not Disneyland.
It is Nashville Tennessee :)
It is incredibly beautiful and the people are so kind.
In a year from now I will be living in this wonderful place :)
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| I'm off to the land of Oz where dreams come true! |
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| This is Broadway street. |
Broadway is the happening place.
Bars and shops line the street and live music spills out into the open air.
You can be listening to a wonderful rendition of a George Strait song and then five steps later a modernized version of Hank Williams has caught your ear.
It is one of the coolest things I've ever experienced.
It was so hard to decided where to sit down and listen, everyone was great.
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| The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. I spend 7 hours in this place! |
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| Backstage passes and tickets |
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| This is the very piano Elvis sat at to warm up and record |
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| Studio B. The Place that Elvis and many other greats recorded. |
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| This was a wall in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum |
No matter where you go in Nashville there are awards and posters signed by stars flooding the walls.
Nashville has such a rich music history it's practically tangible.
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| Fried pickles. I guess it's a southern thing? |
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| Wild Horse Saloon |
The second night in Nashville we ate at the Wild Horse.
The first night we got there it was too late to do anything so we went to Wal-Mart and ate lunchables for dinner.
Not super exciting so we will just skip right to the good stuff.
The Wild Horse was a really clean bar with a family atmosphere.
I line danced to a live band (which was cool because I've never done that before).
I met them after the show, their band name is Brother Trouble.
They won a talent show that Kenny Chesney put on.
Rock on.
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| Brother Trouble. They were really cool and down to earth. |
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| I present to you music city! |
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| Ryman Church Auditorium |
The Ryman was the fifth home of the Grand Ol Opry.
It was used for many years.
At one point its lack of air conditioning, restrooms, and inadequate dressing rooms left it vacant.
No one wanted to play there and to the dismay of many it was shut down.
Almost 20 years later in 1992 renovations were done and it is now running as a successful concert hall and historical landmark.
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| Ryman stage |
When the Grand Ol Opry left the Ryman the Grand Ol Opry house was built.
It was flooded in May 2010 and the canvas below is one of the only things that was salvaged.
It was able to dry and still look nice but you can still see a water line.
The Opry house was submersed in 4 to 8 feet of water.
People worked around the clock for months to get it back into running condition.
The radio show didn't stop, it continued to air, and it is actually the longest airing radio show in the world.
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| The canvas that survived |
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| A backstage tour of the Grand Ol Opry House |
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| May the circle be unbroken. When The flood of 2010 hit this piece of stage floated and had very little water damage. |
The old circle in the middle of the stage may look tacky if you don't understand its significance.
When the radio show moved from the Ryman to the Grand Ol Opry house a piece of the stage was cut out so that future musicians could stand on the exact same stage as the music legends that came before them.
Elvis, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood, and many others have stood here and sang for many to hear and enjoy.
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| The Bluebird Cafe |
This is probably one of my favorite places in Nashville... or the world for that matter.
It is one of the only listening rooms left in the world.
You go in and order your food, your waitress brings it to you and then the show starts.
This is a place where songwriters come to show off their stuff and hope that a label will sign them or someone wants to record their songs.
Everyone is hush hush and you just sit and listen for hours.
You laugh, you cry, you clap, and you listen.
I heard some amazing songs there that I hope to hear on the radio some day.
This is also the place where Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, and Taylor Swift were discovered.
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| The Bluebird can only fit about 100 people so you have to come early and wait in line. |
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| This was a Christian rock benefit concert we went to at a local park |
When I go to Belmont I will go to church right across from this beautiful stream.
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| The Nashville temple |
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| Belmont University's grounds |
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| Belmont Mansion |
Belmont's campus is extremely beautiful and I love it.
I met a girl from Italy who was visiting just like me.
She and I had a lot of the same career goals and it was cool to know that I'm not completely insane.
Moving half way across the country is an intimidating thought but she wants to move half way across the WORLD!
Kudos to her and kudos to us for dreaming big :)
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| This is Belmont at first sight. It took my breath away. |
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| The gates at Graceland |
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| Just a few of Elvis Presley's awards |
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| The front of Elvis's house |
Going to Graceland I wasn't a huge Elvis fan but by the time I left I was head over heels.
There is a cool feeling there and the impact Elvis left on not only the music world but the hearts of many is astounding.
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| We went to a Grand Ol Opry show |
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| Little (4 foot 11 inches) Jimmy Dickens |
I decided if I can play the guitar as well as legendary Jimmy Dickens then I'm set.
I can play as well as him, therefore I am set.
Oh did I mention he strums and changes cords super slow?
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| Steve Warner |
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| Lisa Marie Presley |
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| Rascal Flats |
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| What better thing to do on a bridge than spit over the edge? |
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| The famous bridge of Nashville |
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| Nashville's Skyline |
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| Bye bye Nashville. I will be back in no time :) |
