I loved Nashville! - and French Lick

We were happy to hear that Sharon could go along with us to our next stop – Nashville.  We planned to see her daughter Morgan who attends Vanderbilt U there, and she didn’t want to miss out on the fun.  So, on Feb 1, we left for Nashville by way of French Lick, Indiana.  A basketball hero of Jim’s – Celtic stand-out Larry Bird – was from there, and Jim always remembered the name of his hometown.  When he saw it wouldn’t be too far out of the way, we made the detour.

French Lick Baden Springs Resort

We wound through the back roads of Indiana, before arriving at French Lick - and an enormous hotel.  The French Lick and Baden Springs Resort was started in 1845.  A famous destination years ago known for its hot springs, it has been restored to its former grandeur.  We stopped for lunch – and to explore.  The main building has a central domed atrium that must soar 100 feet high – and span 200 feet across.  We enjoyed a restful lunch there, surrounded by this space filled with light and color.  

We then went to a local bar named 33^rd Brick Street.  While Larry Bird is not an owner, he has donated a lot of his personal collection to the owners who were high school friends of his.  A number of his jerseys are hung around the room.  As Sharon and I were taking pictures of Jim next to the jerseys, the owner came over and said – “Here, try this one on.”  She held out a warm-up jacket of Bird’s for Jim to try on.  Imagine our joy when she then said “This is his jacket from the 1992 Olympics Dream Team.”  (As you can see, the USA woven into the fabric lights up after dark.)

Jim in Dream Team Olympic jacket

We really enjoyed Nashville!  We were there for only two days, but Nashville came across as friendly, full of music, youthful, laid back.  People just seemed happy.  

Some of the more interesting spots:

• Music Row - You drive down the street of Music Row and see flags or banners flying outside the music studios, each proclaiming their stars’ most recent number one hit.  But, what surprised me is that most, if not all, of these music studios are located in ordinary houses.  I was taken aback, but Sharon gave it a new perspective.  She said, “I like that they are in houses.  It represents how many of these country singers live and blend into normal life around here.  Country music reflects and is part of everyday life.” 
• Grand Old Opry – What began as a simple radio broadcast in 1925, has now been around for over ninety years.  I had first gone to the Grand Old Opry as a seventeen-year old with my sister Sharon, and remembered loving it.  (I believe I saw Minnie Pearl on stage that night, and definitely remember the corny commercials at the time.)  As a consequence, I really wanted to share the experience.  Tom Cornacchini flew into Nashville on Friday afternoon to join Sharon, Morgan, Jim and me for the show.  It was the first time for all of them – and a really fun night!   The Opry is in a new, updated facility now – but the feel is the same.  The show is organized into four half-hour segments, with three acts per half hour.  And they really mix up the acts, from comediennes to bluegrass to honkytonk.  Two of the acts we saw were Kathy Mattea and Eddie Montgomery.  It was Eddie’s first appearance at the Opry since the helicopter death of his partner Troy Gentry last September 8^th.  

• Donuts -
  
  Sharon showed us one of her favorite spots - the 100-layer donut shop.  Yup.  You read right.  Each donut has 100 thin layers.  We bought a sampler pack with salted chocolate, hazelnut cream, canolli, orange cinnamon - and one plain.  Guess which one I liked best?  The plain donut-flavored donut.

• Broadway at night – And, of course, there is honky-tonk row in Nashville.  Country music spills out of every doorway – and it all sounds good.  Unfortunately, we happened to have two cold, wet nights in Nashville, and we wimped out from roaming from bar to bar.  Just seeing all the neon lights and hearing the music, though, makes me want to go back sometime.

• Family Time.  Just thoroughly enjoyed our time with Tom, Sharon and Morgan.  This picture was taken inside the little apartment we rented and shared.
  

• The Johnny Cash Museum. 

Our son Nick’s favorite song when he was in third grade was “How High’s the Water, Mama.”   Apparently, it's not one of Cash’s biggest hits, as it was not mentioned at his Museum. But a number of other songs were!  I had no clue that he released 136 albums, of which 51 hit the Billboard Top 100.  (I didn’t count up the sheer number of songs that would be.)  
And, what does any of this have to do with Dr. King?  Well, there was a connection.  In the Johnny Cash museum, I listened again to him singing "They Killed Him."
The lyrics:

(Was a) man from Atlanta, Georgia

By the name of Martin Luther King

He shook the land like rolling thunder

And made the bells of freedom ring

With a dream of beauty that they could not burn away

Just another holy man who dared to be a friend

My God, they killed him!