Downtown Nashville. The historic Ryman Auditorium is the brick a-framed building center-left.

Country Music Hall of Fame. The windows are like the black keys on a piano.

Union Station. A 100+ year old restored train station - now a hotel.

Nashville Music City

Downtown Nashville at Dusk

Hard Rock Cafe Nashville. Notice the acoustic guitar.

Jack's BBQ, where we had a fantastic southern meal

Cowgirl D

Inside the Ryman Auditorium, looking across the balcony. The building is more than 100 years old and a national historic site. The Grand Old Opry started in this building but now only broadcasts from here in the winter months, when tourism slows down so it was a great time to visit and see the show in the historic building.

Inside the Ryman Auditorium. We were seated near the front of the balcony - GREAT seats!!

Onstage at the Grand Ole Opry

Jimmy Dickens. 88 years old, quick with the music and the jokes!

Diamond Rio

Randy Owens (from the band Alabama)

Marty Stuart

Vince Gill performing his new song "Heaven"

View more photos from Tennessee, Nashville and the Grand Old Opry

Our big fun here in Nashville was our evening of exploring what the downtown has to offer. Jamie and I walked Broadway Street in the older part of the downtown where there are some very lovely old buildings  that reside next to modern buildings and museums. We saw (did not tour) the Country Music Hall of Fame and the huge center where the Country Music Awards will be aired from next week. Broadway Street is peppered with little pubs, restaurants, churches and shops. There are cowboy/girl hats and belts and boots for sale all over. I was momentairily tempted by a teal pair of cowgirl boots stitched with other colours of leather in daisy patterns…but I managed to resist. The little bars and pubs we walked passed all had live music and cheap beer specials. There was a different tune coming out of every place reflecting just how diverse “country music” is, from honky tonk, to bluegrass, to more rock infused sounds.

For supper tonight we found a great authentic bbq place called Jack’s. The neon pink pig sign caught our attention as did the long line-up…you know what they say about the place with the long line-up…join it! We were not dissapointed. We got a real taste of southern cooking at its finest. Authentic Tennessee smokehouse bar-b-q is not to be missed! Between us we tried pork shoulder, beef brisket and sides including: corn bread, baked beans, cinnamon apples, mac & cheese and green beans, all paired of course with iced tea. I think a little part of us died and went to southern culinary heaven.

After our good eats it was off to….THE GRAND OLE OPRY!!!! We caught an early show in the historic old Ryman Auditorium, and what a show it was. Neither one of us considers ourselves to be a big fan of country music but are so glad that we went. The lineup included some very big country stars like, Marty Stuart, Vince Gill, Randy Owen (of  band Alabama) and the very charming, 87 year old Jimmy Dickens. The music and entertainment was fantastic and we are so glad to have taken in the show. The Grand Ole Opry has been running shows since 1925 which are performed live and broadcast over the radio for everyone to enjoy.

Now it is time to head off to bed as our day of relaxation has come to an end. It is back on the road for us in the morning with somewhere in Virginia as our destination. More news and pictures to follow.

We have arrived once again safe and sound at our planned destination – Nashville, Tennessee. Despite having a shorter route planned today, our drive took longer than expected due to very heavy rain and traffic through most of Tennessee. We also took a detour off the freeway in Memphis, hoping to at least drive by and get a photo of Elvis’s home in Graceland. Turns out that isn’t possible – Elvis’s home is set well back from the road and well blocked by both a large Elvis “tourist trap” museum/gift shop and a large strategically placed wall of high trees. I guess lots of people wanted to take a free look at Elvis’ home! We did at least get to see the Heartbreak Hotel in Graceland and a few other Elvis-themed sights in the area.

The detour into Memphis cost us a considerable amount of time; Memphis seems to be a very large maze of freeway interchanges and getting around is a quite a process. It took us 40 minutes just to find a coffee! We arrived in Nashville after dark and immediately headed for something to eat. We found a great southern buffet restaurant called Ryans. I remember visiting this restaurant as a teenager during one of my last trips to Florida with my family and was thrilled to see it again (and yes mom the bread rolls are as good as you remember – sorry I can’t bring them home!). The food was great and we left very happy and full. Upon arriving at our hotel, we were quite amused to find out that we had actually already checked in around 4:30pm this afternoon, which was quite interesting because at that time we were probably still in Memphis looking for coffee!! The clerk didn’t actually clarify how that was possible, but as there was now someone staying in our reserved room, we were given a room upgrade to a suite on the top floor of the hotel! It is quite comfortable, with a separate living room, bedroom and bath, and a mini kitchenette. Now we’d really like to know how to check in early again at the next hotel!

After 3-4 days of very steady driving and a week on the road we have to admit we’re getting tired. Nashville intrigued us and so we have decided rather than hit the road again tomorrow, we’re going to take a day off from driving and see the sights in Nashville. Thankfully we had a 1 day buffer built into our schedule so we should still be able to get to Newfoundland without being ‘late’. We were even lucky enough to be able to keep our nice hotel room for another night. We’re not entirely sure what we are going to do or see tomorrow, but we’re sure it will be fun and a nice break before we get back on the road. We’ll certainly fill you in when we can!