Welcome to Nashville! … or Greece?

I love oddities and unexpected tourist traps. Take, for instance, the full scale replica of the Parthenon that is in Centennial Park in downtown Nashville. Built for Tennessee’s 1897 Centennial Exposition, the sculptures that adorn the outside were built from plaster casts of the originals. It is an imposing building, though somewhat out of place among Nashville’s urban sprawl. The inside houses a permanent exhibit of  19th and 20th century American paintings donated by James M. Cowan, a New Yorker who anonymously bequeathed part of his massive art collection to Nashville. Though the exhibit was interesting enough, I found the temporary exhibit of nature photographs by Byron Jorjorian far more impressive. Just a small collection of his work, the prints consisted of gorgeous nature photos from various places in Tennessee.

After checking out the art gallery, we moved upstairs to see the 42 foot tall statue of Athena. I was shocked that no other people were in the grand hall with us! After snapping a few photos, we headed outside and took a walk around the pond directly across from the building. We were able to stroll under beautiful, towering weeping willows, which made Kendra very happy.

As we were getting into our car after our lovely jaunt, a kindly southern woman approached us, flashing a big smile. “Has anyone ever told you…”  Instantly we both thought, “that we have the most beautiful baby?” Naively, I thought she was yet another person who wanted to admire our baby. I mean, that happens all the time – it’s kind of like being with a celebrity. Alas, I was wrong. Instead, the wide grin turned into a thought-provoking question… “…that Jesus loves you?” Aaack! I am all for people have their religious beliefs, but please do not accost me in public places. I love discussing religion, but I am not about to pawn my beliefs off on strangers, nor do I want the same in return.

We tried every tactic we could think of to extract ourselves from the situation. Unfortunately, since we were trying to get in the car, running away was not an option. First, we went the route of, “Yes ma’am,” with a southern accent, but that just invited more questions. “Well, have you accepted him as your lord and savior?” These questions seemed to be getting rather personal, and regardless of how many times we said yes, the lady became more and more like a bothersome gnat. Kendra finally pulled out the heavy artillery. “I am not sure you really want to be talking to us. We’re gay… and married… and this is our baby.” Surprisingly, the woman didn’t bat an eye, “well that’s okay, he still loves you.” Well I should think so lady. At this point, I walked to the other side of the car to put Addie in her seat, and I heard Kendra reply, “well, I am Jewish.” “That’s okay, Jesus was a Jew.” This clearly was not going well. Eventually, the woman backed off, parting with a nod of her head, her hands clasped together, and the words, “I just hope that one day…” One day what? I guess we’ll never know.

Before we left the Parthenon, Kendra had the foresight to ask the guy selling sno-cones where we could go to get the best BBQ in Nashville. He directed us to Hog Heaven, right around the corner. Unfortunately, it wasn’t open, so I did a quick Internet search and found us an alternative – Jack’s. I had high hopes for Jack’s when I walked in and smelled the incredible aroma of southern BBQ. Unfortunately, the pulled pork sandwich was rather flavorless, and the BBQ sauce was not good enough to make up for it. I would say the food was just average – if that’s the best Nashville’s got, I’ll stick with Henry’s in South Carolina.

We tucked in early for the night – we want to get a good start to St. Louis tomorrow!