“Red ribbons hang in a
Tennessee Square.
Old people laughing and singing
And dancing down there”.

– Whiskeytown (1995).

In May 2007 I set off on my first independent cross-country trip across The United States. At the heart of this adventure lay the Volunteer State of Tennessee, where my old friend Jon lived in Nashville.

I certainly enjoyed my time in Music City. Drinking in the country music vibe at the honky-tonks. Tinkling on the Elvis Steinway Piano at RCA Studio B. In fact, it was all so lovely I came back for a second helping in May 2009.

Over the course of my two stays in Tennessee I also got to hang out in Memphis. I’m unlikely to ever forget my visit to Graceland to see Elvis Presley’s grave. Nor indeed dancing at B.B. King’s on Beale Street, or paying my respects to Martin Luther King at The Lorraine Motel.

Furthermore, I embarked on a road trip to Chattanooga to climb Lookout Mountain and see the old Choo Choo trains at the former Terminal Station.

Reliving these old adventures through these pages of mine has been a lot of fun. Thus I invite you to visit Tennessee with me through my travel reports on:

Chattanooga

Memphis

Nashville

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Take a look at my Q&A on Andy’s World Journeys.