Music City USA: Nashville TN

As I mentioned already yesterday, Marti and Byron (my cousin and her fiance) drove us to down town in Nashville to see all the great spots and to enjoy all the fantastic music sounds in the bars.

Tennessee State Capitol Building
A commanding presence atop a hill in downtown Nashville, this is an outstanding example of Greek Revival architecture. Built in the mid 1800's by noted architect William Strickland, this is a must-see for history buffs. Several areas, including library and government chambers, have been restored to their 19th century appearance. For a spectacular view of the city, be sure to stand outside the building during the early evening hours. On weekdays, the staff offers guided tours generally on the hour, except at noon. Groups need to telephone ahead and make reservations.

The Shelby Street Bridge
(sometimes called the Shelby Avenue Bridge) is a truss bridge that spans the Cumberland River in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It was originally opened on July 5, 1909, and was reopened as a pedestrian bridge on August 3, 2003. The bridge spans 960 m (3,150 ft) and is one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world.

Sunlight over the skyline of Nashville's architecture

Batman Building in Nashville

The AT&T Building (formerly the South Central Bell Building and Bell-South Building, also known as the Batman Building) is a 630.5 ft (192 m), 32-story skyscraper completed in August 1994 and located in Nashville, Tennessee. The structure is designed as an office tower capable of housing 2,000 workers and as of 2008 is occupied by two companies. It is currently the tallest building in the state of Tennessee.

Another shot of the fascinating architecture of Nashville, where old and new greet each other

The Union Station Hotel
This classic downtown Nashville Tennessee hotel is a shining gateway to the past, perfectly blending modern convenience with warm, historic elegance. Marvel at our 65-foot, barrel-vaulted lobby ceiling ... featuring gold-leaf medallions, 100-year-old, original stained glass, and rare bas-relief sculptures.
Indulge in old-fashioned Southern charm, complete with state-of-the-art comforts like wireless and high-speed Internet access and premium-cable television. Choose from more than 12,000 square feet of stately meeting space - offering the latest in technology.
Whether you're here for a conference, wedding, or vacation, you'll delight in the amenities at this enchanting downtown Wyndham Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.

One of the wonderful arty glass windows in the Hotel

The Shermerhorn Symphony Center

For 22 years, Music Director and Principal Conductor Kenneth Schermerhorn led the Nashville Symphony, until his death in April 2005. The orchestra's profile increased during his tenure, through recordings, television broadcasts, and tours. Following Schermerhorn's death, in August 2006, Leonard Slatkin was named the orchestra's artistic advisor, for a contract of three years, through 2009.

In September 2006, the Symphony opened Schermerhorn Symphony Center, a US$123 million project, which includes Laura Turner Concert Hall. Slatkin conducted the orchestra's first concert in the new hall on September 9, 2006, which included works by Shostakovich, Barber, Mahler, and a world premiere Triple Concerto by Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain, and Edgar Meyer.

The Merchants Restaurant
With the start of the Grand Ol’ Opry across the street at the Ryman in 1925, some notable folks started staying at the hotel: Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Porter Waggoner, Little Jimmy Dickens, and Roy Acuff. Other notables included Will Rogers, Wild Bill Hickock and the James Boys (they shot someone on Broadway). As the years went by the quality of the hotel began to decline. In the Roaring Twenties it became a “speakeasy” and was affiliated with Al Capone. In the 1940’s it was a brothel. In the 70’s it became a honky-tonk and “dive” bar. By the 1980’s it was ready for the wrecking ball, but Ed Stolman and the Nashville Arts Commission saved it by having it listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

BBKing Bar
B.B. King's Nashville offers a variety of great Creole Cuisine fused with flavors from around the globe that is sure to please all of your guests. Our highly trained staff are experts in all aspects of event planning and can handle any and all of your needs. The incredible facility that consists of two different levels ranging from our cozy fireplace nooks in the 1st Avenue Dining Rooms to the raucous atmosphere of the deep blues. We can accommodate small intimate groups of 30 to grand celebrations of 1100.

Broadway in Nashville
They don't call Nashville "Music City, USA" for nothing. Nashville boasts one of the most fertile music scenes in the world and is home to a multitude of live music clubs, concert venues, music publishers, record companies recording studios and recording stars. You can catch today's stars at one of Nashville's concert venues or the stars of tomorrow at one of Nashville's clubs!

Horse carriages are to see also in busy Nashville down town :)

Founded by legendeary musican Ernest Tubb, The Ernest Tubb Record shop has been providing country, gospel, & bluegrass music products for over 58 years. The shop specializes in hard to find videos, DVDs, cassettes, and books.

In addition to all the unique items available, visitors can also tour The Green Hornet. This was the tour bus occupied by Tubb and his band from 1970 - 1979. The bus traveled all over over the country including 48 states and Canada. Today, the big green bus is on display for visitors to enjoy.

View inside in the record shop where you can find every style you like in country music

Hi my friends,

I've enjoyed every single moment in Nashville, the city is great, vivid, colorful and fascinating - and a feast for every photographer and his camera :)

Thanks for all your kind comments and compliments to my photos, very much appreciated!

I wish you all a nice coming up weekend and stay with me - we are in North Carolina :)
Susanne and David

From Huntington Beach to L.A.,Hollywood and Beverly Hills

I still can't believe it that we made it trough the whole town, up and down the hills of Los Angeles, even trough Beverly Hills and of course at Hollywood Boulevard with our RV! I have not seen any other RV'ers there in that traffic jam - except us. We should have been discovered for a reality show just for that!!! ...LOL... If anyone of you filmmakers out there are reading this: we will come back there anytime...LOL... :))

LAX are the letters at the airport of L.A. where the planes land over your head and the traffic in the streets goes trough a tunnel under the runways

View over a part of this immense BIG city of Los Angeles. By the way: all the pictures are made out from the car - there was no chance to stop anywhere!

Sign to Venice Beach - take the lane to the left please

Venice
is a district in western Los Angeles, California, United States. It is known for its canals, beaches and circus-like Ocean Front Walk, which features performers, fortune-tellers and vendors. Throughout the summer months, the boardwalk is actively entertaining, and this tradition continues on weekends in the winter. It is an important tourist attraction in Southern California, and has retained its popularity in part because it is an attractive location for walking and bicycling. It was home to early Beat poets and artists in Los Angeles.

I have almost missed the sign to the Santa Monica Pier!

The beautiful Santa Monica Pier offers a variety of entertainment, dining and shopping experiences, including the thrill rides of Pacific Park; a historic 1922 Carousel, and an interactive aquarium. As you stroll the planks of the Pier, enjoy lively street performers-- from musicians to artists - and don't miss some of the best sunsets along the California coast.
The Santa Monica Pier is open 365 days a year. Admission is free.
Parking is available on both the Pier Deck and the Beachfront nearby. Limited short term parking is also available.

Help us relive history beginning in January 2009 as the Pier prepares to turn 100 on September 9th, 2009! The Pier will celebrate with "free" special events suitable for the whole family - including musical and theatrical performances, dance troupes and much, much more. Mark your calendars for this historic milestone!

Santa Monica Boulevard, being a major street, is for most of its length at least four lanes wide

State Route 2 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs from the junction of Santa Monica Boulevard and Centinela Avenue at Santa Monica to Route 138 east of Wrightwood, running concurrent with Routes 101 and 210.
This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System

Palms along one of those big Boulevards

Beverly Hills Sign - there were all the famous and rich are living in their own sanctuary

Beverly Hills is a city in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together entirely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles. The area's "Platinum Triangle" of wealthy neighborhoods is formed by Beverly Hills and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Bel-Air and Holmby Hills. The population was 34,980 as of the 2006 census.

Beverly Hills is bordered on the north by Bel-Air and the Santa Monica Mountains, on the east by West Hollywood, the Carthay neighborhood of Los Angeles, and the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, and on the south by the Beverlywood.

Beverly Hills contains some of the largest homes in Los Angeles County and the nation. These homes range from the extravagant and luxurious in size, to the more elegant and modern homes, and then to the many small duplex rental units and detached homes with less than 3,000 sq ft (280 sq meters). The city's average household income is just over $87,000.

In 2007, Coldwell Banker lists Beverly Hills as the most expensive housing market (second year in a row) in the United States, with a median home price of over $2.2 million.

Of course, you can not miss this well world wide known letters on the hills: HOLLYWOOD

Following, you will see some photographic impressions I have captured with my camera, while poor David (that's my beloved hubby) was driving hard to show me all the most important spots in the most shortest time. Thank you my Darling for your excellent tour guide and your great drivings.

Crossing over to Hollywood Boulevard

The KODAK Theater

A lot of activities going on in front of the KODAK Theater - can you see the stars?

People came with buses to see the "stars" on Hollywood Boulevard

There are still some "stars" available... :))

American Idol' Taylor Hicks will join 'Grease'

Another "American Idol" is Broadway bound. Taylor Hicks, who took the "American Idol" title in Season 5 with the help of his "Soul Patrol" fans, will make his New York stage debut as "Teen Angel" in the current revival of the musical "Grease" at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.

Hicks will join the cast of the show, whose leads were chosen by viewers of the NBC talent competition "Grease: You're the One That I Want" in 2007, on June 6, following in the tradition of an eclectic list of celebrities who have played the role -- among them jazz notable Al Jarreau and rock 'n' roll icon Chubby Checker in a 1990s revival.

Some of the other "Idol" contestants who have taken their talents to Broadway, with varying degrees of success, are 2005 winner Fantasia Barrino ("The Color Purple"), 2005 finalist Diana DeGarmo ("Hairspray") and 2003 finalist Josh Strickland (Disney's "Tarzan").

Graumann's Chinese Theater with a lot of actors dressed up, interacting with the people

A beautiful old movie theater

Commercial sign for the "Screen Actor's Guilde"

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is an American labor union representing over 120,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide. According to SAG's Mission Statement, the Guild seeks to: negotiate and enforce collective bargaining agreements that establish equitable levels of compensation, benefits, and working conditions for its performers; collect compensation for exploitation of recorded performances by its members, and provide protection against unauthorized use of those performances; and preserve and expand work opportunities for its members.

The Guild was founded in 1933 in an effort to eliminate exploitation of actors in Hollywood who were being forced into oppressive multi-year contracts with the major movie studios that did not include restrictions on work hours or minimum rest periods, and often had clauses that automatically renewed at the studios' discretion. These contracts were notorious for allowing the studios to dictate the public and private lives of the performers who signed them, and most did not have provisions to allow the performer to end the deal.

The Screen Actors Guild is associated with the Associated Actors and Artistes of America (AAAA), which is the primary association of performer's unions in the United States. The AAAA is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. SAG claims exclusive jurisdiction over motion picture performances, and shares jurisdiction of radio, television, Internet, and other new media with its sister union AFTRA, with which it shares 44,000 dual members.

Cientology Church, LA

Opening its doors on February 18, 1954, the Church of Scientology in Los Angeles began as a thinly-staffed group who, nevertheless, wanted to deliver L. Ron Hubbard’s life-changing technology to others and help him achieve the goal of a new civilization.

As word about the miracle results of L. Ron Hubbard’s technology spread, and as his organizational policy was issued and implemented, the Los Angeles church grew. It moved to larger and larger facilities to accommodate its growing congregation.
Today, the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles is one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world. In fact, church executives-in-training from every Scientology organization around the globe now apprentice at the LA church before assuming their executive positions.

This was the bar where the real stars used to hang out in the 70's, told me David - I don't know if they do that still today?

I was fascinated very much from this over sized commercials on the buildings

SHAQ's car

Hotel California sign (to the left)

The next boxing match...

GAP commercials going big too...

I liked these lot of mixed commercial signs....

Do you love a Thai Hot Dog? :))

"Almost every day, people tell us: You have the BEST BURGERS in town"
can that be really right? :)

Not to miss also the great architecture every where in L.A.

I think, Obama was here.... :))

I just loved this colors!

Coming down the hills from Beverly Hills we came to the coastal water again in Malibu

Malibu
is an incorporated city in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population is 12,575.

The city of Malibu is a 21-mile (34 km) (33.5 km) strip of Pacific coastline; a beachfront community famous for its warm, sandy beaches, and for being the home of countless movie stars and others associated with the Southern California entertainment industries. Most Malibu residents live within a few hundred yards of Pacific Coast Highway (State Route 1), which traverses the city, with some residents living up to a mile away from the beach up narrow canyons; the city is also bounded (more or less) by Topanga Canyon to the east, the Santa Monica Mountains to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the south, and Ventura County to the west. Its beaches include Surfrider Beach, Zuma Beach, Malibu State Beach and Topanga State Beach; its local parks include Malibu Bluffs Park (formerly Malibu Bluffs State Park) and the planned Legacy Park, with neighboring parks Malibu Creek State Park, Leo Carillo State Beach and Park, Point Mugu State Park, and the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, and neighboring state beach Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach, that was once part of Old Malibu (before Malibu became a city), and better known as pristine beaches, El Pescador, La Piedra and El Matador.

A popular Malibu license plate frame reads, "Malibu: A Way of Life".[citation needed] Signs around the city proclaim "27 miles of scenic beauty". The "27 miles" refers to old Malibu's length (27 miles) before becoming citified (21 miles).

Before we arrived in Oxnard we had to pass this beautiful point of view:

Point Mugu, California is an unincorporated area and geographical promontory on the Pacific coast in Ventura County, near the town of Port Hueneme and the city of Oxnard. The name is believed to be derived from the Chumash Indian term Muwu, meaning beach, which was first mentioned by Cabrillo in his journals in 1542. It is also a name applied to the nearby Naval Air Station — NAS Point Mugu — a test range facility known by various names over the years, including Pacific Missile Test Center and Naval Air Missile Test Center.

The Mugu Rock is a distinctive feature of the coastal promontory that has been featured in hundreds of film shoots and television commercials. The Rock was formed when a path for the Pacific Coast Highway was cut through the mountain. It is a popular but dangerous place for fishing, sight seeing, and cliff diving. On Thanksgiving, November 27, 2008 three young men were swept to sea and killed by a rogue wave while surf watching from Mugu Rock.

Hungry Carps on Broadway

This are the "famous" ducks and carps on Broadway, non-stop begging for food. No, no, I'm not talking about THE Broadway in NYC, I made the photos at the Broadway Park waters in Myrtle Beach :-)

Hundreds of carps are begging with wide open mouths for food. And of course, people can not resist and will drop 25cents into those little machines there with fish food, drop them to the water and watch the beginning fights for food and surviving.

They look like they would sing a song.... :-)

But for the most of them it is not a fight for surviving at all, look how fat they are! It is only begging!

A pretty and very shy duck tried to catch also some of the dropped fish food

And here I've found a sweet lyric with CHRIS REA about "I'm gone fishing"

I'm gone fishing
I got me a line
Nothing I do is gonna make the difference
So I'm taking the time

And you ain't never gonna be happy
Anyhow, anyway
So I'm gone fishing
And I'm going today

I'm gone fishing
Sounds crazy I know
I know nothing about fishing
But just watch me go

And when the time has come
I will look back and see
Peace on the shoreline
That could have been me

You can waste a whole lifetime
Trying to be
What you think is expected of you
But you'll never be free