1) Erel & I touring the Country Music Hall of Fame w/Slim Bivens (who I know from many moons back when I helped on stage crew for Whiteheart in '94-'95 or so - he is a stage manager/sound guy type person & has worked with Hoi Polloi, Michael W. Smith, Reba McEntire, the Eagles, Paul McCartney etc etc). The tour started w/Tammy Wynette and moved on down the list over the years. Sometimes I think I don't have that much 'country' in me, but if you think about it, that most recent song I posted on myspace - Wake Your Horse Up - definitely is...and I've performed covers of songs by Johnny Cash, Emmy Lou Harris, and The Carter Family...so I guess I'm at least a little countrified. :) I was even shocked to find I actually cried when I watched the video of the interview with Dolly Parton, when she was explaining how she wrote the song 'Jolene'! I am such a softie! Slim enjoyed seeing how many of the gold record artists he'd worked with over the years, and was thoroughly disgusted when one of the last artists documented in the tour was Taylor Swift, who was playing across the street and had about 15 trucks loading in. He is not exactly a fan.
2) Mexican food for lunch with the three of us and Steve and Gean Bell - I met Steve on Facebook after he read a comment I wrote on a friend's blog involving Puddleglum(sp?) & a faith crisis a year or two ago. So neat to finally meet he & Gean!
(Steve & Gean)
(me, peacock, Slim - photo courtesy Erel Pilo)
3) Erel went biking around Nashville and took a quick free bus tour while Slim & I caught up a bit.
4) My friend Lydia picked us all up and drove us over to East Nashville to walk a street fair event and eat ice cream. We were thereafter caught in a rainstorm without umbrellas, and hung out on the porch eating ice cream and watching the great sheets of rain come down. Lydia's friend Roddy also joined us...and when the rain let up and she was driving us all back over to our vehicles, he told us an amazing story about a time when he was in Africa and felt the Lord calling him to stay a week or more longer in Africa and to travel to Nairobi, without any money. So his team went back to the US and he went to Nairobi. There he was housed by a pretty financially well off couple who were Hindu and Unitarian I believe - just some random folks he met - and they liked him so much that they offered and insisted on paying to change his ticket back to a later date so that they could pay for him to go on a real safari. Crazy!
(Lydia)
(Erel)
(Lydia, Erel, me, Slim, Roddy - photo courtesy of Roddy MacIvor)
5) Erel & I returned 'home' and the Persikos (Dick and Gail) took us on a short tour of Hendersonville...
6) ...and then for Chinese! No pic of this, but my fortune cookie said:
You will have good luck in your personal affairs.
7) ...and then to the Opryland Hotel! It is right next to the Grand Ole Opry, which we didn't see since the hotel was so very vast, but we got to tour all the arboretums
...and see a very impressive water and light show.
8) After this, I think Erel went to see some music with Brett, but I'd been up earlier in the morning blogging so all this was about all my little traveling self could handle, and I collapsed upon return home into immediate sleep. :)
I love the picture of the window looking out at the rain. amazing! i also have enjoyed reading about your adventures.
ReplyDeleteActually, you might be referring to the photo from behind the waterfall in the arboretum - unless you're thinking of the view of the rain from the porch? Both are cool :) Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAs I keep sayin', I'm sad our paths won't cross on THIS LA trip - but to be fair, you have seen more of me than any LA-ite since my living there, I think! :) Enjoy your travels!!