My Day In Nashville

I survived my big day in Nashville. Good thing I spent the first 4 days in Charlotte, easing myself into this Southern thing. I have to admit, I felt like a fish out of water down there. It was definitely an interesting experience! I had the pleasure of meeting and spending half a day with some TRUE rednecks. They were quite amusing, as I’m sure I was to them.

The first half of the day we toured the Gibson Guitar factory. The tour took 3 full hours and I truly can not believe how much I learned during that time. It was fascinating. When I first discovered the price of most guitars, I thought they were expensive. But after seeing all the work that goes into making them, they suddenly seem like a bargain. If I had to guess, I would say a minimum of 100 different people have a part in building each guitar. And you would be amazed to see how much hand work is still involved. Knowing that John and Jamie (and maybe Ang & Dad) would be interested in the process, I took lots of pictures and posted them (along with captions) online here.

After the tour at Gibson we visited the Opryland Hotel. I have heard of the Grand Ole Opry before, but never this hotel. Everyone in Charlotte kept insisting that you can’t go to Nashville and not check this place out. It’s a hotel, how great can it be? Well, it was amazing. This is the largest hotel in the country that doesn’t have a casino in it. Who would have thunk that it’s in the middle of Tennessee?

It took us just about an hour to walk around inside. The courtyard of the hotel includes 9 acres of indoor lush, tropical gardens. There are waterfalls everywhere and you can even take a gondola ride inside the waterways. You would think you were in Disney Land. I took a few pictures to share with you and posted them online here.

I’m very happy to be back home (in Yankee land). After the typical flight delays, lost luggage, and all around travel woes, I’m not eager to travel again soon. And next time, I’m bringing my own soup!