Yes, I am home. Arrived in Chetek about 3:15 today. We made sure everyone was on their way, then bought a few groceries, came home and put everything away and made supper, then Dad had to leave for the Garage. But that gave me a nice quiet evening to wind down, do laundry, etc.
The trip went well and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. I was pleased with how it went, but must admit it wasn’t my favorite. Just too much country music… But then it was Nashville.
Once we got there, we spent the first day touring the city for about 3 hours, then visiting the Grand Ole Opry hotel/convention center, which is the biggest convention center in the country. It is amazing, with 4 garden areas with acres of glass roof atop them and a river running through one of them. You can actually ride flatboats around and look at the garden and fish and so on. I took lots of pictures of flowers. That evening we went out to eat at a really cool place – an old fashioned house made into a restaurant. The meal was wonderful. That night we went to The Grand Ole Opry. It is actually a live radio show, too, and was being taped for t.v. that night, as well. A lot of commercials… Famous entertainers, but I didn’t know them!
The next day we went to the Country Music Hall of Fame in the morning and then were dropped off in downtown Nashville to shop for a few hours. I got rather bored, but did have some ice cream and walked along the riverfront park, and bought and wrote out the postcards I sent you all. That night we went to a dinner theater and had another wonderful meal and saw a great show. They weren’t famous, but were really good. But…. more country music.
The third day was my favorite. We went to the Tennessee Agricultural Museum in the morning, then went out to eat at Cracker Barrel (where group leaders eat free 🙂 ) then went to the Fontanel Mansion built by Barbara Mandrell’s husband for their family. It is a log cabin mansion and is absolutely amazing. And the tour guides were country singers of lesser reknown, but still very good. They even had c.d.s for sale. (Everyone must be a musician in Nashville!) That evening we had a party just for the three Diamond Tours groups, back at that Grand Ole Opry Hotel complex. The entertainment was great and the food was great and it was a really good time.
All in all, I got a greater appreciation for country music, and the talent that some country western musicians have and how country music is about everyday life.
On the trip home, we also stopped at the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. That was really interesting. I could have stayed longer, but we had a long drive yet. We didn’t get to our hotel last night until almost bedtime, but when I opened my door and discovered I had a jacuzzi, I didn’t care! What a treat. (The whole week in the Nashville hotel, I had a suite, too. Very nice accommodations.)
But I am glad to be home and have another trip behind me. I just want life to get back to normal. (Does that ever happen..?)
Welcome home!