Nashville - the Mecca of Country Music

This city just oozes with downhome American values.  We started the day with a 3-hour tour (just like Gilligan) with Tommy of "Tommy's Discount Tours."  Tommy is a good ole boy who gives you, as advertised, a "smile a mile," as he took us all around downtown Nashville.  We had a stop at the Ryman Auditorium whe:re we saw the likenesses of Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl.

We then headed to the suburbs, all the while being treated with humorous stories about Tommy's brothers and other targets.  We saw the homes of ten country music stars and they were huge, huger, and massive!  Actually, we saw several neighborhoods, all with big homes on large plots.  We thought the money must be all from music, but no.  First is printing, then financial, then music.  Who knew?

Tonight we returned to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel for dinner and this was the view from our table:

After dinner, we walked around enjoying the gardens, sights and even a wedding!  Then we walked over to the Grand Ole Opry where we were treated to 2 hours of great country music.  Special guests tonight were Ricky Skaggs, Crystal Gayle (hair almost to the floor!) and Patty Loveless who joined the Opray dancers, singers and musicians.  Two of the biggest rounds of applause went to a group from Northern Ireland who sang 2 religious songs and the recognition of a group of soldiers from a nearby army base.  Fun night!