Sunday Night July 3rd in Nashville

We went to Nashville to spend the weekend visiting my Stepson. Sunday night we went as a family down to Broadway St and the waterfront area for the city's celebration. They had bands playing on a stage set up on a barge moored in front of an amphitheater type area. The show was good, but pics of a concert are boring if you don't know the band so I won't waste your time. As soon as the band finished the fireworks show started. It was a great time and I'm glad we saw if since the fireworks celebration here in Birmingham is pretty screwed up because of the rain that moved in this afternoon.

Beautiful flag display at the end of Broadway.

After it got really dark you could see this on one of the buildings to make sure you knew what you were attending .

Cool neon signs are all over this street since it is the party area near the Ryman Auditorium. If you don't know what that is check google. It's a sacred space in music.

walking down the street toward the waterfront. Lots of cool bars and record stores on that side of the street with a few cowboy clothes stores thrown in for fun.

The other side of the street. This side is more t-shirt/trinket shops , bars and some boot shops.

Walking back toward the car. The Ernest Tubb record shop is a truly historical business that has had a HUGE part in Nashville's music scene.

Coming down the hill toward the riverfront.

The "rockets red glare"

The "bombs bursting in air"

The grand finale! Have I told y'all that I love my new camera ;-)

We had a great time and I'll post more from this trip later. We also went to the Lane Auto Museum and Allison and I spent part of the 4th in Franklin enjoying a small town America 4th of July celebration.

Stay tuned.....

All Weekend In Nashvile And Only Saw Two Cool Bikes!

I'm sure there are a lot of cool bikes in Nashville, but they were all hiding from me. I saw a ton of stock bikes, but no killer chops. Here's some pics of the ones I did see.....

Not sure what the deal is on this one. It is a heritage style softail with a handshift and a sidecar. Not sure if it belongs to someone who needed the mods to ride or if it was just done to be cool. Either way it is an eye catching bike and I would love to know more about it.

Gotta love the Flying Tigers style shark mouth on the side car.

I know a little more about this one. I first saw it Saturday night out behind the restaurant where we ate dinner. I went back to check it out and when I was almost to the car I saw the guy that I knew had to be the owner. Turns out he was and he was pretty friendly.  I told him about the blog and about the Quad Cam Bastards, and I hope he finds his way to both. When I saw it that night it was stripped down and looking sweet. Sunday when I was out with the family I saw the bike again at Centennial Park and snapped some pics. The owner wasn't around so I could ask anymore questions. It seems he has the detachable sissy bar and a set of bags to make it easier to go riding with his sweetie or a friend. The bike itself is a pretty clean and simple set up. Custom pipes and gas tank as well as some very nice pinstriping work from a local artist. You can tell the bike is a daily rider and is being modified as time and funds allow. Keep it up dude and I hope you see your bike here.

Close up of the striping on the fender. The fender is chopped as it should be .

Nice work on the tank striping.

Overall view from the rear.