15 Jul Spent Our Anniversary in Nashville – Part I

Hello friends!

We spent our Anniversary and my birthday in Nashville, Tennessee. Music City did not disappoint!

Nashville Here we come!

Yes, we just returned recently from my mom’s 80th celebration at the Isle of Palms, and planned a 4 day excursion to Nashville, for the first time.

Perhaps it was my mom’s 80th, or the fact that I turned 56 that has me wanting to explore and travel more. I didn’t experience a lot of traveling in my 20’s and 30’s, so I want to enjoy seeing new places now. I feel like it’s never too late!

We stayed at a dog friendly, Hyatt Hotel, the Hyatt Centric and were in the hustle and bustle of the city. Funnily, the search for some greenery and patch of grass for the dogs is somewhat elusive in the city, so each morning we made our way to the park.

The pups had never seen such a view on the 14th floor and were mesmerized by all of the sights! Especially my girl Truffles, so it gave them some entertainment when we were out and about.

Packing wise, whether it’s 4 days or 2 weeks I pack a small suitcase and have learned to become quite efficient at it.

Whats this ? A Record player?  This was in our hotel room.

They loved looking at the goings on of Nashville and City life!

Country Music Hall of Fame

My favorite part of the trip was the Country Music Hall of Fame, with too much to write about here, I will tell you it is worth seeing. I am not a die-hard country fan, but I do appreciate great musicianship.  Three floors of exhibits gives you quite the experience.  We saw the Patty Loveless exhibit, Johnny Cash, and all of the original country stars, on the 3rd floor where you began the tour. It was self -guided, and I must have taken pictures of every guitar that was played.  So many guitars were adorned with pearl inlay in the name of the artist on the neck. Other guitars, such as Taylor Swift’s was a= covered in rhinestones. We heard about the Country artists that made up the show “Hee Haw” ( remember that?  ) and it did bring back memories.

Minnie Pearl, or the lady in the hat with a price tag, became one of the predominant members and also a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Dolly Parton was in rhinestones and prominent in the Hall and Fame and the Opry.

There was Elvis’ souped-up Cadillac with switches in the back for everything you could imagine. There was a phone, a television, a refrigerator, all gold plated. It was so large, besides the gold plated parts of the car, you would see it coming a mile away!

The second and third floor were other artists and their instruments, a wall with plaques demonstrating the Hall of Fame Members, and the newer, Nashville sound of Country music. From Tom Petty, to Neil Young, Taylor Swift, Darius Rutger, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and many others. Chris Stapleton is a favorite.

I could write more, but just know that if you go, you may need more than two hours, as there is so much to see. Guitars from Gretch, Martin, Taylor, and more were displayed, and I noticed that some of the older country stars played some Martins where the models were quite small.

RCA-Studio B Records

Another must see is the RCA studio, where Elvis and Dolly first recorded. It was a great tour, going initially by bus, and then to the studio, where we could see the history of Elvis’ journey with RCA records as well as here some of the history of the players that recorded there as well.

Led by a tour guide, we went into the RCA recording studio and could see the equipment that was used as well as where the legendary recordings were made. We heard a recording off when Elvis would do 3-4 takes on a song and turned the lights out for the mood to create the song,             .

Very impressive for it’s day, the studio is still used today by current artists.

Steinway piano at Studio B- ready to play a duet!

Fashion Notes

I have a feeling we could reach half way around the world, with the amount of denim I saw in 4 days. The number one attire seemed to be denim shorts, and many also wore jeans (More 90s wide leg style). I can’t wear jeans in 97-degree heat! Myriads of younger girls (we learned many bachelorette parties) made their way down the street in short dresses and cowboy boots. I even saw a shop where you could buy 2 pairs of boots and get the third free, which I am sure enticed many people.

Skulls Rainbow Room