"It’s not my scene exactly"

For some people, Nashville is a country-music mecca, so when we were looking for a weekend getaway, the Tennessee capital became a top contender for a weekend pilgrimage. Upon arrival, we circumvented party central for the moment and headed to the neighborhood near our AirBnB, uphill from the state fairgrounds, which hosts a monthly Flea Market (top). The many vendors set up on a vast footprint both inside and outside peddled a variety of products. We considered some wall art of a taxidermic and honky-tonk nature (bottom left and right), but all we brought home were some subdued kitchen rugs.

 

Although we had a snack at the flea market, it was time for a more substantial meal, so we headed to Dicey's Tavern, across from The Outfield, where we snapped a touristy selfie (top). The pizza parlor distinguishes itself by featuring party-cut pies, the typical style found in central Ohio; the Calabrian Vodka specialty pizza made us feel right at home (bottom left). The bathroom at Jackalope Brewing Company (bottom right), where we had a flight before we checked in for a nap after our long drive, was also quite homey.

 

It was easy to get some shut-eye in our stylish room, which featured a canopy bed with near-blackout curtains, photos and paintings by local artists, and a cowhide rug (top left). It was located right off Rains Avenue, within walking distance (if you're willing and able) of the Broadway strip. The area is being redeveloped, although relics of its history remain (top right). In no mood for an all-nighter, we hit up a couple hipsterish bars just blocks from our bed. I had a delicious cocktail that fused watermelon with hot sauce at Never Never Bar, housed in a former welding shop, before we downed some beers and pool balls at the bowling-alley-vibe Lucky's 3 Stars Bar (bottom).

  

With a good night's rest, we were ready to dive into downtown. We had hoped to fuel up at Sun Diner, but the line wrapped around the counters of the former record store, so we headed to the converted grocery at Puckett's Restaurant instead. By the time we finished breakfast, it was just after noon, so we decided we could start drinking. On a street packed with options, it's difficult to pick in which institution to imbibe, so we based our first stop, Layla's Honky Tonk (top left), on the appeal of the band set up right by the front door, like in most establishments on the strip. Once its morning gospel session was over, we headed next door to Robert's Western World (top right). Since we had already eaten, we didn't order the "Recession Special": a fried bologna sandwich served with chips, a moon pie, and an ice-cold PBR. But we did enjoy some Pabsts with the live music (bottom), and we even got a free moon pie with the check. 

 

Since we had plans for the evening, we didn't want to get too wild early in the day. So besides getting a taste of the mobile-party scene -- we saw so, so many people dancing on assorted vehicles (top) -- we took in a few Nashville sights, such as Ryman Auditorium (bottom left) and the waterfront park along the Cumberland River (bottom right). We thought we would escape the madness by getting off the beaten path at the Batter's Box Bar and Grill, but even there, we ended up sharing shots with a birthday-girl bunch from Wisconsin.

 

It was fitting that we stop at a sports bar, considering that sportsball was a primary impetus for our road trip -- we had come to venerate the Columbus Crew. We pre-gamed at Santa's Pub, a dive bar across from the stadium (top). Unfortunately, Kriss Kringle wasn't on hand to hear our wish list, so we weren't able to ask for a win. Despite a promising goal in the first minute of play, Columbus lost 3-1 (bottom left). This was quite a disappointment compared to the 6 goals accrued at the Crew opener (bottom right). However, Ol' Saint Nick came through with a 2-0 win against Nashville on our home field later in the year.

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“Berkeley Barb.” Berkeley Barb, vol. 12, no. 21(303), June 1971. JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/community.28033329. Accessed 31 May 2023.

"It is a warm and sunny Sunday morning on East 11th Street"

For spring break, I tossed all lingering post-pandemic allegiance to self-sustained travel, and we planned a trip to New York that involved an inordinate amount of private and public transportation. Although no longer required, we still wore masks on the plane to Newark, to fend off any airborne illnesses that might ruin our trip (top left). Because we flew into New Jersey but were staying in Brooklyn, we had to use a lot of modes of transport to get to our destination: the Airtrain (top right) NJ Transit trains, and of course, the NY subway (bottom).

For the rest of the trip, though, our main vehicle became our feet. With good weather, we walked almost everywhere we went for four days, averaging nearly 10 miles a day. To wit, upon arriving at Penn Station from the airport, we had time to kill before we could check in, so we strolled to Lower Manhattan, where we checked out the Stonewall National Monument. Unfortunately, it was early in the day, so we couldn't drop in the adjacent Stonewall Inn to make a statement by drinking a Bud Light in the face of recent controversy.

We took a tourist-trap photo of the Ghostbusters Headquarters, which is the actual home of Hook & Ladder 8, the very first responders on 9/11 (top left). This is no surprise, considering the firehouse was around the corner from the Twin Towers. We stopped for a late breakfast at Gee Whiz Diner before visiting the 9/11 Memorial (middle right). We tried to find a moment of reflection amid the masses before heading east to Juneteenth Grove in Cadman Plaza Park, which is home to the Brooklyn War Memorial to WWII soldiers (top right) and was a welcome relief after weaving through crowds on the Brooklyn Bridge (bottom left). Henry Street Ale House in Brooklyn Heights is wise in billing itself as short walk from the bridge because after our crosstown haul, we were ready for a few pints. Despite the refueling, we opted for the subway to get to our AirBnB in Bedford-Stuyvesant (Bed-Stuy), where we rested our dogs before sniffing out dinner at Captain Dan's Good Times Tavern. As we headed in for the night, we saw the sun set over Herbert Von King Park, a pleasant local gathering place named for local community leader that was right across from our room (bottom right).

The next day, we decided to traipse around Brooklyn instead of stomping back into the big city. On our way to get breakfast at Greenberg's Bagels (top left), we swung by the King of NY mural, which pays tribute to native son Biggie Smalls (top right). It is painted on the side of one of the borough's ubiquitous brownstones (middle). We later walked by more upscale rowhouses in Park Slope after visiting Industry City in Sunset Park (bottom left). The upcoming neighborhood is known for its Latino and Asian communities, as illustrated by signs designating renovated warehouse buildings as part of "Japanklyn" (bottom right).

The multi-use commercial space was a quick stop-off on the way to our primary destination: Green-Wood Cemetery (top). We hiked to the highest point in Brooklyn, site of the Civil War Soldiers' Monument (top middle left) and home to Leonard Bernstein's grave (top middle right). Before it had tombstones, the graveyard's hills were a pivotal promontory during the Battle of Brooklyn, in which Gen. George Washington lost New York to British forces being commanded by Gen. Charles Cornwallis from the nearby Old Stone House (bottom middle left). After a 2-mile hike between the historical sites, we did a mini brewery tour in Gowanus. Our favorite taproom atmosphere and terrier was at Wild East (bottom middle right), which had a less hipster crowd and a more relaxed vibe than Threes or Finback (bottom left). Our magical cultural tour put us in the mood for an authentic ethnic meal, which we devoured at Bombay Heights, and a genuine neighborhood experience, which we relished at Do or Dive Bar (bottom right).

Our meteorological good luck continued the next day when we headed into downtown, this time by subway after noshing on some Brooklyn Kolache (top left). Our tour of Upper Manhattan included a stroll past Trump Tower, where cameras were still set up outside after his indictment on fraud charges (top right). The scene was a bit more serene down the street in Central Park, where spring was in full bloom (middle). We took advantage of the sunshine to people watch on the mall (bottom left) and busker listen at Belvedere Castle overlooking Turtle Pond (bottom right).

We were cutting across the park to get to the American Museum of Natural History, so we could fill up on its Night at the Museum ambience (top left). In fact, we sped through the halls because the condensed crowds and overwhelming exhibits made us feel constrained (top right). We much preferred the hazy, cozy confines of Malachey's Irish Pub, where we had some drinks before grabbing dinner at DIG. On this sunny day, the air was sweet on Sesame Street (bottom left), which we passed on our way to a taping of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. No cameras were allowed in Ed Sullivan Theatre, of course, but afterward, we snapped a stock selfie at tacky Times Square (bottom right) before calling it a day.

For our final day, it was time to check some items off our NYC bucket list. After picking up some caffeine at Little Roy Coffee Co., we struck out for the Staten Island Ferry (top left). Unfortunately, our ship was a small one without an open top deck so photographic real estate was sparse (top right). Eventually, I managed to angle myself just so to take shots of the skyline (bottom left) and the Statue of Liberty (bottom right).

We wanted to make the crossing to Staten Island more than just a tourist transit by lunching at Steiny's Pub, but unfortunately, they had recently cut down their kitchen hours. So we pivoted to our first of two pizza samplings for the day: two slices from locals' lunchtime favorite Pranzo Pizza and Pasta (top left). Our second pie portions came from 2 Bros. Pizza in the East Side, after we hit up a couple of historical pubs. From Fraunces Tavern, we walked north past Wall Street and through Chinatown (top right) to McSorley's Old Ale House (bottom left). The bartender feigned surliness (bottom right) before showing his sweet side by recommending we get dessert at Veniero's Pastry. The Italian bakery's immaculate creations were enticing, but we were more inclined toward liquid concoctions. Back in Brooklyn, we downed happy-hour beer and cocktail specials at Coyote Club and ate Indian leftovers for our last night in town. The next morning, we woke up before we got to sleep, picking up Nagle's Bagels for the journey to our plane back to overcast Ohio.

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Johnson, Sheila P., and Nancy T. Ammerman. “Changing Lives One Scoop at a Time: The Creation of Alphabet Scoop on the Lower East Side.” Ecologies of Faith in New York City: The Evolution of Religious Institutions, edited by Richard Cimino et al., Indiana University Press, 2013, pp. 169–97. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt16gzccw.12. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.