Tennessee

Downtown Nashville, Tennessee: We got into town on a Sunday afternoon and decided it would be a good time to go downtown since there shouldn't be much traffic...we were wrong! The Titans were in town and there were fans everywhere and lots of streets blocked off for party's - evidently football is very big here.
We ate some good barbeque and went on a tour - did you know that healthcare is the biggest employer in this city? I thought it would be music...

This was a group of college age kids using garbage cans and so on to make music - kind of like in Stomp...they were great.

So cute! we almost bought them for our girls - but at $25 each we decided we'd better wait until they could actually get some use out of them...

The Ryman auditorium - the Grand Old Opry moved out the the suburbs in the 70's but once a year around this time they start playing in the Ryman again so the New York City Rocketts can use the Opry stage for their Christmas show.

Next to the theatre is the hotel grounds and behind that is a massive mall - all surrounded by more hotels and restaurants...

We were wondering why 24 mph and not 25? After seeing all of the outlet malls in the area Scott's comment was they got a deal after some DOT worker messed up...

Went on a wonderful bike ride near Opryland and the Cumberland river - this is the bridge they built just for bike and foot traffic. Did I mention that Nashville is a very wealthy town?

Here is a picture of the bike path - the bridge is in the distance - not sure if you can see the path up to the bridge.

When we came up to this tunnel the first thing that went through my mind was..."gotta watch for moose" :) No moose but I must say the squirrels here are huge!

We stepped out of the car and all we could hear were birds - hundreds of starlings in the two trees on the side walk. All of a sudden there was a massive flyaway and we looked over to see this guy landing...not sure if he got dinner or not!

Churches - in some area's there seem to be one on every block! This one is a Presbyterian church that was founded in the early 1800's and was a hospital during the Civil war - then in 1992 it was renovated for "those in the congregation who wanted to stay in this historic site." The tour guide in Nashville said the city is considered the "Protestant capital of the US," he went on to say that as a Catholic he can't even play God's game (Bingo) in the state - he has to drive to Kentucky...

We have found it very interesting that we have seen more signs for "adult toy stores" in this part of the country than anywhere else.

Franklin, TN - a historic town about 30 miles south of Nashville. Very quaint with some beautiful houses and old buildings.

With so many banks failing lately what's next - the sixth fourth bank??

We drove today towards the Great Smoky Mountains and ended up in Pigeon Forge...the name should say it all! This is the home of Dollywood - and more outlet stores and miniature golf courses than I've ever seen...

Tomorrow we head to South Carolina!