Countryside RV Resort, Lebanon, TN

Monday, May 23^rd through Sunday May 29^th

The RV resort was close to Lebanon where we found some wonderful antique stores. The park was also about a half hour from Nashville.

On Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, the RV park held a party. Jim, the park caretaker grilled large quantities of pork ribs, chicken, and pulled pork. The park guests took dishes to pass, which resulted in lots of food. Jim also sang a couple silly songs while the band graciously played for him.

Clue, one of the full-timers at the park, and his band, the Honkytones, played at the party. Clue's girlfriend Darcy is the girl in the black shirt with a flower in her hair. In the picture of me with Clue, Clue is signing his CD that we bought.

Paula, the female guitar player, and her husband, John, are from Indiana. They moved to Nashville when he retired so that she could pursue her music. She has played with some big names, such as the Beach Boys and Vince Gill. We also have a signed CD of Paula's, although we don't have a picture with her.

The short, somewhat stocky guy wearing a ball cap with parts of a Confederate flag on it was also a full-timer at the park. He stood directly in front of the band for

much of the afternoon. While he stood there, he did a lot of pelvic-thrusting and singing as loudly as he could. He was quite drunk and sometimes was really funny, but in the end, we were glad when some of the other park guests helped him to his camper to sleep it off.

The Hermitage: Andrew Jackson's Home

Saturday, May 28^th

We have always understood that President Andrew Jackson was rather a cantankerous man who made life difficult for many lawmakers with whom he worked. Touring his home and listening to both the taped information and the words of the live presenters left us with the sense that he was also difficult at home. He owned somewhere between 80 and 140 slaves, and he was not necessarily a warm master. He was, however, a successful businessman. His son who took over after the ex-president's death was not so successful in business. Within 11 years, Andrew Jackson Jr. had lost his father's large fortune and had to sell the homestead to the state of Tennessee. Although the situation was sad for the family, it turned out to be a blessing for the state since the home is one of the most original and authentic of all tourable homes of former U.S. presidents.

One situation that was particularly interesting is that Jackson fell in love and married a woman who was already married to another man. This situation resulted in many social difficulties for the two of them for many years. Also, since he was 6'1" tall and weighed about 140 pounds and she was 5'1" and quite plump made them a visually-unusual couple.

Another interesting tidbit is that Jackson and his wife built a two story, multiple room log cabin and lived in it for 17 years before building the mansion. When they moved into the mansion, Jackson decided to use the log cabin as slave quarters. But, since it was unacceptable for a slave family to live in a two-story house, he had one of the floors removed. Even then, the remaining one story had three rooms rather than the standard one room in a slave-family home at the Hermitage. One of the most-skilled slaves was given this home.

The pictures show some of the one-story slave homes as well as some outlines where other slave homes once stood.

The Grand Ole Opry

Friday, May 27^th

A night at the Grand Ole Opry was certainly the crowning event of our time in Nashville. The Opry building was filled with several feet of water in January 2010, so the last year has been a long, hard time of recovery. The line on the wall that I'm pointing to in one of the pictures shows the water line that is still visible despite the restoration. The Opry members and workers are thrilled to have it up and running again. They did, however, maintain both the show and radio broadcast schedules throughout the renovation by holding events at the Ryman and at other facilities in Nashville. The huge mall next to the Opry is still not open following the flooding.

We began our evening at the Opry with a behind-the-scenes tour. We saw dressing rooms and the performer's last-minutes waiting room. We sat on the on-stage benches reserved for friends and relatives of the performers (Ellen is sitting on these benches in one of the photos.)

Between the tour and the performance, we went over to the Grand Ole Opry Hotel. It is a beautiful building with two large natural areas with water falls, streams, and huge trees. Absolutely gorgeous!

When we returned to the Opry building, we were greeted by the "new" Minnie Pearl. The original Minnie Pearl, Sarah Cannon, passed away. But, before her death, she chose three women to continue her Minnie Pearl character. Performers included Sunny Sweeney, Little Jimmy Dickens, Jake Owens, The Sky Ryders, Vince Gill, The Whites, and Lee Greenwood.