On the Road Again .....

Well, I'm on the road again - this time headed to Texas.  We started out Sunday - picked Mom up after church and got to Nashville Sunday night.  After a restful night, we went to the Ryman Auditorium today.  Wow!  There is a lot of history in that place.  The Ryman was the original home of the Grand Ole Opry but it started out as the Union Gospel Tabernacle in 1892.  From a church, it became a performing auditorium.  Such greats as Teddy Roosevelt, Sarah Bernhardt, Helen Hayes, and Katherine Hepburn performed at the Ryman.  In 1943, the Grand Ole Opry moved to the Ryman and became the stomping ground for Minnie :Pearl, Earl Scruggs, Red Foley, Hank Sr., Johnny Cash and even Elvis Presley!  I actually got goose bumps imagining all the greats that performed at the Ryman Auditorium.  It is still used today for concerts and performances.  After our self-guided tour, we had hoped to have lunch at the Wildhorse Saloon, a 66,000 sq. foot restaurant, saloon, dance hall, recording studio ...  Ashley actually performed at the Wildhorse with her college dance troupe and it was televised on the Nashville Network.  Unfortunately, the Wildhorse was closed for a private party so we weren't able to go inside.  We settled for an Irish bar down the street that was just ok ,,,, typical Irish fare but the beer was good and what we drank while in Ireland.

From Nashville, we drove to Hot Springs, Arkansas and are spending the night here.  Tomorrow our plan is to head on down to Dallas and spend the night.  I hope to do a little shopping while Sonny meets with our financial advisor.

We were able to Skype with Ashley this morning and got some good news.  She will be returning a day earlier than we had originally thought!!  That will give her time to rest up before her welcome home party. 

Well, mom is really snoring so I better try to get some sleep too!