April 20-23, 2010

Nashville, TN

We got a little later start than we had planned to, but at least we missed the heavier traffic. We arrived with some daylight left and called to see if we could get into our campsite site a day early at the Seven Points Campground on Percy Priest Lake. We were in luck and had a beautiful site close to the lake with plenty of privacy. The dam, reservoir, lake, and 19,000 acres are all part of the US Army Corps of Engineers Project. It is by far one of the nicest campgrounds that we have stayed in. When we went out to our picnic table the next morning to cook breakfast, there was some wild turkeys and a female mallard duck on the grass. After breakfast, we strolled down to the lake and sat at the beach.

The campsites right on the water were beautiful and we made a mental note of the numbers in case we come back and want to reserve a spot. It is hard to believe that this gem is only 15 minutes from downtown Nashville. 

Music City was calling our name and there was a lot to see. We parked across from the famous Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry and now a premier performance facility. We walked down to Broadway and immediately could hear the music pouring out of the bars.

We stopped at the Somment Center where the Visitor Center is located, along with the Bridgestone Arena, home of the Predators hockey team.

As soon as I saw that Bon Jovi was playing (Circle Tour), we headed to get tickets.

Fortunately, we had several hours to kill before the show. After walking around checking out the sites, we found a bar called Legends Corner, on the Honky Tonk Highway. Thanks Seth Thompson for the tip! The band was great and we loved the bar. The walls were decorated with album covers, many that we used to own.

From there, we moved on to a bar called Toosies to listen to more good music. Willie Nelson got his first songwriting job after singing here.

Before the concert, we went to Rippy’s Smokin’ Bar and Grill for some pulled pork and cold beer. We met a couple from Knoxville, TN, also waiting for the concert. The guy grew up not far from our hometown and immediately knew that we were from upstate NY. Apparently, we still have a bit of an accent. It was finally time for the Bob Jovi concert.

We had fantastic seats and what a show. After 27 years of performing, he and the band are as good as ever. Richie Sambora is still amazing on the guitar. This was definitely a highlight of our Nashville trip. Of course, we had to go back to Broadway and listen to some more local musicians before calling it a night. When we got back to the parking lot, the attendant talked our ear off. He married a woman from Wasilla and loves Alaska. He said that he kept a good eye on our truck.

On Thursday, we spent the day at the Lake. I walked and read, enjoying the peacefulness. Since we only had one day left, we had to make some choices. Our first stop was an obscure music store called Third Man Records to buy some White Stripes and Dead Weather t-shirts for our son, Eric. We decided to save the Grand Ole Opry for the next trip and go to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. It was three floors of country music’s roots, legendary instruments, original lyric sheets, memorabilia, and some amazing exhibits. The Hank Williams family, Brenda Lee, and Ernest Tubb exhibits were featured and did not disappoint.

As we were walking out, we stopped at the elegant Hall of Fame rotunda and saw all of the inductees since Country Music's early beginnings. From there, we walked to the famed Printer’s Alley but not too much was going on so we went to Robert’s Western World to have a bite to eat and listen to some traditional country music. The Don Kelly Band was playing when we got there and was fantastic, especially the guitarist, JD Simo. Wow, could he pick. There is no doubt that his young guy will be going places in the music world. We had a great evening and left shortly after listening to Brazilbilly featuring the owner of the bar. Even though we enjoyed their music, we had a full day and were ready to head for the 5th wheel. We had a long day ahead of us on our last leg of our adventure.
Where we are:

View Larger Map