Yes, please!

Background for This Trip

During June, we toured the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on the return leg of our trip to New Mexico and Colorado. Inspired by the venerable building’s history and ambience, we vowed to return to the “Mother Church of Country Music”, to hear a live concert. 

Although we had envisioned seeing a bluegrass or country performance, we couldn’t resist buying tickets for the British rock band Yes when we learned that they would be performing at the Ryman on their 50th anniversary celebration tour of their “Close to the Edge” album. This progressive rock album was released in 1972 while I was in high school. Although I heard it on FM radio then, it wasn’t until later, when I was a student at the University of Georgia that I obtained a copy. 

In preparation for our trip, I loaded my vinyl “Close to the Edge” disc on the trusty ol’ Bang & Olufsen turntable and teleported myself back to my youth.

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We departed for Knoxville, TN,  late morning heading west on I-40. We stopped in Statesville, NC, for a light lunch at the Fresh Chef before continuing west. Passing through the mountains, we enjoyed the beautiful views as the leaves had started displaying their fall colors. In Knoxville, we checked into the Hampton Inn & Suites (Papermill Drive) just off of I-40. After settling in and resting awhile, we drove to the nearby Union Jacks English Pub for a beer. The selection of beer was impressive. I decided on the Cubana Coffee Brown Ale by Alliance Brewing Company (Knoxville) while Jane sampled a Truth IPA from Rhinegeist Brewery (Cincinnati). We enjoyed our brews and the English ambience complete with darts and billiards. 

Time for Happy Hour!

We enjoyed an IPA and a Brown Ale

John & The Sunsphere during the 1982 World’s Fair

John & The Sunsphere in 2022

The Tennessee Amphitheater during the 1982 World’s Fair

Jane & The Tennessee Amphitheater in 2022

World’s Fair Park

The Eastern Edge of UT Campus

Neyland Stadium, home of the Volunteers

We enjoyed a Hearty Seafood Dinner Here

Monday, October 10, 2022

This morning we ate breakfast at the hotel, refueled the car, and again headed west on I-40. We arrived in Nashville mid-morning before we could check into our cabin, and so drove directly to Centennial Park. The park is the site where, in 1897, the state of Tennessee held a mammoth exposition to celebrate its 100th anniversary of statehood. The Tennessee Centennial Exposition offered more than 30 grand pavilions and themed buildings and was attended by 1.8 million visitors. A replica of the Parthenon from the exposition still exists and has been enhanced and now serves as the centerpieces of Centennial Park. Jane & I have visited the original Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The Nashville version is a great full-scale replica although on flat ground rather than a hill (the Acropolis). But the Nashville Parthenon has something amazing that the Athenian one no longer has, a 43-foot tall gold stature of the goddess Athena holding the goddess Nike. She was quite impressive! The Parthenon also serves as an art museum. Photographs and unique memorabilia from the Centennial Exposition were on display. There was an art collection donated by James M. Cowan featuring the works of 57 American artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

Front of the Nashville Parthenon

Side View of the Parthenon

My What Big Doors you Have! (7.5 tons of bronze each)

Goddess Athena with Nike in Hand

After visiting the Parthenon, we walked through the park and ate lunch at P. F. Chang’s adjacent the Vanderbilt University campus where we were in sight of FirstBank Stadium, home of the Commodores. The restaurant obviously didn’t have enough staff to handle the demand so service was slow but the food good. Afterwards, we wondered some more around Centennial Park included circumnavigating Lake Watauga.

Jane hanging with TN Suffragrettes, Kindred Spirits

Slow Service but Good Food

Home of the Vanderbilt Commodores

Parthenon reflection in Lake Watauga

After enjoying our stroll around Centennial Park we drove to the Nashville KOA Holiday. While camping at KOAs many time in our RV, we had always been curious about the rental cabins we had seen at many of their campgrounds. Our cabin, R32 was nice and woody with two bedrooms & baths and a large central room with a television for cooking, dining and couching. The weather was delightful, so after walking around the campground to get our bearings, we opted for happy hour on our cabin patio while playing games. We later prepared dinner and dined inside before heading to bed.

Welcome to Music City

Campground Lounge

Gaming on the Cabin Patio

Tuesday, October 11, 2022

This morning we boarded the shuttle to downtown Nashville. The hourly shuttle costs $10 roundtrip and happened to stop in front of our destination, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. We enjoyed the museum that traces the history of country music from its hillbilly origins to present day following many side-braches such as country rock. I particularly enjoyed the old-time roots and bluegrass sections. In fact, two iconic instruments of bluegrass were on display side-by-side, Earl Scruggs 1930 Gibson RB-Granada Mastertone banjo (#9584-3)and Bill Monroe’s 1923 Gibson F-5 Master Model mandolin (#73987). I stood mesmerized for a long time while largely uninterested crowds swirled by behind me. The Country Music Hall of Fame was housed in a separate large circular room with official plaques of all 149 inducted members since its inception in 1961 displayed on the curved wall. 

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Earl Scruggs’ 1930 Gibson RB-Granada Mastertone Banjo (#9584-3)

Bill Monroe’s 1923 Gibson F-5 Master Model Mandolin (#73987)

Country Music Hall of Fame

After the museum, we wandered around for awhile then headed up John Lewis Way (5th Avenue) toward a restaurant district across from the Ryman Auditorium. We decided to eat at Boqueria which offered Barcelone-style tapas. It was an excellent choice; the food was great, we got to sample Estrella, a Barcelonan beer, and had a view of the Ryman from our outdoor table. After lunch, we walked back to the shuttle stop and took it back to the campground and relaxed at our cabin for awhile.

Enjoying Barcelona-style Tapas with a View of the Ryman

Loretta Lynn passed shortly before Our Visit to the Ryman

Bridgestone Arena, Home of the Nashville Predators Hockey Team

We caught the 7 pm shuttle from the campground to downtown in order to make the 8 pm Yes concert at the Ryman. As we walked thought the intersection with legendary Broad Street, the bars were hopping with music. At the Ryman we waiting in a relatively fast-moving line to go through security. Inside, the lines for refreshments (including beer and wine) were short but there was a very long line to purchase Yes memorabilia. We took our seat in the middle section of the balcony three rows from the front. (We later were able to move to nearby seats because Jane had a partially obstructed view in our assigned seats.) The anticipation built as the (predominantly elderly) audience filed in and took their seats.

The band walked on stage, manned their instruments and played “On the Silent wings of Freedom” for their first song. After that song, Jane donned her earplugs. I held off with the ear plugs until the third song when I saw that the sound level was around 95 dB. (My phone recorded a max level of 107 dB!) I had no problem hearing any of the nuances of the music with earplugs in and also enjoyed the bass vibrating through the church pews of the Ryman.

After about eight songs, an intermission ensued. In the second set, the band played the entire 50-year-old “Close to the Edge”. The album is three long songs: Close to the Edge (with four movements, And You and I, and Siberian Khatru. I am most familiar with these songs and was captivated watching them being performed live. Seventy-five year-old, Steve Howe, played his parts just like he did at age 25 including switching between two guitars, one on a shoulder strap and one mounted on a stand. After the second set, the audience convinced the band to retake the stage for an encore and were treated to “Roundabout” and “Starship Troop”.

After the concert, we walked back to the shuttle pick-up and eventually arrived back at the campground cabin and enjoyed its peacefulness in contrast to the concert and cacophonous downtown Nashville. 

The Pubs along Broad Street were Hopping with Music

Ryman Auditorium at Night

A Cozy Rock Arena

The Anticipation Builds

Rockin’ at the Ryman

75-year-old Steve Howe riffed like he did 50 years ago while alternating Guitars

Lead Singer Jon Davison

That’s All Folks

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Today we travelled from Nashville to Pigeon Forge. We refueled at a Buc-ee’s along I-40. This was our first (maybe last) Buc-ee’s experience. Buc-ee’s is a Texas-based discount gas station and travel center in overdrive and claims to have the “world’s cleanest restrooms. The gas was cheap and the restrooms were clean but negotiating through the throngs of people these features attract is not my cup of tea. 

As we approached Pigeon Forge, we were monitoring the process of my sister, Lisa, who was driving up from Greenville, SC, to meet us. She arrived at the Pigeon Forge / Gatlinburg KOA about a half hour ahead of us and texted that she would wait for us beside the pool. We instantly spotted her as we arrived but unfortunately had to wait another 1.5 hours to gain access to our reserved cabin despite being after check-in time. So, naturally, we brought out the games and occupied ourselves poolside until we could move into the cabin.

The cabin was similar but larger than the one we had at the Nashville KOA. It featured a large outdoor deck that overlooked a trolley stop and Patriot Park with the west prong of Little Pigeon River in the distance. After settling in, we wiped the moisture off the deck table and chairs and enjoyed happy hour and games while catching up with news from Lisa. Later, we drove into Pigeon Forge and ate at Harpoon Harry’s Crab House before returning to the cabin to retire for the evening.

Our KOA Cabin in Pigeon Forge

Deck View of the Trolly Stop and Patriot Park

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Today we three walked down to the trolley station and rode to Dollywood. After disembarking from the trolley we had a long circuitous walk to enter the park. Once inside we wandered around taking in the views of the rides, shoppes, restaurants and other attractions. I was comforted by the mountain and bluegrass music that was broadcast via speakers throughout the park. We all three rode on Blazing Fury, a fun but mild indoor roller coaster and took the train ride around the park.  Lisa and I also tried a more aggressive outdoor roller coaster. My favorite part of the visit was listening to excellent live music at various venues including hearing The Family Sowell and The Amanda Cook Band. We also managed to find healthy and tasty lunches at Dollywood.

The park was decked out with more than 12,000 pumpkins for Halloween which are illuminated at night for Great Pumpkin Luminights. So, we left Dollywood mid-afternoon and returned to the cabin, then trekked back to Dollywood at dark. The park took on a whole different character at night and was more crowded. The nighttime return was definitely worthwhile and I was able photograph some of the same features in daylight versus night for some interesting comparisons. We departed just before closing time (9 pm) and took the shuttle back to the campground cabin grateful to not have to deal with the parking lot traffic jam. 

Daredevil Falls

The Amanda Cook Band

— Dollywood – Day versus Night Photographs —

— More Nighttime Views —

Friday, October 14, 2022

Today we cleaned up the cabin and departed our separate ways. Jane & I made good time. The leaf color driving through the mountains was gorgeous having developed noticeably since our westbound travel leg. We arrived home mid-afternoon to a happy Zorro after completing another wonderful travel adventure.