Heading to Panama City Beach

But first, Nashville

We thought it best to break up our trip to Florida but an overnight stay in Nashville. We’ve done this before and it always seemed to work out.

Starting out we needed some early caffeine. So we stopped at The Union Coffee and Ice Cream shop in Downs, IL. I think if you need to thrive in a small town market, selling coffee in the morning and ice cream in the evening is a good business model. Their blend of the day was Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. The coffee connoisseurs describe the taste as “distinctively floral and fruit-toned“. I think it tastes good.

So on our trip down, we stopped for our second coffee break at Joe Sippers in Effingham, IL. We discovered this shop a few years ago and we always make an effort to stop, either for coffee or to eat as well. They have an excellent menu along with quite a few pastries. And the coffee is very good.

We needed fuel at Paducah, KY so we searched for a shop we hadn’t visited and came across Pipers Tea and Coffee. The shop was housed in the “Coke Plant“, an old Coca Cola bottling plant along with other restaurants, bars and offices. The coffee was good and old repurposed buildings are always interesting.

We arrived at the hotel in Nashville and took a walk downtown to Broadway St. Lot’s of people, lot’s of bars, lot’s of music. We ended up at Hattie B’s for supper.

Eating Nashville chicken is like eating deep dish pizza at Chicago or lobster in Maine. It’s just what you do. We waited in line at Hattie’s for about 20 minutes but it was worth it. Our meals included large pieces of chicken and tasty sides. One bit of caution: they have six levels of heat for the chicken spice. We both chose level 2, mild. I could have maybe gone to level three (medium), but even though I do enjoy spicy food that level was acceptable. Their highest level, by the way, is named “Shut the Cluck Up!!!”

We headed back to the hotel. Big day planned for tomorrow.