The Great Midwest Trip Continued exploring Tennessee

If you have been following along with us this week, you will remember that I am recapping our Great Midwest Trip.  A two week long road trip that started with us flying from Seattle and renting a van in Indianapolis and included stops in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

I left off yesterday having just spent five days in The Great Smokey Mountains.
We headed off to Nashville, Tennessee, the country music capital of the world.
Of course you must have a cowboy hat before you can begin your adventures!
Giddy up!
We made it just in time to get to the 5 o clock tour of the Grand Ole Opry.
Standing on the circle on the stage where so many legends have stood.
It was a cool tour, but it was only 45 minutes and for our family of five it cost $90.
Not worth it if you are pinching pennies.
But it was cool to say that we did it while we were there.
After meeting up with an old High School friend, we stopped to tour the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.
Holy cow batman!  That place is HUGE!
There was no room at the inn during our trip {we checked} and after exploring for over an hour, we were sort of thankful that we didn't get reservations to stay at this hotel.
Not only did you need a map to get around, you also needed a tour guide.
Even with the map, we got lost!
It was a busy hotel and with a convention it would probably be a fun place to be.
With our family of five, not so much.
It felt like a cruise ship that didn't go anywhere.
And if you have ever taken a cruise, you know that it takes days to get your bearings.
We didn't have that kind of time.
We spent the next morning exploring the Country Music Hall of Fame museum.
I'm not a huge country music fan and it was still a cool stop on our trip.
No trip to Nashville is complete without a stop at Hatch Show Print.
Hatch Show Print has been creating posters for decades.
It's one of the oldest letterpress print shops in America.
If it ain't broke don't fix it!
Still using a lot of the same equipment you would have found ages ago!
It was a hot humid day in July, so a stop was necessary for a nice cool beverage.
Which one would you choose?
Broadway was lined with cool shops and bars overflowing with live music.
Our kids were hesitant to enter the bar 
{what is with the moral compass?}
but until six, the bars are all ages.
We had a chance to stop in a few bars and listen to some great live music.
Nashville was a cool city.
I would have loved to have had time to explore it without our three little darlings in tow.
I love live music and the scene downtown was pretty awesome!
Even on a Friday afternoon.
After resting a bit in the pool, we made our way out to the Parthenon in Nashville.
The Parthenon is a full scale replica of the Parthenon in Athens Greece.
We even spent some time on the Vanderbilt campus.
It reminded me a lot of Purdue with all of the brick buildings.
I didn't want to spend too much time at Vanderbilt though for fear that the kids would fall in love and want to attend.  At $60,000 a year for tuition, that place is pricey!
Vanderbilt ranks among most beautiful campuses in the nation
This concluded our trip to Tennessee.
Places worth visiting:
The Grand Ole Opry {go for a concert not the tour}
The Country Music Hall of Fame
Tour the Gaylord Hotel {no need to be a guest}
Hatch Show Print
Explore Broadway in Nashville
Listen to live music
Vanderbilt University
The Parthenon

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