Communications Note - Michelle has been having some trouble with her email. Please use the davisfamilytol@gmail.com email address to contact her. If you've sent anything in the last couple of weeks, you may wish to resend.

We had a relatively short 4 hour drive Friday morning from Memphis to Nashville, where we'll spend 4 nights in what I hope will prove to be a relaxing stay. Thank God for air conditioning, it's really hot here. I think I'm getting soft in the low humidity of Montana.

We don't have a lot planned here, which will be nice for the holiday weekend. We'll go and see the sights, the girls will do some swimming and probably some shopping, and I need to catch up a bit on some work. We also are planning to go to a restaurant called the Aquarium which is supposed to be lots of fun.

Saturday Update:

Today was Girl's Day. They spent their day at the mall, specifically a place called Club Libby Lu, an all girls store that specializes in doing "make overs" for tween girls. As you can see by the pics, the girls did the full deal, and Faith chose to get made up like Sharpey from High School Musical. And, yes, she walked around the mall for the rest of the day and went to dinner dressed up that way, wig and all. She looked so cool! Kenzie didn't go as "wild" but did get the get up done with hair, nails, etc.

That evening, we went to the Aquarium restaurant, which features a 250,000 gallon aquarium in the middle of the restaurant, complete with a guitar-nosed shark, sting rays, and all array of fish and eels. It was a fun time, and a nice relaxing day!

Sunday Update:

What a great day!

We took a literal leap of faith today and attended church at Spruce Street Baptist church in downtown Nashville. This is a predominately black church, so much so that including our family, there were 6 white people there. Added to that experience was that visitors all stand up and introduce themselves. We stood out a bit, but what a great experience! Michelle asked me last night what my favorite thing was in the trip so far, and this was definitely it. The choir was awesome, both the adult and children's choir, and the preaching was outstanding. What a spirit-filled church! We had a blast, and everyone was super nice. If you ever find yourself in Nashville on Sunday, head downtown and attend here, well worth the trip.

We spent some time at a "customer appreciation" lunch today the campground with some free bbq and some bands. The first band was a great trio whom we spoke to afterward. As it turns out, they are a group of former gospel singers (very successful) that were led to move into the country music scene. They were awesome, and we had a great talk about their Christian walk and how God has been moving them in their lives.

We simply had a great day today, and we're looking forward to seeing the Grand Ole Opry and downtown Nashville tomorrow.

Monday Update:

Today started with an early morning visit to the Pancake Pantry, a famous downtown eatery that has 20 different kinds of pancakes. We got there just about 8:15am, having read that you need to be there before then or stand in line. This was pretty accurate, as by 8:30, the line was around the building. We didn't have to wait long, and the stories are true, the pancakes (especially the sweet potato ones) were awesome!

After breakfast, we took a little tour of downtown via the suburban. We had planned on doing the citywalk tour on foot, but after seeing so many shady homeless characters that were pretty aggressive, we decided to remain in the safety of the car. Thanks to some good navigating by Michelle, we were able to see the area fully, including the Country Music Hall of Fame and Music Row, home to a bunch of country and Christian recording studios and record companies.

In the afternoon, we went over to the Grand Ole Opry for a backstage tour and a look around the museum, which was interesting, and we even got to stand and sing on stage there. Lots of history to be seen here, and although it didn't mean much to the girls yet (other than the mention of Taylor Swift,) Michelle and I could relate to most of it.

That was about the essence of Nashville. We aren't big party people, and there are hundreds of "honky-tonks" to be enjoyed as well, but that's not really our bag.

Happy Labor Day!

Travel Note - we're keeping the folks in New Orleans in prayer today, and we're also keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Hanna. She's due to be a Category 1 Hurricane and hitting the Coast of Georgia by Friday, just about the time we arrive in Gainesville, which could be affected. We're praying that things go smoothly, and we stay safe, plus our trip continues on unaffected.

Faith's blog:
Today we went to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. Who’s your favorite country star? Josh Turner, Taylor Swift, Brittney Spears? You name it. We got to stand and sing on the stage they would’ve stood on. And I think it’s better that I not share what I sang. We also went to a place called Libby Lu’s. I got a wig like Sharpay. I’m sure all you boys would love it.

Kenzie's blog:
We went to the Grand Ole Opry House. We got to stand on the stage that many country singers have stood on. We also drove around music row. That is where a lot of recording studios are. My favorite part was Club Libby Lu. It is like a beauty salon. See yah!

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Nashville

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