On the Road: Sightseeing in Johnson City

Over the past seven seasons I have visited more than 140 Minor League Baseball locales. In that time, I never got to know a place as well as I got to know Johnson City, Tennessee.

During my recent Appalachian League road trip, I was able to make Johnson City -- home of the Cardinals' Rookie-level affiliate -- my home base for the first five nights of the trip. During this time I visited all five teams in the circuit's West Division, all of which are located within 30 miles of Johnson City. Never had I spent so much time in one Minor League market, and never had I gotten as thorough a tour from a local. This tour, arranged by the Cardinals, came courtesy of Johnson City Convention and Visitors Bureau director of sales Jenna Moore. Throughout the course of the day, Moore and I visited many locations throughout the city yet barely scratched the surface when it comes to what the town has to offer.

Our day began on East Main Street in Johnson City's historic downtown. Coffee was obtained at Brew Plum, a coffeehouse located within the larger Nelson Fine Art Center. The "Brew Plum" name references Johnson City's annual Blue Plum Music and Arts Festival; this year's iteration featured two dozen musical acts and was headlined by longstanding country-punk icons the Mavericks.

After coffee it was time for … a haircut? Having expressed my perpetual need to be better groomed, a 10 a.m. appointment was made at barbershop C.S. McCullough's. Exposed brick, vintage equipment, a dart board, beer (later in the day, at least) and all manner of "manly" accessories for sale gave this establishment a pronounced urban-rustic aesthetic. And, all hyperbole aside, I got what was probably the best haircut of my life. And for that I have stylist Angela Henne to thank.

Further wanderings down East Main Street revealed several establishments that regularly feature live music, including bar/bookstore/coffee shop The Willow Tree and the heavy-rock-focused Hide Away (pro tip: metal band Holy Grail are playing there Saturday night. They are awesome. Go see them).

Around the corner, on Buffalo Street, Mel's Stamps and Coins provided a welcome diversion. Stamps and coins are just the half of it as Mel oversees a cluttered array of baseball cards, Beanie Babies, video games, postcards and all manner of collectible ephemera. A sign displayed in the window celebrates Johnson City's "Little Chicago" nickname, a Prohibition-era moniker referencing the area's reputation for bootlegging and as an alleged hideout for Chicago mob boss Al Capone.

A walk down W. Market Street resulted in stops at Campbell's Morrell Music Store, a decades-old standby, as well as the year-old Trek Bicycle store. The latter is an example of the many businesses that have opened in long-abandoned downtown Johnson City buildings over the past years, resulting in a revitalization of an area that had fallen on hard times in the post-industrial era. Another crucial downtown addition is Founder's Park. A public green space that opened in 2014, Founder's Park is a flood mediation project designed to alleviate the frequent flooding that had discouraged businesses from opening in downtown locations.

Another new addition is the Yee-Haw Brewery, which opened in July 2015 in what had been the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina train depot (better known as the "Tweetsie" depot, a reference to the sound made by the train whistles). Yee-Haw, whose beers are served at Johnson City Cardinals games, shares a space with a new Johnson City location of Asheville-based White Duck Taco. This is where we stopped for lunch, and it was a good choice as the tacos were excellent. (The crispy pork belly with pickled watermelon rind being my favorite.) Lunch was complemented by local favorites Cheerwine and Dr. Enuf, two sodas that, in this writer's opinion, should have national distribution.

After lunch, a three-minute car ride brought us to the Tweetsie Trail. When completed, this privately funded rails-to-trails project will connect Johnson City with Elizabethon (a fellow Appalachian League market).

The Tweetsie Trail is located across from the Johnson City Cardinals' home of TVA Credit Union Ballpark. (I spent my evening there, although severe thunderstorms resulted in a game postponement.)

Whenever I travel I make a point to visit the local record stores, so Moore and I then made the brief drive to Back Door Records. The place had tons of personality -- the walls were adorned with psychedelic cartoons and graffiti -- and a great selection of heavy sounds. However, a recent spending binge at NYC's Other Music (RIP) resulted in me walking out of the store without making a purchase. I have too many records, but nonetheless Back Door was worth visiting.

With the afternoon winding down, Moore and I stopped at the East Tennessee fast-food institution that is Pal's. A drive-through-only entity, Pal's is known for its "Sudden Service" and colorful storefronts decorated with (much) larger-than-life representations of its signature items. In the lobby of the historic Carnegie Hotel, a swank-yet-affordable house of lodging located next door to this particular Pal's location, Moore demonstrated proper Frenchie Fry eating technique.

Thus ended an eventful day in Johnson City. The Cardinals, in concert with Moore and the Convention and Visitors Bureau, had attempted to sell me on the city and in this they were successful. Johnson City is a forward-thinking community with an interesting past and a bright future. I'd like to go back, and when I do I'm going to make sure to play some pinball.