Saturday, October 18, 2008

Nashville, TN

We had a table to ourselves since we registered at the very last minute. This was a 300 foot paddlewheel riverboats which had 4 decks. They had a fabulous live show performed in the two-story Victorian Theater. We had Tina Turner, Elton John and Elvis impersonators. They did a great job! This was a Las Vegas/Nashville type show called NashVegas on the River.We had a sit-down dinner while we cruised on the General Jackson Showboat. Manuel and I were the only ones at this table but they served us family style (which was a platter of 10 beef tips and 10 chicken breasts plus potatoes, green beans and rolls. This was a lot of food and we did cheat on our diet today......wish you had been here, Richard and Mark. There was plenty of food for 10 people. mmmmmm...
A dragon-like sculpture covered by a plant. You can see the eyes. Many sculptures like these were seen as we rode the River Boat all along the hotel.

This sign is New Orleans style, one of many that hang along the river route.
Another of the fountains.
We went out to dinner while Manuel had his Awards Ceremony. We watched the lazer show. It was an awesome sight.
We stand by Mr. & Mrs. Horse in front of the Opry Gift Store.
Manuel and I by one of the many water falls at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.
They had two outdoor pools and a spa but they also had an olympic indoor pool. It was such a nice place to relax.
We walked down some stairs in the hotel and they had about 20 employees polishing the brass handle on the staircase. It was so shiny when they were done that we hated to touch it!
This is a gazebo that is used for wedding. It is a beautiful setting.....


This is one of the many many bars in this hotel. It is a rotating bar.
Manuel gave us a quick tour of the hotel and then we went to lunch. We had a veggie burger. It was really good. His partner, Rick Frey and his wife, Maribel happened to come into the restaurant to eat, too. She is also a Realtor with EXIT.
Manuel is back in the room, hard at work with phone calls and responding to emails while he is in between seminar sessions. He is a very hard worker and I am not braging. On this night, Thursday, he was recognized at the Awards Ceremony for having recruited the most realtors into his company since he opened the company in April. Hard work pays off, huh?! We are very proud of him.
Manuel and Jr. checking out the Old Hickory Steakhouse prices....!!!!!
There were EXIT Real Estate signs everywhere. There were many many Real Estate Agents, Brokers, and Owners. We attended the seminar where the Founder/CEO was the speaker. We learned a lot about him and how he got started. We enjoyed this session.

EXIT Real Estate Founder/CEO Steve Morris walking off stage after he presents his wife with a bouquet of red roses.
This hotel sign is all decorated with fall items. It was very pretty.
Manuel met us at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel lobby as we arrived at noon. We had a nice drive here.
This was an Amish Country Mall which consisted of a tourist information center, cafe, flea market and other little shops. They also had a rest area where they parked their horse driven buggies under a shed as they stopped to rest.
I got this picture from a distance as they did not want to be photographed.
Sheds where they parked their horse driven buggies and they stop to rest. I guess this is like a rest area is for us. I asked the man that was driving this buggy if he would allow me to take his picture and he told me "no pictures" and rushed into the store.
They drive to and from Lawrenceburg, TN to do business. They seem to have their families as they travel. I wondered about the children's schooling since this was mid-morning on Thursday. I guess they home school.

We left Red Bay at about 9 am on Thursday morning to go spend some time with Manuel Jr. in Nashville. He is attending an EXIT Real Estate Conference there for 5 days. We are only about 170 miles away so decided to go there. On the way to Nashville, we went by Lawrenceburg, TN where we passed up several Amesh folks on buggies pulled by horses. We tried several times to get close to take pictures of them but they were not too happy with this. They either took off their hats and covered their faces or they would speed up. It was very odd.
We visited this Amish Welcome Center. They also had like a flea market and Amish Cafe.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Dinner with the Didelots

Tonight, we had dinner in our motorhome. I cooked some chile, salad, garlic potatos. We then played a game of dominos. Mark won again!This is the back side of a couple of t-shirts that Manuel talked someone here at Tiffin to trade with him. He gave Mark the red one. Richard, hope you like these......more pictures below. This is the front of the t-shirt with the Tiffin emblem.....
These are the back side of the boys.....I mean the t-shirts....
These two are the Tiffin Motorhome owners!
Last night, we had dinner at Sue & Mark's. She served catfish over white rice, shrimp and I made some corn with a little butter and cream cheese. It was very good. Sue is a good cook.
Dinner at the Didelots.
Monday, Manuel went and bought a light to put in the bedroom. He installed the light fixture but Mark helped him connect the wiring in the drawer compartment. Manuel was having trouble finding the hot wire and Mark found it. This is the light. I am very happy with it!
Great job, Mark. For once, I did not have to be the helper......

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Sunday at Red Bay, AL

Today, Sunday we started the day by taking pictures of ourselves before we went to Church. We attended the Cornerstone Church of God in Red Bay. They had a good service and the choir sang beautiful.
We then came to pick up Sue and Mark Didelot to ride to the surrounding towns. We had Sue take more pictures of us in front of our Motorhome.
After an afternoon ride to Toshimingo, Iuka, Belmont and back to Red Bay, we decided to take pictures to send to our granddaughters, Larissa and Arianna.
Wish they were here so we could take pictures of them at these beautiful Fall displays.
Sue and Mark Didelot also took a picture to send to their grandchildren.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Tupelo, Mississippi

We drove to Tupelo, Mississippi at about 9:00 this morning. Visited Elvis Presley's birthplace home. This is a very modest 2 room home which his dad built. Elvis Presley and his identical twin brother were born in this home in 1935.
Elvis and his family attended the Assembly of God Church which influenced his gospel music. This bronze sculpture is of Elvis at age 13.
This outhouse was right outside of the church. Manuel and Mark model in front of it! This is Elvis Presley's Memorial Chapel. Many fans, friends and family donated to have this built on the property. Elvis' bible rests on the original pulpit from the First Assembly of God Church. This is the Tupelo County Courthouse. After we left this area, we had lunch at Cancun's.