Miles 8944-8954: Nashville
8/9
Sorry about how late this post it; I tried to make the most of our short time home, seeing family and friends. I was raring to go in the morning, so we could see as much of Broadway as possible, and then Jackson slept, and slept, and slept. We got dressed and drove downtown. We had lunch at a place near Broadway (tomato soup and sweet potato fries). We went to the Ryman Auditorium, one of the most famous music venues. Many up-and-coming singers dream of performing at the small theater in Music City, USA. It was such a cool tour; Mr. Oshwald used to work there, so he knew some pretty cool info. We got to go up on the stage and see the amphitheater the way the performers would. Apparently, musicians like the Ryman because it is so small; they feel more of a connection with their audience. Mary Wallace, I wish you could have seen it; you especially would have loved it. We went by the Country Music Hall of Fame and got to see all of the platinum and gold records on the wall and the place where they print all the official concert posters. Back at the house, when Ryman was back from school, we had a NERF battle, which didn’t have an official winner, but I think you can all guess who dominated. We drove up to a nearby shopping area, and the adults looked through some stores and got some beer at a tasting room. We had dinner at a BBQ place, just corn for me, and then got more ice cream up the street to finish off our last full day of the trip. Ice cream has been a real staple on this trip; we’ve tried different kinds from all over, like huckleberry in Montana or orange blossom chiffon last in Nashville (I also got a scoop of rainbow buttermilk and they were both very interesting and rich).
“The size of your audience doesn’t matter. What’s important is that your audience is listening.”
