Nashville Trip...

This is a long one so hold on and I mean long!


Bon Jovi and Daughtry concert!
The concert was an awesome experience overall. Daughtry put on a great show. It was only about 30 minutes long (they only have one album out). Casey enjoyed them more than Bon Jovi. Chris and the band all sound just as good in person as they do on the radio or cd. I was very impressed. It also helps when the singer is hot!
Bon Jovi came out about 15 minutes after Daughtry left the stage, which I thought was very fast. Usually, it seems like you have to wait longer. I was afraid that they wouldn't be able to have the energy that Daughtry had but I was wrong! They can still rock and put on a great show after 20+ years. Jon still looks great! Age and the rockstar life hasn't affected him at all. I can't say the same for Richie or Tico or any of the other band members. I wish I could have gotten pictures but I wasn't sure if I could take my camera in or not. Because we had to walk a good ways, I opted to play on the safe side and keep it in my car. Big mistake! Cameras were allowed and I would have gone back and gotten it if I had know before we got in to the building. Once you were in, you couldn't leave the building and come back. I was so mad! We actually had decent seats. We pretty much stared at their sides the whole time but they had ramps off the side of the stage and we could see them so clearly. I would have had awesome pictures.
My only real complaint about the concert, besides the whole camera thing, was the lady sitting next to Casey had the sweetest smelling perfume. Even when she left her seat, you could still smell it as if she were sitting there. I don't do perfumes very well in normal circumstances, much less being pregnant and queasy. Oh yeah, just a not of caution, if you go to Nashville and you want to have a drink at the concert, you might want to pre-flight before you get there. Beer was $10 a piece. Granted, they were pretty big but still! I got a bottle of water for $3.50. I almost didn't buy it but I was too thirsty not too. By the middle of the Bon Jovi concert, my energy levels had decreased to zero and I wasn't sure I'd make it back to the car, but I did.

Friday Afternoon
We got up the next morning and went to Cracker Barrel and had some breakfast then headed over to Opryland Hotel to walk around and go to the mall. We drove around and around to find a way to the mall or free parking. Couldn't find either! By the way, Nashville will make you go bankrupt with what they charge for parking. ($16 for the concert, $17 at the Opryland Hotel!) Like I said, we really did try to find the mall parking lot but never saw any signs. We didn't know what else to do but pay for parking. We had 'suckers' written all over our foreheads. The hotel was beautiful and I have a few pictures that I will share. Only once we were inside did we see signs for Opry Mills mall. We read that we could walk there from the hotel, so we began our 10 mile journey there. Okay, so it wasn't 10 miles but it might as well have been. We had to cross the malls huge (mostly empty and FREE) parking lot to get there. Once inside, it was close to noon and we were a bit tired from all the walking, so we decided to go see a movie. We chose 'The Ruins'. I had read the book not too long ago and was curious to see how the movie compared. Neither the movie or the book was my favorite but still good. After that we walked around the mall and got some early dinner at Macaroni Grill. We had never been there before and decided to try it. It was pretty good. After that, we left to go rest at the hotel for a little while before the Ghost Tour.

Ghost Tour! Mua-ah-ah-ah-ahhh! :)
I was really excited about this part of the trip. Most may not know, but I've always loved a good ghost story and I've had a few experiences in my life that I cannot explain. I pretty much watch any show that has anything to do with ghosts. Call me weird but I kinda come by it naturally and yes, I do believe in ghosts. Anyway, this was the first time for anything like this for me and Casey, too. It started around 8:00 in downtown Nashville. We didn't go on a ghost hunt per say (sp?) but the guide told us we'd might be able to see one of their famous ghosts on the tour. It had happened before. Also, he told us that people had captured things on film, so take plenty of pictures. The most common thing that was caught on film were orbs. A lot of people believe this is how ghost naturally manifest themselves. I personally believe they are bugs or dust particles. I have a few in some of my pictures that I'll put up in a bit.
Our tour began in front of the beautiful Hermitage Hotel. It is believed that there are at least three ghosts in the hotel. There are reports of a baby crying in one of the rooms and when people go into the room the crying stops and no one is in there. If you'd like to stay in this room, it will cost you $2,000/night. It's a really nice hotel. Another story is that of a lady in white. She likes to come around when there is a party going on and they say she is quite beautiful. The tour guide said they have seen her before in the second story window but no luck for us. Then, there is a third ghost. Not much is known about, except that he roams the hotel freely and can be seen just about anywhere, which leads me to the most exciting part of the trip. Before the tour began, I had to use the restroom and the tour guide said that I could go into the hotel and use theirs. When, I got in to the bathroom, I was alone. All the stall doors were open and it was quite obvious that I was alone. While I was doing my business, I heard a toilet flush. I found this very odd since I was the only one in there and no one had entered the room. I left my stall and curiously looked around and found that one of the stall doors was closed. I know they had all been open when I came in. I kind of bent over to see if I could see any feet but there wasn't anything. Since I watch ghost hunters every time it is on, I know that you can capture things on film that you can't see with the naked eye. I decided to be brave and open the door and take a picture. I figure I wouldn't pee on myself if I got scared since I had already taken care of that. I opened the door and didn't see anything but took the picture anyway. I hurried out of the bathroom and found Casey. I told him of my experience and of course, he didn't believe me. I decided to check my camera. There was a full body apparition!!! I couldn't believe it. We showed the tour guide and he was amazed and said no one had ever captured anything like it before. Click here to see it. Feel free to tell me your thoughts about it.
After we left the Hermitage hotel, we went on to the state capital, where Andrew Jackson's wife, Rachel, supposedly haunts the tower. I missed some of the story but her first marriage to Andrew wasn't legal and they re-married but she was shunned my high society. Tragically, she died the day before they were to leave for Washington for his presidential inauguration. She never got to become first lady. It is also a beautiful building. There are at least 3 other ghosts that haunt the building. The architect who designed and built the building and the man who was in charged of the finances for building the building. They became mortal enemies b/c they couldn't agree on how much money to spend. They are both buried on the grounds and people claim to hear them arguing and fighting but when they go to investigate, there is no one there. The other ghost is believed to be a general from the civil war. Also buried on the grounds is James K. Polk and his wife.
The next stop on the tour, we went to the oldest church in Nashville. I believe it was called St. Mary's church of Seven Sorrows or something like that. Supposedly a priest haunts the place. He died just before the Union Army arrived in Nashville during the Civil War. They didn't have time to give him a proper burial so they buried him in the floor and ended up forgetting about him. Just a few years ago, there was work being done on the church and some worker found a coffin. They opened it up and discovered the priest. Only, he look as if he has recently died. He wasn't very decomposed. The Catholics believe this is a sign of a saint. The tour guide said it is only a matter of time before they name this priest a saint. During this stop on the tour, I quite literally stopped the tour. A HUGE cockroach had followed me and Casey across the street and headed up the church steps to where I sat. I can handle bugs, even spiders better than I can handle those things. I jumped up and ran down the steps. I think the tour guide thought I was being attacked by a ghost. He stopped what he was saying to make sure I was alright. Kind of embarrassing.
The rest of the tour was interesting but not much exciting happened. We went to Printer's Alley and then to the Ryman Auditorium. Supposedly, Hank Williams Sr. and an old Civil War soldier haunt the place. Also, Mr. Ryman himself.
It was a really good tour and neat to hear not only the ghost stories but some of the history of Nashville.
Once the tour was over, we decided to head back to the hotel and get some dinner. We were very tired and had done a ton of walking that day. I such a great time. It was a break both Casey and I needed.
Also, we paid $10 to park for the ghost tour. The guide told us, after the fact, that the best place to park downtown are on the numbered streets like 6th ave, ect. and the meter parking is free after 6:00. If only we had meet him right when we got in Nashville, we would have saved $33.00. Sorry this was so long... I can't explain anything quickly. Again, I've been call Rose b/c of my storying telling abilities, or lack there of. Here are the pictures from the trip.