went to services at the Crystal Cathedral.

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Afterward, while the group went out for a nice meal, my fiancé and I caught a very expensive cab ride to Venice Beach. Neither of us had seen the Pacific Ocean so it seemed like the thing to do.

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It was warm and sunny and the pier was sort of like a circus. The only thing that made it feel like Easter was the presence of the Easter Bunny posing for pictures up and down the pier.

VENICE-GREAT BOAT PIC

After blowing so much cash on the cab it seems like we ate burgers at a fast food restaurant to conserve a little money.

I can’t say that it was my best Easter but it is the most memorable! By the way, Kelsey didn’t make it through the first elimination but that’s ok. She will always be a winner in our eyes.

Happy Easter, my friends!

Terrifying or Cute?

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Vintage Easter Bunnies… terrifying or cute?

It’s a fine line.

Elliston Place Soda Shop

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Elliston's Place (54)

You know that I didn’t drive all the way to Nashville from Ohio without finding a diner or two. Today, I want to tell you about one just down the street from Centennial Park in Nashville.

One of these days I’ll write about Centennial Park and the full scale replica of the Parthenon that resides there.

But not today.

Elliston's Place (46)Instead, I want to show you Elliston Place Soda Shop. This is one of the few stops this weekend that didn’t feel like a tourist trap. In fact, it was busy with a lot of neighborhood folks picking up take out. At one point, a group came in to celebrate a child’s birthday and some teenagers had seemingly taken up residence but I appeared to be the only tourist in the house.

Opened in 1939, Elliston’s feels like a monument to a slower time. A slice of Americana.

The tile and chrome, the booths and counter all appear to be original. Small jukeboxes hang on the wall at each booth and the red and yellow decor is simply happy.

Like any good diner, your food is made fresh to order and comes pretty quick. I was passing by between meals so I settled for a chocolate sundae the size of my head. Seriously friends, this sundae was huge. It would probably be best to share with someone else but, being alone, I took one for the team and ate it by myself. Yup. I ate the whole thing.

I sat for a while, resting after walking miles and miles that day. That birthday party? Some of the kids wanted to see their milkshakes be mixed. There’s a picture below of three little kids kneeling on stools at the counter while they anxiously awaited their treats.

It was just fun to see.

This place is family owned and operated. Their prices skew a bit higher than you might expect at a diner but sometimes you have to pay the price to support a neighborhood joint. You might get better prices at a fast food chain but you won’t find the atmosphere and caring service that Elliston’s provided me.

I’m told it’s been featured in some movies which I need to look up soon. I badly hope it’s still there if I ever go back to Nashville.

Have a look at some more pictures!

Want to know more? Visit their website! 

Magic At RCA Studio B

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Hall of fame and Studio B (110)

Here I am sitting at the famed Steinway Piano at RCA Studio B. For a music nerd like me, this was practically a religious experience.  If you’re not familiar with the sign, I made it for my trip to Utah last summer and I still pull it out on my trips.

Once in a while you have a vacation experience that is so special, so magical that it becomes the most important memory of the trip.

One priority for the weekend was to tour the famed RCA Studio B. Tours begin at the Country Music Hall of Fame where you hop on a bus with a small group and are transported to this nondescript little building on Music Row. Along the way, the tour guide talks about the construction and purpose of the studio.

It was here that the infamous Nashville Sound was created in the sixties. Groundbreaking work was done in this studio and it continues to produce popular music today.

The former reception area is the first stop on the tour. In this space you learn about some of the musicians and the songs recorded here – countless entertainers and songs you would recognize and a few you may not. I own a number of LPs that hang on the wall here.

Hall of fame and Studio B (105)Roy Orbison wasn’t an RCA musician but he recorded a good bit at Studio B. According to our tour guide, his iconic voice was drowned out by all the instruments so they used a coat rack to create a sort of isolation booth. The guide claims this was possibly the world’s first isolation booth. They have a rare photo of Roy – you can see the coat rack in the background, he’s singing and he’s holding his glasses. He was rarely seen not wearing the glasses.

They tell you stories like this and play music to supplement those stories. And that’s all great but the magic happens when you go into the actual recording studio. Inside, you get lots of stories about Elvis who recorded countless albums here.

Here you learn about the lighting the Studio installed because Elvis requested it. These multi-colored lights can be isolated to change the mood of the room. The guide uses those lights to change the mood in the room for each song.

Here the guide plays iconic songs that were recorded in this room. 

The piano pictured above is a Steinway that can be heard on songs like Elvis’  “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and Floyd Cramer’s “Last Date.” In fact, during the early years of his career Floyd Cramer worked as a studio musician with RCA’s “A Team” which provided studio music for a lot of the songs recorded here.

I happen to love Floyd Cramer so it was kind of a thrill to sit at this piano.

I also happen to love Elvis and the tour guide gave a lot of attention to Elvis’ experiences and work in this studio. Elvis played that Steinway was well.

My favorite Nashville moment came here when our guide described how Elvis recorded “Are You Lonesome Tonight”  – in the dark. So the guide turned out the lights and turned up the song and we all sat in complete darkness and experienced this moment with this song in a way that felt sacred.

It gave me chills. 

In fact, I hope to carry this memory for the rest of my life and to always be transported back to that time and place whenever I hear this song.

The musical history of this place is fascinating but I won’t attempt to tell you more. Instead, you can learn more here.

It should go without saying that this tour was worth every penny and I would do it again if I had a chance.

PS: If you wonder what’s up with the sign I’m holding, read all about it here! 

 

My Brand Of Nashville Fun

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Hall of fame and Studio B (91).JPG

I told you yesterday that I took my mother to Nashville for the weekend to visit her twin brother and his wife. We drove down Friday morning and came home Sunday afternoon. All told, we had about two days to see the sights.

Almost everyone I know goes to Nashville for the bars and the partying. This is not my scene. In fact, I have a friend who never misses an opportunity to remind me that I’m a nerd. It’s not much of an insult since I wave that nerd flag proudly. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that I spent more time in museums than in bars.

My first piece of advice is that if you’re like me and aren’t a fan of crowds and parties, don’t go on a weekend. I was there a few years ago and had an amazing experience mid to late week. This weekend was really busy.

On Saturday my mother went sightseeing with her family while I headed out for my own brand of nerd fun. I was wandering down Broadway just after 8 a.m. There were only a handful of cars on the street and even fewer pedestrians.

 

Downtown Nashville (7)

It was amazing. 

I passed the morning at the Country Music Hall of Fame and touring RCA Studio B. The Hall of Fame is a fun place to visit on a rainy day. Depending on your interest in country music, you can literally spend as much or as little time here as you like. I’ve been before so I didn’t feel compelled to dwell here too long but there are some interesting artifacts, pictures and stories to keep you occupied.

Right now there is a fascinating exhibition about Emmylou Harris that I thoroughly enjoyed. Her presence is felt all over this town and it was helpful to get an overview of her life and career before venturing through the city. One place you’ll learn a lot about her is the Ryman Auditorium which she is credited with saving from ruin. I’ll tell you that story another day.

I’ll leave you with a few Hall of Fame pictures.

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Interested? You can learn more at the Country Music Hall of Fame website.

 

 

Home From Adventure

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I took my mother on an adventure this weekend! We visited her twin brother and his wife in Nashville. While it was just a long weekend away, we packed a lot into our weekend and had a nice time. I have a lot to say and will share more later!