Day 2 - Los Angeles Airport to Nashville and The Grand Ole Opry

We left Los Angeles at 7am and arrived in Nashville at 1pm.

After checking into the hotel and unpacking, we went directly to the Grand Ole Opry.

I was quite impressed with the Opry, because I was expecting an old dilapidated building and this was not the case. The Opry is a large modern building that I would liken to the Ahmanson in Los Angeles.

We were fortunate to arrive in time for the last behind the scenes tour of the Opry.

Our tour guide gave us the history of the building and then led us inside.

The picture on the left is the stage with the famous barn backdrop, and on the right is looking out into the auditorium from the stage.

Once we were on stage we couldn't pass up the opportunity to grab the mike and belt out a good old country balad. Now we can both say that we HAVE sung on the stage at the Opry. Little did I know that just a few hours later, Vince Gill would also grab the same mike, I just used, and sing a sweet love song. I will never wash that hand again.

The actual show, at the Opry, thrilled me beyond my wildest dream. It ran three hours and featured 23 acts. The highlights were Porter Wagoner, Johnny Paycheck, Vince Gill (cute!) and Loretta Lynn.

This was the first appearance by Loretta since her husband died. She looked beautiful in a bright green, long to the floor gown. I got goose bumps when she sang Cole Miner's Daughter.