Nashville pictures

If you have a www.flickr.com account, log on there and search for osagebluffquilter. You will find all my pictures of Opryland!

Enjoy!

A Week in Nashville

One blog to tell you about the week I just had!

Saturday morning we left by 8:15 and headed to St Louis for a morning flight to Nashville. By 1:10 we had landed 10 minutes ahead of schedule. It was a quick 10 minute cab ride to the Opryland Hotel. Our room was located in the Cascade area on the first floor. We felt lucky to be close to restaurants and shopping, since this Hotel covers 47 acres and has 2881 guest rooms!

After unpacking we went to the Cascade Terrace Lounge, just out from our room for a drink. There we were able to take in the sights and sounds of the waterfalls as the lounge revolved making a complete circle every hour. About 4:00 we walked to the Opryland Mall just ¾ of a mile away. We ate at Johnny Rocket's. Just as we were walking out of the mall and across the street to The Grand Ole Opry it was starting to sprinkle. I hopped into the ticket office to claim our tickets that were on hold. As I came out it was pouring so hard you couldn't see across the street.

Our seats weren't bad and they were very comfortable pews with padding on the top and bottom. (our guess was the padding was for all the gray hairs). The show was just AWESOME. Vince Gill, Kellie Pickler, Bill Anderson, Charlie Daniels, Jean Shepard and Little Jimmie Dickens. The 2nd hour of the show was broadcast live on television. The last hour was just great music. We really enjoyed our show and would do it again if we had the chance. We walked back to our hotel room and crashed about 10.

Sunday we decided to find breakfast so we walked the hotel. One restaurant advertised “Brunch”, when we finally found it, the “brunch” was $32.95 per person, not including tax or tip. Needless to say we passed on that one. We found a little coffee shop and had egg muffins and coffee and Cappuccino! *(About $50 saved right there)

Later we were taking a stroll through the Garden Conservatory and ran into Cheryl and Steve, whom we meet 2 years ago at the same conference in Miami Beach. Cheryl and I hugged, then looked at each other and hugged again, as if we couldn't believe we seeing each other in person.

At 3:30 the opening session was being held for the IT conference (aka Common). With nearly 2000 people in the room, we never found Cheryl and Steve. Close to the end of the 2 hour meeting BT got a call from Jeff and Kayle Winters who had just arrived. I texted Jeff on where we were, they were outside the room waiting for us when the meeting was over. We all went down to the trade booth section and took advantage of the free food and free alcohol. We decided to walk to the mall and eat at Dave and Buster's. After more drinks, we ordered and had a great time sitting and visiting.

When we got back to our room, my pedometer registered 4.05 miles walked for the day.

Monday the guest program started at 8:00, there I introduced Kayle to Cheryl. This would be our meeting place for the next 4 days. We enjoyed our free breakfast and then walked the Opryland Resort taking many pictures of the beautiful flowers. The last time I was with Cheryl she was a professional Chef, since then she has become a certified Master Gardner. So Kayla and I had our personal horticulturist for a tour of the gardens.

Late in the morning we found the “Di Vine” lady. I can't take credit for this video, but you need to check her out. Unbelievable.

We took the $9.00 boat ride around the inside of the Hotel. Funny thing was, someone had told Cheryl it was a four mile ride. Well the 15 minute ride must have really gone fast, because it seemed like just a quarter mile, which is what we were told then. LOL

Us girls meet our guys at noon in the Expo area for a free lunch. When the guys went back to class we walked to the mall. Cheryl had found great shoes stores and needed another look. We popped into Sax Fifth Ave. There I tried on a pair of heels, the original price on them was $695.00 but wait, they were on sale for $295.00 What a bargain! But it was one I was able to pass up quite easily.

That evening BT, myself, Jeff and Kayla, and Cheryl and Steve were together again in the Revolving bar. This would become a nightly ritual. When we returned to our room late that evening I had walked 5.37 miles!

Tuesday morning, us girls decided not to met at the crack of dawn! So it was 8:30 before we got to breakfast. After that we went to the Java Coast for some hot coffee where I got my mocha cappuccino fix. We shopped until it was time for the free lunch with the guys. Finally they had some good fresh salad, along with that was panini sandwiches. I had a veggie one that was really good. After lunch we walked some more and took more plant pictures. Then we all took some time to ourselves in our rooms. A girl needs to check email and make phone calls!

At 5:15 all three couples meet at the Jack Daniel's Saloon. It is the only official Jack Daniel's Saloon. Jeff, Kayla, Cheryl and Steve needed an early dinner to make the 6:30 Grand Ole Opry show. BT and I went to the I Social where drinks are $1 to $2.00 a piece. A lot different then the $12 martini's or $10 Marguerite's at the moving bar. And after a drink or two you don't know who's moving you or the bar.

Total walking distance today was only 2.69 miles

Wednesday, it was almost 9:00 before the girls made breakfast. Cheryl and Steve got a call that they had won the cute dinosaur from the Expo show. It' is battery operated and can be programed.

Yesterday was the last day for free lunches, so we each met our husbands at noon and went separate ways. BT and I grabbed pizza at Paisano's Pizzaria & Vino, minus the vino for us. We walked to The Grand Ole Opry for a 3:00 taping of the Crook and Chase show. We thought it was just going to be Loretta Lynn and Josh Gracin appearing, but Crystal Gayle and Peggy Sue, both Loretta's sister came and performed too. Our seats were in the nose bleed sections but at least we were centered and could see pretty good.

Steve and Cheryl took the evening off and went downtown Nashville. Unfortunately Wildhorse Saloon was closed. Kayla and Jeff meet us again in the rotating bar before we went to the I Social.

Total of 4.89 miles walked today.

Thursday Kayla, Cheryl and I got to breakfast about 9:10, this would be our last day together. Kayla was leaving by the 11:00 check out time. It had been pouring rain outside most of the night and this morning. We said our goodbyes to Kayle and wished her a safe trip to visit with her sister over night before heading back to Missouri.

BT and I called each other at noon time and met at Stax for lunch, he chose the beef burger and I went for the veggie burger. I then relaxed in my room for a while.

The Conference closing was a party with dinner and free drinks at 5:30. We saved Cheryl and Steve a seat and set out for food and drinks. It was a “Bonkers” night with games being played on stage. The last thing of the evening was when they drew numbers from tickets that were given as we entered the room. My number was called and I was on stage before I knew what I had even won, it was a Wii. We said our goodbyes to our friends and wished them well. They will drive back to Indiana over the next two days taking a little side trip.

We were in our room by 9:00 and had lots of missed calls to return on the cell phone.

Friday, we were up before the 6:30 alarm. We had a 9:15 flight. It was raining as we flew out of Nashville, but just cloudy in St Louis. A quick stop at Ruiz Mexican restaurant in Wright City for lunch and BT filled up with $3.29 a gallon gas. We pulled in at home at 2:00 exactly, 133 miles one way, no I didn't walk it....and Bentley was sure glad to see us. And the same goes for us.

Easter Sunday

It was so nice to spend Easter in OK City, as all the Bradford pear trees were at their fullest, the daffodils were blooming, and the red buds were just starting to come on.

We had coffee and Danish twist for Breakfast. I figured we had to help the kids eat the two loaves so that it wouldn't go to waste.

Since Rusty had to go to work about 3:00, we decided to eat about 2:00. The ham was finished baking just prior to that. Sarah wanted me to make the rest of the romaine into a Caesar salad. Along with Easter eggs, jello eggs, Fresh Asparagus and potato salad our table was complete. Oh and did I mention we had a table to eat on too. They had just purchased a new beautiful iron and tile table for their patio, but since it was still a little too breezy outside they left it in for us to eat on.



After Rusty left for work, we all changed clothes and went to 5:30 mass at St John the Baptist Catholic Church It was a beautiful mass, the youth choir was excellent and that was after the priest said a lot of their members were on spring break and away for the holiday.



When we arrived back home Rusty was there on dinner break, so we all snacked around a little bit.

BT and I turned in after the late evening news, of course we had to see our favorite weatherman. We would be getting up before 8 AM to head home. In all it was a beautiful Easter Holiday, we missed not seeing the little guys and Jeremy and Lori, but then we do get to see them more then Sarah and Rusty.

So thanks Sarah and Rusty for a great visit! Love Mom

PS Sorry the camera died, we have discovered it's a lense opening and shutting issue.

Easter Saturday

Well for those of you asking about the dog with the rabbit in mouth, that is not BENTLEY! You can Google and find anything on the Internet.


BT and I left Friday morning and traveled 412 miles to Sarah's in Oklahoma City. We found Sarah and Rusty waiting and hungry. So we all piled in Sarah's car and she drove us to Lakeside Restaurant on Lake Hefner. They served huge portions, thank goodness I didn't ordered an appetizer like the rest. We had to get to go boxes. Of course Sarah and I finished our Margaritas for sure!


Saturday morning we all slept in, well except for Josie the dog. We made a little breakfast, sat around a visited and then headed out for the Oklahoma City National Memorial , the day was beautiful, warm, sunny and a light breeze was blowing. Sarah parked just across the street from the 3 story museum. After a $10 entrance fee, you take the elevator to the 3rd floor and it's a self guided tour. It presentation is unbelievable, there are video's every where, pictures, and articles from the actual site, its very moving. No one talks hardly above a whisper. It takes you from an hour before the bomb goes off until the end of the trial for the murderers. One of the last rooms you go through has all 168 pictures of each person killed, and below it is a glass box where family members put remembrance of each person, from the baby's pacifier to a can of hair spray, a bible, a rosary, a miniature sewing machine, a quilt pin, a family picture and it gets more emotional as you look at each one.




Two hours later we walked out, one of the last things I viewed was the quilt display that was there for a few weeks. The parking meter was expired. Rusty went to add more money to the meter. When he came back we were at the reflecting pool. We then walked quietly past the 168 chairs and past the two walls with the time of 9:01 and 9:03 on them.


You leave there with sadness in your heart.


Before heading home we stopped at the mall where all four of us went shopping for a set of Pots and Pans for Sarah and Rusty's Easter present. We started at Macy's but ended up in Penney's. As we were checking out, the sales clerk recognized Rusty. It was at that point that we didn't exist to her, even though I had just made the purchase. LOL


The next stop was Super Target for some vegetables to fix with the BBQ. I also picked up a big glass Anchor Hocking bowl so I could make Danish Twist.


Once we got home BT and Rusty starting grilling the chicken, brats and the big potatoes, both white and sweet potatoes. Sarah and I dyed the eggs and made potato salad for Easter Sunday as well as Caesar Salad to go with our BBQ. I also made the Danish Twist dough.


After our great meal, we watched a little TV and headed to bed about 11 PM.

Almost time to build that Ark

March 18th, it's been raining non-stop since yesterday morning. When we got up this morning, according to the radio DJ, we had 2 inches of rain. I put out my rain gauge at 8:00 AM and by noon, I already had an inch. Total is now 3 inches.

So when I left about 3:00 this afternoon, I took the following pictures from my car window. After all a girl can't get her hair wet!

It's almost bedtime and it looks like there is another 3/4 to an inch of rain in the gauge. AND it's still raining! Anybody have Noah's phone number?

Blacksmith Association of Missouri meeting

Saturday morning came way too early. We wanted to get up about 7:15, however the ladies upstairs with the lead weighs on their feet, thought we should be up at 5:00. They finally got gone about an hour later and we tried to go back to sleep. It had been a long night, between those ladies coming in a 10:30, talking outside on the balcony, then all taking showers and it drained behind our bed wall, then there was the lightening storm with 3 good burst, and to top it off a siren about an hour later. Little said, we missed a lot of sleep.

By 8 AM we were ready to check out and grab the complimentary breakfast. HA! that was a closet with a coffee maker and a toaster for the pop tarts. We chose to go for the donuts and coffee as promised at the BAM meeting. The morning was cloudy and cold with a bit of wind thrown in at times, later the showers came.

The statewide bi-monthly meeting of the Blacksmith’s Association of Missouri (BAM) was held at the Tom Kennon Blacksmith Shop at the Pioneer Heritage Homestead in downtown Doniphan on March 15th. Over 30 members from all over the State attended the day long session hosted by the local blacksmith user group sponsored by the Doniphan Neighborhood Assistance Program (DNAP). Local BAM members, Chris Miller and Dennis Morhmann, organized the event and prepared the shop for the meeting. Early risers started showing up around 7:30 a.m. as coffee and donuts were set up and the shop forge fired up. Ray Joe Hastings of Doniphan, Missouri, was the principal demonstrator for the meeting giving a demonstration on the forging of fishing gigs starting at 9:00 a.m.. An lifelong outdoors man and craftsman, Ray Joe has just authored a new book on the subject of fishing gigs and john boats and his expertise in the art of hand forging fishing gigs using traditional black smithing techniques was well received by the BAM members attending the meeting.*

The meeting broke for lunch and we walked one block to the The Community Center just North of the Shop . It was a catered lunch of pulled pork, baked beans, slaw and homemade chocolate cookies. A brief business meeting followed with Kirk Sullens talking in a whisper due to laryngitis. Thank goodness for a microphone and a bunch of guys that sat very quietly. After the meeting was adjourned the iron in the hat drawing was made. For those of you that don't know what that is, members donate items and you can buy tickets to win them. Bernie wanted a small vise and put the majority of his tickets in that cup. Kirk was the lucky winner and graciously handed it over to Bernie. Thanks Kirk! Then Ray Joe, drew for the winner of his hand made gig. Bernie was the lucky winner and a very happy recipient.

The group was then given the opportunity to tour the Current River Heritage Museum. Ray Joe had his large collection of gigs in a case along the back wall. The museum was very well stocked with items from the town's history. I even found a doll identical to the one I receive for Christmas when I was 5 years old.

We said our goodbyes and were on the road before 2:30.

Before leaving town we stopped for fuel at $3.09 a gallon. We drove until Salem and then we stopped at McDonald's for a break and an iced coffee. Our last stop of the afternoon was in Rolla for a burger. The town was full of GREEN. It seems we had just missed the St Patrick's Parade. All the employees at the burger shop we decked out to the 9's in green clothes, beads, stickers, even funny hats.

As we drove up Bentley was barking, someone was glad to see us.

After playing with the dog and let him out for a stretch, we unloaded the car and headed for the recliners. Bedtime came early.

*Copied from Ripley County Community Forum

The road to Doniphan Missouri

Friday morning I tipped toed out of the house and headed to work while BT snoozed away. I would only work a half day and when I came home he was ready to hit the road. After a quick PB sandwich and a green tea we were on our way.

There's not a good way to go to Doniphan, it's either very twisty and curvy roads or straight and hilly, really it's a combination of all of those.

We stopped in the National Ozark's Scenic Riverway at Round Spring for a potty break and to stretch our legs. I quickly snapped this picture.

Round Spring is located approximately 13 miles north of Eminence on Highway 19. The spring flows into an almost perfectly circular cavern that has collapsed, and from there it travels through a natural tunnel before it emerges into the spring branch. The average flow of the spring during a 16-year record is 40 cfs and 26 mgd (Vineyard and Feder 1974). The recharge area of the spring encompasses roughly 45 square miles (Aley and Aley 1987). A portion of the spring's recharge area is situated to the southwest under Spring Valley. It is also possible that part of the recharge area is situated to the northeast, which means that the groundwater would have to flow under the Current River to reach the spring.Round Spring was also one of the first parks in the Missouri state park system (1932).

Not too far down the road as we were traveling we did a bat turn to snap this picture of a dilapidated old Mill. There were signs posted every where for "No Trespassing" As we drove away the little old lady across the road was peaking out from under her blinds at us. She probably had her shot gun loaded had we stepped out of bounds.

Four hours and 200 miles later we arrived at Doniphan. We did a quick drive through the town and found the Heritage Homestead where the BAM (Blacksmith Association of Missouri) meeting will be held on Saturday. (The reason for our trip) Chris was just locking up, but offered to give us a quick tour. We asked him for a dinner recommendation and he suggested The Annex.

We checked in at the Days Inn and dropped off our luggage and went back the 2 to 3 miles to the town square where we found "The Annex". A very nice quaint little restaurant. After seeing the dessert case(s) I almost skipped the main course. BT chose the all your could eat Catfish Fillets with 6 jumbo fried shrimp. I went for the dozen skewed shrimp. While we waited for our dinner they brought us hot homemade clover wheat rolls and honey butter. They were to die for. I held back, knowing if I ate too much bread, I wouldn't have room for my shrimp.

After finishing our meal BT told the young waiter they should rename the "all you can eat" meal to "more then you can eat". There was no room for dessert. When we went to the counter to pay, we saw the dessert case which had, Key Lime pie, Apple pie, Pecan pie, Cherry pie, and homemade cookies. Darn the luck!

We drove just two block to see the Current River, at the public river access, we talked to A E Nichols, who had several poles going. While there he pulled in a nice 5-6 lbs small mouth bass, and said "oh shoot, just a small mouth" and threw it back in. He was fishing for Walleye. From his coat pocket he pulled out pictures to show us of fish he had caught on a previous trip, he also had beautiful scenic pictures of the area and even some of his wood working projects. While talking to him, he and BT discover they both knew Jake McCormick from Eminence Mo. Small world.

As the sun set across the river I took some beautiful pictures. It was then getting cool, we bid a farewell to A E and headed for our hotel.