And then there were five

If you go to Hattie B's Hot Fried Chicken in Nashville for lunch, most likely you'll find a line overflowing out the door.

Yes, it is that good.

Their signature chicken comes in varying heats, and perhaps because none of us ordered any hotter than "warming up," we all loved it.  The side dishes were tasty too.

That served as the farewell meal for Gina and Emma, whom I drove to the airport immediately after lunch.

With only five of us left, we were able to all pile into the sedan to drive to Edwin Warner Park, where we enjoyed a pleasant hike, spotting some deer and other wildlife.

Because the path was paved, it made it easier for Amy, whose broken leg was still healing.

Our evening started unconventionally with a trip to the local Goodwill Thrift shop, where Amy hoped to find some elements for her Halloween costume as a Ghostbuster Kate McKinnon.

While she failed to find a denim lab coat, she did get the perfect pair of slacks.

Meanwhile, Jay and Sasha pursued one of their favorite pastimes, scoping out out a record store that happened to be across the street.  They picked up some classic vinyl from the chatty old hippie who manned the cash drawer.

Jay's Uber driver that took them to the Grand Ole Opry recommended a neighborhood called Five Points as another happening spot in Nashville.

While the restaurants and bars seemed to be hopping, it wasn't nearly the music scene as downtown.  We dined at another branch of Edley's, but on Saturday night they didn't have 2 craft beers for $5 or three meat meal for $15 like the Edley's by our house had on Thursday.  Still, it was another good meal.



Later that evening, we slogged through downtown traffic to the Gulch, where we somehow we gained free admission to see the last half hour of Blue Mafia set at Station Inn, which Jay had pegged in advance as a place to hear bluegrass.   Great show!

After debating whether we should go to church or take a hike before the forecast rain arrived, we headed for a hike, stopping along the way at Centennial Park for a photo op by the Parthenon.

The Deer Trail at Long Hunter State Park ironically didn't reveal any deer as we'd seen the previous day, but it proved to be a pleasant excursion.

We made it to the lake and back just before the rain started coming down in earnest.

Our plan was to go for soul food and live gospel music to Carol Ann's, in a neighborhood where I'd spent a lot of time on my first visit to Nashville in 1976, but the rain was coming down so hard that we got off the freeway to take a break for snacks at Hardee's, the southern branch of Carl's Jr.

It was lucky we ate more than we intended due to me succumbing to the bargain of a $5 box, which even split by Julie, Amy and me took the edge off our appetites, because it turned out that Carol Ann's didn't have gospel on Sunday afternoon after all.

We headed back to the Gulch, where we had initially met up Jay and Sasha in Nashville. The girls did a little window shopping.  Julie actually bought something for her own wardrobe, which rarely happens.

The main draw for Jay and me was craft beer and killer cole slaw at The Pub.

I was going to order my standard pub beverage, the surprisingly low-calorie Guinness, but on the pub menu was a Nashville Peanut Butter Nitro Stout.  That turned out to be the best beer I've ever tasted.

Now with gas in our tanks (one pint, so I wasn't too impaired for driving), we headed to Printer's Alley downtown, where we found some outstanding blues rock.

The cover band played a terrific set that included lots of old favorites from the '70's and earlier, primarily in the vein of Stevie Ray Vaughan and ZZ Top.

The southern food in Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar was also delicious.

We had a massive hamburger came on a hush puppy bun that was crumbly but scrumptious, a perfect combination with the beef.

And here I thought hush puppies were just a side dish for fish fries.

In case I didn't make it clear, we thoroughly enjoyed our lighthearted family reunion in Nashville.