Nashville '07

This was a trip for me and my honey; just the two of us. We really needed some quality time away from our daily routine. It was much needed, well deserved, and greatly appreciated. Thanks to my Mom who watched our girls for us.

Thursday and Friday were busy... We stayed at my Mom's place Thursday night since she's much closer to DFW and she was watching the kiddos for us. We were up at 3a Friday to catch a 6:45a flight from DFW to Nashville . I slept on the flight there.  Susie read. Once we landed, we headed to Avis to pick up a Jeep Liberty (nice to drive, easy to park, great on gas).

Then it was on to the Country Music Hall of Fame. We did the Diamond Package which was great because it was one package that covered Country Music Hall of Fame, RCA Studio B, and Ryman Auditorium. It also came with an audio tour, one of those hand held devices that you press the appropriate number and put it up to your ear to hear the details. After the first stop or two, we quickly realized that if we used the audio tour at every stop in the museum, we'd never get through it all. So we just finished the rest without the audio tour. We enjoyed it much better that way because we spent more time talking and looking at stuff together rather than listening to the audio tour device.

The tour to RCA Studio B was GREAT!!! I'm not an Elvis nut. He was a bit before my time, but I do like his music.  This is where he recorded most of his songs. There were many other famous artists that have recorded there as well, but it's mostly known as Elvis' favorite studio. Our guide was great. The stories and the music and old videos they played made you feel like you were there back in the day. It was really cool! This was my second favorite thing to see the entire weekend. Also, fyi... Music Row is simply the part of Nashville where most of the recording studios, including Studio B, are located. Our guide pointed out some of the more important places along the way, so even though they don't advertise it, you get a quick overview of Music Row, which turns out is really all we needed anyway. At least that's what we got with our guide; I certainly can't promise that they're all that informative.

The tour to RCA Studio B left by bus from the Hall of Fame. Ours was scheduled to leave at 11a.  We managed to cover the top floor of the Hall of Fame before heading to Studio B and then covered the second floor of the Hall of Fame when we got back from Studio B.

Next we headed to the Wildhorse Saloon for lunch and a drink.  We each had a Monte Cristo with potato salad. Awesome potato salad! Tasted like a baked potato, but it was potato salad. I had a Lynchburg Lemonade... yummy. They're very generous with the liquor; at least with our drinks at lunch anyway. This is a pretty cool place. It's huge! Three floors with the area over the dance floor open all the way to the top.

After refueling, it was off to Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. You watch a short video on the history of the building which first opened in 1892 as a tabernacle to serve the city's revivals; neat story. Then you are free to roam around the auditorium, upstairs balcony area, the stage (they even have a couple of acoustic guitars and the Grand Ole Opry backdrop there to use as picture props), etc. There’s lots of neat history in that place.  I definitely want to go back there to see the Grand Ole Opry which returns to the Ryman each fall and winter from November through February.

Next we went to Elliston Place Soda Shop. They have huge shakes and malts. You can definitely split one between two or three people. Not quite what I expected from info I'd found on the net, but it was a good treat at a good price.  I probably wouldn't have gone out of my way to go there had I known what I know now. It really wasn't that special, but now we know.

Next we headed to Bass Pro Shops just to look around. We used to live near the one in Grapevine, TX. This one in Nashville is VERY similar, but it's still a cool store to look around and a great place to get a cheap souvenir t-shirt.

At this point, we were supposed to go have dinner at Fido's and then hit the bars on lower Broadway for a few drinks, some people watching, and good music (hopefully), but we were wiped (not enough sleep the two nights before). We decided to head to the hotel, Holiday Inn near Nashville Airport . It’s a nice place with a friendly staff, clean rooms, comfortable bed, and a good continental breakfast. We will definitely stay there again when we go back to Nashville .

After getting our plans and directions together for Saturday, we decided we were hungry but didn't really feel like going out. We found a menu for Steak-Out, a place that does steaks... delivered! We were surprised at how good they were.  I honestly didn't expect much, but it was really good.  We each had the 6oz ribeye which was cooked perfectly and had great flavor. We also had a loaded baked potato that was excellent. They kept the potato hot and brought the toppings in separate containers that were kept cold.  Even the salad was good, basic ingredients, but very cold and crisp. The way a salad should be. And for desert, they make a mean cookie. I had chocolate chip. Susie had oatmeal raisin, and we sampled each others.  They were both great, but I have to give the honors to the oatmeal raisin. The price was very reasonable, around $35 for everything including tax and tip. All in all, it was a great dinner with great company. What more can you ask for?