Nashville

Work trip. Went to Nashville to attend the American Association of Dental Office Managers (AADOM) convention. Besides the convention at the Grand Ole Opry Hotel, here's what I saw in a couple days.

I started out Wednesday afternoon at Jim 'N Nick's BBQ, which serves eastern Carolina BBQ, with a vinegar- rather than sweet tomato-based sauce. I'm glad I ate here, because this was pretty good, and the only other eastern Carolina pulled pork I've had in the past was at some famous place recommended by a hotel concierge in Raleigh, and it was like eating old pieces of cardboard. 

Next stop was Andrew Jackson's Hermitage mansion. No pictures allowed inside, but the home was owned by the family until it was turned over to the women's preservation society in the late 1800s, so 90 percent of the furnishings, including the bedding, tables, dishes and Paris wallpaper, are original. 

Beautiful grounds. 

Looking toward the mansion from the back. The home is much like other plantation homes we've toured in Virginia and Lousiana.  

The tomb of Andrew Jackson and his beloved wife, Rachel, who died of a heart attack after the election but before Jackson was sworn in as president. 

Final stop on Wednesday was Broadway between 1st and 5th Avenues, which is where all the honky tonks and souvenir shops are. 

Most of the tourists are middle to old age and college student. 

A few of these little bars are roaming around town. The patrons seem to be having a good time drinking beer and providing the pedal power. 

I'm not sure whether these places are considered music clubs or bars. 

I guess they're not bars. They wouldn't have children hanging out there, right? 

Hint: If you're in Nashville attending a dental conference, remember to remove your conference badge before you go bar hopping. 

This is what Broadway looks like at night. 

One of several souvenir shops. 

Honky tonk. BBQ. Etc.

Another bar and patrons. 

Several places sell cowboy boots. The most prominent billboard said "Buy One Pair, Get Two Free." I have one pair of cowboy boots that I bought 20 years ago. What would I do with three, and what quality could they be? 

Hats are also very popular. I'm not sure if these are considered cowboy hats. More like country western or honky tonk hats. They all have the same form: Small brim with sides turned up sharply and front and back turned down. Look up a photo of Toby Keith for an example. By the way, the AADOM people had a Toby Keith lookalike singing the opening theme song to the conference. 

Another pedal bar. 

An outside restaurant. 

I stopped in the ice cream store for dinner: Double chocolate and red velvet in a waffle cone. 

Jared and Jackson Dusk Till Dawn Volleyball

We watched Jackson and Jared compete in a Dusk 'Til Dawn volleyball tournament. Well, we didn't stay for the whole thing. We watched them win their first three games. Then we went home about 10 p.m.

The second game, which Jared and Jackson won.

Setting. 

Serving.

Attacking. 

Passing.

Jumping. 

A team of two. 

The cheerleaders arrive. 

Tour of Utah Stage 3

Today I took off work to watch Stage 3 of the Tour of Utah bicycle race. I've seen the end of two stages, including a painful hill climb up Little Cottonwood Canyon. Photos of those are here: http://mastlefamily.blogspot.com/2011/08/tour-of-utah.html. So this time I decided to see a start and a downhill.

Stage 3 started at Antelope Island State Park, went through North Ogden and up the North Ogden Divide (first King of the Mountain on this stage) to Eden, past Pineview Reservoir, over Trapper's Loop (second KOM) and on to Bountiful. I had seen on a map that the race started with a short loop on Antelope Island that circled past the visitor center, campground and an area where bison often hang out. So my plan was to find some bison and position myself to shoot photos of the racers with bison in the background. Then I would head to Trapper's Loop for some downhill action.

When I arrived at Antelope Island at 7 a.m., three hours before the race start, the security guy told me to park in the parking lot near the start line. I asked if I could go to the picnic area at the top of the loop. He said the race wasn't going up there. I said that I thought I'd seen on a map that that it did. He said, "No, it starts here and goes right over the causeway." Ok. So I parked and positioned myself smack in front of the starting line, where the riders would come right at me and make a hard left turn to head for the causeway.

We knew the race was about to start when all the Utah Highway Patrol troopers, sheriffs and other law enforcement showed up on their motorcycles and in cars. 

The morning started with the National Guard firing off a canon. 

Each team had eight riders plus two support cars. 

They also had a variety of motorhomes. 

I guess you would call this prerace entertainment. A couple of announcers yammered on about the race and the racers. Each rider also had to go on stage and sign in on a large board. Several of the more popular racers were interviewed. Wish I knew who this popular guy was. Especially since I may have one of his discarded UHC water bottles. 

The only name I recognized from previous Tour de France races was Frank Schleck, who rides for Trek. He was banned from racing for a couple of years due to a controversial doping test result. He then injured his knee, which kept him out of France this year. He's using the Tour of Utah to help get back in shape for Vuelta a España. 

I saw a lot of different brands of bikes (not all shown here). A lot of Cipollinis, but no Pinarellos. 

You'll notice the riders are lining up facing the wrong direction.  They're supposed to race toward me and make a hard left turn to the causeway. That's because they're lining to go up the hill and around the loop the security dummy told me they were not going around. Oh, well. The announcer said most of the 500 bison are hanging out on the south end of the island, so maybe I wouldn't have gotten the photo I wanted anyway. But still. 

And the race is off. 

The racers are coming down from the bison loop, past the start line and onto the causeway. 

This is the peloton. Actually, at this point, everyone is still in the peloton. 

On to Trapper's Loop. This is my view for the next hour or so while I wait for the race to get here. 

Someone from Hill Air Force Base did a flyover. 

The police escorts are showing up to close this part of the highway, so the racers must be coming soon. 

Here are the six breakaway leaders. They already crested the North Ogden Divide and just crested Trapper's Loop about a quarter mile back. 

And four or five minutes behind them is the peloton. 

No chasers and no one left behind. Just one nice breakaway and one tight peloton. The ride to Bountiful will be interesting with the racers this close, but I don't have time to get to Bountiful quickly enough to find parking and make my way to the finish. 

The rest of the peloton. 

And the support vehicles. After they pass, the road will be open to other motorized vehicles.