Category Archives: Area Boating

Another day, another year in Nashville, TN!

Tomorrow evening at midnight, we turn the final page of the book of 2013. It’s a pretty thick book, because lots of great things happened in Nashville this year.

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Nashville made the top of just about every notable published list in the country, most recently named among the top places to buy a home by Forbes Magazine.

Downtown Nashville will also be among the top places in the country to be for New Year’s Eve, with Hank Williams, Jr. headlining the “Bash on Broadway.”  This celebration, featuring the “music note drop,” is not to be missed.

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We were hoping to take the boat downtown to enjoy the festivities, but once again, our welcoming Metropolitan Government has closed the Riverfront Park Docking Facilities for the festivities.  If a relocating corporation with thousands of jobs onboard were relocating to Nashville by boat on New Year’s Eve, they would be out of luck.  We’ll still be there in spirit!  Hopefully our next Mayor will be a boater.

New Year’s Eve is also the birthday of Ruby, our Blue Doberman, who turns 3 this year.  Here she lies, waiting for her birthday festivities to begin.

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Back to sum up 2013.  Nashville was, and really is the place to buy a new home in 2014.  We appreciate everyone that bought one in 2013 and look forward to your many referrals in the coming year!

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Battle Ground Realty, 615.593.6340, specializing in new homes in the Greater Nashville area to include Franklin and Williamson County, Tennessee.

 

 

 

 

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The Summer of 2013 – The End

I admit it.  I have neglected my blog, but it has not been intentional.  Like they say, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”  They also say, “all good things come to an end.”  (Do you ever wonder who “they” were?  “They” sure have said a lot of things over the years!)

Now, let me tell you how we ended the Summer of 2013.

Shortly after The Rogers Group took our Academy of Architecture and Construction Board to tour their Louisville operations, the 2013-14 school year started.  I had the pleasure of hosting the freshmen class of the Cane Ridge High School’s Academy of Architecture & Construction on a tour of one of our new home construction sites.

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I cannot say enough good things about the new direction of the Academies of Nashville in all of our local High Schools.  There are many great things happening throughout the system and I encourage everyone to get out there and take a look for yourself.  You, too will be impressed, and probably want to get involved!  After all, it is our city.

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No summer can end without a little whitewater rafting!  You owe it to yourself to sneak away for a few days and visit the Nantahala River, and the Nantahala Outdoor Center.

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The area is pristine, with so much to do!  This was my second time to visit and really enjoyed relaxing in our humble mountain abode.

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I won’t bore you with the balance of our activities that ended the summer and will just say they were fun.  On the last weekend of summer, Nashville hosted the First Annual Stand-Up Paddle-boarding Championship Event.

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We were there on The Princess, headquarters for PaddleUpTn.com to cheer on Cindy Sorcer, Neil Newton, and Julie Ann Vanderpool.

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One of the neat things about having our boat on the river at Rock Harbor Marina is seeing the many boats that transient our area.  Is was simply amazing to see the motoryacht Elegante docked at Rock Harbor for a few weeks.

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This yacht is incredible. Check out the you-tube video on this 1964 classic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgADJzvaFEM

Well, that’s about it for the Summer of 2013.  Thanks for reading!

Independence Day Celebration in Nashville – Fireworks on the River

The Fourth of July is upon us and it doesn’t seem like summer has hardly started yet! If you like fireworks, there is no better place to be in the country Thursday evening than right here in Nashville!

The celebrations at Nashville’s Riverfront Park start at noon and a variety of acts will be playing throughout the afternoon and the Family Fun Zone will be open. At 6:45 pm the main river stage events kick off with performances by Striking Matches, Barry Scott, Keb’ Mo’, The Band Perry and The Nashville Symphony, who will accompany the fireworks display at 9:50 pm.  It is all a part of LET FREEDOM RING 2013!

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For a complete list of activities and more information, please CLICK HERE.   Nashville’s July 4th celebration is always rated among the top in the nation and 2013 will be no exception!

They will have fireworks left over, so another fantastic celebration evening is planned for Friday night, July 5th starting at 6:30 pm with the fireworks display at 9:30 pm.  Performing Friday evening is Chris Mulkey and Deluxe followed by Ten Out Of Tenn.

This year’s celebration will be somewhat different for area boaters who like to bring their boats from Old Hickory Lake to downtown Nashville.  Old Hickory Lock will close each evening at 10:00 pm.  Boats that are not at the lock by 9:15 pm will not be able to lock through until the next morning.  CLICK HERE for the full story.

It has been said that the Nashville Convention Visitors Bureau has offered to compensate the Federal Government to keep the lock open until midnight.  It is also rumored that the lock operators even volunteered their time for the effort also.  It is obvious the government wants boaters to feel the pain of the sequestration.

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Boaters are very creative, resilient, and resourceful.   If they still want to view fireworks, they will be there.  The newly renovated Rock Harbor Marina and Blue Moon Restaurant downstream from Riverfront will also have accomodations for boats wanting to spend the night.  Call 615.356.1111 for information.

 

The public docking facilities on both sides of the river downtown are closed for the period July 1st through July 5th, reopening July 6th.  Former Mayor Bill Purcell started this practice of slapping area boaters in the face during his administration.  Maybe one of these days Nashville will further embrace its Riverfront and the boating public that uses it.

But until that happens, we’re going to have fun anyway!

 

Happy Independence Day!

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Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Gallatin, Clarksville, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

 

Remember the Blue Moon? It’s back – and better than ever!

Just about everyone remembers The Blue Moon, the popular floating bar and grill at Rock Harbor Marina on the Cumberland River in West Nashville.

The May 2010 flood brought an end to the old Blue Moon, along with many of the docks at Rock Harbor Marina. Since that time, the marina has been rebuilding, and that included the addition of a BRAND NEW BLUE MOON RESTAURANT.

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One thing that made the previous Blue Moon a success was the atmosphere. The new Blue Moon is even better. You still walk onto a floating barge and down a dock to enter the restaurant! No worries, there are emergency exits and the facility is handicapped accessible.

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There are indoor and outdoor dining areas, but also roll up doors to open things up a bit!

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Large flat-screen TVs adorn the walls – perfect for keeping up with all the news and sports!

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We recently had the priviledge of sampling many items that will be featured on the menu. Two words immediately come to mind….. damn good!

The Blue Moon is now open to the public Wednesdays through Sundays and is certain to top the list of hot spots in Nashville. One visit and you will see why! Tom, Glenn, and Dougie Ray have put together a great team to make your floating dining experience enjoyable!

You can get there by car or boat! Located at Rock Harbor Marina, 525 Basswood Avenue, Nashville, TN 37205, or Cumberland River Mile Marker 175.

For the latest information, visit their website www.bluemoongrille.com

If you come by boat, there will soon be brand new covered slips of all sizes to park your boat in!

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Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019 direct 615.593.6340. Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Gallatin, Clarksville, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

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Nashville Homes – Luxury Lakefront Home on Old Hickory Lake

With every passing day, Nashville gains world-wide recognition as “the place to be.”   For those of us that have lived here our whole lives, this comes as no surprise.

Simply put, the quality of life in Middle Tennessee cannot be beat!

In addition to all the excitement of downtown, another major contributor to the area’s quality of life is the proximity of lakes and rivers.  Living on the lake is a lifestyle that is unmatched, especially in this home on Old Hickory Lake that is now FOR SALE!

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Old Hickory Lake Home

The word WOW first enters your mind as you drive through the security gate of this “compound-like” lakefront estate.  Located on the main channel of the Cumberland River / Old Hickory Lake with its own private covered boat slip, you are only minutes away from everything Old Hickory Lake and Nashville has to offer – whether by boat, or car!

Check out this video of this amazing home on Old Hickory Lake:

The video couldn’t begin to cover all the features of this lakefront paradise.  There’s a natural gas powered auxilary generator that will power the entire home automatically in the event of a power outage.  Add a state-of-the-art security system to keep unwanted guests from crashing the fantastic parties you could host!  Thousands have been spent on modern HVAC systems.  The list goes on…..

Give Beth a call t 615.596.7570 to find out more.  She, or any of the members of The Ashton Real Estate Group of Re/Max Elite would love to introduce you to lakeside living!

CLICK HERE to view the MLS Listing.

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Just what is a BLUE MOON?

Folks, tonight is the night of BLUE MOON!

But just what is a BLUE MOON anyway?

Is it a former famous floating restaurant at Rock Harbor Marina that is scheduled to reopen in March 2013?

 

Is it a brand of beer?

YES.  It is.  But it is really more  than that.  CLICK HERE to find out everything about tonight’s BLUE MOON.

What are your plans to celebrate?  Here is a neat idea to consider – PaddleBoarding on the river:

Check out the details of this cool event:  http://www.paddleuptn.com/blue-moon-paddle-boarding-on-the-river/

Yes..you can sip on a BLUE MOON while you are at the BLUE MOON looking at the BLUE MOON from the Cumberland River.  It just doesn’t get any better than that!

But if you can’t get there in person, just look up to the east!

 

 

A New Riverboat is Christened in Nashville!

Many people were downtown this weekend to welcome the brand new Queen of the Mississippi to the Nashville Riverfront.  This riverboat carrying 150 passengers made it’s Inaugural Call in Nashville, which was also the destination of it’s very first passenger voyage.

Read more about it here.  http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2012/08/queen-mississippi-paddle-wheeler-nashville-/831156/1

The Queen of the Mississippi is owned and operated by American Cruise Lines.

We caught our first glimpse of the Queen as it rounded Cockrill Bend, traveling much faster than I expected it could, my guess approximately 10 knots.  She is on her way to Clarksville, Paducah, and St. Louis.

There are only two overnight passenger paddle-wheelers plying the rivers today.   Nashville is proud to have hosted the Queen for her Christening and we look forward to seing her here again soon!

 

Things to do: Stand-up Paddleboard on the Cumberland River

One recent evening, we were grilling out while drifting along the Cumberland River in Cockrill Bend.

All of a sudden, appearing out of nowhere was a group coming around the bend that appeared to be walking on water.  No, it was not Jesus and his disciples.  It was Neil Newton and friends enjoying the newest outdoor water sport of “stand-up paddle boarding.”

Over the past weeks, it is apparent that this sport is catching on in Middle Tennessee!  Ever seen yoga on a paddle board?  Ever tried it?  NOW you can!

Here are avid paddle boarding enthusiasts getting ready to launch a YOLO brand (You Only Live once) paddle board into the Cumberland River at Rock Harbor.

Neil is now offering Stand-up Paddle Board rentals and lessons from Rock Harbor Marina in Nashville.  For more information, call 615.496.8082 or visit the website http://www.paddleuptn.com/

Busier Times! (Part 2)

Picking up where we left off in Part 1, with the boat moving decision made, we enjoyed our remaining time at Blackjack Cove.

Years ago, we met a very special family in Honduras, one that has been instrumental in our involvement with the Rotary Club of Choluteca Honduras service projects.  We were very fortunate to have Sergio and Karla Salinas, and their two sons Sergio Jr. and Mario join us for several days

They arrived on the evening of July 2nd, after visiting other Rotary Clubs in Northern Alabama and Middle Tennessee.   AFter their time with us, they would visit more Rotary Clubs in Martin, TN and Lawrenceburg to show appreciation of our district’s involvement in Honduras. 

On the morning of July 3rd, we gathered at the Blackjack Cove Ship Store for a farewell breakfast with Harry.  For those of you that haven’t experienced Harry’s home cooking in the Ship Store, you have missed out.  Catch him Tuesday – Saturdays for breakfast and lunch!

Quite a few friends joined us for the ride down river too.  Everyone is fascinated by the locks, which is basically like a toilet tank we would pull into and be flushed to the river below!

Today’s drop would be over 60 feet due to the lower Cumberland River levels.

We made great time down river, passed the General Jackson, and decided we would stop downtown and fix lunch and wait on it to get there and turn around, a great site to see.

Mario did a great job as Captain and we arrived at Rock Harbor Marina around 3:00 pm.

Rock Harbor Marina lost its famed restaurant, The Blue Moon, in the May 2010 Flood.  We were pleased to see construction nearly complete on the new restaurant facility, to be opening soon…more on that later.

The evening of February 3rd, the Rock Harbor Yacht Club hosted The Rotary Club of Spring Hill, The Salinas Family, and others for a great evening meal – prepared by Sid Neuhoff and Keith Clodfelter.  Those two guys are always doing something good for others and we raised over $1400 for our future Honduras project that evening!

The evening of July 4th, we headed back upstream to downtown Nashville for “Let Freedom Sing” and its awesome fireworks display.

We were fortunate to have radio personalities Doogie Vance and Dagwood Buzz join us with tunes for the evening.  They made the evening rock!

And then……

Boom, Boom, Pow.

The next morning, we said goodbye to Karla, Sergio, Sergio Jr. and Mario.  Ruby, our Blue Doberman, was there this time and enjoyed meeting them!

July was a busy month, with Ole South ending the month with 42 sales and 35 closings!  Our great sales force, construction team, and administrative staff all pulled together in this period of extreme temperatures to make everything flow smoothly!  For every new home that sells, we’re starting more and we remain very optimistic about new home sales in Middle Tennessee!

As you can see from the many postings of this blog, Nashville is a great place to call home.  We at Ole South are ready to build that home when the time is right for you!

Until then, Good Evening!

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new homes in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Clarksville, Gallatin, and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer 2012 – Busier Times! (Part 1)

So far, the Summer of 2012 has been one of extremes!  Extremely high temperatures, extremely dry conditions,  extremely busy, and best of all…extremely fun.

First off, it is great to see our new home market maintaining momentum into the summer.  In June, we posted 41 new sales and are already at 32 as of July 15th!  I feel truly blessed to be a part of the great team at Ole South – Tennessee’s #1 Home Builder, and thankful for the support of our area Realtors and homeowners for believing in us.

The busier we all get, the better we have to be at managing our priorities and time.  After all, there are only so many hours in a day.

Everyone that knows Beth and I know that boating plays a key part in our personal, as well as business life.  Weekends off simply don’t happen often and the boat is there for a quick evening reprieve from the daily grind.  It is not unusual to see us on the boat most evenings during the week!

Summer 2012 brought on some decisions that had to be made.  Beth started a new position in Thompsons Station and I moved my office to Spring Hill, which made it increasingly difficult to spend as much time on the boat as we would like.  

On Memorial Day weekend of 2009, we pulled into Old Hickory Boat Dock with many of our boating friends from Rock Harbor Marina to spend the weekend. 

The marina had just been acquired by Angela and Bart Bagsby and renamed Blackjack Cove.  During their first week of operation, the marina was devastated by a large storm and work was going on everywhere!  At the end of the long weekend, we were so impressed with the people, progress and plans for the new marina that we decided to stay.  With Beth working in Mt. Juliet at the time, we had even more time for the boat!  We hated to leave our friends at Rock Harbor, but would still have many opportunities to stay in touch.

Over the past 3 years, we watched the transformation of this boat dock into a first-class marina.  New friendships and acquaintances were formed.  The facilities and atmosphere is beyond description.

And it was a great place for the wedding of Jessica and Brian Clark, who got married on Jessica’s family houseboat..and I had the honors to be Captain during the ceremony!

And after the ceremony, we returned to land for an unprecedented wedding reception at Blackjack Cove Marina, catered by The Black Pearl.

If you ever want to feed a lot of people in a fun way, call Blackjack Cove about a “Cajun Boil” dinner!

Back to making decisions. 

When we purchased our current boat in 2004, we brought it to Nashville from Louisville and stopped in at Rock Harbor Marina to spend the night, and would then take the boat to Elm Hill Marina on Percy Priest Lake, where I had been boating for 27 years.   Our overnight stay at Rock Harbor lasted 5 years!

One of the hardest things I have ever done is watch my mother grow older.  She is now 91 and living independently at Park Manor, an incredible facility for seniors.   Our new working logistics were making it harder to spend time with her, time that I will regret not spending.

With Rock Harbor being only 5 minutes from Mom, and 15 minutes from our home, the right decision was clear.

After all, Mom enjoys visiting the boat too!

In Part 2, we were joined by great friends from Honduras for the ride down the Cumberland from Blackjack Cove Marina to Rock Harbor, where festivities for the 4th of July were already underway.  Stay tuned and thanks for reading!