Day one we mostly drove, then stayed overnight just west of Gary, IN. After we checked in, about half of us got back on the bus and drove a few minutes to a Old Country Buffet for supper. Mine and the bus driver’s were free!
Day two we finished the trip to Goodlettsville, where our hotel was. It was a very long day. We stopped for supper about an hour before arriving at the hotel and enjoyed a very good buffet. Just about the time we arrived, Nathan, Amy and gang arrived at the hotel. We celebrated Audrey’s birthday together with huge, tasty cupcakes and the opening of a few presents.
Day three we went to the Belle Mead Mansion in Nashville. It had been a huge estate where race horses were bred back in the 1800’s. The horse that was the ancestor of most of the winners of the Kentucky Derby was born and raised there. It was very interesting. Nathan’s family met us and went through that tour with us, which I greatly enjoyed. I’ll include a picture of that at the end. It was raining, so we all got a bit damp!
From there we went on to shop a while, enjoyed supper at a RainForest Cafe, then went to a performance at The Grand Ol’ Opry.
Day four started with a backstage tour of the Grand Ol’ Opry, followed by some time shopping and sightseeing downtown. Then a tour guide took us all over Nashville, explaining the history, etc. She also took us to “The Upper Room,” where they publish a daily devotional by the same name. There are pictures included from there. We also visited The Parthenon as part of that tour. Supper that night was a dinner party with live entertainment, which was just superb!
The final day in Nashville started with some time at the Country Music Hall of Fame. We then went to the Opryland Hotel, which is about the biggest hotel anywhere. We took the boat ride around the one section, then visited the other sections – there are three different gardens, all under a glass roof. We actually had a little time to go back to our hotel and rest, then we were off to a dinner theater, where we ate another buffet and enjoyed a show.
The first day on the trip home, we stopped at the Kentucky Derby museum, which is on the grounds of Churchill Downs where the race is run. We got to the hotel a little late, but about half of us decided to go to a Cracker Barrel for supper before bed. Then the final day, we just drove and got to Chetek around 4:00. Whew…
at Belle Mead Mansion
Grand Ol’ Opry house
Our group
Making turtles
Window at “Upper Room”
Parthenon
On the river in Opryland Hotel
Sounds like a really fantastic tour! I love the pictures! And how fun that you were able to meet up with Nathan & his family. 🙂
(P.S. Those turtles look amazing… I want to reach through the screen and just gobble them up!)
I had to look at the photos again because I couldn’t figure out why Erica would want to eat turtles. Ahhhh, yes, she was referring to candy and not actual living turtles. 🙂
That is too funny!! 🙂
Hahaha!