nashville

The only request my daughter had for her birthday last week,

was to spend it in New York with her best friends Reilly & Maddie.

Fall Break fell 3 days after her birthday, so it would seem like a no-brainer

but...

C had a cheerleading competition scheduled during the break.

And for that reason, we reluctantly planned to sit tight in Georgia.

As you know,

even the best laid plans,

don't always work out.

Two days before the break,

the competition was cancelled.

It would have been perfect, 

but the airfare to NY was prohibitive.

We had to come up with a Plan 3.

Where could we go that was close by,

but fun and interesting?

We decided on Nashville.

A short 3 hour drive and yet,

I hadn't been in many years

and my children and John 

had never been.

We arrived on a balmy fall day

and went straight to the Ryman Auditorium.

As you can see, the kids were thrilled...

The Ryman was home to the Grand Ole Opry for many years.

Inside is Hallowed Ground for 

Country Music Fans.

Johnny & June Carter Cash memorabilia

My kids had never even heard of

the Grand Ole Opry

or 

any of the singers honored inside.

But they did like the stage.

Both kids

made recording in the Ryman.

However,

after hearing the cd's later in the car,

we Strongly encouraged 

them to stay in school.

Music does not appear to be in their future.

We walked around downtown

and listened to live music 

pouring out of every venue we passed.

Later that evening,

we went on a ghost tour.

We ususally hit one in every city

because it's always a fun adventure for our whole family.

This particular tour was in an open air hearse -

and it was freezing!

Room 711 

at the Union Station Hotel

is said to be haunted.

Isn't the architecture gorgeous?

To avoid the haints,

we stayed at the
Gaylord Opryland Hotel.
It was enormous.
Here are a few pics
from one small area of the hotel.

It was definitely a slice of cheezy Americana.

On Saturday afternoon, we visited the
Belle Meade Plantation,
 built in 1853.

It was interesting
to learn about the workings
of a horse farm in the 1800's.
Secretariat's great-great-great
grandfather was purchased by this farm.

What remains of the 5,000 acre estate is
still beautiful.

Last,
but not least,
we attended the
Grand Ole Opry.

We saw
Kellie Pickler
and Lauren Alaina
along with some old standbys
such as Little Jimmy Dickens
and Ronnie Millsapps.

The show was fantastic.

It took me back to a time
in my childhood -
fond memories
of Sunday nights
at my grandparent's house
watching Hee-Haw
and looking forward to watching the
Wonderful World of Disney
with my cousins.

I hope we are creating some fond memories for our children.
We're trying...