Nashville, Tennessee

Day 3

On Day three we drove from Huntsville, Alabama to Nashville, Tennessee. We stopped to see one of my colleagues, Scot Copeland, the Producing Artistic Director of Nashville's Children's Theatre. Scot does a terrific job with his theatre and I was excited to see his "house".

NCT was playing "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown".  It was perfect for my kids, especially because Ethan has been playing the theme from Charlie Brown on the piano, and even dressed up as Charlie Brown's piano-playing side-kick for Halloween.

I still get nervous when I take Jacob to the theatre.  We've had some great experiences, and some not-so-great experiences.  This time, however, was one of the good ones.  Jacob set mesmerized in his seat during the show.  He loved the music and dancing. 

Afterwards, Scot gave us a backstage tour.  We saw the set and costume construction area, the executive offices, and the kids got to see the props and sets up close when they went on stage.  It is such a treat to work in a fulfilling industry, and to share my work with my kids.

 Before we checked into our hotel we had dinner at Chuys.  The fun part about it was that Nataleigh and I had discovered this Texas chain while we were in Austin early in the year.  We thought it was pretty special that we could take the whole family to the same place we had visited and that they could experience Chuy's awesome queso and Mexican food, too.  

As a teen on our family's South trip, I remember our stop in Nashville and visiting the Grand Ole Opry and Opryland amusement part.  However, when I called the hotel receptionist and told her we wanted tickets to the Grand Ole Opry amusement park, she informed me that the park had been closed for almost twenty years.  (Hard to believe it's been that long since our family was there!)  In place of part of the amusement part is the beautiful Opryland Hotel.  Oh my!

 We were blown away with the beauty and majesty of this place.  The manicured grounds were meticulously maintained.  It was a cross between a beautifully kept Las Vegas casino and Disneyland.  Add to that, millions of Christmas lights and we were simply overwhelmed.  It was breathtaking!

Lucky for us, we arrived the night of the Christmas Lighting Concert.  As Nashville is the heart of country music, we, fittingly, listened to a program featuring country music stars and a great gospel choir. We toured the grounds before the lights came on and saw the large life-sized nativity.

Following the concert the lights came on and the fireworks set off.  

Wow!  It was awesome! I'm not use to fireworks at Christmas time.  What a show!

Ethan and Nataleigh were all smiles. It definitely put us in the Christmas spirit.

 I will admit Jacob was cold, tired, and ready to get away from all the crowds.  I debated whether or not to take him back to the room, but I'm glad we stayed. He thought the fireworks were pretty amazing.

 The hotel was beautiful, and to see it at Christmas time with all the lights and festivities was stunning.

We came back to our room and looked out our balcony to the picturesque poinsettia tree, below.

 The entire evening was magical.