Women Performers, the Right to Vote, 1000 Miles--And Then Some

My last blog ended just before Jackie got back to Nashville from Key West on Wednesday evening. Boy does the pace pick up when she's around! I had to take her to Studio B where she caught me sitting at the famous Steinway baby grand. . .

. . . and then for a long visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame--her genre much more than mine. Nonetheless, the Museum's (non-exclusive) focus on Linda Ronstadt and Taylor Swift definitely captivated me. My Yale Forestry School pals of both genders know that I was infatuated with Linda Ronstadt whose lyrics, voice, and je ne sais quoi I found terribly compelling back in the 70s. The museum tells the story of her generosity, her intellect, and her undying willingness to put others first. I'm in love again! And we all know that Taylor Swift has managed her fame in a down to earth, kind, and well-grounded way. I pray for her that that continues. What a brilliant and flexible performer! In the Taylor Swift Learning Center, I left an idea for a song--compliments of my Mom: I Feel Like a Little Girl Trapped in an Old Lady's Body. Taylor's too tall for me (sigh) but she still has a place in my heart.

After the Country Music Hall of Fame, we walked down Broadway which was much more mellow on a Wednesday afternoon than it was on Saturday. The music at the Whiskey Bent Saloon caught our ear; we stepped inside, ordered a drink, and enjoyed the music of the Sedra Bistodeau Trio. You can see we were glad to be back together and having fun . . .

. . . and it didn't hurt that we were listening to a two time national fiddle champion, her husband, and their sidekick.

After a couple hours of music, it was time for some real southern food--served family style at Monell's in Germantown.

Again, our fingers were too sticky to take pictures of the meal but we dove into delicious fried pork chops, fried chicken, baked chicken, corn pudding, stuffing, mac and cheese, coleslaw, delicious cucumbers and bananna pudding. Yummie and thank you Leo Waters and Helen Walker for the suggestion.

Thursday morning we bade Nashville fairwell and headed back down the Cumberland River to Clarksville. We arrived around noon and went to the fuel dock for some diesel and a holding tank pump out--a task that's not as bad as it sounds. The diesel went great; the vacuum on their pump out, however, was weak and it took forever--long enough that we got caught in a howling, screaming, torential downpour of a squall as we scrambled to move the boat from the fuel dock to our slip. We made it but rain soaked the poor Admiral to the skin as she worked to guide me into the slip and make lines fast. The bosun was nowhere to be seen.

Clarksville, population 170,000, serves as Tennessee's Montgomery County Seat.

A river city, Clarksville takes pride in the role of women in society and offers this statue and plaque in its city square:

. . . and includes a large display of Women Air Force Service Pilots of World War II in its municipal museum.

The City also remembers its past and its unfortunate role in the slave trade:

Today found us leaving Clarksville on a foggy morning continuing back down the Cumberland to Barkley Lake Marina. On the big ouch side, we bumped the bottom leaving the marina--as close as we could manage on the exact track that we had entered. After some testing, the rudder, shaft, and propeller seemed in good enough shape to continue our 62 nautical mile trip to Barkley Marina. We hope to have them checked on Monday at Green Turtle Bay Marina which can haul Katahdin if necessary.

Nonetheless, the trip down was glorious. A doe swimming across the river in front of us punctuated a trip that also offered hundreds (thousands?) of white pelicans, numerous great blue herons, great egrets, a bald eagle and a kingfisher along with numerous gulls and terns.

And, as of the end of today's trip, Katahdin has carried us 1013.15 statute miles--a landmark of sorts. Where will be be when we hit the 2000 mile mark? Stay tuned.