Back from vacation!

 I'm back from our vacation and have lots to share with you.  So that I don't overload you with pictures, I'll split this up into several posts.

Last Wednesday evening, we went to pick up our rental car.  For many years, we've made it our practice to rent a car when traveling.  It keeps our cars from all that extra mileage, and if there is car trouble, it's not our issue!  Usually these cars get better gas mileage and it's fun to drive something new and different.
For this trip, I had just reserved a standard car.  Imagine our surprise when we got to the rental place and were offered this car...

They said - we have this Alfa Romeo in right now if you would like it.  You should have seen Bob's eyes light up!  This car costs about $60,000 new and it only had 9,000 miles on it.  It had all kinds of fancy gadgets, was very fast and fun - and got great gas mileage. We got between 36-44 MPG on the trip.

On our first day we drove from Michigan, through Indiana, Kentucky and to Tennessee where we spent the next day with our son Andy and wife Nikki. Andy works on the Fort Campbell army base, working on Apache helicoptors.
We had such a great day with them.

We went to Nashville and started the day by touring President Andrew Jacksons home there.  The plantation is called Hermitage and is beautiful! Construction for the home started in 1819.
We couldn't take pictures inside, but afterward were able to walk around the property and the gardens.

Andy and Nikki

The log cabin in the back was the Jackson's first home.  They lived in it for quite a few years.

The property is so pretty.

I fell in love with the magnolia trees.  Unfortunately, they don't grow up here!

Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachel are buried here.  Next to this is a small site where family members and some slaves are buried.  If you are ever in the area, it's well worth your time to go through it.

Later that day, Andy took us to the Opryland Hotel.  You don't have to be a guest to walk around inside.  This place is huge and is not your typical hotel! There are 9 acres of gardens inside.

The grand entrance to the hotel.

The view when we walked into one of the atriums.

There is a river in the hotel and you can take boat rides!

Another view of the boat ride.

The fountain does shows with the water shooting to various heights.

It's like walking in a tropical setting and photos don't do it credit.

We had supper with Andy and Nikki at the Cheesecake Factory (Yum!). We had to say goodbye to them as we were leaving early the next morning for South Carolina. I'll share that with you tomorrow.