After over a week on an oasis from civilization, amid the miles and miles of pullouts etched so thick with history you could close your eyes and almost feel a part of the past, what a fun place to end. The country music capital of Nashville is just minutes from the northern terminus of the NTP and what a beautiful city. We entered the city via Belle Meade, a southern suburb, where the old plantations were bountiful and drove directly downtown to music row where many a country star started in a funky bar, then unknown.
Hello county and western fans....how much does one need to say about Nashville? If you love country and western music (like we do), this is the place for y'all!
We wound our way right through the center of town (unfortunately we had no charge on our camera battery--sorry, no photos) and found our way to our campground. What a very cool town. The downtown has a building that looks like batman (and even the locals say that nothing bad happens in downtown Nashville because it's protected by batman!) Since I don't have any photo from my own camera, here is one from the internet...
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| downtown Nashville protected by Batman! |
We camped in 1 of 3 campgrounds within the city limits of Nashville, not far from the Grand Ole Opry. $10 shuttles to/from downtown were readily available and we were on one the 1st eve in town. Honky Tonks were full of tourists and locals alike, all listening to free, live, county and western music. What a fun night these two country bumpkins had in a swingin' hotspot!
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| the busy-ness of downtown at 6pm on a Thursday eve |
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| one of the old Nashville buildings turned Honky Tonk |
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| soon to be swinging with country music lovers |
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| sidewalk advertising |
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| Legislative building |
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| the State Capitol |
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| printing industry home now turned home of the nightclub district dating back to the 1940s |
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| today's Printers Alley |
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| the ever famous Tootsie's bar in downtown |
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| they really do drink and pedal around Nashville |
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| the lively downtown |
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| another lively shot |
The Grand Ole Opry was the agenda for the 2nd night in town...and what a fabulous evening! As some of you may know, The Opry has been the world's longest running live radio program featuring country and western music. (Even as a boy Elvis and his family used to listen to the Opry radio program on their car radio when they lived in Tupelo). The 2+ hour lineup for our show, started with the ever famous 'Minnie Pearl' introducing the evening which included old favorites like Jean Shepard, Bill Anderson and Riders In The Sky, and also newby's like Sara Haze, Maggie Rose, Jonathan Jackson, Anita Renfroe and Jesse McReynolds and more. What a show! Aly would love to come back to see Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley or Keith Urban in this arena...maybe someday!!!
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| the Grand Ole Opry |
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| The Opry |
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| inside of the Opry |
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| Minnie Pearl |
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| inside the Opry |
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| Jean Shepard |
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| we did not make the Country and Western Hall of Fame...next time |
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| Maggie Rose |
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| Riders In The Sky |
Before leaving Nashville, we had to visit the Gaylord Opryland hotel, with its 2,881 rooms, 600,000 sq ft of meeting space, indoor river, 8 acres of a glass atrium with tropical plants, waterfalls, shops and restaurants, it's a bit of a tourist attraction. We managed to get in our 2 mile walk and not spend a dime.
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| the Gaylord Opryland |
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| the indoor atrium, river, shops and restaurants |
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| a city in itself |
From Nashville, we had reached our Eastern most destination and are headed back home in search of more biking, more fun and more adventures...
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