Today started nicely (we got up late) and continued that way until we tried our luck at Cracker Barrel one more time. It was a mistake. The parking lot was packed and the place was jumping but we were still escorted to a table fairly quickly. Thinking the day was going to get better and better Diane pulled out her chair and sat right down in a large puddle of syrup. She jumped back up, which frightened me because she doesn’t normally move that quickly. Noticing my consternation she turned to show me the large wet spot on the back of her jeans. We tried to get a waitress with a rag to clean the mess up but that didn’t solve the problem with her jeans so we decided to leave so she could change her pants. I got up, brushed the bacon I sat on to the floor, and we left.

To say Diane was a bit cranky is an understatement. Once she got rid of the sticky jeans and underwear, replacing them with nice clean ones, she was better, but we weren’t going back to Cracker Barrel. Ever. Instead we decided to drop in at an alternate dining facility in the area. Of the many available, we chose the nearby McDonald’s. We haven’t been to a McDonald’s in a long time and a breakfast sandwich sounded good.

When we walked into the facility we heard music and singing going on that seemed to be a little out of place. We’ve never been in a McDonald’s where music was playing, but here we were. Looking around I spied a small stage with a microphone behind which sat Ron Crites, of all people, picking and singing like a pro. Turns out, he really is. An old one, but a pro nonetheless. It was quite a treat to sit there, eating my SausageCheeseEggBiscuit and Hashbrown, listening to him serenading everyone with some really incredible music. The man is talented. Something like this could only happen in Nashville. There’s talent around every corner, it seems.

After that marvelous brunch we drove to Cheekwood Estate & Gardens to see another very large house. To get there we had to pass through the quaint village of Belle Meade which, we learned, is on the high end of places to live in the Nashville area. The homes lining the road are enormous, with acres of lawns surrounding them and they are all precisely mowed making the drive appear to be a trip through an extremely well tended park. It is very nice.

We left Cheekwood just in time to join the daily rush on the various freeways in the area and had a serious concern about returning to the hotel in time to catch our bus to The Grand Old Opry. Turns out that today was the 93rd anniversary of the Opry’s origin. Our host for the night was Pam Tillis who was joined by Charlie Pride, Lee Greenwood, Vince Gill, and a host of other folks who made the experience unique and unforgettable. Actually, Lee and Vince weren’t there but it was still an unforgettable experience due in part to the fact that the entire 2-hour show was a live radio broadcast complete with commercials. Those just added to the evening fun. Charlie was great as were all the other musicians and singers. 

After the Opry we exited the building through different doors than those used to enter so my orientation was totally out of whack. Apparently, so was everyone else. All we had to do was find the bridge we crossed after leaving the bus and we’d. It took a while, with lots of wandering around through throngs of happy people heading for the late show, but we finally made our way to the bus which took us ‘home’. 

Then, we went to bed. It was a long day.