NASHVILLE

September 28 and 29th, 2011  Dateline: Grand Rivers, KY USA

Once again I sat while Carol and Rich went off to enjoy themselves.  Along with the owners of MY WAY, they went off to Nashville, TN for some sightseeing. 

Rich told me that Nashville is a very interesting city compared to most that we have seen.  The city is vibrant and clean.  It is quite apparent that there is a significant amount of money in the city.  Not only has the music industry brought wealth to the community but so have the universities that are there and the extensive medical facilities.

Nashville became known as “the Music City” because of something Queen Victoria said.  Students from Fisk University, the first all Negro university in Nashville, put on a performance for the Queen introducing her to their blues music.  The Queen was so impressed that she said they must have come from a “Music City”. That name has stuck ever since.

In Bicentennial Park which was created for the state’s 200^th anniversary, there is a black granite wall called the “path of history” that records the history of Tennessee from the earliest of time until 1996, the state’s 200^th year as a part of the union.  One interesting fact on the wall was that in 1918-19 the Moon Pie was created in Chattanooga (You sure can tell where Rich’s interests are). For those who don’t know Moon Pies, they are marshmallows sandwiched between two chocolate cakes then the whole thing is dipped in chocolate.  They are so good, but not very healthy

The park also had a set of 50 bell carillons, one for each state. The carillons contain an aggregate of 95 bells representing the 95 counties of Tennessee.  The bells can play different tunes as they can be programmed from an onsite control room. While Carol and Rich were at the bell towers there was also a visiting group of retired sailors.  The bells were set to play the Navy Hymn, “Anchors Away”. Otherwise, every hour on the hour, the bells play a Tennessee themed song such as “The Tennessee Waltz”.

In Centennial Park (1896) the 100^th anniversary of Tennessee statehood there stands a full size replica of the Parthenon in Greece.  The structure is immense and is nearly exact.

Thomas Ryman, a very wealthy riverboat captain, had a major impact on the city.  He built a saloon which still stands today.  He called it the Silver Dollar Saloon and he embedded silver dollars in the floor.  The floor is still visible today as are the silver dollars that he embedded.  The floor does have some indentations in it where it was struck by errant bullets.  Today it is the Hard Rock Café’s souvenir shop.  Ryman also built a church which later became the Ryman Auditorium and later the Grand Ole Opry. The Grand Ole Opry has now moved out of downtown Nashville and is located next to Gaylord Opryland Resort along the Cumberland River. What once was the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville is now back to being Ryman Auditorium. It too has country and western concerts.

The main street in Nashville’s downtown is called Broadway.  It is lined with Honky Tonk bars where the music starts at 2 in the afternoon and goes on for the next 12 hours.  Besides Honky Tonks there are MANY cowboy boots and hat shops.  Rich liked this sign.

The skyscrapers there are very unusual.  The AT & T building was in the Batman movie and so is called the Batman Building.  The US Bank building, as you can see, has numerous projections sticking out the sides

Tomorrow will be a rest day.