July 19, 2023
I cannot remember who told me that Nashville was a terrible place to get around especially with a long bed truck. They suggested to use Uber. We have plans for the Grand Ole Opry tonight so we opted to go to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum this morning. I had down loaded the Uber app last night and had reserved a pick up for 9:30AM this morning. I later discovered this act cost us an additional $10. After scanning prices of several attractions, I thought the area was a little pricey but it is tourist season.
Our Uber driver was right on time and we had a nice ride to the museum. We had also prepaid for admission tickets so once we entered, it was a breeze to go through the process to enter. We opted for the Audio Tour for $5 more. It was well worth it as it explained a lot about what we were seeing. The tour starts on the third floor and you work your way down. The exhibits are only on 2 floors. The first is shops, offices, etc. Of course the tour starts with the beginning of country music. At one time it was called country and western but it truly is a blend of several different styles. The museum has some great displays and artifacts. Seeing some of the names of the earlier pioneers of country music brought back memories to my younger days. As a child I remember watching Hee Haw every Saturday night. I also remember attending the Grand Ole Opry when I was very young. The location was the Ryman Auditorium. It is still a music venue but not the home of the Grand Ole Opry.
There were a lot of educational displays. I learned a lot. The museum was a great time. We chose an oversized guitar pick as our Christmas ornament. It’s very cool. After the museum we decided to walk the two blocks up to Broadway. Broadway is also known as the Honky Tonk Highway. There are several bar/restaurants along Broadway. We could see the Ryman Auditorium from Broadway. I also remember the Ernest Tubb Record Store. It was a couple doors down from our eatery. We chose Rippy’s BBQ. They had seating on a balcony or two above street level. We stayed on the first floor. From every bar along the street a live band was playing. The sounds were overwhelming. Since I wasn’t driving a beer sounded good. I selected a local bottle of beer and it was quite good. We got a sampler platter of appetizers and some loaded pulled pork nachos. Way too much food. Did not realize the portions were so large. We took some home with us. When we finished eating, we caught another Uber back to the campground. We had time to rest and relax for a bit and then shower for our next event.
COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM PICTURES
The Grand Ole Opry is located next to Opry Mills Mall. It was relatively easy to get to so we drove the short distance. We had paid for parking close to the venue. Once we got there we were told where to park and that if we so desired, there were golf cart shuttles to take us from the parking lot up to the Opry. We had no sooner gotten out of the truck when we hailed a nearby golf cart. We were dropped off right at the front doors. It was great. The driver was very nice and explained who was performing tonight and where to stand to get a ride back to the parking lot.
The seating inside the Opry is pews. This is just like in Ryman. The reason is that Ryman was a church at one time. Nancy walked around a little and decided that there was no bad seat in the house.
The shows are telecast on Circle TV as well as simulcast on WSM Radio. There were large “ON AIR” signs that were lit during broadcast. The timing is right on the money for this reason. The opening act was Riders In The Sky. They have been around for a very long time. They did 3 numbers and then the next act came out, Zach Top. And then we saw and heard Mike Snider and Rhett Walker before intermission. There was a 15 minute intermission, T.G. Sheppard opened the second half and then we heard from Bobby Bones. He was a comedian not a singer but he was funny. The next act was making her Grand Ole Opry debut, Kasey Tyndall. And the closing act was Charlie McCoy. He is another one that has been around for years.
It was a great night. The music was great. The venue was gorgeous. We had a great time. After the show we decided that we would try and walk across the wooden bridge to get to the parking lot. It was not very far at all. The weather was warm and humid but not too bad. What a day! Time to go home and get some sleep.
