Destination Branson Pt 4: An Evening With Jim Stafford

This is the next to last post in my series about my trip to Branson earlier this month. I am going to share how my wife and I spent our Saturday night in the Ozarks.  

Branson is probably best known for offering close to 50 theaters and shows. There's magic, variety, comedy, dinner shows and more. A lot of them are tributes to singers and entertainers of the past. There's even some entertainers, best known from days gone by, who have settled in Branson and are performing in their own theaters. A lot of them are seasonal and weren't scheduled during our weekend visit. 

On our own on Saturday night, Paula and I wanted to go a show but couldn't decide which one.

In the past few years when the idea of going on vacation in Branson was mentioned I set my sights on doing two things. One was spending a day at Silver Dollar City amusement park but that wasn't going to happen on this trip. The other was, seeing Jim Stafford, one of my favorite entertainers from the 1970s, perform.
After his six top 40 hits and hosting his own summer replacement TV show, back in the mid 70s Stafford went on to write songs for movies (several for Disney's "The Fox and The Hound), co-host the ABC video show, Those Amazing Animals and 3 seasons of the Nashville Network's Nashville On The Road show. 

Since 1990 he's been performing shows in his Branson theater. 

I was so excited when I checked the online schedule and realized there was a show that night. After I discovered this, there was no doubt where we would spend our Saturday night. 

About 6:45 we arrived at the theater. 

 The show started at 7:30 so we made sure we in our aisle seats in the 3rd row of the right section of the auditorium by 7:10. They were great seats and the theater wasn't crowded at all. We had the row to ourselves. 

From the opening song, the 75 year old singer put on an amazing performance. He sang all his hits and some funny songs I'd never heard before.

He was very friendly and enjoyed interacting with the audience. At one point he came down from the stage and shook hands of the people sitting front row center and on the left. I was a little disappointed when he didn't come over our way. 

Although he was a bit older than the last time I saw him on TV, Stafford was still the same guy I remembered. He's one of those entertainers who connects with his audience by sharing his humor with them not throwing it at them. He makes you feel like you're watching an old friend up on stage and that you are both in on the joke. I call it "wink wink comedy." 

From the moment he came on stage I was overjoyed. I quickly realized that I was going to enjoy this show on a much more than I'd anticipated. 

I was being entertained by a guy who's "Greatest Hits" album I'd owned and listened to since my late teens; a guy I'd always thought of as being very likable. It was somewhat surreal. I was so excited that at times got a little over exuberant in my reactions to the show. 

The first of his hits he performed was "Wildwood Weed". When he started playing the introduction, of course, I recognized it and started clapping. The only thing was, I was the only one clapping. I felt a little embarrassed until Jim looked my way and nodded his head in my direction.  He joked, "Ah you're the one who bought that record." That recognition made me feel better. 

In between songs he told some jokes and stories about his life in music. He told how his first single got recorded and released thanks to Kent LaVoie, better known as the pop ballad singer, Lobo. 

He went on to do that spoken word hit, Swamp Witch, which was my favorite moment of the night. 

My dad and I both liked that record and talked about it all the time. With Father's Day about a week away, sitting there listening to it being performed live made me feel like dad was right there with me. For the umpteenth time in the last 20 years I was experiencing something I knew he would have loved. I wished he could have been there with us.  

After about 45 minutes, it was time for an intermission. Before leaving the stage Stafford announced that he would be over in the corner at a small merchandise counter greeting guests, signing autographs and posing for pictures. 

 I didn't think it possible but I was even more excited than I had been with the a opportunity to get a picture with and talk with him.  

The line formed a lot faster than I thought it would, but I only had to wait a few minutes before I got to the front. It may not seem like a big deal but the fact that I actually got to meet Jim Stafford, is one of the coolest thing I'd done all year. 

I shook his hand and made small talk with him. I mentioned the song "I Stoned And I Missed It" which was his last top 40 hit (#37) back in 1975. 

I asked him if he ever met the song-writer, Shel Silverstein. 

He said he never did but that Silverstein had sued him over that song because he changed some of its lyrics on the record. 

When I heard this I cringed inside. I thought I had just messed up. I immediately apologized saying I didn't mean to bring up a sore subject. He graciously assured me that it was alright. It had all turned out okay. 

I then got my picture taken with him. 

I went back to my seat a very "happy camper." A few minutes later, I returned to the counter to buy a CD and a jump drive with lots of Jim's music on it. While there I helped out by taking pictures for a couple of fellow fans. Jim thanked me for helping out. 

He was friendly and kind to everyone who came up to meet him. He expressed gratitude to each and everyone for coming out to the show.  

The 2nd half of the show was just as good if not better than the first. Jim showcased his abilities on the guitar, banjo and harmonica. He is an amazingly talented musician. I can't even begin to describe how amazing he was. He also impressed the crowd with his version of Johnny Cash's hit, "I've Been Everywhere." 

All too soon the show was over. It was 2 hours that I totally enjoyed. I wish he had played longer. 

As we left, I was still on cloud nine. That "joy" would stay with me for the rest of our trip. The music I brought home will help keep the memory of that night at the theater alive for years to come. 

As far as entertainment is concerned, seeing Jim Stafford's show is probably one of my all time top 10 experiences. 

If you're a babyboomer, are a fan of 70s music, like me, and are ever in Branson on a Thursday or Saturday night, I highly recommend you go to see Jim Stafford. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. In the 5th and final installment in this series, I will share with you what I did on our last full day in Branson. I will also give you what I thought of my first trip to the Ozarks. See you next time. 

Destination Branson Pt 3: More Museums

Happy Monday everyone. It's the start of a new and busy week for me. It includes trips to western Kentucky, a return to Nashville as well as a ventriloquist performance. More on all of those coming up in future posts. 

Time now to return to that beautiful place in the Ozarks, Branson, MO. When I ended my last post, my wife and I were in the middle of our day at the museum. 

After an "all's well that ends well" lunch experience at a not-so-nearby Pizza Hut (I'll tell you the details if you ask) we returned to the Toy Museum complex to continue our tour of some of the other museums.  

When we walked in the door of building #2 the very enthusiastic lady at the front desk pointed us to the BB Gun museum to our right. We decided to skip it and headed down the hall to start the 2nd leg of our tour. 

Although I was ready to see the stuffed bears and the checkers, I was not ready for the additional toys we encountered. But I really enjoyed them. 

First up was a section of popular si-fi toys. I'm talking Star Trek and Star Wars. The amount of toys and collectibles on display from these two iconic franchises, especially Star Wars, was almost over whelming. 

Here are just a few of the display cases. Can you find something you had as a kid or is now in your collection?

 

 

 

Next we found a room devoted entirely to Barbie and doll houses. Paula found a couple of dolls that she used to have. 

I didn't get any pictures of the Sterns bears. But I do have pictures of the World of Checkers room. 

The Paul Harvey Jr. Museum was a series of small room dioramas that recreated a typical life of a kid growing up in the 50s. 

I was surprised to see a children's version of a type of lamp that my mom used to have in our living room when I was growing up. 

I don't know what the actual name of this lamp but I have been searching for one for a while. It uses the heat of the light inside to spin the cylinder on a spindle. If you know what they are called or where I can find some please let me know. 

Other than the toy museum, my favorite display of the day was the model railroad exhibit. Created and managed by the Roak Valley Modular Railroad Club this layout has some wonderful scenery, buildings and, of course running trains. The mural on the back wall really enhances the whole platform. Here are some pictures and videos.

 This video gives you an overview of the whole layout. 

Just two trains that pass on the line

This one really shows a close up of the detail of the wall mural which really accents the whole platform. 

After we spent some time enjoying the model railroad, our tour and day of exploring Branson came to an end. 

We went back to our hotel, hung out with Mark & Patty and their other guests. 

Our evening plans were to go to one of Branson's many theaters to see a performance of one of my favorite singers from the 1970. 

While I had anticipated spending the evening enjoying an entertaining show, it turned out to mean so much more than I expected. More about that in my next post as I continue my recollections of my first visit to Branson. Come back Friday for Part 3.  

Destination Branson Pt 2: The World's Largest Toy Museum

Welcome back to Branson, everyone. In the next two entries of this series I'm going to tell you about our experience at one of the most unique group of museums we've ever visited. Along the way I will be sharing pictures, and links to videos I took along the way, which I've downloaded onto my You Tube page.

With our friends and their family involved in wedding activities: church rehearsal, rehearsal lunch and other preparations that go along with a wedding, Paula and I had most of the day free to explore the area.

We decided to check out the "World's Largest Toy Museum" located on Country Boulevard 2.5 miles from our hotel. Along the way we passed a lot of other attractions: the water tower that doubles as the town's marquee...

...The Hollywood Wax Museum...

...and a distant view of the Branson Ferris Wheel.

I will have additional pictures of these attractions and more later in this series. 

From the time you see the marquee and the bus in the parking lot the Toy Museum you get a good hint as to what awaits you inside. But you can't imagine just what a million toys looks like.  

The outside of the building reminds me of the facade of an old time amusement park fun house. 

Inside we found a couple of things that surprised us. First of all, admission not only included the toy museum but a complex of 5 others as well. They are: 

The Harold Bell Wright Museum-A memorial to a writer whose fictional novel about life in the Ozark Mountains first brought the area into national spotlight.  

Sterney's Bear Museum-featuring stuffed bears hand crafted by the Stearns family in Stotts, MO since 1981. 

National BB Gun Museum-A collection of over 500 BB guns by Daisy, Winchester and more, prints of classic advertisements. They feature guns associated with Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy and the Lone Ranger. 

World of Checkers Museum-A room devoted to the history of checkers of all kinds, from the 1700s to today. There's also the opportunity to sit and play a game or two. 

Paul Harvey Jr. Museum-A series of rooms and displays that recreate how it was for the son of the famous broadcaster while growing up in the 50's.

In addition, there was another room in the complex devoted to something that always takes me back to my childhood. More on that later. All of these were open to us for just a $19 admission price. Now, let's get back to the toy museum.

As most tourists spots do, our tour here began in their gift shop. We were escorted to the suggested starting point by one of the employees. There he gave us some basic guidelines and advised us on what path to follow so we'd end the tour back in the gift shop.   

Before I get into the many pictures I took, I want to explain a couple of things about the museum.

This was not the spacious roomy type of museum you'd see in a big city. It was very crowded and the room to move around was limited. There was a lot of stuff in a relatively small space. It reminded me a lot of some of the places Mike and Frank go through all the time on the TV show, American Pickers.

It felt a lot like going through someone's attic. There were even a couple of full sized cars and or vehicles in the middle of all the display cabinets. The three floors were filled to capacity. The best way I could describe it was that it was an organized hoarder house. But with a million toys how could it be anything else. 

Also, the lighting throughout the museum was not very conducive to taking pictures. The glare of the florescent lights took away from the quality of the photos I took. But I did the best I could. 

Finally, there was so much stuff to see that I didn't want to miss any of it. But to shoot everything I liked would have taken all day and I wanted to be in the moment.  These pictures are just a sample of what was in the museum.

This wind up toy is one of the earliest Mickey Mouse toys I have ever seen. I would be very interested in finding out more about it.

While the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were a bit after my time, they are important to a lot of people who grew up in the 80s & 90s. To them, this case full of TMNT toys is probably rather impressive. 

Robots have always been one of my favorite toys. This case had several generations of toy robots on display. The one I was most impressed with was the large BR-9 robot from Lost In Space.  The smaller model in the right hand corner is just like the one I have.

Paula found a Pebble's doll she had when she was a little girl.

Along with the robot, Lego and Disney displays (you'll see those last two in videos later) the toys based on real space travel were among my favorites. However I didn't take the time to take any decent pictures of the case; but I have to include them. Here's the only picture I got.

 On the bottom floor of the museum was a vendor display case once used to sell roasted nuts. But in this case it was used to hold one of my favorite collectibles, Pez Dispensers.

The display had a sign that gives a brief history of the products origin.

Now it's time for the some videos. All these links will take you to my You Tube channel page. Because of the limited file size allowed for videos on this blog (100mb) I had to download them there.

There are so many Disney toys in this video that I can't begin to talk about all of them. But I was happy to see the Goofy telephone just like the one that I have in my collection.
World Largest Toy Museum Disney Display.

 This display of Lego sets and other building toys is interesting but I don't understand why the Rubik's cube is included. Can you figure it out?
Lego & Other Construction Toys

Let's now double back to Pez dispensers. As someone with a very modest collection myself, I really liked this display case.
Pez Dispensers Display

My 2 1/2 year old grandson is going through a phase where he loves toy tractors. When walked to the 2nd floor of the museum and saw this room of displays, I had to video it for him to see.
Tractors and Farm Machine Toys

At this point in our tour we found ourselves circled back around to the gift shop. We bought a couple of souvenirs for our grand kids. We left the toy museum building but our tour was not over. After some lunch we would return to go to the other side of the lot and enter a 2nd building with the other museums.

I'll share the pictures and details of our time touring those in my next series post. Hope you enjoyed my recollections of the best toy collection I've ever seen. And there's more where that came from. Come back again soon for the rest of our day at the museums.

Destination Branson Pt. 1: Getting There

The first post for this week is a couple of day's late because of a weekend trip.

My wife and I traveled to attend the wedding of the youngest daughter of our friends, Mark & Patty, who live in St. Louis. But the ceremony didn't take place there. Instead they hosted a destination wedding in a place I've wanted to visit for a few years now, Branson, MO. In the next few posts I'm going to be sharing with you our experiences there and impressions of the area.

But first a little back story. I grew up listening to singer Andy Williams and watching him on TV. He was my dad's favorite singer. He had at least half a dozen of his albums. So Andy Williams is one of those things that really makes me feel close to my dad.

Ever since I read about the singer Andy Williams' ties to the town in his biography I wanted to go see the theater he build in Branson. Of course he's no longer performing there (he died in 2012) but the Moon River Theater, which is an important part of Branson's entertainment scene and its history, is still there.

In addition, over the years I have learned that a lot of the singers and entertainers popular in the 60s and 70s have their own Branson shows as well.

In my first post on this blog mentioned that I live in a pretty good location because it is within a days drive of many tourist destinations.

Branson is just under 500 miles away, from us, in the Ozark mountains in the southwest corner of the "show me" state near the northern Arkansas border. On the map it looks almost directly west of us.

We left our driveway about 9:30 AM on Friday heading northwest, then, across the Western Kentucky Parkway toward Paducah, KY.
This was a route we had never traveled before so we were in for some new travel experiences.

When Paula and I are on the road we try to drive for 2 hours in between rest stops. Sometimes we do it and some times we don't. But when we do stop we try to find a nice Love's or Pilot truck stop. If there is none around we try to scout out a nice convenience  store that, hopefully has decent restrooms.

On this trip we found a couple of new stores to put on our "okay to stop" list. We found several Casey's General Stores, Signal stores and Phillps 66 truck stops that were nice. I really liked the two Casey's that we found. We even had some pretty decent convenience store pizza for a snack at one of them.

We left the bluegrass state and we drove through part of southern Illinois on our way to Missouri. Our GPS guided us through the area effected by the flooding of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. This is part of the country that had been deluged with rainfall over the last couple of weeks.

We were detoured on I-57 because one of the bridges to Missouri was blocked by flood waters. It was a minor inconvenience and the roads were totally safe; but seeing the two rivers spread out to where their banks had totally disappeared took us back a bit.

Once I-57 intersected with I-55 in Missouri, it changed to state route 60. We stayed on 60 for nearly 180 miles. It snaked through the lush green hills of the Ozark Mountains. Driving it was a little daunting. Every time I found myself at the top of a steep hill, just over the peak I would see the road ahead of me unfold down into another valley and then rise once again; disappearing over the next hill. I would reset my sights and accelerate forward over the next stretch of hills. 

Finally, we reached Missouri state route 65 near Springfield and headed south on the last leg of our journey. As we drew closer and closer to our destination exit, signs of the tourist industry began to dot the scenery. Billboards and advertisements for activities and shows. Information and welcome centers reminded us of the ten miles of highway that leads into Pigeon Forge, in the Smoky Mountains.

The main road going through Branson is route 76 aka Country Boulevard. It too, looks very similar to the parkway that runs through Pigeon Forge. There are a couple of big differences though.

First there are a lot more theaters. We passed four of the more popular ones on our way to our hotel. Just like the Smokies, Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede show is there. The Dick Clark American Bandstand Theater has been on Country Blvd. since 2012.

I was excited when I saw Andy Williams' Moon River Theater.

The King's Castle Theater was at the corner of the intersection near our hotel.

We turned right off Country Blvd and headed down the Wildwood Avenue hill.

Let me take a step back and just mention the main thing that separates the Branson area from the Smoky Mountains area. That would be hills. Everything is on a hill. From here on in this post series the word "hill" will have a constant presence in my stories. Now let's get a back to arrival day.
Our hotel was downhill from the History of Fishing Museum.

The Grand Plaza Hotel was where Mark & Patty, along with their daughter's wedding party, and most family, friends, and guests would be spending the weekend. This picture was taken from halfway up the Wildwood Avenue hill. The fishing museum is in the foreground.

We had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed spending time with Mark & Patty to celebrate their daughter's wedding. We feel blessed that we were given the opportunity to be a part of the whole weekend.

I'm not going to write a hotel review in this blog. But I do have to mention something that had a negative impact on our weekend. That would be the parking situation. 

As I mentioned the hotel was on a steep hill. The front of the hotel which faced uphill toward Country Blvd. had a parking lot with spaces for only about 1/3 of the hotel guests. If you couldn't get one of those spots you had to park in the auxiliary lots behind the hotel. These were very much down hill from the hotel. In addition not only were they on a hill vertically, they were on a hill horizontally too.

If you parked on the slant of one of the auxiliary lots, you walked to the top, turned to your right and climbed 2 or 3 sets of stairs (I'd estimate about 50 to 75 steps, I didn't count them) before getting to the hotel entrance.  Here's a picture taken from the auxiliary lot.

We had to do this 3 or 4 times during our stay. Because of my drop foot condition, climbing steps is very difficult for me. Having to walk up several sets of stairs to get up to the hotel was exhausting. It made me tired and frustrated. It's an awful way to have to walk into a hotel.

With that said, overall the Grand Plaza in Branson was nice but it is an independent hotel that's in need of some updating and redecorating. There are only 2 elevators and that makes them very crowded and difficult to access during busy times of the day. And of course, the parking situation, especially for handicapped guests, needs to be changed.

The best thing about the hotel was the free breakfast it offered on the 9th floor every morning. It was a buffet with just about anything you wanted for breakfast. However it did not offer my wife's (and the rest of the world) favorite, bacon. But it was a very nice way to start each day. You could sit at a window and get a nice view of the area. 

As in any other resort area, Branson has it's share of restaurants. On our first evening there we joined Mark & Patty and their other guests for diner at a Shorty Smalls, a family restaurant serving Southern style cuisine.

The Branson location is 1 of only 3 in the country. The other two are in Little Rock, AK and Oklahoma City, OK.

The atmosphere in the dinning room we where were all seated was busy with the combination of socializing of our group and the wait staff serving about 3 dozen people at the same time.

The wall I was facing while seated next to Mark and my wife had portraits of Andy Williams with other celebrities from the 60s. It was just another reminder of the singer's connection to the town.

After dinner we went back to our hotel room and unpacked. The wedding wasn't until Sunday so we had a free day the next day. As it turned out it would be a fun and exciting one. More on that next time. Thanks for taking the time to read this post. Come back Friday for more. 

Up Ahead: My 60th Year

Welcome to the end of the first full week of June 2019. Before I get started, I want to let you know that if you don't get anything else out of this post, I want to take notice of the link to my wife's Facebook group where she will introduce you to Color Street. "What is that?", you ask. I will tell you about it a little later as well as providing a link.  You can click it and see for yourself. Even if it's not something that's for you, believe me you know someone who will love it. Now, let's get to today's post. 

The months of May and June are filled with special occasions (birthdays, anniversaries, holidays) for my family. This year, it includes an event that takes the next generation of my family to a new level. All of my parent's grandchildren have graduated from high school. 

For me, personally, once the 2nd week of June arrives, I start the 3 month countdown to my birthday. I've always used the one day of the year that acknowledges my existence on this earth as a marker for taking personal inventory and setting goals. 

This year's birthday is the start of a milestone year for me. It will be my 60th. To me, that means the opportunity to celebrate transitioning from my 50s to my 60s. 

During my 50th year, I did a lot of things. These included: a family gathering the Smoky Mountains for my son's wedding; a vacation to Washington DC; attending my nephew's graduation in Pennsylvania; a solo road trip to Milwaukee and Chicago to see two baseball games in two days; and finally, getting to spend my actual birthday in the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World and visiting Universal's Island of Adventure park to see Wizarding World Of Harry Potter, Hogsmead village. 

Those are just the highlights of one of the best years of my life. I don't know how I'm going to make the year leading up to turning 60 better than that but I do plan on making it one that's comparable. 

Given that the biggest goal for my wife and me during our 60s is for both of us being retired; I'm looking to start making some personal improvements during my 60th year. Those that will make our "golden years" more enjoyable. 

My travel goals for my 60th year include: an extended visit with my family in Pennsylvania; a return to the beach; going to see the New York Yankees play in either Chicago, Cincinnati or St. Louis; and I'd like to visit Universal's Diagon Alley and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

I'm not sure if any of these travel goals will happen but I do have one goal closer to home that will. I want to get back to bike riding. Because of issues with my balance that have developed as I've gotten older, I can no longer safely ride the bicycle I own now. This means if I want to start pedaling around town again, I have to buy something with a little more stability and easier to handle.  

Because of a couple of different factors, including cost, I probably won't realistically accomplish this goal until next spring. But it's definitely near the top of my list. I love bike riding so much and it's a great way to exercise. More on this goal when I get closer to it.  

A couple of months ago, my wife started her own business. She is an independent stylist for a company named Color Street. She has been helping her friends save money on their manicures and pedicures with the beautiful designs and amazing quality of Color Street strips. 

If you polish your nails to compliment your wardrobe, or just radiate style or know someone who does; please visit and join my wife's Facebook group and have a look around. Here's the link: Paula's Nail Haven

Guys, if you share this link and introduce Color Street to your wife or significant other, I promise, they will be grateful. 

Paula has put so much hard work into this new endeavor and has had amazing success in a relatively short time. Over this process she has stepped out of her "comfort zone" time and time again. Going on "Facebook Live" each week for special sales and application demos is probably the most surprising example of this. She has "gone for it" with enthusiasm and determined focus. I can see her grow as a person on a daily basis. I am so proud of her.

Seeing her devotion to her Color Street business has inspired me to start putting the effort and work it takes to accomplish some of the goals I've had for a long time. This blog is one of those. I have others that I'm still working on. 

Consistently putting in the work required to reach some of my long time goals is not something I'm very good at. But with the start of a new phase of life on the horizon and my wife as an inspiration, I think it's about time I get'er done. 

Just like my last milestone birthday, I had planned for the "Ron @ 60" celebration to  span a whole year, from September to September. But thanks to the example my wife has shown me along with some other factors I'm going subscribe to the adapt an old adage. Today is the first day of the rest of my 50s. So I'll be actively preparing for my 60s starting now.  

With all that said, starting now, I'm looking forward the adventure my year long 60th celebration will bring. Also it's with optimism and hope I look forward to the next decade and beyond. 

   

Before I go I just want to let y'all know that due to some personal travel plans, next week's first post won't be available until sometime Tuesday. But I promise it's going to be something you won't want to miss. See you then. 

A Most Unusual Pharmacy

Hello and welcome to June.  

I'm going to begin this post with a trivia question about song lyrics. 

Play fair, no "googling" please.  Here is the question:  

Since today is June 3, can you name two pop music hits that begin with the words "It was the 3rd of June"?

Hint: They were hits ten years apart (1967 & 1977, respectively); each by a solo artist.  

I will give you the answer at the end of this post.

My plans for this month include a couple of interesting things. In a couple of weeks I will have a new travel experience to write about. 

My wife and I are going to a wedding in a place that's a well known midwest vacation destination but we've never been there. More on that later in the month. 

At the end of the month I will be returning to one of my life long passions. Of course, I will share the details in a post about it early in July. 

Today, I'm going to be sharing with you my return experience at a small but popular restaurant in north west Nashville. 

Last Tuesday, I went to Hendersonville, which is just north of Nashville, to buy some new clothes for the wedding I mentioned earlier. 

While I was there I decided to get some lunch before heading home. I wanted a place unique to the area but all I saw were chain restaurants or fast food places. 

Then I remembered one of the most unique places I ever eaten in Music City called "The Pharmacy". 

My wife and I went there with our friend, Patty and her daughter, Amy, a few years ago before going to a Brad Paisley concert. Amy lived in Nashville at the time and it was her suggestion. Here's a picture of my dinner companions from that visit. 

A quick search on my GPS showed me that getting to the place was a short 20 minute trip by way of the Briley and Ellington parkways. I decided, since I had nothing else to do in the city that day, I'd go get some lunch. 

The place is known for American and German cuisine, as well as a wide selection of beers. Their website and signage on the building promotes the place as a "Burger Parlor and Beer Garden." 

But what made me want to go back, and also explains the reason for it's name is  their "soda shop" selection. 

They serve a wide variety of flavored sodas and ice cream based drinks. Just like the soda fountains that were a part of every neighborhood pharmacy back in the 1930s & 40s. 

The best example of what these were can be seen in the first half hour of the classic Christmas movie, "It's A Wonderful Life." Here's a link to a You Tube clip that shows a 12 year old George Bailey working behind the a soda fountain at the Bedford Falls Pharmacy. 

It's A Wonderful Live Soda Fountain Scene

The most unique thing The Pharmacy serves from the fountain is called a phosphate. It's a specially mixed flavored soda. I've never had one but from what I've been told they are pretty good. I won't go into detail about them. You can find out more with a web search. 

The first time I went to The Pharmacy, in order to keep peace with my digestive system, I didn't partake of anything from the Soda Shop menu. I have to admit, getting a chocolate malt was my main motivation for my return visit. 

It's located on Mcferrin Avenue in a quite area known as Greenwood. It's in what seems like a nice lower middle class suburban neighborhood. 

During peak time, parking behind the restaurant can be at a premium. Spaces are very limited. I was lucky enough to get the one and only handicapped spot.

Except for the sign on the window, to say the building is not anything elaborate is an understatement. 

The door is only wide enough for one person to go through it at a time. This is rather inconvenient during busy times.

I got there just a little after 11:30. The lunch crowd had not yet arrived. i was seated right away. There are 4 seating options. You can sit at the bar, or at a small table in the same room. 

There's a 2nd level of inside seating with picnic tables; then there's the outside patio area. I was going to sit out on their patio. But because it was very sunny and quite warm already I opted for the 2nd indoor level. 

I was led to the 2nd level and the host placed my menu directly in the middle of a picnic table. Because of the brace I wear I had a bit of difficulty negotiating between the seat and the table in order to sit down. Eventually, i did manage to get somewhat comfortable. 

The place has a rather extensive menu. With all the choices I mentioned before and more. Here's a link to their food menu as listed on their website. 

The Pharmacy Food Menu

Since I had a burger the last time, and it was delicious, I opted for some German kielbasa with a side order of fries. When the waiter asked if I wanted sauerkraut, I requested to have it on the side. 

I only waited about 10 minutes until my food arrived. Here's a picture of my meal. 

The fries are some of the best I've ever had; but like most fries have to be eaten while they are still hot. Also, there is way too many of them for one person to eat. The kielbasa was served on a bun but I only ate the meat. It was good but not what I had expected. 

When I order Kielbasa, I expect something similar to smoked sausage but The Pharmacy's Kielbasa was more like a bratwurst.

After I was finished with my meal, I ordered a chocolate malt milkshake to go. I was a little disappointed that it was only the size of a small Starbucks coffee and it cost about the same. It was very good but nothing special about it. It was just like a malt you'd get from anywhere else. That being said, I really like chocolate malts. However, I think next time I'll try a phosphate soda. 

I paid the check which included my drink, meal, milk shake and tip. It was about $25. I think that's on the pricey side for lunch but I was treating myself so I figured it was okay. 

Although there is a wait staff to serve you and the food quality is well above your average burger joint; there are things about The Pharmacy that makes it feel like your local counter service casual dinning barbecue place rather than a table service restaurant. The picnic table seating, the single supply of straws and napkins in a wooden dispenser at the center of the table to be used by everyone even if they aren't with you are some of them.In addition, the fact that the waiter brought the diet coke I ordered in a can with a cup of ice and I had to pour it myself was kind of disappointing as well. 

The juxtaposition of the 2nd level full of picnic tables of being just a few steps up from tavern atmosphere of the bar area kind of sends a mixed message as to just what kind of dinning experience you are supposed to be enjoying. But if you can handle the ambient contradiction and focus on the food it's a nice place to eat. 

If you happen to find yourself in the Opry Mills/Gaylord Opryland/Opry Mills Mall area or the downtown Nashville and are looking for some good food in a unique setting; make the 15 minute drive to McFerrin Avenue to have a meal at The Pharmacy. 

Here's a link to their website if you want directions and more information. 

The Pharmacy Restaurant. 

Now, as promised, here's the answer to the music trivia question I asked at the beginning of this post. 

The words, "It was the 3rd of June" begin the 1967 #1 Bobby Gentry hit, Ode To Billy Joe and also Neil Diamond's 1977 #16 hit, Desire. 

Did you get the answer? Did you look it up? Feel free to use this little fun fact to impress your friends the rest of the day. 

Thanks again for taking the time to read this post. I hope you enjoy it. If you've been to "The Pharmacy" restaurant let me know what you thought of it. 

Or if you ever get the chance to visit Nashville I hope you'll try it out and then let me know what you think. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. Come back again on Friday for another edition of the "Yankee Near Nashville" blog.