Weekend Trip - The Grand Ole Opry

After leaving Clarksville, we were bound for the heart of country music, Nashville, Tennessee and the Grand Ole Opry.

Some history about the Opry - the short version anyway (You can find the long version here): The Grand Ole Opry was the brainchild of the National Life & Accident Insurance Company. They wanted to start their own radio station back in 1925, and they started a program on Saturday nights called the WSM Barn Dance. The program was broadcast from a studio in the Insurance Company's building. Over time, the show's popularity grew, and eventually required a move to allow for the live audience. They spent until 1974 at the Ryman Auditorium, when they moved to their new home at the Opry House. The Opry is actually a radio show that is broadcast nationwide now, and also includes a television show as well.

We were there to go on a backstage tour of the Opry. The Opry House is a part of a larger complex, which includes the Opry Mills shopping mall. So we made our way over there. Fun with the GPS unit reminded us that while the thing is usually pretty good with directions, it's not always quite right about pronunciation. As we drove up, we "arrived" at the "Grand Oh-Lee Opry". Not quite. The more interesting thing on this road was this:

Yup. That is a 24 mile per hour speed limit. Not a 25. Not a 20. 24 mph speed limit. The things you see sometimes.... Anyway.






As we walked around, we saw that they had a Charlie Brown on Ice program nearby. The program had ended in early January, but was still setup on the outside. Can anyone guess what this picture is supposed to represent?

Once we were done with the Peanuts, we headed to the tour of the Opry.  The tour was lead by a very nice elderly woman who was most likely in her 80s. The funny part to us was the fact that she had been good friends with both Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff.  Minnie Pearl is to your right. And both her and Roy, sadly, have been deceased for almost 15 years. So it was a bit unusual to see a person that knew them both, and was still working at the Opry. Both were Opry performers, but Pearl was probably a little more famous, known for having left the price tag on her hat (which you may be able to see in the photo).


Some of you may recognize this next picture. The following is the stage at the Opry. It is pretty well recognizable at this point. There is also a round portion from the original stage of the Opry that they placed near where the spotlights are pointing. We didn't get to walk on the stage, since they had just finished polishing and redoing the floor.

Every year, the Opry, from November through January, returns to their previous home at the Ryman Auditorium to allow for some maintenance to be done at the Opry House.

The thing that I really found interesting with the Opry is that they don't really have any specific criteria for admitting new members. Musicians from multiple genres have been admitted, but there is no set timeframe, career length, or success level that determines how they get in. As they put it, it's basically a relationship that is built between the artist and the Opry. So you'll see artists who have been around for only a few years (Carrie Underwood) who are in, but artists that have been around for a long time may not be (Faith Hill). Opry artists, by being admitted, are making a commitment to perform at least 10 times at the Opry each year.

All in all, it was actually a very interesting tour. I didn't really think I'd enjoy it particularly, but I was pleasantly surprised. A big piece of history there.

Tomorrow: The last of this weekend's trip posts: Mammoth Caves

Travels and the Holidays

We spent a little more than a week back home visiting with our families in California. It's really hard to argue that air travel is inconvenient, since you can catch a flight from one coast, and arrive almost anywhere in the country within 8 hours of leaving.

• I really look forward to living somewhere closer to an airport than we have in the past two assignments. Murray is just shy of 2 hours from Nashville, and that would definitely qualify as the closest airport. As a result, to catch our 8 am flight back to California, we left the house at 3 am. Not a whole lot of fun to be sure.
• Nashville has a really nice airport. I think I may have been through there before once, but I can't be sure. Either way, it was very comfortable waiting for our flight there.
• Our flight stopped over in Las Vegas, and the slot machines do not take change in the airport. Not that we had remembered to bring any, but I guess I could have gotten some cash out of the ATM, but I was not really feeling it. Probably saved myself some money that way I imagine.
• It is amazing to me how many flights end up being early arriving. I know that they leave themselves some leeway, and it seems like something I probably shouldn't be complaining about.
• Leave it to air travel to cause me to get sick. I spent the majority of the week being sick, and a large portion unfortunately sharing as well. Sorry to all my relatives that caught this. It's awful.
• We had a great Christmas, and really enjoyed the time spent with the family. It had been a couple of months since we had seen them, and was definitely enjoyable.
• We flew American on our return flight, which was our first time flying with them. They actually provide a pretty good experience in terms of a flight. The plane was comfortable, the seating not too close together, and the staff very easy going. All-in-all, a very pleasurable experience.

Now that we're back, we're hoping to really start exploring the surrounding area.