Tennes-"see"-it!

October 27 - November 10, 2020

On our way from Iowa to Nashville, we spent a couple of nights at Camp Lakewood Campground located in Effingham, IL.  This was a beautiful campground we really enjoyed!  The one downside was the temperatures!  We actually had to pull out our winter jackets and PJ's!  Haha!  It's time to be getting a bit farther south!

We camped at Nashville North KOA while we were in that area.  It's a KOA, so not a whole lot to say about the RV park itself other than it's safe, quiet and in a good location for proximity to seeing Nashville area sites!

We spent the better part of a day touring Ryman Auditorium – so cool!  It was originally built as a  church in 1892.  When they discovered the congregation could not financially support the building, they allowed the building to be used as an entertainment venue.  Before long, it became known as the "Mother Church of Country Music".  Well worth the time to see this historical building!

The Grand Ole Opry was once housed in Ryman Auditorium; however, as time took its toll on Ryman, they decided to build a new venue for The Grand Ole Opry.  We took a back stage tour which was really interesting.  The "new" (built in 1974) stage includes a circle of the original Ryman Auditorium floor.  For new artists to be invited to join The Grand Ole Opry and to stand in that circle and preform on stage is often a highlight in that artist's life.  During our tour, we were able to pose for a picture standing in the circle.  Can't help but think of all the people who have stood in that spot!

We also toured the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.  Architecturally, the building looks very much like a keyboard!  The Museum is filled with an unbelievable amount of artifacts, including a car that belonged to Elvis and another that was used in filming Smokey and the Bandit!

Broadway Avenue is the nighttime hotspot in downtown Nashville.  Up and down the avenue is one restaurant/bar after another each offering live music.  We found that, as long as we went in the morning and stayed for lunch, the crowds were really minimal.  We enjoyed outdoor dining on a couple of occasions on Broadway Avenue.  The live music was a lot of fun!   One place we went to was the Wild Horse Saloon.  We had been there decades ago (Brandon may remember two-stepping with me!) and it was fun to be back.  Other venues took Wild Horse’s place as the hot spot to be, so the small number of patrons there was comforting (COVID-wise).

Downtown is a pedestrian bridge that crosses the Cumberland River over to the Tennessee Titan’s Stadium.  It offers a spectacular view of the skyline and of the stadium.  I'm sure it is heavily used on football game days as a path to the stadium!

Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage is located about 20 miles from downtown Nashville.  They have maintained the property really well!  Taking a tour of the grounds is amazing in itself!  There is a small restaurant on the grounds that offers wine tasting, so we couldn't resist selecting a glass of wine to enjoy as we strolled the grounds that Andrew Jackson once called home.  Still standing is his original log cabin home.  He and his family lived there for nearly 20 years before building and moving into the mansion.  

Searching out ways to burn energy off our dog, Frankie, is a daily activity.  We found several trails for Frankie to get some exercise as well as us!

We took a day trip back to Kentucky (one hour away) to visit Mammoth Cave National Park.  Dogs are allowed on the trails, so Frankie got to come with us on this adventure.  They also had a self-serve dog kennel Frankie spent time in while we did some spelunking!  I actually can't believe I went into a cave.  I'm claustrophobic, so it took me some time to build up the courage!  Once I got in the cave, I found the cave to be appropriately named!  It's MAMMOTH and certainly nothing to be feared!

After leaving Nashville, we spent 3 days in the Gatlinburg area.  We stayed at Greenbrier Campground (which I highly recommend for RVs!).  This RV park is located on the banks of Little Pigeon River, making the campsite itself beautiful!  It's also about five miles outside of Gatlinburg, so it is away from all of the crowds and hustle-bustle of Gatlinburg.  Our time there was a bit rainy, but we still made it into Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We hiked on several trails and found a few waterfalls!  Gatlinburg was VERY busy, so we stayed away from all of the cute shops and restaurants.  We did find an artsy area that very few tourists had found and enjoyed walking around that area.  

We knew when we started out of this adventure that there would be days that didn't go exactly as planned.  Well, leaving Gatlinburg was one of those days.  We were completely hitched up and went to check our fifth wheel's tail lights before we pulled out (as we always do) and found we didn't have any tail lights!  The power cord had apparently become wrapped around the hitch and had pulled the cord, fraying several of the wires.  Fortunately, Dick had joined CoachNet, which found a mobile mechanic to come and do the necessary repair.  Because this was a safety item, CoachNet even paid for the service call, which was the bulk of the bill.  The mechanic was very knowledgeable and had us on our way an hour after he arrived.  It did take him a couple of hours to get to us, but we were so very thankful for his help.  We had tried calling a couple of local mobile mechanics the RV park had recommended and they had NO availability to come that day at all!  God is so good and continues to bless us!

Next up:  South Carolina!