We left Louisville before the morning sky had brightened and began the next leg of our journey to Nashville, Tennessee. We were in a hurry to arrive and pulled into the Grand Ole RV Park just north of town just before 9 a.m. Thankfully, our spot was available and we were able to pull right in and set up. This was fortunate because I had a ticket to watch the Georgia Bulldogs take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at 11 a.m. I unhitched the 5th wheel and hooked up the electricity, water and sewer, and headed into downtown Nashville to Vanderbilt Stadium, the smallest football stadium in the SEC at around a 40,000 person capacity. From my 50-yard line seat, I enjoyed a methodical dismantling of the home team. I’m guessing of the 36,000 or so fans at the stadium, 24,000 or more were Dawg fans. It was awesome.
Ready for some football at Vanderbilt Stadium.
A little action on the field
A Sea of Red for the Commodores of Vanderbilt
The Final Score on the Big Scoreboard
That evening, we had tickets to the Grand Ole Opry. Before the show, we had the first of daily meals at local BBQ places — this time at Mission BBQ, located next to the Opry House. The excellent chopped brisket sandwich energized us for the opry. This Saturday evening show was a celebration of the 92nd Birthday of the Opry, which has not missed a live Saturday evening radio show since 1925. The two-hours of country music were great! Vince Gill, Tracy Lawrence, and Stephen Curtis Chapman (among several others) performed to the delight of the appreciative audience.
Ready for the Grand Ole Opry
A pre-opry BBQ dinner at Mission BBQ
Country Music Hall of Famer, Connie Smith was up first.
Jim Lauderdale was the second performer of the night
Enjoyed Tracy Lawrence
Banjo player and funny guy, Mike Snider
The excellent, young, Charlie Worsham
Jerrod Niemann
The Whites
Steven Curtis Champman, older than I remember, but still great.
Closing out the show, the inimitable Vince Gill
Happy 92nd Birthday, Grand Ole Opry!