NASHVILLEToday was not a favorite for driving. We went to bed last night and woke to rain that suggested God was angry with Lexington. Unfortunately, if this was the explanation for the deluge, the anger stayed with us all day. I have seldom driven in such downpours and never for so long.Our first stop was to be the MakersMark distillery. The weather was so bad that we settled for a lesser brand, Even Williams. To give you an idea how bad the weather was, we didn't sty around for the tasting but looked quickly around, bought the obligatory bottle and got back on the road. Driving was at a snails pace. It was disturbing t0 my male ego to be passed so often but I have no love for not being able to see where I have the car aimed. An accident added almost an hour to the trip as we sat while someone who was in a hurry got towed off the road.  We arrived at our destination, Gaylord Opryland. I am seldom lost for words but this place is a challenge to describe. We arrived when there was a Convention of motorcycle groupies who tour with their wives or whatever. It seems that the requirement to be such a couple is to be so large that you actually need the horsepower of the bikes to move the combined mass of the passengers. I feel sorry for them riding in the rain to get to the event.
The place itself is "over the top" - any top. Fifty - 50- acres under roof; three enclosed gardens, big, gaudy, circusy, loud, red neck heaven. The overhead glass greenhouse was the largest such structure I have ever seen. Acrobats use the structure for their acts.
The air handling, water pumping, systems were immense. The gardening crew has to be the size of a small town. Nothing in Los Vegas even comes close. Everything is a copy of something done elsewhere - but seemingly bigger here. Downtown Nashville is a real surprise. If it wasn't Nashville, it would be what - a failed small town? The most revered part of the city is a single block that has a bar that launched the careers of several country and western stars. The modern part of the city has capitalized on this start.
Not my cup of tea but an interesting part of Americana. |
