More Travels...

This is a picture of Cleveland, Ohio. I took this in April, sometime after the backyard pics. It's from the top of the seven story parking structure of the Cleveland Clinic, where I was doing some repairs that day. I like Cleveland. It's a nice place with friendly people. They really are lucky to have such a cutting edge healthcare facility there.

My wife Chris and I went to Nashville during the last weekend of April. Used up a bunch of flyer mile, hotel and rental car points, so we only had to pay for of food and drinks, and other incidentals. A perk that I love! She participated in the Country Music Marathon (running the half) with an online group that she belongs to called the "Penguin Brigade". They are basically a bunch of later life athletes who didn't get into running until they were older. Most of them are a little older than us, but are a great bunch of folks.

This is from inside Jack's Bar-B-Que in Nashville. Supposedly, this is the very best place in the city for Bar-B-Que. I must have ordered the wrong thing, because I was unimpressed. I have gotten to be quite picky, I suppose, since I've been on the health kick. This was taken from the second floor window. It is a cool sign, and a neat place.

This is a picture of the Hermatige, the estate of Andrew Jackson. Unfortuneatly, I was not allowed to take any photos inside. It had a fascinating wallpaper in the foyer that depicted the portion of the Odessey where Telemachus is searching for his father on the isle of Calipso.

This is the final resting place of Ol' Hickory and his wife, Rachel. On the two crypts the first simply says:

GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON

Born March 15th 1767

Died June 8th 1845

On Rachel's, it says :

HERE LIE THE REMAINS OF

Mrs RACHEL JACKSON

wife of PRESIDENT JACKSON

who died 22nd Decr 1828- Aged 61

Her face was fair, her person pleas-ing; her temper amiable, and her heart kind; she delighted in reliev-ing the wants of her fellow creature and cultivated that divine pleas-ure by the most liberal and unpretending methods; to the benefactor; to the rich an ex-ample;to the wretched a comforter, to the prosperuos an ornament, her piety went hand in hand with her benevolence, and she thanked her creator for being permitted to do good. A being so gentle, and yet so virtuous, slander might wound but could not dishonour; Even death, when he tore her form the armes of her husband, could but transport her to the bosom of her God."

This is a full scale replica of the Parthenon of Athens, and my favorite thing about Nashville, being the Greek history buff that I am. I was crushed to find out that they were closed on Sunday. I was dying to get a good picture of the statue of Pallas Athene, which I saw on my last trip here 4 years ago. At least my wife got to see the outside "sigh".

This is the detail of the Friese above the entrance. You can clearly identify Zeus, Nike, Athena, Hermes, and Hera, off to the right. This really is a spectacular building. I can't believe that they once considered tearing it down!

Nashville from the airplane window. You can see the Cumberland river to the left.