Patsy Cline’s Salt and Peppers

Patsy Cline collected salt and pepper shakers. She picked them up in her travels and had quite the collection. Who would’ve thought?

I always find it interesting to know what people collect when they travel. I have a friend who brings home rocks and gems and another who buys a charm for her bracelet. For me, it’s Christmas ornaments for the travel tree.

I wonder why Patsy chose salt and peppers. Although, they are cute and packable so it does make sense. In fact, I have more than a few sets of my own including some vintage pieces that I noticed Patsy also owned!

If you’re interested, you can see the salt and peppers pictured above at her childhood home in Winchester, Virginia. The Patsy Cline Museum in Nashville also has an extensive collection on display with her dining room furniture.

The Nashville Museum has a somewhat small but extraordinary collection that is worth every penny of admission. Winchester is one of my favorite destinations of all time for its celebration of Patsy, Civil War history and small town charm. The tour of her home, was one of the most informative and best home museum tours I have been on.

If you’re interested in any of this, just hit the search bar and look for Winchester, Nashville or Patsy Cline to see what else I did while visiting these towns.

Lonesome Magic At Studio B

If you ever find yourself in Nashville and looking for something to do, take the tour of Studio B that is offered by the Country Music Hall Of Fame.

So many amazing hits were recorded at the historic RCA Studio B that it would be impossible to name them all. Roy Orbison, Floyd Cramer, Fats Domino, Willie, Dolly and even Elvis recorded here during the glory days from 1957 until 1973.

I was reminded of this place last night. Sometimes it’s fun to jump down the rabbit hole that is YouTube and look for good music. Last night I enjoyed street buskers, vintage soul, disco and even a great acoustic cover of the old Looking Glass song “Brandy” before landing on Elvis singing “Are You Lonesome Tonight.”

If you take the Studio B tour, they talk about many recordings that were done here and dwell some on the work that Elvis did and how the King harnessed the power of light and colors. They hung Christmas lights for holiday albums and had a set of filters to place over the lights to make the room red or blue.

When he recorded “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” Elvis wanted the room completely dark.

That’s right. He and the band were shrouded in complete darkness. He wanted the song to not just be sad. He wanted it to be absolutely forlorn.

Photo courtesy Google Images

When the tour guide reached this point in the story, he turned off the lights and played the song for us.

It was like hearing the song for the first time and it was almost magical sitting in the room where he recorded it. I almost expected him to be there when they turned on the lights.

I still get goosebumps at the memory.

Want to experience the song in a new way? Turn out the lights or at least close your eyes while you have a listen. Click here to listen now.

I honestly don’t recall the cost of the ticket but I do remember thinking it was worth every penny. Admission includes transportation from the Hall Of Fame to Studio B, your guided tour and a little bit of magic if you enjoy country and rock and roll music.

Elliston Place Soda Shop

You know that I didn’t drive all the way to Nashville from Ohio without finding a diner or two. Today, I want to tell you about one just down the street from Centennial Park in Nashville.

One of these days I’ll write about Centennial Park and the full scale replica of the Parthenon that resides there.

But not today.

Instead, I want to show you Elliston Place Soda Shop. This is one of the few stops this weekend that didn’t feel like a tourist trap. In fact, it was busy with a lot of neighborhood folks picking up take out. At one point, a group came in to celebrate a child’s birthday and some teenagers had seemingly taken up residence but I appeared to be the only tourist in the house.

Opened in 1939, Elliston’s feels like a monument to a slower time. A slice of Americana.

The tile and chrome, the booths and counter all appear to be original. Small jukeboxes hang on the wall at each booth and the red and yellow decor is simply happy.

Like any good diner, your food is made fresh to order and comes pretty quick. I was passing by between meals so I settled for a chocolate sundae the size of my head. Seriously friends, this sundae was huge. It would probably be best to share with someone else but, being alone, I took one for the team and ate it by myself. Yup. I ate the whole thing.

I sat for a while, resting after walking miles and miles that day. That birthday party? Some of the kids wanted to see their milkshakes be mixed. There’s a picture below of three little kids kneeling on stools at the counter while they anxiously awaited their treats.

It was just fun to see.

This place is family owned and operated. Their prices skew a bit higher than you might expect at a diner but sometimes you have to pay the price to support a neighborhood joint. You might get better prices at a fast food chain but you won’t find the atmosphere and caring service that Elliston’s provided me.

I’m told it’s been featured in some movies which I need to look up soon. I badly hope it’s still there if I ever go back to Nashville.

Have a look at some more pictures!

Want to know more? Visit their website!