A Time For Everything

I traveled to MUSIC CITY last week-aka Nashville, Tennessee-with DH. Which was why there was no post on Friday.

And the reason I went to Nashville was to see... MIKE ROWE!! You may be familiar with him strictly by name or you may know him by his voice. He's been narrating Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch" for twelve years now. He's also been host of "Dirty Jobs" and "Somebody's Gotta Do It."

So not only did I get to see and hear Mike Rowe in person, I got to hear Mike Rowe sing opera, and I got to take my picture with him!! Sadly there were a lot of people and limited time and I didn't actually get to chat with him during the picture session except to say "Thank You" for so much more than his talk earlier in the day.

I'll share pictures and opera and some of the meat and potatoes of what he said later...for now, have some random pictures of my visit.


About 2.5 hours into the drive, my car asked me if I wanted to take a rest. I really did, but kept driving for another hour before stopping for gas. :)

This is obviously the AT&T Building...I however call it the Batman Building. It made me laugh during my first trip to Nashville in 2013, and it made me laugh again.

Being the hockey nerd I've become, I wanted to see the Nashville Predators' arena up close and personal, so a trip to the fan shop was in order.

While Bridgestone Arena was just up the street from the hotel where DH's conference (and Mike Rowe) was being held, The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is attached at the backside to the hotel. And actually, the photo was taken from right outside the fan shop!

I didn't go through the museum this time, though I did the last time. I ducked into the gift shop to buy a little something for DD. Here are my pictures from the last time, if you're so inclined.

And last but not least, the Mississippi River as we crossed over on the way home, leaving Tennessee and entering Arkansas.


More from Nashville coming Wednesday and Friday and possibly even next Monday.

Have a great week.

Back to Music City we go!

After my trip through the Ryman and on the Studio B Tour, I found myself back at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. I was ready to meander through it. It carries a couple of special exhibits as well as its general ones. Specials included costumes and things from Carrie Underwood's Blown Away Tour as well as The Bakersfield Sound. The Hall of Fame and Museum is also constructing an addition which will include a Reba McEntire presentation.


Walking through was like a trip down memory lane, and I was re-introduced to artists I hadn't thought of or heard in years. The whole time I kept thinking how much my dad and my younger daughter would have enjoyed the whole thing.

The best part, of course, was the actual Hall of Fame the rotunda on the front left of the building. Round because no one is better or worse than any other. Three music staffs (the set of five lines on which notes are arranged) line the walls and the plaques are hung randomly. Most recent Hall of Famers includes Kenny Rogers, Bobby Bare, and "Cowboy" Jack Clement.


After the museum, I crossed the street to the Music City Walk of Fame.



And after that, I trudged back to the parking garage to go back to the hotel to get ready for my  anniversary dinner aboard the General Jackson Riverboat. I don't have too many pictures from the evening because it was my anniversary and I just wanted to enjoy the meal and the show and the view of downtown Nashville from the Cumberland River. The Heart of Tennessee, A Musical Journey was fantastic and I was familiar with just about every song they sang. It was fabulous. All pics are also on Shutterfly--use the link above.


And we're not through yet! But Saturday's trek is for another day. I hope I'm not boring you all too much. But it was such a neat trip, I can't help but share.

So after tramping around downtown Nashville for five/six hours last Thursday and taking close to a hundred pictures, I needed to decide what was on the agenda for Friday.

As I mentioned Wednesday, my options included the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere and the Belle Meade Plantation right up the road from the hotel, among tons of other options. I mean, there were tons of Civil War markers all over the place and I'm a history buff too.

What I ultimately decided to do was go back downtown and tour the Ryman Auditorium and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. At first I hadn't planned to do either. But something just got in my head or my heart (I think it was my daddy.) and I realized that I couldn't visit Nashville for the very first time and *not* go see these places up close and personal. Even though I'd walked by them and taken pictures of the outsides just the day before. I had to go inside them. And I'm SOOOOO glad I did.

I credit my love of country music to both my parents. To my mom who just always had the radio on, exposing me to it. That's just what we listened to in the years when music becomes an important part of kid's life: junior high and high school. And to my dad who loved music so very much and exposed to me to real records and many different musical genres.

A few highlights of the Ryman:



After the Ryman, I headed over to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. But first--I took the Studio B Tour...

Oh my gosh! I'm so so so glad I did. Another wonderful treat. Our tour guide was rather cute, too!



Anyway, Music Row, contrary to my original belief is not in downtown. It's really a pair of residential side streets that look mostly like a regular neighborhood. Except, of course, for all the signs in the front yards.


Young Randy, the tour guide, shared a few anecdotes with the group that I'm going to share with you.

First: The hit song "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton is not your traditional love song. She wrote it for Porter Wagoner as a thank you for the opportunity he gave her to be on his show, which was the launching point of her career. Because she wanted to go out on her own, she was "fired" from his show. As a way to show no hard feelings, she wrote and performed this song for Porter.

Second: Don Gibson wrote his two biggest hits (Oh, Lonesome Me and I Can't Stop Loving You) after his wife up and left him. He continued to send her roses on their anniversary thanking her.

Third: Elvis Presley, who recorded over half his hits in Studio B, was A) responsible for making Studio B famous--he preferred it over Studio A, and B) requested or made arrangements for light fixtures that held four different colored light bulbs. He liked to set the mood while recording songs.



In fact, if you listen closely at the end of an original recording of Are You Lonesome Tonight? you can hear a thud.  To set the mood, the lights ended up being turned completely off and Elvis hit his head on the microphone.




For the rest of my pictures of the Ryman Auditorium and the Studio B Tour, visit my Shutterfly Share page.

And there's still more to come! I hope you'll stay tuned.