Nashville

Earlier this month and after graduating from Johnson & Wales University) Jessica and Mike relocated to Nashville from Providence. Kathie and I drove to Nashville too, arriving just a couple of days behind them. You may recall my prior posting about the bedroom set we refinished for Jessica, along with building a few added pieces for the set. We had carefully wrapped everything in plastic and furniture pads, loaded them into our trusty pickup truck, and were now delivering them for use in the new apartment in Nashville. Jessica had been using one piece of the bedroom set, a chest of drawers, so we refinished that upon arrival to match the other pieces.

Although I didn't really get pictures of the new apartment, I did get shots of some of the fun things for the two days we were there. After spending the early morning on the final refinishing project, we headed out for a tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The museum is very nicely organized and was great fun to visit. There is so much history associated with country music, both in terms of pure American history and in terms of its influences on so many other forms of music. I loved the tour. That is the museum across the street behind Jessica and Mike in the shot below.


Although we didn't make it to the current Grand Ole Opry, we did make a stop at the famous old Ryman Auditorium, which is where the Opry was staged for many, many years before moving to a new location away from downtown Nashville.


Downtown Nashville is fun, with lots of music venues, restaurants and bars, and outstanding guitar and record shops. Nearby is music row, home to numerous recording studios. Downtown is also home to a building that locals refer to as the "Batman Building." Can you see why?


On our second day, we visited the Hermitage, the plantation home of Andrew Jackson. The grounds are covered with the most amazing trees, including the most beautiful, tall, straight cedar trees I've ever seen. Here are Jessica and Mike walking beneath a couple of the trees. Then there is a shot of the front of the home itself.



That night, we dined at J. Alexander's, the restaurant that hired Jessica (who started her new position today, June 18). I urge you to visit their web site and to examine the menu! The food was absolutely fabulous and the service was exceptional. We also enjoyed meeting some of the people Jess will be working with. Here is the outside of the establishment and the four of us after some pretty serious gluttony.



Finally, here is a shot of Jessica's cat, Ozzie, who is (pick one): (a) less than excited about our visit, (b) unaffected by the move to Nashville, or (c) all of the above.