Days 79 & 80

Our campground was located just a little north and east of Nashville. We took a shuttle bus to the downtown area, right on Broadway. Broadway is a very active and loud street with music spilling out from all directions. It ends at the Nissan Arena (home of the Tennessee Titans) at one end and at the Bridgestone Arena (home of the Nashville Predators) towards the other. In the middle are about eight blocks of partytown USA.

Susan standing on the historic floor circle

Strolling it was OK, but we're not big partiers. We did see the Ryman Auditorium, which is quite historic and is still hosting musical events. We also got a bite of lunch at Hattie B's Restaurant - known for their spicy chicken.

The next day we took a tour of the Grand Ole Opry. Here's what we learned: The Grand Ole Opry is primarily a radio program broadcast on WSM radio 650 AM. It was first broadcast on October 5, 1925, 99 years ago, and has been broadcasting ever since, making it the longest-running radio broadcast in U.S. From 1943 to 1974 it was broadcast from the Ryman Auditorium. They then built the current building to house a much larger venue. In order to maintain the continuity between the Ryman and the new building, they cut a 6 foot circle out of the floor of the Ryman stage and mounted it in the key performing spot on the new stage.

Susan ordered fried pickles with her chicken sandwich.

Tomorrow we head on to Memphis.

The WSM radio station maintains a broadcast building on the grounds, and we toured that as well.