Nashville

Cameron's work sent him to an ethanol fuel conference in Nashville, TN. I tagged along and we were put up in the absolutely beautiful Opryland Hotel and Conference Center for 3 days. It was incredibily breathtaking. There are over 2800 rooms that surround 9 acres of gardens, waterfalls, and rivers. It's all inside the hotel! All the rooms have balconies that overlook the gardens, and they keep it air conditioned, so it was really relaxing to listen to the sound of waterfalls and watch people go by. Just walking the paths and exploring the area could easily take an hour. There were also restraunts and shops in amongst the gardens. It was an awesome experience, because typically we wouldn't be able to afford to stay at such a luxurious place.

While Cameron was attending the conference, I went exploring the city of Nashville. It's a really beautiful city with lots of old brick buildings, karaoke bars, and beautiful parks. Coop and I checked out the Parthenon. You read correctly...the Parthenon. Not THE Parthenon, of course, but a full scale replica.
It initially went under construction in 1897 and was officially completed in 1931. Inside is a 42 foot tall statue of Athena. It's open to the public and you can hang around the pillars. A big group of people were playing football in the field next to it.Afterward, we relaxed by a pond in the same park and passed the time people watching. There were lots of people fishing, feeding birds, relaxing and walking the path around the park. It was nice.

Before we left for "home", Cameron joined me for a little more exploring of the city. We found another beautiful park, Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. It's located in the shadow of the State Capitol in downtown Nashville. It's 19 acres of park that has several monuments and war memorials. In the top left picture are pillars that have bells that go off every half hour or so and play songs. We heard Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" while walking around. There is also a longwall engraved with a timeline of national and Tennessee state history....from the time it became a state in 1776 to its 200 year celebration in 1996.