Saturday morning and we are in the Nashvillle TN area. It is going to be a hot one today with ozone alerts most everywhere we want to go. Temperatures are supposd to rise to about 100 degrees today. We’ll be heading east to Pigeon Gorge TN in a couple of hours, once we are good and awake.

It has been a pretty good vacation so far. I reckon that in the minds of many people they probably wouldn’t consider this trip much of a vacation. After all, so far we haven’t been all that far from home and we aren’t going anyplace we haven’t already been. We did the Amish country of central Illinois; an are in which we lived for a couple of years, Then we spent a night in Metropolis Illinois. Heck, we run over there fo a night many times and spend a few bucks at at the Harrah’s casino. Then last night we came to Nashville, TN. The big difference here is that we went to see the Grand Ole Opry which if you like country music, is an absolute must do. Then, of course we’ll head to Pigeon Forge, TN today and that will be maybe a five hour drive. We are staying at a hotel that wwe’ve stayed at before and loved. Sunday morning we’ll head to Asheville, NC and the Biltmore House; again a place we’ve been to before but this time they have a special glass exhibit that Ms. Kate wants to see. Monday we’ll start the ten hour drive home.

The Grand Ole Opry was a nice collection of country Music stars that most people have either never heard of or have forgotten about. But the music was good and we enjoyed the show. If there was a headliner, I guess it would have been a fellow named Daryl Worley. Fourth daughter, Stephanie, says he’s a favorite of hers. The Opry publishes their schedule well in advance so it is easy to see when people you might know are going to be there. The Opry is the longest continuous running radio show in America and when you are at the Opry, you are actually part of the studio audience. For a country/western musician to play the Grand Ole Opry is the equivalent of other kinds of performers to play Carnegie Hall; so, it’s a big deal.

Today is an anniversary for Ms. Kate and me. Fifty-six years ago tonight she and I went on our first date. Wow! — A lot of water has passed under that bridge. And how appropriate that we are celebrating it in Nashville, which is where four years later, we went on our honeymoon!!

Time for me to think about getting ready for my day. I hope your weekend is a great one. Peace.