Technology, Innovation & Telecomm

Truth is, I don’t really like it. I’m more of a jazz guy at heart. That said, my wife and I just returned from a nice little trip to the home of country music: Nashville, TN. It was worth the trip, I assure you.

We went because neither of us has ever been there and Lord knows there’s been a lot of famous folk pass through that town. Also, if you’ve read much of this blog, you know that I’m kinda into recording and music and other media production, so that was another good reason for us to go.

First off, we stayed at the Opryland Hotel. If you read the travel guides, they all recommend at least visiting there as part of your itinerary, with good reason. The place is huge and utterly amazing! As I recall, it’s the largest hotel in the world that doesn’t have a casino as part of it. It has three enourmous atria under glass. Each is populated by lush vegetation, waterfalls, fountains, restaurants, walkways, etc. One of the sections called the “Delta” actually has a stream on which you can take a riverboat ride. There’s also an attached conference center that would suit just about any kind of convention or similary gathering that you can imagine. All in Southern style…

Suffice it to say that the hotel was one of the highlights.

We also got a chance to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Ryman Auditorium (former home of the Grand Ole’ Opry), RCA Studio B (where a ton of hits from artists from many different genres were recorded) and of course the Grand Ole’ Opry of today. The Ryman has a lot of interesting history attached to it. It was also nearly the victim of the wrecking ball. Fortunately a number of intelligent people decided that preserving that piece of history was worth the money, time and effort.

I took a bunch of photos, some of which are up on my online album. Please take a look to get a feel for the beauty and history of this big little city.

Hint: One of my favorites was the RCA Studio B tour!

So, if you’re up for a nice 2-4 day trip and you enjoy Southern hospitality, history, and the music business, I highly recommend Nashville. You don’t even have to like country music to truly enjoy yourself! Again, please visit my album for a look at more of the trip!

(p.s. - Before anyone points out that the photo album is listed as “Studio A”, I know. I managed to goof it up!)