Day 9 - Paducah, KY to Nashville, TN - Family Day

Spent the morning showing the kids some significant family spots in the Paducah area.  First stop was Grandma and Grandpa's farm which now, suitingly, stands as a homestead to many families in the form of acre home sites.  The kids got a kick out of the streets being named after their Great Grandparents.

I took the kids around the grounds and showed them, as best I could recall, the locations of  Grandma and Grandpa's home, trailer and yard decorations. (I can't look at a flamingo without thinking about Grandma.)  About where the barn used to sit, there was a patch of tiger lillies growing.  The kids picked a bunch of them to deliver to our next stop.  

There the kids laid down the flowers at Grandma and Grandpa's graves.  It was a very soulful time.  The conversation that ensued started with stories about them and the rest of the family, it then turned to the issue of mortality, and finally to the faith in God on which everything ultimately rests.  Awesome experience.  

From there, we thought it best to keep up family day with a Ferguson favorite, Starnes BBQ.  The sodas are no longer served in glass bottles as I recall when I was the kids' age.  But, otherwise, not much has changed.  They still serve pork cooked over an open pit, serve it on toast, and wrap it in wax paper.  And it's still delicious.  Another generation has been hooked!  (But, sorry Michelle, no Goo Goo Clusters anymore.)

Across the street to pick up some Dairy Queen to enjoy as the kids played in Noble Park.  Janell and I were discussing what a great place it is:  playgrounds, ball fields, jogging trails, a lake, fishing -- all in the center of town.  Every city should have a resource like this.  We hope the one just passed in the newest MAPs plan fits the bill.

Back on the road.  This time to Nashville.  We pulled into an incredibly vibrant downtown.  Finally, we realized part of that activity was that the CMA Music Festival was underway.  We didn't see any country music stars, but we did catch a glimpse of the Ryman Auditorium, the original location of the Grand Ole Opry.  A few miles later and we were driving around the Vanderbilt University campus.

Next, it was off to see Uncle Bruce and Gayle and their home in Franklin -- a historic town that was the site of a fierce Civil War battle.  The town has retained its historic look, including a vibrant old style pedestrian downtown.

Bruce and Gayle's home took on close to a foot of water in the recent flooding there and is undergoing reconstruction.  They are quite a ways along in their renovation effort and we got to see their home just prior to sheetrock.  In one of the pics below, you will see the backing that the plaster walls adhered to.  While it was sad to see the damage the rains did, it was neat to see the construction methods used in their historic home.

At the end of the night, Bruce treated us to ice cream downtown -- just as he had done four years earlier on a previous visit.  I think you'll see from the Then and Now photos below, what a difference four years makes!