A Royal return to Nashville, Tennessee in August!‏

Last October I went to Nashville aka Music City to see the Tennessee Titans play at LP Field. This time after spending the night in East Memphis, I drove to Nashville with the intentions of seeing the Nashville Sounds, the Triple A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers play‎ at Herschel Greer Stadium which is notorious for its unique guitar shaped scoreboard in left field. After playing 37 years of hits, this was the last year they were playing there hence the slogan, Last Cheer at Greer. With being said, I purposely made this trip with that in mind. Ironically the Titans were home for a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers as well. 

Me outside Pringles Park in Jackson, Tennessee

After having a royal breakfast at Baymont Inn & Suites, I drove across middle Tennessee. I stopped off in Jackson which is the home of the Double A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, the Jackson Generals. I drove a short distance off the highway & I made a quick stop to go see their ballpark which is called Pringles Park. After I walked around for a short time, I got back in the car & I continued on. I wound up getting to the Nashville area around 3:30PM. I decided to take a ride to the ballpark to check it out before I ate dinner at a highly recommended restaurant called Monell's in Germantown. Since dinner wasn't being served until 5PM, I had some spare time. The ballpark was a few miles away from the downtown area.

Monell's in Germantown

Monell's where you feel right at home

When I got back to Monell's, I parked the car & I waited with bunch of other people until it was time for dinner. It was quite an experience. I wound up sitting at a table with 14 other people. We got to pass around food the table until our hearts were content. Among the different people who were there, a couple came all the way from Poland to visit our country & they also got to experience life in the South. 

My dinner at Monell's

As they say there, we show your mouth to the South. Did they ever? I wound up having plenty of great food which consisted of southern fried chicken, catfish, corn pudding, biscuits & gravy, turnips, mashed potatoes, pulled pork & macaroni & cheese. It was Southern Hospitality at its finest. 

First Tennessee Park - New Home of the Nashville Sounds

I want to personally thank fellow ballpark chaser Steven Burke for the amazing suggestion. When I walked out, I was stuffed. If I get to go back someday, I can go to see the new ballpark that's being built for the Sounds. It's scheduled to open for the 2015 season. It's right near downtown within walking distance of Monell's. It will be called First Tennessee Park.

Me outside the Greer before I ate dinner at Monell's

37 Years of Hits

Guitar scoreboard in left field

Official stamp showing I was physically there

Tarp covering the field

I'm not happy after the game was rained out

I proceeded to drive back to Herschel Greer Stadium. I parked the car & as I approached the ballpark, ‎I noticed the skies didn't look good. I knew trouble in the form of rain was on the way. Sure enough, right after I walked into the ballpark, the skies opened. The rain came pouring down on my parade. I wound up sitting under cover behind home plate. The field was covered but the outfield was drenched with puddles everywhere. With that being said, I knew they had no chance of playing the game. A little kid who was sitting next to me was so upset. As for me, I was too but there was nothing I could do about it. I just had to accept the fact I wasn't going to get to see a game played there. However I did get my minor league passport book stamped to prove I was in the ballpark. After they waited a while, they made the announcement that the game was rained out. In retrospect, it was probably a blessing in disguise. I did have a long ride ahead of me. I got back to the car & I drove to Chattanooga, Tennessee where I spent the night at Super 8. In the process, I lost an hour due to the time zone change.

Stay tuned for another special post that will go into detail about the last day of the getaway.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly‎,

Gary Herman