Wednesday, March 20th.
We spent the day in and around Nashville today. We were up early and had a good supplied breakfast before heading off to the Grand Ole Opry for a backstage tour. It was about a 20 minute drive. The tour was interesting and allowed us to see the dressing rooms, to get on stage, have our picture taken standing on the circle-center stage, and the studio where Hew Haw and Nashville were shot. Then we drove to a very unexpected site: an scale model of the Parthenon of Greece. This was originally built for the Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition. When it was to be dismantled, the local people were upset and the state decided to reconstruct it in 1931 made of permanent materials. It also serves as a home for the Nashville Art Gallery. Inside the Parthenon stands the largest indoor statue in the Western world: the 42ft tall Athena, with a 6'4" statue in the palm of her hand. The whole place was amazing and beautiful. Then we drove back to the hotel and parked the car. We walked back to the Broadway area of Nashville to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame. The building and displays were beautiful and well laid out. There was way too much to read and digest. There was a lot of information about the early artists and then some stuff about Elvis and the early rockers that changed country music and then how country crept into rock with the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield. Then we had lunch and a beer in the Johnny Cash Bar while enjoying an excellent band. After that we walked up and down Broadway for a bit enjoying the warm sun and all the bands that were playing in the windows of the numerous Honky Tonks, including a lively stand up bass player. Later we went back to the Grand Ole Opry to watch the evening show. It was a variety show consisting of 8 or 9 acts. We had second row seats. I enjoyed the granddaughter of Loretta Lynn, of Coalminer's Daughter fame; a 64 year old female comedienne named Chonda Pierce who was very funny; and a four man acapella group called Home Free with their incredible voices and harmonies. Shayna loved the whole evening. It was interesting watching the two cut away cameramen going about their jobs... they were very busy and dressed like cat burglars, all the while listening to the country fans singing along. A very full, fun day in the land of country music.
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