We took off from the Country Inn & Suites in Camp Springs, MD on Sunday February 17th. We were living at the hotel during the last few weeks living on the East Coast, because our sprinkler system burst in our townhouse rendering our townhouse uninhabitable. While we packed the RV, someone set off the alarm in the hotel, so we stuffed tissue paper in our ears and sped up. No reason to get tinnitus right before a vacation.
First few hours, we just got used to the feeling of the open road and took in the beautiful drive through Virginia on Interstate 81. 
We bought ourselves a road atlas and that's when the game of find the yellow highlighter started that lasted the entire trip for me (Maria). Justin drove most of the way during the entire trip, except during this section of the trip since it was the longest drive in one day. To drive the 675 miles to Nashville takes over 10 hours, so I drove for a few hours while Justin napped. Marilyn sat in front next to the driver reading off directions and taking millions of photos. I took pictures from in back or played with Mel. Since the three of us had already been on Interstate 81 before when we headed to Shenandoah, it wasn't until we passed Harrisonburg that we found ourselves on virgin territory. 
As the gorgeous scenery swept past our windows, Marilyn, Justin and I talked about how exciting it was to have rented the RV and the beauty of Virginia farm country. We loved driving between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains. I think one of my favorite things on this stretch of road is the grain silo pictured below and the farmland along a backdrop of tree filled hills. What does a farmer's day start with living in Virginia?
Before we got too far down Interstate 81 out of the Washington DC metro area, we stopped in Staunton, VA to try Five Guys burgers. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the burgers were delicious and that Five Guys serves food that is never frozen. However, from the size of those burgers, it's a good thing that it's the first time we've been at the chain restaurant with only an intention to to try it, not choose it as a favorite restaurant to frequent endlessly. Wouldn't mind at least giving our bodies a fair chance!
Before nightfall, we stopped at one of the rest stops, where I dared to get a cup of coffee from a vending machine.
The cup that came out was a Texas Hold Em card cup, seen here exclusively:
Now, according to the rules of Texas Hold Em, the guy on the cup is captured during the moment of the game called the "betting on the flop," because he's got his two hole cards in hand and the 'action' has begun right now. The dealer has dealt 3 cards face up on the board, which is known as "the flop." In Hold Em, these three cards are communal cards available to all players still in the hand.
I began to wonder what two hole cards did I have while staring at this ominous man, with a loose fitting shirt wearing shades that looked like two coins he had somehow turned into lenses that held up his caterpillar brows. Forget how the huge bolero hat made me feel. Should I fold, call, raise or check? What possible five card hand did I have? No cards in hand, I sipped the coffee and realized that my sip was the chance I was taking, and so I maintained my poker face. It dawned on me on the third sip, that the only reason it was worth sipping this coffee was to get a second wind after all the packing the previous day.
As we edged closer to the Tennessee border, I noticed the towns of Pulaski, Wytheville, Marion and Bristol. Did you know that exit numbers on a highway go down as you approach closer to state lines? We arrived in Nashville, TN at the KOA sometime around midnight. We arrived to find out that my name had been changed overnight to Gloria Lewytzkyj - ok y'all!
In a new time zone, we explored Nashville true tourist style, giving it all we had, cameras in hand, eyes wide open, shedding our grinds from dealing with the water pipe burst in Maryland and all the work and major inconveniences that resulted. After familiarizing ourselves, we realized that the Grand Ole Opry isn't open on Mondays (it's only opened on Fridays and Saturdays), but that downtown Nashville had tons of fun stuff for us to explore. We checked out the Ryman Auditorium (the original Grand Ole Opry) where I took a picture with Minnie Pearl, who famously once said, "Take the back roads instead of the highways." We did, although, it might have taken us a year to get across the country, so we compromised with the national and local road systems giving them both a fair shake.
We then explored a great local independently owned breakfast place a few blocks off Broadway called Puckett's, where our server Dan was a direct descendant of the Dutch artist Vermeer, who himself loved the artist De La Croix, a personal favorite, and who was now living in TN after having moved from Wisconsin to make it as a music producer. Someone in his family named a cat in the family Rembrandt.
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| Broadway in Honky Tonk Town |
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| Oh yeah bluegrass! |
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| Honky Tonk town off Broadway |
He's the talk of the
town, according to The Dispatch and has played with many great country stars at
the Ryman. I got a signed CD thanks to my husband.
Collier is a constant on the Nashville scene. He plays classic and contemporary country music. He dedicated
one song to 37-year old country singer Mindy McCready who passed away the day
before after a successful suicide attempt. In front of one of the Broadway
Nashville hot spots, a film crew that I talked to told me they were doing a
biographical piece about Mindy's life. Scott played a song for her, since they
were friends and she used to come into Tootsies. A bit about Tootsies. It's where Willie Nelson got his first
songwriting job after singing there. Patsy Cline was an early patron. Stars
that were recently spotted there include Toby Keith, Gretchen Wilson, Emmylou
Harris and Leann Rimes. Always on my mind Willie, or was that a later song?Some photos from area hotspots:
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| Barbershop Harmony Society |
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| down Broadway |
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