Nashville - the home of country music. This was another place that disappointed me. There wasn't that much downtown. The day I was there it seemed like the only reason people were there was to watch the bike race that was winding around some of the streets. That having been said I still managed to have a good time.

On the evening after I arrived I walked down the long hotel-and-restaurant-lined street and picked a steakhouse to eat in. I had my first taste of bison in a burger and it was good - very much like beef but a little more crumbly. I got talking to the guy next to me at the bar. He was fascinated with my trip and was very jealous but said, being a stockbroker, he couldn't afford to take six months off because he'd lose the client relationships he'd spent years building up. His dream though was to take two months to do a golf tour of Ireland and Britain. He was a very interesting and chatty person, but he did make me realise I'm meeting a lot of divorced men in bars. I guess that makes sense but where are the miserable married men trying to escape their wives for an evening?

For my one day in town I waited out the rain in my hotel room to start with - the first rain I've seen since my first day in Miami. Then I went into town and first looked at the state capitol. It was pretty small and puny in comparison to the one I saw in Austin. And, being a weekend, it wasn't open for visitors. So I concentrated my efforts on the one thing you absolutely have to do in Nashville - the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

I got the celebrity audio tour, which I'm glad of because otherwise I wouldn't have been interested in anything. As it was it was only of passing interest to me. For a museum that is all about a form of music there wasn't much audio around! There were a few bits that I liked seeing, like the two customised cars for Elvis Presley and some other guy. Elvis's had gold leaf trim around some parts and a plush interior; some other guy's had models of guns all over it. I got photos of them both so you can see what I mean.

The most interesting part for me was when I handed in my audio guide at the end and stood talking to the coat check/audio guide lady for half an hour. She was from San Diego and had moved to the Nashville area six months ago. I said I would rather have gone the other way but she had grown sick of San Diego. She recommended I take a walk across the bridge for a view of the skyline. It wasn't very good.

The most fun was reserved for the evening though. After trawling around I found a bar where I could sit at the bar and listen to the live country music. As I sat down a fairly drunk-looking middle-aged woman waved at me so I waved back. I stayed the other side of the bar from her as I updated my journal, but once I was done she waved me over. I had nothing better to do so I went over and joined her and her two lady friends. She had had a few drinks and was screaming at the band in appreciation. Fortunately she left after an hour or so after ruffling my hair. It turned out then that she wasn't really a friend of the other two, more of an acquaintance. They were much more normal and sober and very interesting to try to talk to over the sound of the bands behind us.

Since they may read this I'll namecheck them - Cathy and Karen, from the Philly area although Cathy now lives in Kentucky. They've been friends for decades and try to go away together every so often, which I think is really sweet. Despite my protestations they insisted on paying for two beers and my pizza at the bar. Then we shared a taxi because our hotels were in the same direction and when I tried to give them ten dollars towards the fare but they wouldn't take it, and even the taxi driver wouldn't take it when I offered it to him. He told me I would need it more for my travels.

This was my last stop in "the South" and with a couple of exceptions in every state I have met friendly, nice people. Admittedly sometimes these people were from the north but somehow just being in the south gives them some Southern hospitality. Having travelled around here I have loved the area, even if it has been a bit hot for my liking, and I feel it has got an unfair reputation. There are hicks in rural areas of every state not just the south. And there is a real sense of regional pride here like I haven't experienced anywhere else. The southern people are very proud of their roots.

For the next several stops it's the Midwest for me. Woohoo... not.