April 26th: Whew! What a night! We were glued to the Weather Channel yesterday evening watching a very ominous line of strong thunderstorms work their way towards us. Around 2:00 a.m., the wind picked up, and the weather map showed a dark red squall front right on top of us. Heard what sounded like a loud nearby explosion (probably an electric transformer). That was it. We decided to slog to the fortified cinder block shelter of the men's room. Guess we were a little paranoid, as no one else came in. Things began to calm down after about a half hour, so we headed back to the trailer. We were able to sleep until 7:00 as Cooper was good to us. (Still felt very tired in the morning.) True adventure!
We had fun today scouting out the Grand Ole Opry House and grounds. Luckily, it is only a couple of miles from our RV park, and the parking is free! It is a beautifully landscaped site with plenty of open space around it. The facility (reminds me of the Redding Civic Auditorium) was extensively repaired in the past few months after a devastating flood ruined the lower floors, and destroyed many valuable musical instruments. A huge, lavish shopping mall located next to the Opry is entirely closed and fenced off, undergoing renovations due to the flood.
Next, we headed through a maze of freeways to Downtown Nashville, which is studded with some very distinctive skyscrapers, including the Bat Building (looks like Batman's helmet), that AT&T built. We took a self-guided tour of the Ryman Auditorium, built in 1891 as a church, and later converted to an acoustically perfect performance venue that became the home of the Grand Ole Opry for 40 years. The place has a fascinating history, complete with some very unique characters. The entire history of Country Music is on display here, complete with original costumes. Very interesting!
We walked around the corner to the most famous of the Nashville Honky Tonks, Tootisie's Orchid Lounge. This is where many famous artists got their start. Frankly, the place is about as far from an orchid as Nashville is from Moscow – Russia, not Idaho, that is! This place is the real deal. It is dark, dank and foreboding. The tin ceiling is coal-black from the smoke residue of countless cigarettes. The unpainted wooden floors are as black as the ceiling. Its walls are entirely covered with yellowing personally signed posters, and pictures of Country Music greats. A signed picture of a very young-looking Merle Haggard was right next to our table, which was covered with graffiti, as was the wood framing on the walls. A country band tuned up, conducted endless sound checks, and finally got going with a rousing set that was really good! Next, we are off to a performance at the Grand Ole Opry tonight at 7:00. I'll fill you in! The thunderstorms are holding off until late tonight, thank heavens.
No comments:
Post a Comment