Over cooked on day one

Did I mention the girls singing happy birthday to Alfred on Thursday night?  Hope you get some tonight, hope you get some tonight, hope you get some cake and ice cream, hope you get some tonight!  Anyway, Friday was rather subdued with various tourists dealing with the aftermath of the first day follow on blues.  We did tour the Country Music Hall of Fame museum which was rather enjoyable for me. The coverage of the 70’s country music scene was pretty awesome, but learning about the earlier roots of country music was also very enlightening.  I particularly liked the old sign for the Broken Spoke in Austin where Dynamo had taken me to see Gary P. Nunn just last fall.  Also saw the barn door from Lukenbach, Texas where Jerry Jeff Walker recorded Viva Terlingua.  Those are just a couple of highlights.  The day had started very late at Barista Parlour for a coffee and croissant followed by a wholly dissatisfactory bite at the City on Fire in the Gulch.  But then we walked a lot down through the Gulch into town after following a circuitous path finding a way underneath the railway and on past the convention Center and then the museum.  Back to the hotel, which has turned out to be a great location and comfortable accommodation.  Karen and I ducked out for a beer and a cider at the Tailgate - definitely a go back place.  After that, we made our way to the Husk restaurant which is situated just on the fringe of the downtown scene in Nashville in an historic house on the hill.  Had a spectacular meal and really enjoyed the atmosphere.  The bar and patio were reminiscent on the lower level bar that Miles and I used to frequent at the Del.  Vegetable gardens and Carriage House for large groups were pretty cool.  After dinner, it was back to Broadway with a short detour up on the pedestrian bridge across the Cumberland River, narrowly avoiding a rather ominous thunderstorm.  We made a beeline to Tootsies and really found a great spot behind the band to watch. One of the interesting things about the honky tonk scene in Nashville is the musician passing the bucket for tips.  Apparently the going rate for a song request is $20.  Seems rather steep.  In the time we watched, a band member approached us for tips at least four times.  Someone suggested that the musicians have to pay the bar for stage time and their only compensation is tips.  This seems quite backwards to me.  These bars are crammed to the gills and the booze sales are brisk and expensive.  Seems like someone is making a lot of money.  I’d have to say that the Austin version is preferable to me.  Later on, we made our way to a cocktail bar near the hotel, I think it was called Pattersons or some such.  I don’t get the attraction.  That was a wrap and back to the hotel for a relatively civilized good night.