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| The Grand Ole' Opry |
We made the trip to Nashville today. We've been here a couple of times before and I once spent a week here for work. But my gosh, how things have changed. A lot of homeless people begging on Music Row. My question is this: why the heck do they hit up schmucky tourist, instead of knocking on the doors of the rich and famous that live around here? Or wait a minute....this is a thought. Get a job. With the fantastic homes in and around Nashville there has to be a ton of money here. Construction is going on all over the place. New super highways, new homes, new condos, new shopping centers. It is amazing seeing all of the new life bursting at the seams here in Nashville. That's not to say that low income households don't exist in this area. Just 10 minutes outside of Nashville you can see a mobile home sitting on cement blocks with junk cluttered throughout the yard. It reminded me of Gretchen Wilson's song Red Neck Woman. If I have learned nothing else already during our short retirement it is this: we are all searching for the same thing; happiness, love and a place to call home with someone you love, even if in an RV. The ranger here at the park told me that Brenda Lee is camping here and does all of the time. I suspect she is the one in the motor home with the white caddy and Red Hummer. My baby sis was named after Brenda Lee. I'd like to meet her but then every time I meet someone famous, who I watched on tv or in the movies when I was a kid, I just feel that much older. She also told me that some other NOW famous C & W star camps here but I forget his name. I'm not in to any music much anymore. I do know that Jack and I drove past huge, huge homes with closed cast iron gates posting warning security signs. Again, though, I believe with all of my heart that because they live in homes that are bigger than many, their children are raised by nannies, their meals made by live in help, they are no happier or wiser or closer to God than the rest of us.
Now on to a triple D Dive in Nashville called Arnold's.
We enjoyed Nashville. We first visited Arnold's; A Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives episode. There were lines, and I do mean lines of people standing to get their food. We decided to get there early to beat the lunch crowd but lunch in Nashville must come much earlier than it does in Warsaw, Indiana. We had to wait in line and I felt like cattle being herded to market. There wasn't enough time, really, to understand the system, the cost of items, the way meals were served except to know it was cafeteria style and they gave you very little time to make any decisions. I thought that the number of people had grown by leaps and bounds since Triple D visited. But after talking to some locals who eat at Arnold's every week, we learned that often the line is half way around the block even before Guy and DDD came to Arnolds. Now I must have missed something here. I had meatloaf (made with chili sauce-YUK), green beans soaked in a massive amount of butter or lard (YUK), small salad and macaroni and cheese. The salad and macaroni was decent but nothing to write home about. Jack, on the other hand, had catfish that was delicious and I hate most anything that swims. I tasted his, though, after much protest. I have to admit it was good. But not stand in line around the block good. But my idea of good fish is a McDonald's fish sandwich. What do I know?
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| We visited the Ryman's Auditorium, Nashville's original Grand Ole Opry. |
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| Said hello to Elvis. |
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| Tried to make Elvis come with me but he wouldn't budge. |
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| Jack's Bar-B-Que |
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Went to our favorite "saloon" called the Wild Horse. Again talking to the bartender and some locals we learned that several famous country stars got their start at the Wild Horse saloon. A few being Trick Pony, Big and Rich, LoneStar, and Phil Vassar. The bartender told us that anything that went gold in this town chances are Phil Vassar had his hand in it. Following are some pics we took of the Wild Horse:
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| The female horse outside of the ladies room. |
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| The stage at Wild Horse |
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| Horses hanging upside down from the ceiling. Wild Horse is 3 levels and according to the bar maid packed to capacity on the weekend. |
Me hanging out at the bar with some good looking cow. Didn't have a lot to say though. I liked that.
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| The horse sitting outside of the men's room. |
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Our last trip before leaving Nashville was to visit the Grand Ole' Opry. This past summer this whole area was under water. Brad Paisley was scheduled to play the Opry the night of the flood. He lost much of his equipment and a couple of his favorite quitars that had been given to him. The south end of downtown Nashville was also under water; as much as 9' of water. Even where we camp you can see clumps of wet leaves, sticks and other debris about 12' up in to the trees. I tried to take a picture of it but it was too blurred to share.
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| A picture of a hawk Jack spotted in a tree outside of the Grand Ole' Opry. Still trying to determine it's name. | | | | | |
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