We usually take a trip over Memorial Day weekend, we have gone to Kansas a few times, Seattle and this year we wanted to go to Nashville to see the sites and to visit one of my best friend's Stephanie who moved there a little less than a year ago. Well, Memorial Day weekend didn't work out, so we went in late June for four days. Nashville met all of our expectations and more. We had such a great time.
We started out very early on Friday morning with a 5:25 a.m flight out of LAX. It was so early, but so worth it because we got into Nashville at 11:30 a.m. and we felt like we had the whole day there rather than traveling all day. Our first stop was for lunch a yummy bbq place. We were so hungry and the food tasted so good!
Selfie while standing in line to order our lunch at Martin's.
After lunch we went to see where we would be staying, which was in Stephanie's building in a guest suite. According to one of the tour guides we had on the trip Stephanie's building was the ritziest in Nashville...so we were definitely staying in a nice place. Trent loved that he could have unlimited cups of hot chocolate.
Our view from our suite. They say Nashville is an up and coming city. There is construction going on everywhere downtown, new high rise condos and office buildings.
Terra taking a little cat nap on the way to the Opry.
The start of our Grand Ole Opry backstage tour.
Per Wiki, the Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country-music stage concert, which has presented the biggest stars of that genre. Founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM and currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment, it is the longest-running radio broadcast in history, albeit not the longest-running one on a radio network. Dedicated to honoring country music and its history, the Opry showcases a mix of legends and contemporary chart-toppers performing country, bluegrass, folk, gospel, and comedic performances and skits. Considered an American icon, it attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and millions of radio and Internet listeners.
Crazy eyes!
Terra took to Stephanie right away.
The stage.
This is the entrance for the performers.
A little tribute to the show "Nashville" which has filmed quite a few scenes at the Opry.
Terra making her self at home by taking off her shoes.
Each performer that has become a "member" has a mailbox at the Opry and can receive mail there.
All the members plaques.
Blake Shelton hung his own plaque...and it's a little crooked. :)
Blake!
Dressing room for the performers.
This is the family room where the performers and their families can hang out before, during and after the show.
Trent making himself at home.
This mural was painted by Archie Campbell. In 2010, there was a huge flood at the Opry House and much of Nashville. The Cumberland river overflowed and caused a lot of damage to Nashville. There was a show going on at the Opry that night and it was evacuated just in time. You can see on the mural about 3/4 of the way down a light brown stain across the mural, that stain represents how high the water level was in that room.
On the Opry stage looking out...
There are wooden pews on the stage where family members of the performer can sit during the show.
The inlaid circle of wood is from the Ryman's stage, which was the original home of the Opry until 1974.
Fun pictures with the big guitar.
Terra...
After the Opry we headed back to Stephanie's to relax. Our early day was catching up with us. Nashville is known for their hot (spicy) fried chicken and Hattie B's is the place to get it, so that's what we had for dinner. The hot fried chicken was delicious!! After stuffing ourselves with food we made our way to bed for some much needed sleep.
Day 2: There was an awesome lightning storm the night before, which was fun to watch. Thankfully, the building is pretty sound proof, so we didn't hear much of it.
Overcast and a much cooler day.
Downtown Nashville is only a few miles from Stephanie, but rather than deal with finding/paying for parking you can call for a Joyride, which is a college aged guy driving around a golf cart as a taxi. It doesn't cost anything, you just tip them. It was so awesome and Trent loved it. We took the Joyride a few times and it was the best way to get around town.
All smiles.
View of downtown from the Joyride.
Our first stop was brunch (which is big in Nashville). We went to the Omni hotel and had a delicious brunch. Terra liked eating her bacon as if she were eating corn.
From brunch we walked around downtown.
Terra took a little nap.
Then we walked Broadway, which is the street where all the famous bars are. Since it was early afternoon kids are allowed in the bar. If the bar is open then you can count on hearing great live music.
Our first stop was Rippy's. Trent enjoyed a much needed Roy Rogers.
The musician singing at Legends Corner was awesome!
Then we hit up Tootsie's. There are 3 levels and the first level was packed, so we went up to the second level where these two guys were singing. They were young, but they were singing their hearts out. Trent really wanted to request Aw Naw, so we gave them a tip and requested Aw Naw. It was good, but they were no Chris Young. Trent was thrilled, so that's all that matters.
Next up was The Stage. This bar is where a lot of the musicians perform before getting their break on The Voice. There was a band that was playing and the female lead singer was amazing! She covered songs that sounded just like the original artist.
Yeehaw!!
Last up was Robert's where they are known for their fried bologna sandwich. We were all hungry, so it was a must!
From the bar, we went to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Trent was all smiles seeing Taylor.
A car with lots of gold on it.
It even had a television in it!
Even his piano was plated with gold.
WOW!!
Terra had fun hiding, pushing buttons and running around the museum.
Smokey and the Bandit's car.
After a long day seeing the sites in downtown, we enjoyed relaxing by the pool, eating some yummy pizza and watching this beautiful sunset. It was a great day!
Day 3: We started the day off with a good breakfast at Noshville and then headed to the Adventure Science Center.
The kids loved exploring the center. Terra loved that she could touch everything and wasn't told No.
Can you lift the car? Yes!
Go Terra!!
Trent had a chance to experience what it would feel like to walk on the moon.
Terra loved being in the driver's seat of the ambulance.
We were trying to get a framable picture of us that wasn't from 20 years ago.
The AT&T building, which is nicknamed the Batman building.
After the Science Center we took a tour to see the different sites where the show Nashville is filmed.
Terra was exhausted and our first stop was the Ryman and she fell asleep during the 5 minute drive. She didn't sleep much longer once we entered the Ryman.
Ryman Auditorium (formerly Grand Ole Opry House and Union Gospel Tabernacle) is a 2,362-seat live performance venue and is best known as the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. The auditorium opened as the Union Gospel Tabernacle in 1892. Its construction was spearheaded by Thomas Ryman (1843–1904), a riverboat captain and Nashville businessman who owned several saloons. Ryman conceived of the auditorium as a tabernacle for the influential revivalist Samuel Porter Jones. Ryman had attended one of Jones' 1885 tent revivals with the intent to heckle, but was instead converted into a devout Christian, and soon after pledged to build the tabernacle so the people of Nashville could attend a large-scale revival indoors. Though the building was designed to be a house of worship, a purpose it continued to serve throughout most of its early life, it was often leased to promoters for non-religious events in an effort to pay off its debts and remain open. Melding its then-current usage with the building's origins as a house of worship, the Ryman earned the nickname "The Mother Church of Country Music", which it still holds to this day. (source: wikipedia)
On the day we went if you had a Tennessee driver's license/id, you could visit the Ryman for free...it was a bit crowded.
After the Ryman, we got back on the bus and drove by the homes they use on the show Nashville. The first one was Deacon's house.
Right next store to Deacon's was where Scarlett, Gunnar and Will have lived.
Not on the show, but this is a house where Jesse James lived.
Gunnar's current house.
And another house they have used for Gunnar's house. Not sure why Gunnar gets to move around so much.
Over the Cumberland River.
Reyna's Highway 65 offices.
The recording studio where Elvis Presley recorded a majority of his songs.
Reba McEntire's office and recording studio.
The famous Bluebird Cafe.
Hayden Panettiere's real house in Nashville.
Taylor Swift's house that she recently bought and is currently remodeling.
Terra wasn't really into seeing the homes and took a much needed nap.
Hayden Panettiere's house on the show.
Quick selfie on the bus.
I loved the tour and the tour guide was very knowledgeable and showed us not only the houses on the show, but other famous people's houses. The best part may have been when he called the building that Stephanie lives in ritzy. It was a little embarrassing that at the end of the tour we asked if he could drop us off there. He said who lives there and Stephanie proudly said I do. :)
Back on the Joyride going to dinner at Edley's. Another yummy bbq joint.
Terra modeling Stephanie's sunglasses.
It was a great trip. Stephanie was a great tour guide, took us to some great places to eat and we all had a blast seeing her and Nashville.
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