We landed in Nashville on Sunday around 5:30 pm and Barb and JP picked us up from the airport. We ordered pizza and visited that night with Barb, JP, Patsy, Bill, Betty, Darrell, Marg and Ted.
Monday - Jan and I got up and went for a walk. We ended up at Cracker Barrel for coffee. We came back and had breakfast with the gang courtesy of JP and Barb. We then went for a walk in the afternoon and ended up at the Nashville Palace near our hotel for about 3 hours. Live music (Ron Crites played while we were there) from 11 am to 2 am. This is what I was looking for in Nashville. Ron sang the oldies from George Jones (he used to open for him), Waylon Jennings and the like and he played for 3 hours straight - no breaks. We went for dinner at the Opry Backstage restaurant and I had ribs - billed as the best in Nashville - they were great - but every restaurant says they have the best in Nashville. I guess I will need to try them all and come to my own conclusion, We then went to and Elvis tribute show by John Beardsley - he played all the classics for 2 hours. It was fantastic. Had a nightcap with the gang and went to bed about midnight. Great first day in Nashville ... Grand Ole Opry tomorrow.
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| Sunset in Nsahville |
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| Beautiful Blossoms |
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| General Lee |
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| Cracker Barrel |
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| The Gang at Nashville Palace |
Tuesday - We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then visited with the gang for the rest of the morning. In the afternoon, we went to the Gaylord Hotel - a massive hotel complex with a man made river running through it and tropical gardens. Very nice. We then headed to the Outlet Mall and did a little shopping and had a beer and wings for a snack. Dinner was at Aquarium restaurant in the mall - as you can probably tell, a massive aquarium was the centre piece ... and then off to the GRAND OLE OPRY! Barb ended up getting us in the front row! We saw Larry Gatlin, Pam Tillis, Craig Cameron, William Michael Morgan, Del McCoury, Darius Rucker, Tristan McIntosh (from American Idol) and Charlie Daniels. IT WAS AMAZING!!! Nashville and particularly the Grand Ole Opry has been on my bucket list and it did not disappoint. We are going back on Saturday. We visited with the gang after the show at the hotel and had a nightcap or 3. Great second day in Nashville ... tomorrow we are heading to Lynchburg to visit the Jack Daniel Distillery.
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| Grand Ole Opry |
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| Larry Gatlin |
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| Pam Tillis |
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| Craig Campbell |
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| Del McCoury |
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| William Michael Morgan |
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| Darius Rucker |
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| Tristan McIntosh (American Idol) |
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| Charlie Daniels |
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| Grand Ole Opry |
Wednesday - we left for Lynchburg, Tennessee around 9 am for the 1.5 hour drive to the Jack Daniel Distillery (note that Daniel has no "s" on the end). Marg and Ted's son works for Brown-Forman (the owners of Jack Daniel) and he arranged a tour and lunch for us. The tour was really interesting. Jack Daniel started the distillery in Lynchburg in Moore county 150 years ago because of the water source - the water comes from an underground spring. It is particularly interesting that the distillery is located here because Moore County is a dry county - the only place to buy any liquor is at the distillery and they received a special dispensation to be able to do so. It was interesting to know that that from 1909 to to 1938 (29 years), prohibition was in effect and they essentially just sat on the distillery until it was legal again. All Jack Daniel is made here from this water source. The alcohol is distilled and put into barrels to mature. They do not touch the barrels once the alcohol is placed in the them. They have 88 barrel houses which hold up to 600 barrels each. They are as high as 7 stories and best whiskey is taken from the top floor. They do not age Jack Daniel - they let it mature - there is no time frame for it to sit in the barrels - it is ready when the taste, texture and colour are just right. The barrel houses have no temperature controls and so the top floors get up to 130 degrees F and that is where the best whiskey comes from. They have only a few different whiskeys. Green label which is the lowest quality and they call the college whiskey as it is lower quality and less costly. The black label accounts for 97% of sales. The single barrel select is what comes from the top floor and is there best whiskey and not every barrel from the top floor is single barrel select, it has to exhibit certain characteristics. Gentleman Jack is a double filtered whiskey. They burn oak to create their own charcoal in the rickyard. They then filter all the whiskey through this charcoal. They also have some blends like Tennessee Honey. Very interesting.
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| Jack Daniel |
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Jack Daniel
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| The Rickyard |
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| The Water Source for Jack Daniel |
After the tour, we walked into Lynchburg to have lunch at Miss Mary Bobo's. What a unique experience! We had a 1 pm seating - all 100 people get seated at 1 pm. There are 9 rooms in the house - we were in the Fanning room. Diane, our hostess, showed us to our room and joined us for lunch. She was a hoot and a wealth of information. Miss Mary Bobo's started out as a roaming house. On the table when we arrived was our lunch - fried chicken, meatloaf, ochre, mashed potatoes, green beans, mac and cheese, biscuits and the most delicious apples cooked with, what else, Jack Daniel. Jack was our server and was in school although he doesn't make it there often as he loves fishing - he goes every day. When we asked what he caught, he said he doesn't usually catch anything but loves fishing. It was delicious and my best meal in Nashville. We then walked around town and popped into a few shops. The Barrel House Shop was great with all kinds of Jack Daniel stuff.
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| Miss Mary Bobo's for lunch |
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| Miss Mary Bobo's |
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| Miss Mary Bobo's |
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| Lynchburg, Tennessee |
When we arrive back in Nashville at 5:30, we stopped at the Nashville Palace - we drank, ate (I had a fried bologna sandwich) and listened to Eileen Rose and the Silver Threads and Nathan Belt until midnight. Another great day in Nashville. Tomorrow we are heading to downtown Nashville ...
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| Eileen Rose at the Nashville Palace |
Thursday - We had a lazy morning visiting with the gang and then headed to downtown Nashville around 3 pm. We did a tour at the Ryman and then headed to Broadway where all the bars are. We barhopped until 12:30 pm - The Stage, Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, Full Moon Saloon, Coyote Ugly, Lala's and more. So much fun. Darrel even got to play guitar and sing with the band at Tootsie's.
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| Ryman Auditorium |
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| Ryman Stage |
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| The Stage on Broadway |
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| At the Stage on Broadway |
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| Tootsie's Orchid Lounge |
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| Darrel playing with the Band at Tootsie's |
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| Broadway in Nashville |
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| Broadway |
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| Elvis and Jan |
Friday was a lazy day again in the morning and early afternoon. Marg and Ted left today for Louisville, Kentucky where their son lives. We went to the Nashville Palace in the afternoon - more live music and beer. We walked to John A's for dinner - I had catfish and Jan had ribs - both delicious. Then back to the Nashville Palace for more live music and beer. Got home around midnight.
Saturday - lazy morning and early afternoon - we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel. We headed to the outlet mall in the afternoon and did a little shopping, listened to some live music (yup, even at the mall) and had some dinner. We then walked over to the Grand Ole Opry in the evening - second row tickets. We saw Jeannie Seely, Love and Theft, Mike Snider, John Conlee, Ashley Campbell (Glen Campbell's daughter - really good), Parker Millsap (amazing), Larry Gatlin, Cole Swindle (yup), Opry Square Dancers, Riders in the Sky (Rawhide and Happy Trails), The Whites and ... the legend and country royalty ... Loretta Lynn! After the show, we went to the Nashville Palace for some more live music and beer. Got home around midnight and had a nightcap with the gang. It's now about 1:30 in the morning ... we fly home tomorrow.
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| Opry Square Dancers |
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| Jeannie Seely |
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| Love and Theft |
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| Mike Snider |
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| John Conlee |
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| Ashley Campbell |
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| Parker Millsap |
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| Larry Gatlin |
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| Cole Swindell |
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| Riders in the Sky |
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| The Whites |
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| Loretta Lynn |
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| The Opry Stage |
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The Gang at the Nashville Palace
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Sunday - we said bye to everyone - Barb, JP and Patsy are driving to Alabama today to visit with JP's sister and then back to Florida and Betty, Bill and Darrel were off to Houston (both driving). We fly out around supper time tonight.
What a great trip! We had the best time. The Nashville Palace - a honky tonk bar not far from our hotel became our second home. They had live music everyday from 11 am to 2 am and $3 beer ($2 during happy hour from 4-8 pm). This is definitely Music City - there is music everywhere (even the mall). The trip was made even better by the people we were traveling with - Barb, JP, Betty, Bill, Darrel, Patsy, Marg and Ted - Thanks for the great time! Next week will not be near as fun!
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