Nashville/Memphis Trip
December 6-10, 2002
On December 6, 2002, we went with Allen Tours on a Christmas in Nashville and Memphis bus tour. There were 42 people on board and they were all delightful and fun to be with. Roberta and Gene Allen, previous owners have retired and their tour company is now in the capable hands of Gene and Shanda Dyke. They were so congenial and like Roberta and Gene, they had our trip planned and events scheduled perfectly. We stayed at the Drury Inn in Jackson, MO our first night on the road.
December 7, 2002, we drove on in to Nashville and at 1:00 we went to the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium. We saw John Conlee, Charley Pride, Little Jimmy Dickens, T. Graham Brown, Jim Ed Brown, Mel McDaniel, Porter Wagoner and Mandy Barnett. In the evening, we had an entertaining evening with dinner in the Delta Room and performance by Linda Davis & Family as they presented their Christmas show. We also had time to attend a Craft Fair in the Tennessee Room.
December 8, 2002, we went to the Country Music Hall of Fame and had a buffet dinner. We could have spent all day in their museum. In the afternoon, we went to the Country Christmas Fantasy In Ice, an exhibit of carvings, sculptures and three-dimensional holiday theme displays…all made of ice. In the evening, we went to the Grand Ole Opry House where we saw the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, featuring the Rockettes. 
December 9, 2002, we drove to Memphis, TN and took a trolley tour of the town, seeing where Martin Luther King was shot and many other sights. Then, on to visit Elvis, enjoy a tour of Graceland and go aboard the Lisa Marie plane! What an experience to see just how "great" Elvis was and how he lived! We drove to Jackson, MO that night and had another pleasant stay in the Drury Inn.
Our 2 nights stay in the Opryland Hotel were just wonderful as we could sit out on our veranda and take in all the Christmas lights that decorated the entire tropical atrium. After our activities in the evening were over, we strolled down the pathways and enjoyed the beauty of poinsettias planted everywhere and other Christmas decorations.
We had fun eating and shopping at the Cracker Barrel Restaurants on our way to Nashville and back. Also, another added joy was to share our 5th trip with friends, Gary and Virginia.
Opryland Hotel at Christmas
Country Christmas Fantasy In Ice
Graceland & Elvis