Nashville, TN

Nashville is only about 100 miles south of Mammoth Cave, so we had time that day to do some shopping. We didn't buy much, but did get a couple of things for the Everest that Paul has been wanting. One is a special Level that you can mount on the Trailer so its easier to find out if its level, before you actually get out of the truck. I learned a lesson with this Nashville portion of our trip. If we are going to want tickets to something that is popular, we need to either plan far enough in advance to get good seats, or be content if we get lousy seats, or no seats at all. It all worked out fine, but next time I will know to pay more attention.I wanted to go to the Grand Ole Opry while in Nashville, but didn't realize that not only would Trace Adkins be performing that night, but also Montgomery Gentry and The Oak Ridge Boys.Tickets were hard to come by- we ended up in the second to last row, but luckily the acoustics are great there, and there really isn't a bad seat in the house. We attended the concert Saturday night- the late show, which didn't start until 9:30. The way this show works is that there are many acts, and the three I mentioned were only 3 out of about 12 performers. Each of them played a couple of songs, although since the Oak Ridge Boys were last, they did a couple of extra songs, and ended with "Elvira". The other tour I wanted to go on was the "NashTrash" Tour. According to Tripadvisor, its the #1 rated attraction in Nashville. Its sold out for over a month, so the only way to get on the tour is to go where the bus loads and wait for "standby".So, we started our adventure in Nashville by waiting at 9 am on a Saturday, to see if we could get on Standby. We couldn't, because everyone showed up who was scheduled to take the "tour". As it turns out, it was Tennessee History Weekend. That was great for us.... especially since it takes place at the park we wanted to check out. Bicentennial Mall Park in Nashville, is an incredible park. There are granite posts and walls all around the park that have the history of Tennessee engraved in the granite, starting with a billion years ago (which interestingly enough, mentioned God, and not evolution). There is also a map of Tennessee engraved in granite that is probably 25 feet by 75 ft. A lot of towns and rivers are shown on the map. Really awesome. There is a farmer market there every weekend.Since it is History weekend, there are people dressed in period costumes for the time periods that include wars. So there are people from the 1700s, up through the vietnam war. At different times during the day, they have a variety of re-enactments, including a civil war battle, a world war II battle, and speeches from Daniel Boone and Abe Lincoln. It's a great day in Nashville! After walking through the "timeline" and seeing the exhibits, we wander over to see if we can get on the 2 pm Nashtrash Tour. This time we made it. I think the performers ( two sisters) felt bad for us, since we had been there since the morning. The tour is actually a comedy show, that does a little touring of the town. These two are hysterically funny! They spent the first 20 minutes learning the names of all the people on the bus (33 people), and teasing then about where they are from, etc. They are originally from Michigan so when they heard we are from there, they made many wisecracks about the state and what part of the “hand” they are from etc. We had a blast! They also allow people to bring their own booze, and if you didn't think of it, like us, they make a stop at the Country Music Hall of Fame, and you can buy a drink and bring it back to the bus. Too funny! Sunday was regroup day for us- we did laundry, went food shopping, hung around and in general did nothing much. We were going to go bar hopping Sunday night, but Paul wasn't in the mood, so we skipped it. Monday we drove out to Franklin, TN, to explore the town that was pivotal during the civil war. It was pushed into the limelight by the book "Widow of the South" which is based on the true story of Carrie McGavock of Franklin TN.On November 30, 1864, a major battle took place in Franklin, right outside the home owned the Carter family. The Carters, and several of their neighbors, hid in the basement of the house while the battle raged for 5 hours. They all survived, but in those five hours there were almost 10,000 Union and Confederate soldiers killed or wounded. The Carters' son was a lieutenant for the south who was mortally wounded in that battle. One of their outbuildings had so many bullet holes, apparently it ranks as the “most bullet-ridden” building in existence in this country today.Nearby, Carrie's McGavock’s house was used as a hospital, and she, instead of hiding away, helped the surgeons and the soldiers the best she could. Two years after the battle, she dedicated 2 acres of her own land so that the confederate soldiers, who had been hastily buried after the battle,. could be properly buried. After an early dinner, we hit the bars in downtown Nashville. We started at Coyote Ugly, and despite the constant urgings of the bartenders (all women), I did not get up on the bar and dance with them. We also didn’t do body shots, although it was tempting…from there we just meandered in and out of the tons of bars in the area, listening to live country bands. It was fun, more for me than Paul, who was driving, of course. In New Orleans, he really wants to stay at a campground that’s walking distance to the French Quarter, so he can relax and not drive. At this moment, we are driving the Natchez Trace Parkway. We have left Tennessee and are in Alabama. We hope to spend the night in one of the free campgrounds along the parkway.