Jun 13, 2013 - Love of Country in Nashville

I have a funny tidbit about our reservations in Nashville. There are about two 'nice' RV Parks near the city and when I called for reservations (nearly two months ago) and told them the dates they laughed at me. "That's SEMA week - we've been booked for a year!" I asked what 'SEMA' was but she didn't say. I hurriedly called the other nearby campground and was told the same thing, BUT someone had just cancelled so we got in. Again I asked what 'SEMA' was and she replied "CMA - Country Music Awards". Aha! I felt like the dumb Northwestern guy...

Jun 4, 2013 - Grand Ole Opry

Tuesday, June 4th - Up and at 'em bright and early to have RV at the Camper Doctor's at Nashville Camping World (which was right next to our Campground) for 8:00 AM appointment. RV seemed to be shaking more than usual and one tire got hot. Still not sure we spent our money there wisely! While we were unhitched from our campsite utilities, rode around our side of Town, visiting Willie Nelson's General Store and Cooter's (remember him from the Duke's of Hazard?). Found a unique little sports bar called Scoreboard for lunch. There was a little...

Jun 3, 2013 - Nashville Tour

Monday, June 3rd - We took "Discover Nashville" Tour. Gray Line Tours mini-bus picked us up right at the Campground at 8:30 AM. We had a great tour guide, which is always helpful, and we didn't need to drive in traffic. Nashville is very busy right now because of the 2013 CMA Music Festival going on, which will culminate with the CMA Music Awards Wednesday night. During the tour our attention was drawn to the Nashville Skyline, especially the Batman Tower (AT&T) and LP Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans. Rode down 2nd Ave (old Market...

Jun 2, 2013 - Nashville, TN

I got to sleep in today.....YAY!! This getting up at 7:00 every morning is not high on my list of fun things! Dave went over to Camper World and got the propane tanks filled. One was empty and the other was about 75% full. Best to fill them both; then we're probably set for the rest of the trip. We left here about 10:30 for downtown. After parking in a lot who's spaces were so narrow we had to fold in the side mirrors, we walked to the Ryman Auditorium, former home of the Grand Ole Opry. The history of this theater was even more interesting...

Jun 1, 2013 - Mousetail Landing to Nashville, TN

We got to our Nashville RV park before 11:00 this morning. We have tickets for the Grand Ole Opry tonight and then a tour after the show. After setting up, we did some computer stuff and decided to have a late lunch in the trailer since we'd have to leave about 5:45 for the Opry House. We had cable, which we hadn't had for a while, and tuned into CNN to see what the weather was doing. I could tell Mom and Ingrid were worried about us. I call them each day; Mom one day, Ingrid the next. They've both been watching CNN and seeing all the...

May 25, 2013 - Boondockers Welcome-Friday PM to Monday AM

We met George and Jane at their home in Pegram. What a lovely couple and such a nice place to live back in the woods. We spent three quite, restful nights there. Friday evening we were able to visit Beth and family in Brentwood. This was the first time we were able to see their new home. Saturday was the Renisance Festival and what a wonderful time we had. Turkey legs, roasted corn, jousting, human chess (with sword fights). Richard met the King of the Trolls, IK. Sunday was a rest day for us. We were able to share a wonderful meal with our...

May 15, 2013 - Civil rights and Country music

We have crossed the mighty Mississippi at Memphis, TN. Since it had been raining here steady for about a week before our coming here, the river was about 3 times it's normal size. As we drove through the Eastern part of Arkansas we saw nothing but farm fields being worked. Asking an old farmer on a bench at a gas station what they all would be growing in the area, he said in heavy southern drawl: Cotton, grain, corn, and lots for rice. I had never heard of rice being grown outside of Asia so you always learn something new. We stopped in...

May 13, 2013 - Nashville

I could have spent more time in Nashville. Unfortunately, we only had two nights, one full day but what a day! Trip Adviser recommended a Walking Tour of Nashville with Bill DeMain who turned out to be an absolutely fantastic fountain of knowledge. Check him out on Facebook.....Walkin Nashville. Gave us such an understanding of the Nashville scene. Wandered down Printer's Alley, so called because it was where the printers hung out after work. Many famous clubs used to be here and many musicians got their start here from the 1940's. Broadway...

May 11, 2013 - Memphis to Nashville, TN

This morning we showered and left planning to have breakfast mid morning for no particular reason. Hwy 40 all the way to Nashville. It is not a new road but is a pretty drive because lush trees line the road on both sides very much like driving many of the parkways in New England. You really don’t see much else. Bought some coffee at McDonalds and had toasted a bagel, yogurt and blueberries. Toaster broke. I turned on the WiFi and tried to figure out where we were going to stay on Mackinac Island. We had planned to stay at the Grand Hotel...

May 3, 2013 - Day 5: Grand Ole Opry

Our Gray Line Tour was scheduled to pick us up at the campground at 12:45, so we had a leisurely morning. We were glad we didn't have to drive into town; several interstates meet here and traffic is bad. Legends was the name of our tour; it included the Backstage Tour at the Grand Ole Opry and the boat ride on the river in the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. I had been in the hotel years ago when Wanda Calvert (AKA Leah Evering) and I attended an NCTE conference in Nashville so I knew how amazing the hotel was. The Backstage Tour was very good. ...

May 2, 2013 - Day 4: Driving to Nashville

We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of bacon and French toast before starting the packing-up-to-move scenario. It's really not difficult - I do the inside, Ralph does the outside (which of course is much messier!). The start of I-24 was bumper to bumper but things did get better after 10 miles or so. Then it was smooth sailing until the outskirts of Nashville. When I made our reservations this morning, the clerk told me to get here before 3:30 to avoid the traffic. Now we understand! At one point there were 7 lanes on I-65. That's about 4 too...

Apr 30, 2013 - Nashville TN

Today was spent in the country SW of Nashville, specifically near a favorite town of ours, Franklin TN. We left the campground a bit after 10:00 and headed toward Hwy 100 and the Loveless Café for lunch. It took about 45 minutes to get there which worked out pretty well because they start serving lunch at 11:00. Me, I’m going for lunch and but I figured MB would do breakfast – which they serve all day – but she surprised me and went for lunch too. I had the Fried Chicken with mac & cheese and tater salad and you-know-who chose Fried Catfish...