Above: Vince Gill
Although we are not country music fans, our exploration of America and Nashville would not be complete without a visit to one its most famous musical institutions, The Grand Ole Opry.
The evening we attended proved to be an interesting mix of old and new. By new, I mean the hottie Jake Owen dressed in a black T-shirt and tight fitting black jeans singing music that just barely qualifies as country (just add a steel guitar and a fiddle and all of a sudden it’s called country) but, he could sell “country music” to anyone, including me. By old, I mean 90 year old Jimmy Dickens covered in Rhinestones(who wishes he were Jake Owen) singing more of what I what consider “real” country music. The eclectic line-up also included Jeannie Seely, Ed Brown, Sunny Sweeney, Bobby Osborne and the Rocky Top Express, The Whites, Jack Greene, Lee Greenwood and Vince Gill. We heard everything from edgy modern country to yodeling(Lil’ Dude’s favorite) with a smattering of stand-up comedy(Big Dude’s favorite). All that wrapped together with a live radio broadcast proved to a unique and enjoyable experience for all of us.
We made a trip to the Farmer’s Market, a free and fun way to get a little of the “local color” and pick up some fresh produce. Below: The Dudes discuss the finer points of produce selection.
For a little outdoor adventure, we drove over to the Shelby-Bottoms Greenway. It is a 820 acre park which is a wetland environment located along the Cumberland River. It’s got wonderful hiking/Biking trails but, our hike got cut short because of the sweltering heat. Evidently, the Charleston weather is catching up to us. Time to go North!
Can you locate ALL of the Cicada’s?
The campground was having a customer appreciation weekend while we were there and treated us to two cookouts and a concert on our last night, yeehaw!
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