Saturday in Music City

We knew that we were back in Big Orange Country when we heard the band belt out "Wish that I was on ole Rocky Top,...!" during the prelaunch show on the General Jackson Paddle Boat. Today we relaxed and just took it easy. After sleeping in, we drove to the temporary parking lot for the General Jackson Riverboat cruise. Due to the damage from the spring floods, things are still getting back to normal in the Music Valley section of Nashville. The water got incredibly high out near the Opry House. The shops are all being worked on and the Gaylord Opryland Hotel is not due to reopen until November.

We made it quickly to the place we got the bus. Klep got us there using surface streets which were very low traffic this morning. Most of the traffic headed to the rainbow laden celebration down by the river in Nashville of Pride of the gay, lesbian, and transgender folks was a little later getting started later. Since we were some of the first people there, we got our own explanation about how the area was effected by the floods from our bus driver.










Now, looking at the docile Cumberland River, it is hard to imagine the water level being 40 to 50 feet higher than it is today.

We enjoyed sitting on the top deck listening to the music as our fellow passengers came on board. We did not have a full house today. There was a lot of fun had by all of us. One little boy really got into the music, dancing in front of the band. Many of the other passengers were up dancing, too. Just before we started moving we were called to lunch. We had an diverse group at our table including a young couple from Arlington, Texas celebrating their fifth anniversary, a couple of eighty year old widowers from Colorado and Phoenix, a couple from Hendersonville, Tennessee celebrating their thirty-seventh anniversary, and a mother and daughter who didn't share information. Our conversation was lively with sharing tourist information and just talking and laughing. We were served family style which was facilitated with the lazy Susan in the middle of the table. The salad was particularly good with lots of good leaf lettuces and tasty blue cheese dressing. Our entree included grilled chicken with mixed vegetables and glazed ham with hot potato salad. The cheese cake was tasty with a good texture. The service was excellent.

By the time we had finished the dessert, we were nearing downtown and we went on deck to get the view of the skyline and the riverside park where we could see the
celebrants and hear the loud rock band that was playing. I think the fourteen thousand that the news had said would be in attendance was somewhat of an exaggeration.

As we turned around, the stage show started. The show was a combination of country, gospel, and comedy. The feature Tim Watson was actually quite a good fiddle player and his back up group were the same musicians we had enjoyed earlier. The biggest laughs came when Tim said that if they would turn us Southerners loose to catch Osama Ben Laden, we would turn it into a tournament, offer a prize of a new four wheel drive pickup truck, and get it done.

We disembarked around three p.m. and headed back to the center of town where the traffic had definitely picked up. After we turned the car over to the valet, we freshened up and set off to catch the downtown shuttle to the Friest art gallery. By the time the shuttle came, we knew our time would be limited, so we ended up on Music Row where we enjoyed an ice cream cone and people watched. As we meandered down the street, we heard the sounds of bands coming out of most of the joints including Tootsie's Orchid Lounge. We waited for another shuttle to take us back toward the Hotel Indigo, and when one finally came, it just kept on going. I guess it was the driver's time to quit.

Our six block trek up the hill to our hotel was healthy. To reward ourselves for all that exercise in the Nashville heat, we stopped in at the Starbucks downstairs and rewarded ourselves with cold drinks: chocolate chip Creme for me, Vanilla bean Creme for Klep.

Are we going to the Ryman for the Opry tonight? No. We have done this before and tonight we are just going to kick back and listen to music on TV. Tomorrow we will finish our Nashville segment and head out late afternoon. It looks like worship and the Hermitage will be our main focuses tomorrow and then we will head toward Lebanon on Hwy 70.