Cool rides and hot Blues line the streets of the Hot Rods on Beale Street Car Cruise

If you’re a fan of Blues music, historic Beale Street in Memphis is your mecca. Immortalized in film and song, all the great musicians have performed right here. I’ve been to some car cruises in interesting places, but rarely do they occur in a place with such history and notoriety. This is more than just a car cruise--it’s a party. Wherever you go, from one end to the other, you are never out of clear earshot of someone playing the Blues with a proficiency that only comes from honing their craft right here. Combine that with some of the best restaurants in the south, and you have the makings of a very special night.

Relaxing at the Fontanel Cruise

It was Thursday night in the summer time. That means it was time for the weekly car cruise in the prettiest location in Nashville. The Fontanel Mansion hosts this event, and they always do a nice job. As usual, there was live music, food to eat, and beautiful, tree-covered hills in the shadow of Barbara Mandrel’s old house and amphitheater. Cruise participation has been a little light lately, which seems strange to me considering the enjoyable location and nice weather. But the car owners and their families that did show up were all having a nice time.

Music Valley Cruise-In was about as Nashville as it gets

When you want to visit a really touristy, Nashville location, the Music Valley area is a good place to stop. This is near everything from the Opryland Mall, to Cooter’s Place, to the Opryland Hotel, to go-kart racing, to any number of bars and restaurants. While we were there, we went in to eat at the Nashville Palace, which is about as representative of Nashville as any place we’ve visited since we’ve been here. We watched John England and the Western Swingers. They were a little group of country musicians that all had incredibly impressive resumes. They were great. Oh, and the cars were too.

All's well at the Fontanel

Since I’ve been in Nashville, the Fontanel Cruise in Whites Creek, Tenn., is fast becoming my favorite car cruise in town. Thursday night was the third time I have attended this one, and I doubt it will be the last. There’s just something about the atmosphere out there that I really enjoy. The scenery is so beautiful. The live music is a nice touch. There’s good stuff to eat. And there seem to be more and different cars every time we go. I even took the HMC truck out there for the first time this week. Let’s take a look at some of the standouts.

Tri-Fives highlight the Fontanel Cruise

It’s summertime in Nashville, and that means the Fontanel Mansion holds their classic car cruise every Thursday night in Whites Creek. This week, the featured club was the Mid-Tenn Classic ’55-’56-’57 Chevy Club. So after a nice Italian dinner and live music at Café Fontanella, we walked outside for more live music and a neat collection of cars highlighted by shoebox Chevys. This is one of the more picturesque places for a car gathering. Normal people would probably be happy coming out here without the cars even. But I’m not a normal person. Let’s check out the cars!