Nashville is a great place for a long weekend or even a week-long family vacation! Thanks to the Soppe Family from Chatham for sharing their experiences during their 5-day vacation in Nashville!
Being a family of 6 taking a vacation can be somewhat pricey, so we are always looking for deals. This trip to Nashville was no exception. I would encourage you to send off for the Nashville Visitor’s Guide. There you can get a brief description of what all this music city has to offer. In digging deeper, I found a great offer by using Total Access Pass that would allow us to several attractions at a reduced rate per person. Be sure to do your research to get the most out of your money. Read the descriptions carefully so you know what your access pass will get you. Here are some highlights from our trip.
Basic Overview
This city is a 6-hour trip from Springfield — long enough that it really feels like getting away, and especially when you need weather that’s just a bit warmer than home! A great place for planning your trip is: visitmusiccity.com
Suggested Attractions
- Musicians Hall of Fame –
This was one of our favorite stops while in Nashville. While at the Musicians Hall of Fame you get to experience the process of how music is made from start to finish. We had fun playing guitar, keyboards, drums, and keytar (do you remember those from the 80’s?) on stage. As you move through the museum you see many iconic recording studios, as well as memorabilia from the greats like Johnny Cash, Jimmy Hendrix, Elivs, and the Beach Boys. Skylar’s favorite part was learning the process of writing, mixing, producing, and recording music. Don’t be surprised who you might run into while there….Justin got to meet Ethan – one of the semi-finalist from American Idol XIII. As a bonus – we got to take a look at the Grammy Gallery. In this gallery, we got to see interesting footage of Grammy winners, and the design of the Grammy through the years. If you are a hands-on kind of person. - Hatch Show Print – This working letterpress print shop originated in
1879. It was one of Sierra’s favorite places that we visited. This was place is AMAZING for those that love printing, advertising, and posters. They walk you through the some history of letterpress printing and how Hatch Show Print came to be. While in the print shop you might see some of the posters being type-set or printed for use in future advertisements. This tour also included a “print your own” commemorative poster, which was a big hit with Jaide and Sierra. Although you don’t get to do the entire 3 color printing process on your poster, you get to physically ink the type-set, load your poster, and run a manual press. - Grand Ole Opry – We enjoyed a backstage tour of this Nashville institution. Well, what can I say!! The tour takes you through the history of the Grand Ole Opry, themed dressing rooms, Opry Member Post Office, and a peek at the Grand Ole Opry Stage – don’t forget to look for that iconic circle center stage. If you’re lucky you may get a chance to perform on this
American piece of history. That’s why we were in Nashville — to watch Chatham’s Titan Fever
perform at Show Choir Nationals! - Nashville Zoo at Grassmere – We are a zoo family, and make this a stop at every trip we take if possible. This zoo is nestled back in a residential area, but don’t let that stop you. There are lots of animals to see and touch. That’s right – Kangaroo Kickabout, is a free range kangaroo exhibit with plenty of hands-on opportunities. There’s also Critter Encounters which is more like a petting zoo with goats, camels, and alpaca. Bonus for this zoo,
if you are an AZA member your admission is 50% off. Read more about Reciprocal Memberships here. - Parthenon – If you like art – this is the place for you. This is the world’s only full-scale reproduction of the famous temple in Athens. Once inside, you will see several artifacts of the building of the Parthenon and an art gallery – which is truly beautiful. I asked Sierra, our 5 year old daughter, which painting was your favorite? Out of all the wonderful paintings, the one that caught her eye was “Still Life” by William Merrit, which a she called “fish on a dish”. Yep, leave it to a 5 year old to like a painting of catfish in a bowl. On the top floor of the Parthenon you are blinded by a colossal 42-foot gold covered statue of Athena, the tallest indoor sculpture in the Western world.
- Tennessee State Museum – History buff I’m not, but I do like to see all the various trinkets, furniture, art, and lifestyles that history museums have to offer. This museum has so much to see that we could have stayed longer that we did. We did have fun with some of the interactive facets of this museum like the dress up area – yep the 1800’s are not for me, I like my comfy clothing way too much. The girls even got to see how it felt to be placed in a wooden stock, play games from the 1800’s, and feel what it was like to live in a one-room cabin.
- Tennessee State Capitol – Our oldest daughter Skylar gave us a personal “guided tour”. With pamphlet in hand, she led the way to all the points of interest, down to the architecture, restoration, and art. While there, we were able to go inside the State Library, House of Representatives, and the Senate.Free tours are available on weekdays.
- Antique Archeology – If you’ve been a fan of American Pickers, here’s your chance to take a look at their treasurers! This was kind of a last minute stop for us. Growing up in the antique world, I’ve see a lot of stuff like this. The shop is a neat place to visit, especially if you watch their show and could recall items from their picks. What is neat about this place is that it is located in a old car factory. There are several other specialty shops to visit while you are in the building. Just walking through the halls you can see old printing presses, distillery items, and automobile machinery.
Parking: in downtown Nashville
, your best bet is to park at the Public Library.
Submitted by Barb Soppe. Barb lives in Chatham and is mom to Justin, Skylar, Sierra, and Jaide.
