Out on the Town

This past weekend Sean and I went out with friends 2 nights in a row – that’s T-W-O – which is way a bit out of the ordinary for us. We enjoyed ourselves, but boy did we feel old! Maybe I shouldn’t speak for Sean…ok, I felt old. Going out with friends isn’t quite what it used to be. Come midnight, I’m ready to crash. I was proud of us, though – we hung in there with the young folk.

Sean’s good friend Price was driving through town and stopped to stay with us Friday night. I was so excited – “A house guest is coming! A house guest is coming!” It was the perfect excuse for a nice steak dinner. Afterwards we decided that Price, being the cool and casual California man, needed a real taste of Nashville. We headed to town with one destination in mind - Lonnie’s Western Room…there’s no place like it on earth. Just a step above Hole-in-the-Wall status, Lonnie’s is a small, crowded, smoky karaoke bar on Printer’s Alley. And y’all, people in Nashville take their karaoke seriously. Lonnie’s only takes cash, and their beer is served by the bucket. Don’t even think about getting the munchies here because they don’t serve food. No fear, though – you can order up a super-delicious hot dog or BBQ sammich from Joe just outside the entrance. Lonnie would probably let you order a pizza, but I’ve never tried…at least not yet. Scoring a seat in the VIP lounge is a treat. With mirror-clad walls, torn vinyl seats and a big skull on the wall what more could you want? Plus, there’s room for dancing up there, and a girl’s gotta dance when some drunken redneck starts singing Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing’.” Unfortunately for us, Lonnie’s wasn’t all the white-trash glory we had hoped for. Lonnie recently opened another lounge on the other side of town, and I’m guessing he took all of his regulars and staff over there.

Here's a shot of Printer's Alley

Here I am at Lonnie's (June '07)
Emily and Sherri enjoying the VIP lounge
See, I told you the hot dogs were good!

Since Lonnie’s was somewhat of a bust, we decided to check out Paradise Park on Broadway. It’s a relatively new concept bar. The concept? Trailer Trash. But unlike Lonnie’s, this redneck vibe is not original. Still, it was a pretty neat place, and I’m definitely looking forward to going back. These people went to great lengths to recreate the glory of the All-American White Trash Trailer Park. It may not be authentic, but it’s pretty darn close: green Astroturf, broken lawn chairs, a beat-up Dodge Charger, plastic cups, patty melts, and a Wall of Mullets!

Price left Saturday morning to continue his trip up to West Virginia. (Why do I always say “West Virginny” in my head when I think of that state?) Sean and I laid around in our PJ’s until 5 p.m. It was the laziest Saturday I’ve had in years! And it was wonderful. The only reason we got showers and cleaned up was because we had plans to meet friends at Big Bang. I may have mentioned Big Bang before…I can’t remember. It’s the dueling piano bar, and it’s a lot of fun if you like singing along to pop music with a bunch of strangers….which I do. My throat usually hurts after leaving Big Bang because I scream sing along to the music.

So, that’s our weekend in a nutshell. Everything is back to normal – work, gym, dinner, sleep, work gym, dinner sleep….