Just a quick note to let everyone know that we are in Buffalo until after Christmas. We will return to our blog with more info. when we return to Nashville and onward to Florida. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season with much happiness and health.

Merry Christmas.

Signing off for now,

Bill and Jane

Nov. 13, 14, 15 & 16

Tues. Nov. 13 - We decided to go back to the Opry Mills Mall near our campground to do some Christmas Shopping. We purchased four items for the Yankee Trade done among the six Lefort families at the Thanksgiving Extravanganza in Strykersville, NY. Note: the prices for men's clothing at this mall are ridiculous. Tuesday evening was dinner at the coach and "Dancing With The Stars".

Weds. Nov. 14 - We trekked to "The Hermitage" to tour the home and plantation of Andrew Jackson, our 7th President.

First home Andrew and Rachel lived in at the Hermitage


It was quite an experience and a great history lesson. Andrew Jackson or "Old Hickory" as he was known was a war hero of the War of 1812, decisively kicking the butts of a British Army three times the size of the Tennessee Volunteers who Jackson led into battle. He quickly vaulted into national prominence and was elected president in 1828. "The Hermitage" has been restored and the mansion tour is done by southern belles in period costume.

Last home Andrew lived in at the Hermitage, after his wife Rachel died.



Betty and her granddaughters. She was a slave and cook for the Jacksons


The outside tour is done with a headset and CD player so you can tour at your own pace. Very informative and worthwhile for any history buff.


Tombs where Rachel and Andrew Jackson are buried.



Graves of the Jackson family members


That evening we dined at the Santa Fe Cattlemen's Club on Music Valley Drive. (A Texas restaurant). Jane had steak and Bill had a texas burrito of which he could only eat half. Beers are served in Mason canning jars, the large quart size. Everything in Texas is bigger!!!!!!


Thurs. Nov. 15 - Bill saw an add for a Dillard's "Going Out Of Business Sale" at the Bellevue Center which is about 20 miles southwest of Nashville. Off we went, and worth the trip as Bill found real bargains throughout the store. That evening we dined at the Blackstone Brewery and Grill, a very upscale restaurant near Vanderbilt University. They brew six kinds of beer right on site and were right up there with Saranac quality. (Jane sampled all six brews). After we went to Sam's Sports Bar at Vanderbilt and watched the Sabres game. They lost to Ottawa 3-2, no miracle finish this time as Danny Briere has departed for Philly.


Fri. Nov. 16 - We suffered our first casualty of the trip - Abbey was making her usual dash from ceramic floor to front passenger seat and leaping onto the dash board.

Innocent Abigail


Bill came up the front steps and Abbey, in mid-leap, collided with Bill's left eye area. How a nine pound dog won this collision is still a mystery, but Bill has a shiner to prove he lost.




That evening we returned to the Gaylord Opryland complex and viewed the beautiful Christmas lights and decorations.
















The weather here has been good for the most part, with warm, sunny days and chilly nights. We like to read and relax outside in the sunshine. The leaves are just now starting to fall and the colors are beautiful.


Signing off for now,

Bill and Jane

November 10, 11 & 12

Saturday we took the doggies for a short walk, read a book, and Jane worked on her latest quilt. At night, we decided to go out to eat and listen to some tunes. We went to John A's Restaurant which is near the Two Rivers campground, both of us had fish. We then went to the Nashville Palace which is where Randy Travis got his start. The John Nicks band was playing. They were good, but didn't seem at the same high level as the Honky Tonk acts on Broadway. When we got back to the RV it seemed kind of cold, and we discovered we were out of propane! The gauge didn't work right, and did we pile up the blankets on the bed. (It was 49 degrees when we woke up Sunday!) We shivered off to church at St. Joseph's. We returned back to the Campground and then unhooked our RV and drove off to refill the propane tank at KOA (which is only about 1/2 mile down the road). We still made it to The Scoreboard in time for the Bills-Dolphins game. Scoreboard Bar and Grill

There were about 150 pesky Packer fans there again, but we cheered the Bills to a sloppy win against the Fish, 13-10. Now 5-4 and winners of 4 in a row, we say "Bring on the Patriots!"

Monday is Veterans Day, and we went downtown to watch the Nashville Veterans Parade.
Abe Lincoln walking down Broadway

It was really good, they shut down 10 blocks of Broadway and had several big marching bands as well as some pretty heavy military hardware rolled by. Dozens of local civic groups marched including the American Legion, VFW, Knights of Columbus, Shriners and the Rockettes! There were proud veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Iraq and Afghanistan. After the parade we walked around and shopped in many of the shops on and around Broadway. We ate lunch at the Big River Grill and Brewery. They brew 6 different kinds of beers and each one was as good as the other. We enjoyed yet another busy/full day in Nashville.

Signing off for now,

Bill and Jane

Hard Rock Cafe - Across from Big River Grill & Brewery

Titans stadium

Stingrays at Nashville Aquarium

First Ave - downtown Nashville

NASHVILLE - Nov. 8 and 9

Thursday Nov, 8 marked our 1 week anniversary in Nashville. To celebrate, we cleaned up around the campsite, washed the rims, tried to fix the latch on our propane tank, and did some reading. Bailey was feeling poorly so Jane gave her some prednisone, and poof, she became Underdog! In the evening there was a nice warm breeze so we went for a walk to the KOA, it was nice. Friday was a gorgeous day, about 70 degrees, so we went to see the "new" Grand Ole Opry, which is very near Two Rivers Campground in an area they call Music Valley. This is where the Grand Ole Opry is performed from March through October, the busy summer season. It's not just one building, it's a complete complex built on the legacy of the Grand Ole Opry's 80 year history. There is a huge hotel called Gaylord Opryland, a sprawling grounds decorated now for Christmas, a theater, a museum, gift shop and of course the Grand Ole Opry House. It is so beautiful, with manicured walks and streams and country music playing throughout. Right next door they have built a huger mall, called Opry Mills, which is unbelievable. It is anchored by a Bass Pro Shop, an aquarium, a 20 theater IMAX complex, dozens of high-end restaurants and every store ever known to the shopping woman. They also have a Gibson Guitar store where they build and sell every stringed instrument under the sun. We finished the day with a quiet supper in the RV.

GIBSON GUITAR FACTORY

Gibson Guitars

Bill playing a tune

GRAND OLD OPRY IN MUSIC CITY

TOURING NASHVILLE - Nov. 5th & Nov. 6th

We decided to jump on a tour bus to get a real look at downtown Nashville as well as the homes of the Country & Western icons who live here. Gray Line was a little pricey, so our neighbor Rae called up "Tommy's Tours" and found they did tours for 1/3 the price! Well, Tommy picked us up at the campground in a nice 25 seat bus and off the four of us went. We soon found out the driver (Tommy) was also the receptionist, booking agent, navigator, commentator and complaint department! He started by finding out where each patron was from and we proceeded on a very informational and crazy tour. Tommy was a never ending story teller who only put down his microphone long enough to answer his cellphone for a new rider or open the bus door to ask the poor pedestrian nearby if they had any grey poupon mustard! Not having much use for red lights, Tommy navigated downtown Nashville in a unique way but did keep the bus in one piece. We saw the Grand Ole Opry (Ryman Auditorium), the Honky Tonk district, old Nashville (called The Print District) which was notorious during prohibition, the Grand Union Train Station, The batman building, otherwise known as Nissan Headquarters, as well as the Crazy Horse Saloon and Coyote Ugly Bar. We then left for the wealthy suburbs and saw homes owned by Minnie Pearl, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks & Tricia Yearwood, Ronnie Brooks (Brooks & Dunn), Keith Urban & Nicole Kidman, Martina McBride, Dolly Parton, LeAnn Rimes, Johnnie Cash's husband-in-law, and others we can't remember. It turns out Tommy has met most of the C&W stars and they are for the most part kind, courteous and eager to please their fans (just like Hollywood - right?). Tommy got us back to Two Rivers Campground safely (bless his heart) and we have attached the photos we got to the blog.



The next AM Jane and I went for a walk around the block which ended being a five mile jaunt. After lunch Ernie, Rae, Jane and I went back downtown to do some shopping and honky-tonk stopping. The taverns on Broadway almost all have big stages with live music, and each group sounds good enough to make it big, just looking for that big break. We toured the Charlie Daniels museum which was really awesome, more memorabilia than can be seen anywhere. We had supper at the Hard Rock cafe, and then went to the Sommet Center where the Country Music Awards are being held on Wednesday nite (Nov. 7). Outside the Sommet a big crowd was forming and we were treated to a free concert by the Phil Vassar Band. He has a ton of big C&W hits and he played them all even though the temp. was dropping to freezing. We made it home safe and slept like rocks after an active day. Unfortunately, Ernie & Rae are leaving today to visit their daughter in Memphis, but we are sure we will see them again somewhere in this great country.



Signing off for now, Bill & Jane

Miinie Pearls home



Tim McGraw & Faith Hills Home

THE JOURNEY BEGINS - Oct 31, 2007

We left Buffalo, NY following the conclusion of the SUNY Brockport Soccer season headed for Nashville, Tennessee. The first night we made it to Florence, Kentucky which is just south of Cincinnati. (I-90 to I-271 to I-71 SB). Had an awesome supper at Lonestar Steakhouse. We can already see the pace of life slowing down as we head south. Next morning continued SB to I-65 to Nashville, the Music City. We stayed 1 night at the KOA and attended a Gospel Concert at the campground. The next AM we checked prices at two other campgrounds and moved to Two Rivers Campground and saved over $300! Our second nite we traveled to downtown Nashville for supper and sights. WOW! The Broadway section of Nashville is full of honky tomks and watering holes each with a stage and live country entertainment. The talent of the acts on stage is unbelieveable! It seems like each group is just on the verge of making it big and is just waiting to be "discovered" by the right producer or record company. Remember "Bobbie Cutshaw". This 5 piece group sounded as good as the Eagles! We also saw Titans Stadium which is right on the edge of Downtown by the Cumberland River. We met a very nice couple from Michigan, Ernie and Ray, at Two Rivers. Ernie is a purple heart winner who served in Vietnam. They are both retired from Kelloggs. Saturday nite we went to the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville with Ernie and Ray. It was a 2 1/2 hour show cut into half hour segments for radio broadcast. The show was awesome! We got to see Vince Gill, Patti Loveless, Amy Grant, Sawyer Brown,

Jason Crabb, Mel McDaniel, Jesse McReynolds and the Virginia Boys, Riders in the Sky and more. The theme of the evening was a tribute to Porter Wagoner who died this week and was an original member of the Opry. They also recognized several Iraq War veterans and purple heart winners. The talent was again awesome, and the strong feeling of patriotism pervaded the performances. The Ryman Auditorium is the old site of the Grand Ole Opry and where the winter shows are performed. The acoustics and atmosphere were perfect. On Sunday, Nov. 4, we went to Church at St. Joseph's, a huge parish near Two Rivers. Believe it or not, they have an adult choir that was awesome! What else would you expect in the Music City? At noon we went to the Scoreboard Tavern to watch the Bill's game. We were invited to a table with some Bengal fans. The Bill's looked pretty good, especially on offense, and won the game 33-21. About half of this bar was filled with Packer fans. We found out it is one of three official sites in Nashville where Packer Backer meetings are held. Of course Brett Favre led a game winning drive at the end.

Bill and Jane signing off for now.

Sommet Center where the CMA's are on Wed. Nov. 7th and where the Predators play.