Nashville, TN – Oct 14th – Oct 28th – Fran and Jeff’s Retirement Adventures

Our last big travel stop was in Nashville. Nashville, being the country music capital, had music and entertainment everywhere you went. The campground we stayed at offered a shuttle to downtown which was a blessing as I do not think I would have been able to park the truck anywhere. We also had some visitors while here. Lorrie and Kim came for a couple of days. Joyce and Lynn came and we got to spend a day with John and had dinner at Kaitlyn and Matt’s. It is always great when company comes!

The first place we saw while downtown was the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. It is one of the world’s largest and most active popular music research center and the world’s largest repository of country music artifacts.

The Ryman Auditorium was the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943-1974. The auditorium was originally the Union Gospel Tabernacle when it was built in 1892. Today it is used for live performances.

Stopped by the Johnny Cash Museum to see the memorabilia. Next door to the museum is Johnny Cash’s Kitchen and Saloon where we stopped to hear the Cash Kings do a great imitation of one of Johnny’s famous songs – A Boy Named Sue.

It was surprising to find a full scale replica of the Parthenon in Nashville. It was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Nashville’s nickname is the ‘Athens of the South’. In 1990 a recreation of Athena was added to the east room of the main hall. On the same grounds was also a monument to the 19th Amendment – giving women the right to vote!

The Hermitage was the hole of President Andrew Jackson. He obtained the plantation in 1804 and is his and his families final resting place (he died in 1845). He first lived in a log cabin while the main house was completed in 1821.

Belle Meade Plantation was developed by Virginian John Harding in the early 1800s. He boarded horses for neighbors such as Andrew Jackson and bred and raced thoroughbreds. A couple of generations later, Selene Harding married William Hicks Jackson and both decided to focus all their efforts on breeding. Belle Meade had many successful thoroughbred studs, including Bonnie Scotland and Enquirer, whose bloodlines still dominate modern horse racing. Many triple crown winners can trace their bloodline back to Bonnie Scotland including Secretariat, Affirmed, and American Pharoah.

The Nashville King (John Beardsley) is an Elvis imitator who has been doing his show for the last 20 years. He takes you through a tribute to the King through the years 1953-1977. His show was high energy and he does an excellent imitation. Definitely worth seeing.

Observed our first television filming by attending TBN’s filming of the Huckabee Show.

Here’s some pictures from downtown Nashville.

Saved the best for last. We got to see a show at the Grand Ole Opry. It was their Pink night and we were able to see 7 different entertainers. Craig Morgan, Travis Tritt, Anita Chochran, Joe Diffie, Sara Evans, Oak Ridge Boys, and Luke Bryant. Below are some pictures followed by a few videos.