Dr. Glenn's Travel Log
South Central United States Trip
with
Basshams and Myers
Kent to Nashville
Stayed at Windham Resort
Toured the Grand Ole Opry Hotel
Dinner in Delta Section of Hotel
Attended Grand Ole Opry at Ryman Auditorium
Favorites were: Del McCoury Band, Rider in the Sky, Jimmy Dickens, and Josh Turner
Notes: Captain Emo drove the entire way…wonderful trip. The Grand Ole Opry Hotel was the most amazing place, with three major theme areas: Delta (a hint of New Orleans); Magnolia (the Old South) and Cascade (a tropical forest)…unbelievable place. Each theme area is covered by a large glass dome, probably 75-100 feet high and the lighting is spectacular. The Grand Ole Opry, in old Ryman Hall, exceeded our expectations by about 100%…wonderful entertainment…lots of fun. It is so much fun to travel with the Basshams and Myers, who obviously love each other very much.
Day 2
On to Memphis
Visited Gibson Guitar Factory
Toured National Civil Rights Museum
Peabody Ducks…met Duck Master Jason, visited
the Duck Palace on the roof of the Peabody Hotel
Dinner at Rendezvous’ Rib Restaurant
Entertainment at BB King’s by Blind Mississippi Morris
Overnight at Courtyard by Marriott
Notes: National Civil Right’s Museum was very complete and made a big impact on each of us. Peabody Ducks were a great show. Rendezvous’ Rib Restaurant was an experience, but most of us didn’t fall in love with the food! (Guess we are “Northern” rib eaters!) The more we travel, a pattern seems to be emerging…Jim drives, Sally laughs, Ben tells humorous stories, Ruth reads, and, Carlyn and Glenn are intent observers.
Day 3
Toured Graceland.
On to Oxford, home of Ole Miss and William Faulkner.
Lunch at City Grocery.
Toured the Faulkner home.
Shopped the “Square” in Oxford, including the Square Bookstore.
Toured Ole Miss.
On to Jackson, MS.
Happy Hour at the Courtyard by Marriott.
Notes: Elvis was one of a kind and it was great to see his home and his many accomplishments. We toured his home, saw his cars and toys, toured his planes and got to see his many awards for over one billion records and CD’s sold around the world. Oxford was the prototype of a college town and everyone treated us with Southern hospitality. The City Grocery was a great restaurant. The Faulkner home was beautiful…and remote…much like its owner. Another great day!
Day 4
On to Natchez.
Lunch at Magnolia Inn overlooking the Mississippi River.
Toured Longwood Antebellum Home 30K square foot octagonal home.
Toured several other Antebellum homes and St. Louis Church.
Returned to Jackson for overnight.
Notes: Had my first fried macaroni…it was great. The Longwood Octagonal home was amazing. It was constructed at the time of the Civil Wa r and never completed. The family (Nutts) were bankrupted and lived in the basement of the home for fifteen years. Natchez is a very interesting place. It was the home of one of many cotton dealers living in Natchez who were very wealthy, and thus there were many beautiful homes built there during those pre-civil war years.
Day 5
Departed Jackson and headed for Vicksburg.
Toured Vicksburg National Military Park.
Lunched at the Horizon Casino.
Headed for Nashville at 2:00PM…Arrived at 10:00PM…stayed at Fairfield Inn.
Notes: Vicksburg National Military Park was very impressive. Ben hired a guide and she was very knowledgeable. Ohio had thirty-nine memorial statues, more than any other state.
We had lunch at a casino so we could watch part of the OSU-UM football game. OSU won and is headed to the Rose Bowl.
On our return to Nashville, we listened to the Saturday night version of the Grand Ole Opry…Our show was better!
Day 6
Headed home at 8:00AM and arrived at 5:30PM.
Notes: This was a wonderful trip with wonderful friends. The weather was great for the entire trip and we had great meals, learned a lot and laughed all the time. The only thing that would have made this trip better would have been having Orville along. After leaving our friends, we picked up Orville and he was very glad to see us. After unpacking, he snuggled down between Ruth and me…and we had a great night’s rest. Tomorrow, Ruth needs to get ready for twenty guests for Thanksgiving and I need to blow all those leaves off of our yard…we need a vacation!
November 19, 2007