We were excited for today. It was the one day that we had planned something for our morning. We checked out of the hotel around 8 am, and headed just down the street to get some breakfast. It's was Em's choice today for our meal, so Cracker Barrel it was. My kids just love this place. Always something to find on the menu... Today it was Pancakes for Em. Scrambled Eggs and Bacon and some fresh fruit for me. Here is a photo of Em playing with the Golf T game while we wait for our food. Before we left we also picked up a couple treats for ourselves. A couple of bottles of cold lemonade to carry with us for the day to help beat the heat, and a dozen or so of these sweet sticks too. Once we were done breakfast we drove only 10 minutes away into the center of Franklin to meet up with Margie Gould Thessin at the steps of the Old Court House, located on the historic square. Margie was to be our tour guide today. She is the owner of Franklin on Foot, a walking tour company that provides different themed tours of this gorgeous little town. http://franklinonfoot.com/tours/history-tours/ Our tour group was small, just the two of us and one other gentleman from Florida. Margie took us around town for a 90 minue walking tour past beautiful antebellum homes and strore fronts, and told us the stories of the people who resided there. Emily really enjoyed the story of Sally Carter, a widowed woman who was loyal and faithful to the Confederacy, even after the occupation of Franklin by the Union Army. This is not the part of the story that Em loved the most, it was how Mrs. Sally Carter became a Spy. And how she often invited Union soldiers to her home for a meal , and perhaps some whisky, and would overhear them speaking about their plans for battle or other Union Army information that she would then write down, and hide within her hoop skirts and take outside the city to the confederate army. All persons leaving the town of Franklin would need a pass and would have their wagons and possessions searched. But because she was a woman, her body could not, and this is how many woman became spies during the war. Another story we enjoyed was that of Doctor Cliff and his daughter Belle. When the Doctor volunteered for the army it was as a Conferate Soldier with his neighbours in Franklin, Tennessee. But during the war he was captured and convinced the Union that he was no longer a supporter of the Confederacy and was able to change armies and work with them instead of being held prisoner. You can imagine how his neighbours felt about his changing of guard. They considered the Doctor and his family to be traitors. This made it very difficult for his daughter Belle. Before the war it was believed that she had many suitors. But now those suitors were on opposite lines of the war, and they and their families would never consider her to be a suitable bride. That was until one day when a battle occured right within Franklin itself. A Union General was injured, and was rushed to the home of Doctor Cliff to be taken care of. It is here that the General met the lovely Belle Cliff, and they were married shortly afterwards. The General moved to Franklin so Belle could stay close to her family, and became well loved by the entire community as well. So a happy ending for Belle! Here are a few photos that Em and I took around Franklin today. This is the statue of a confederate soldier in the middle of the town Square. It was pretty warm outside, we we were so thankful to have those lemonade bottles we purchased. They were both empty after an hour and a half. At the end of our tour the guide asked Em a couple of questions, and thanked her for behavior and her knowledge, and then pulled a book out of her bag. The book was called Lizzie's War , and was written by our guide. I asked her if I could pay her for it, but she refused. Such a lovely gesture. Emmy and local author/ tour guide Margie Gould Thessin. After Franklin it was time to head into the city. Though it was starting to look like a storm was brewing. We needed to find something to do for the afternoon that was indoors, and since we were learning about history today I though Em should learn a little bit about the history of Country Music itself. So off to the Grand Ol' Opry we went, and I bought tickets to the backstage tour. Let me just say. We LOVED it. My little performer was mesmerized by the place, and the history and the photos and videos they show you along the way. To stand on that stage was pretty great. Catching a glimpse of young country star Hunter Hayes was very cool too. Here are some of our photos from the Grand Ol' Opry. These two photos were taken in the television studio located backstage at the Opry. CMT and ABC's Nashville use it currently, but it also was the studio for HeeHaw. When Minnie Pearl was performing here, often she would sing a song on the stage of the Opry, and then run backstage and film a scene for the show on a Opry commercial break. The red seats are where the live studio audience sits. Opry Post Office. You can actually write to your favourite Opry Member here. The members boxes are listed alphabetically. Except for Little Jimmy Dickens, who had number 144 instead because he wouldn't have been able to reach his box at only 4 foot 11. Each dressing room is numbered, named , themed, and decorated completely differently. The first time you are ever invited to play at the Opry, this is the room you are given. You are invited Into the Circle. ( You will see why it is called that in a minute.) Inside the Green Room backstage is this large mural. If you look closely you can see a brown stain across it. That is because the flood waters from the Cumberland River reached 4 feet high inside and above stage level in the Opry in 2010. This mural was not able to be carried out fast enough, but they have restored it best they could. Now remember that Circle I spoke about. Here it is. A circle of the Ryman floor, where the Grand Ol' Opry once performed was placed here in the Opry Theatre so that Opry Members can remember and be a part of the same stage that history has graced. All that walking made us pretty tired. So we have arrived at hotel #4. http://embassysuites3.hilton.com/en/hotels/tennessee/embassy-suites-nashville-airport-BNANAES/index.html This hotel will be our home for the next few days so we can explore more of what Nashville has to offer us. So much more to explore tomorrow, until then. Good Night from Nashville.
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