Nancy and I took a drive over to Gaylord Opryland Resort and walked around. Hasn't changed at all inside, amazing to walk through. We left after about half an hour and went over to Grand Ole Opry House. A tour was about to leave in two minutes so we quickly paid and joined the group.
Near the beginning of the tour we were shown the red carpet entrance for all the singers. The water fountain statue was donated by Minnie Pearl so that even when she was gone she would still be there in spirit to greet all the Ole Opry stars.
Once the stars enter they are taken to this site to be registered. Behind the desk is the Grand Ole Opry Post Office where the music stars can get their fan mail. For all registered Grand Ole Opry stars, if a fan sends them an email via the Opry address, the fan mails is placed here.
This is one of the dressing rooms ... certainly plush, but small in space.
This was where the family of the stars would stay (husbands, wives, children) while their partner was preparing in their dressing room to go on stage. The television on the wall gave indication who was on and assisted in letting you know when you were to get ready to go on. Also, there is a metal bar beneath the television and photos. This metal bar represents how high the flood water had been in this building. The wall mural in the background is in great condition, but one can see the stain from the flood level.
Our walk onto the stage.
Two stars posing for the camera LOL.
Dan, security check of premises before my beloved starts to sing LOL.
Nancy preparing for her debut on stage LOL.
Panoramic of the Grand Ole Opry House.
After we left the stage area we were escorted to the gift shop which was the exit to the tour. It dawned on me that I did not take a photo of the circle! Nancy went back, and I followed as she asked the tour guide if we could please go back to take a photo of the circle and they kindly offered to do so. We were the last tour and it was truly appreciated that they took from their off time to take us back to the stage so I could take the following photo. The circle, is found at center stage and is from the floor of the original Grand Ole Opry. It was a blessing that it survived the flood as well.
Nancy ran into one of her favorite stars ... she could not compose herself. I didn't have the heart to tell her that this was only a cut out of Blake Shelton LOL.
This was a great tour! Highly recommended. We headed back to our hotel room and got changed for a night of dancing. We walked over to the Wildhorse Saloon and were not disappointed.
We tried some line dancing, took a line dance lesson, got to dance the night away. The lead singer and band were very good, "Whiskey Cash and Roses". We stayed until their set was done.
Matt told us about a great place to get a burger. While we were leaving the Wildhorse Saloon, I asked one of the bouncers where it was. He indicated it was about 4 blocks away, but that it would probably be too cold for us to walk there. I told him we were from Canada ... no worries LOL.
Nancy and I had walked about a block and a half and a gentleman was getting his music gear out of the back of his car. I asked him if we were heading the right way to get to the Hermitage Cafe. He stated it was about 3 blocks ... 4 blocks ... maybe 5 blocks. Nancy and I laughed and kept on walking. We walked about half a block when the lady who dropped off her husband at the bar stopped and offered us a ride to the Cafe. We climbed in and appreciated that she stopped, especially to pick up strangers after 11pm at night ... now that was true Nashville hospitality.
We had the famous cheeseburgers at Hermitage Cafe ... they were fantastic!
The prices were very reasonable.
