I had researched a lot of Nashville activities in advance so I would have a plan and know what we should do while we were there. Last summer the kids, mom and I drove through at dinner time and only checked out the Opryland Hotel for a short time. At that time I said that I wanted to go back and spend more time. So that's what we did!
First stop... The Parthenon!
(Side note: Kerigan got a little Dory for one of her rewards from the car ride and she never let go of it this whole trip. She clutched it in her hand this entire day. So there's some more fun as you're reading... try to find Dory! Ha!)
Apparently, Nashville is known for being the "Athens of the South," and this is an exact replica of the ancient Greek temple. #funfact
I didn't know this- but no two columns are the same size or same distance apart!
Also, there are no straight lines, the steps are different sizes and the floor isn't level!
This is the statue of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and learning. The statue in her hand is adult sized.
So imagine how huge the Athena statue is! Andrew was making a snake face!
Roar!
This was a little statue of a Griffin, which Kerigan loves from Sofia the First! Although she wouldn't stand by it without daddy!
Showing off his muscles! Ha!
There was a pretty little park and garden area outside that we explored.
Perfect opportunity for a photo shoot! (Do you see Dory's tail??)
My people
After the Parthenon I was most excited for this "dragon park" I had seen online. I knew the kids would love it and couldn't wait to take more pictures by it because it looked so colorful.
And big disappointment... it was closed! Here is Andrew staring at it from a little tower they had at the park. He was so bummed. I hate it when they don't tell you these things online!
They still had other places to play, and the kids had fun but we didn't stay very long.
After that we headed downtown
To the pedestrian walking bridge.
The kids thought it was so cool you could walk in the "street" and there were no cars!
Craig had fun showing the kids Nissan stadium where the Tennessee Titans play!
Downtown Nashville skyline
On the list for Craig was a visit to the Johnny Cash museum!
JC is like one of his favorite artists of all time.
Long ago Craig introduced me to his music and we watched the movie made about him.
He really enjoyed bringing the kids here too!
Andrew really enjoyed learning about him and that he used to pick cotton, and only had marbles to play with when he was a little boy. I think it was super hard for him to even imagine that!
He thought it was neat that JC used to play in prisons, for the people in jail.
There were lots of places you could listen to his music! The kids loved this!
These were clothes worn in the movie
I am a huge fan of Reese Witherspoon who played June Carter Cash. This was the dress she wore!
It was fun to dedicate a little portion of the trip to Craig!
Fun afternoon with Daddy learning about Johnny Cash!
We walked up the street to an awesome place that was recommended called Demo's. Best.pasta.ever. Hands down. This is proof!
Then we found our way to Savannah's, a delicious little candy shop!
Andrew's favorite candy is tootsie rolls, he was in heaven!
This was the neatest little shop and they had everything you could imagine!
Here's where the phrase "a kid in a candy store" came from! #dory
Got our treats! Ready to go! (They loved the little train that went around the track above).
We ran into Elvis
On our way to the Country Music Hall of Fame! This building was so neat- like a giant keyboard!
We were getting there a little late and close to when they closed so we didn't spend the money to tour it. We thought the kids might be a little young anyway. Plus we had more fun in store for the evening!
We loved the Opryland Hotel the last time we were here so I wanted to take the kids back and take Craig. They were having Summerfest and doing a Jungle Book theme.
We rode in a little boat along the canal and there were Jungle Book characters all along the way.
The kids had a great time!
We wore these little 3D glasses and we could see monkeys doing tricks with them!
Afterwards we checked out the log of discovery!
There were little animals, snakes, frogs, etc in the windows.
I had to laugh when Daddy got inside too! It wasn't exactly adult sized! Ha!
The Opryland Hotel is so beautiful!
Last year we were in a different section (it is huge) so it was fun to see something new!
We stumbled on these fountains that were dancing to music. It was awesome! The kids were mesmerized, as you can see.
Just some funny horses dressed like humans!
Enjoying finding shrub animals!
The lighted tunnels behind them is the course the boat ride follows. They have them all around this room in the resort. So fun!
We ended the evening at the Rainforest Cafe for dinner. The kids love this place!
She found Dory! And none of us could believe that she didn't lose that thing! She never let it go!
Tomorrow... travel day to St. Louis!
