Saturday morning was cloudy and cool again, a good day to be on the road again, heading towards Nashville. At the Tennessee Welcome Center we thought we should call to book a campsite. It’s a good thing we did. Our first two choices, the ones nearest the Grand Ole Opry, were already booked solid. Fortunately, KOA Nashville North had a spot with electric and water, but no sewer. It was twelve miles away from the Opry, but the shuttle bus was available. Jim had already purchased tickets for that night, so we took the site.

We arrived late afternoon (we were in a new time zone), giving us just enough time to hook up, make and eat a quick super and catch the shuttle bus. It cost us $35.00 and it took over an hour to get to our destination because there were other pickups along the way, but it was worth it to not have to navigate heavy traffic on the motorcycle. We had a bit of a walk from the drop-off point to the theatre, and our seats were way up in the nose-bleed section, which meant a few flights of stairs to navigate. After a day of sitting, it felt good to get some exercise and it was a beautiful night. I was glad that I had on comfortable shoes though, unlike one young woman on the bus who chose to wear five-inch heels, because they were “cute.” We had to wait for her to walk to the bus both going and coming.

Despite the distance from the stage, we enjoyed the evening. Large screens gave us a view of what we couldn’t see on the stage. It was mostly a night of old-timers, like 94 year old Little Jimmy Dickens, and 80 years old Jean Shepard. A few newer upcoming stars included Jon Pardi, One More Girl, and Charles Esten. I have to admit that while I enjoy all sorts of music, I am not a follower of Country Music Stars, so the names meant nothing to me. As long as I can tap my toes and clap my hands, I’m happy, and I did plenty of that. We almost missed the shuttle back because we got turned around when we got back outside and headed for the wrong parking lot! But the girl with the shoes saved us.

It was late when we got back to the RV, and cold. We had to turn the furnace on for a bit before climbing into bed.

In the morning my body was protesting the physical exertion and late night (arthritis has become a frequent companion) so it took some time for me to get going. Eventually I felt able to ride on the motorcycle. We ventured into downtown Nashville, which took us only about twenty minutes.

One of the many bars/restaurants in the downtown

Waiting for the Trolly Tour

The sun was hot and we soon had to strip off our extra layers of clothing. We bought tickets for the Trolley Tour and then walked up Broadway Ave and bought hot dogs from a street vendor while we waited the hour for our turn. We got off the trolley only once, to take a look in the shop of the Antique Archaeologists. I was interested to learn that the historic Fisk University was founded in 1865 exclusively for the education of Blacks. We roamed some more on Broadway Avenue, poking around in shops and listening to performers through the open windows of Honky-tonks before getting back onto the bike to return to the Opry House area for dinner at the Aquarium Restaurant where we ate sea food while watching all sorts of exotic fish swim by in the enormous round fish tank in the centre of the room. That felt a little weird, but the fish were friendly and fascinating to watch.

An hour later we were once again ready to call it a day.