Yuki (and Brody's) RV Adventures: April 2018

Greetings from The Music City (there was supposed to be a guitar in my hands, but Brody ate it), so all you get is this one.

Mom won an Adventure Caravan RV rally in Nashville, Tennesse. Unlike a caravan that travels from city to city, we stayed at a motorhome park in Nashville and for 11 days mom and dad were taken on tours in the area (along with 100 others).Mom and Dad discovered "large group" and structured travel was not their cup of tea, but they made the best of it!

I regret to inform you that dogs were not allowed on any of the tours, and sometimes mom and dad would be gone for 8-10 hours. Luckily, they were offered the services of Helping Hands Pet care and arranged for Sara to come and walk us and give us treats. Unfortunately, the first day didn't go too well. Even though Brody had met Sara the day before when she showed up to walk us he went ballistic and would not even come to her or go out for a walk. But there was a silver lining, the next day she showed up with extra special treats and Brody met her at the door.

From then on Sara became his new girlfriend.

Here are some of the highlights of their time in Nashville. Hopefully, I won't bore you with too many details.

One of their first trips was to Fontanel, a 33,000 square foot log cabin mansion, once the home of country music megastar, Barbara Mandrell. The mansion has over 30 rooms and each was filled with mementos and memorabilia,

including the piano used by Jerry Lee Lewis

and lots of guitars signed by their owners.

Mom can't remember who this one belonged to and her arm is hiding the signature, but it was someone famous.

It even had a shooting gallery

and a dance floor now covers the old swimming pool

Another day they toured RCA Studio B

It was the second recording studio in Nashville and operated from1957 to 1977 - where so many famous artists recorded their hits. A early photo of Dolly Parton & Porter Wagoner

Elvis

and his piano

and the original recording machine

Next stop was the Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry until 1974. It has been totally renovated and today hosts big music acts.

Lunch and line dancing at the Wildhorse Saloon

They really enjoyed their backstage tour of the Grand Ole Opry. Once you past security there is the post office, where members of the Opry receive their fan mail.

Can you guess which box is the fullest?

If you guessed Keith Urban, you are right!

They got to peek inside the private dressing rooms.

and go on stage, this is where friends and family sit,

and got to watch one of the musician's practicing

and stand on the famous 6 foot circle which was moved from the Ryman.

Another day they toured The Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson

walked through the beautiful gardens

and visited his tomb

One evening they went on their own to check out some music

as well as a few of the local breweries

They enjoyed their trip on the General Jackson Showboat

and saw a great musical show

and watched the water go through the paddles

as they viewed scenic downtown Nashville

The locals call this AT & T building "Batman" - can you see why?

Another day they took a long bus ride to Hurricane Mills to see Loretta Lynn's

ranch and mansion

her tour bus

Her kitchen is where she filmed her Criso commericals ( who remembers those?)

Mom said there is a fine line between a hoarder and a collector and Loretta fit somewhere in between, she kept every dress and memento she ever owned, believe me there is a huge museum to showcase it all...